IRS Investigating Tea Party Chapters; OWS Next?

An interesting, if not alarming, story from FoxNews (emphasis added) --

Numerous Tea Party chapters claim IRS attempts to sabotage nonprofit status

By Perry Chiaramonte

Published February 28, 2012 | FoxNews.com

Tea Party chapters around the nation are blasting the Internal Revenue Service after the federal agency sent them letters demanding information about their politics, contributors and even family members.

In letters sent from IRS offices in Cincinnati earlier this month, chapters including the Waco (Texas) Tea Party and the Ohio Liberty Council were asked to provide a list of donors, identify volunteers, financial support for and relationships with political candidates and parties, and even printed copies of their Facebook pages.

"Some of what they (the IRS) asked was reasonable, but there were some requests on there that were strange," Toby Marie Walker, president of the Waco Tea Party told FoxNews.com. "It makes you wonder if they do this to groups like ACORN or other left-leaning groups.”

Read the complete letter sent to the Waco Tea Party by the IRS

The chapters that received requests were registering for nonprofit status as a 501(c)4 organizations. The classification mainly differs from 501(c)3 groups in that donors cannot deduct their contributions from their taxable income. 

The tax code places fewer restrictions on 501(c)4 groups, allowing them to lobby in furtherance of their organizations' mission. They are also permitted to engage in political activity like endorsing candidates and donating money and time to specific campaigns, though it cannot be their primary activity. 

The more tightly controlled, but more heavily subsidized 501(c)3 groups may not participate in specific campaigns at all.

Tea Party leaders say they were particularly offended by demands that they name donors and volunteers, which is required by law, but were also asked to list any political ambitions of board members or their relatives.

Colleen Owens, spokeswoman for the Richmond (Va.) Tea Party claims that her chapter had a similar letter sent to them just two weeks before they were to hold a local convention in which they were asked to provide nearly 500 pages in documents.

They were required to return the requested documents two days before the start of the convention.

"Most of these groups are not wealthy and they've had their applications for 501(c)4 status since 2010," Owens said. "We only had two weeks to gather everything. The timing was suspicious."

"When determining whether an organization is eligible for tax-exempt status, including 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, all the facts and circumstances of that specific organization must be considered to determine whether it is eligible for tax-exempt status.  To be tax-exempt as a social welfare organization, they must be primarily engaged in the promotion of social welfare," said a spokesman for the IRS.

"Career civil servants make all decisions on exemption applications in a fair, impartial manner and do so without regard to political party affiliation or ideology."

Experts contacted by FoxNews.com agreed the timing of the letters was problematic, though the information requests are not particularly sinister.

"These are standard inquiries," said Ellen Aprill, a professor who teaches tax law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "If they (the Tea Party chapters) do nothing but campaign intervention, then they have to file as a 527 organization.”

But Tom Zawistowski, of the Ohio Liberty Council, a Tea Party chapter, called questions about donors, volunteers and members' relatives "intelligence gathering."

"This has nothing to do with tax status," Zawistowski said. “It has to do with political affiliation. The questions are too close to home."

"It's very intimidating and people are scared," Owens said 

So, now I ask myself (as well as you should yourself): Will the IRS likewise investigate the Occupy Wall Street mob?  The Daily Caller reports that they've got a bank account with $99,000 in it (emphasis added) --

Occupy Wall Street bank statement shows $99,000 balance, expenses for housing, property damage, bail

The Daily Caller has obtained a copy of a December 2011 bank statement mailed to Occupy Wall Street, the anti-capitalist protest group whose leaders’ rallying cry positions them as defenders of America’s less-privileged “99 percent.” But the organization’s bank balance in December may instead re-cast the occupiers as defenders of the $99,000.

The bank statement was mailed to the organization at a box rented in a UPS Store on Fulton Street in lower Manhattan. On the Dec. 30 closing date, Amalgamated Bank reported $99,549.58 in the account, including $23,120 in deposits during that month alone.

Amalgamated is owned by the Workers United labor union.

TheDC has also obtained copies of two December statement pages from a second bank account owned by an Occupy Wall Street-affiliated organization called Friends of Liberty Park. Those pages show records of nine checks and ten cash withdrawals, all signed by Pete Dutro, the group’s leader and Occupy Wall Street’s financial manager at the time.

While the materials clearly reflect two separate bank accounts, only the last two digits of their nine-digit account numbers are different. TheDC has redacted its copies of the documents to remove those account numbers.

Sources who provided TheDC with copies of the bank statements also provided a copy of meeting minutes from a Feb. 17 gathering of an Occupy Wall Street subgroup called “OWS Reform.” Notes taken during the meeting include an observation that the Friends of Liberty Park account “went from $310,168.74 at 12/01 to $147,040.15 at 12/30,” reflecting a loss of more than half the account’s value during the month of December.

“Why not call an independent auditor and have them go over the books?” the minutes ask. Criticizing the movement’s self-anointed finance officers, they complain that a lack of access to the movement’s bank accounts “gives them hierarchy in a supposedly leaderless movement.”

Back in October, Michelle Malkin of HotAir.com reported on the $150,000 OWS was able to quickly raise, depositing the money in Amalgamated and another credit union.  She reports on OWS' alliance with Alliance for Global Justice and AGJ's 501(c)(3) status (Occupy Wall Street garners $150,000 in donations).  In the post, she quotes a liberal tax attorney who writes about his concerns regarding OWS and AGJ's questionable tax status:

I’m a liberal in good standing and an attorney with a good deal of experience with charities..  While I obviously disagree w/ you on most things political, you’ve always struck me as reasonable, and my loathing of the abuse of charitable status is one of those things that really gets under my skin.  You may or may not think any of this is interesting, but if you do I’d greatly appreciate confidentiality.

That said: I saw the other day that Occupy Wall Street had gotten $150k in contributions, so that led me to the site to figure out their tax status, assuming that there wouldn’t be anything in particular, which would mean the income should be taxable.  That, in turn, led me to their donation page at an organization called “Alliance for Global Justice.”  It turns out that AGJ is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity, and it’s using its exemption to collect tax deductible contributions and then disbursing the funds to the protesters (under the aegis of “fiscal sponsor,” a generally accepted tool for charities).  So AGJ is taking the position that the protests are “charitable,” and getting the taxpayers to subsidize the protests to the tune of 35 cents per dollar contributed.  On their 3/31/11 Form 990, they report zero lobbying expenses, which, based on a cursory review of their website, seems absurd.  Granted, “lobbying” is a bit of a term of art in exempt organization law, so it may or may not be accurate.

At any rate, this is flatly outrageous.  While I couldn’t stand the tea party, at least they didn’t have the nerve to call themselves a charity and accept deductible donations

Wow!  As I continue checking around the Internet, it seems that a number of groups have been reported to the IRS by differeng organizations requesting investigations.  I'll be following up this!  Stay tuned!

Progressives: Order Your Prog Repeller Today!

I love The People's Cube -- their warped sense of humor gets me cackling everytime.

Teachers: Where the Problem Ones Go

Yet another story that makes me puff out my chest in pride to be a teacher ... ouch!

From MSNBC (emphasis added):

Where do problem teachers go? LA's 'rubber room'

By Conan Nolan and Frava Burgess, NBCLosAngeles.com

 

LOS ANGELES -- It’s called the "rubber room" -- a popular name for a reassignment center many say is emblematic of what is wrong with public education.

The rubber room is where teachers accused of everything from drug abuse to sexual harassment are sent to do nothing, but still collect a salary, benefits and accrue time toward pensions.

"Several of the people I know in rubber rooms have been there two years, some people as long as five years," said Leonard Isenberg, a disciplined Los Angeles Unified School District teacher. "You don’t just sit there. You can’t do anything. Think of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, with a paycheck."

The LAUSD has 161 teachers assigned to various offices throughout the district. It’s a policy LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy is trying to change – as in the case with former Miramonte Elementary School teacher and accused child molester, Mark Berndt.

"Traditionally what the district has done is to say we put you in an office, we pay you, and we wait for all the stuff to happen," Deasy said. "I am not acting that way."

There are plenty of teachers who support efforts to get rid of reassignment centers, but for different reasons.

Leonard Isenberg, who taught in the district for 25 years, said he ended up in one after repeatedly complaining that his school, Central Continuation High School, was graduating students with second-grade reading levels.

He said that angered the principal, and that led to accusations of him yelling at students and watching pornography in class.

Isenberg used his time in the rubber room to create a web site, perdaily.com, which looks critically at the district, reassignment centers and its discipline procedure.

He was ultimately fired by the district, but still has an appeal hearing later this year. Isenberg said the district’s procedures make teachers guilty until proven innocent and fearful of false accusations.

"The students know they can get teachers in trouble by just saying anything," Isenberg said.

Retired teacher and California Teachers Empowerment Network president Larry Sand said rubber rooms are necessary and are not going away anytime soon.

"There’s arbitration and hearings and all sorts of things that have to take place before a teacher would actually lose his job," Sand said. "If he’s not in the classroom, they have to put him somewhere."

It is sad that labor has made dismissing a bad employee so complicated and possibly frought with legal hassles and costs.  On the flip side, it is scary that students can so easily falsely accuse teachers of misconduct.  Is there no viable methodology for investigating such accusations, as well as accusations made by and against administrators? 

There is a movement afoot among the general public that is pushing to rid the education system of "tenure."  Tenure is a part of the above problem; however, removing it is not so simple.  When school districts have to make financial cutbacks due to the current economic downturn, we teachers get nervous.  Having tenure in place allays some fears when "cuts" is the topic of conversation.  Honestly, I work with some teachers who would be rather cutthroat if we did have to compete with one another. 

On the other hand, it is infuriating to me to witness how, under the current tenure system of my school district, inept individuals are rehired each year, thus allowing them to gain tenure.  Again, many times it is due to school districts fearing harassment from the fired teacher and his or her union, or simply due to the fact that there might not be other applicants for the position.

Guantanamo Bay and The New Soccer Field: $750,000 of Your Tax Dollars in Exchange for Intel

Here's another fabulous use of our tax dollars: we now need to pamper the crap out of Guantanamo "detainees" by building them a $750,000 soccer field.  For cryin' out loud!!!!

Check out the story from from Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald via The Columbus Dispatch (emphasis added):

Guantanamo Bay soccer field pricey addition to prison

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — The military unveiled a $744,000 soccer field yesterday, a dusty enclosure with two-toned gravel and fences topped by barbed wire — all designed as a quality-of-life improvement for cooperative captives.

The goals were missing, but the military had erected two guard towers, lights and surveillance cameras at the site outside a building called Camp 6, where the Pentagon imprisons about 120 of the 171 detainees.

Prison officers brought about a dozen visiting journalists to the 28,000-square-foot field yesterday, a day before the arraignment of Majid Khan. The former Baltimore resident has agreed to plead guilty to war crimes and testify against other captives in future military commissions.

While the tour was under way, the Pentagon unsealed part of a secret deal with Khan that postpones his sentencing until 2016.

Khan, who turned 32 yesterday, is accused of acting as a courier to carry $50,000 from Pakistan to Thailand for use in the 2003 suicide bombing of a Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. Eleven people were killed, and dozens more were wounded.

Khan also is accused of researching U.S. gas stations as targets for an al-Qaida leader, and at one point, donning a fake bomb vest in a test of his willingness to kill himself and then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

In the public part of the plea deal, prosecutor Courtney Sullivan of the Department of Justice agreed to propose a 25- to 40-year prison sentence. Still under seal is a secret agreement on how many years of Khan’s sentence will be suspended for his cooperation.

For his safety, he was moved away from other “high value” detainees, but not into the company of other captives.

Guantanamo officials have developed a “Socialization Program” to ensure that Khan is not entirely isolated from human contact. Since arriving at Guantanamo in 2006, he has had contact only with prison staff members who hold top-secret clearance.

The Obama administration estimates that it spends $800,000 a year per captive on basic operating costs for the detention center, which has a staff of 1,850, including contractors and guards.

The showcase soccer field — half the size of an American football field — is being built by Burns and Roe Services Corp., said Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman. It should open in April as the third recreation yard at Guantanamo’s main prison complex; that will be a year after construction began on a large expansion at the decade-old detention center.

A spokeswoman said the base’s remote location can double construction costs.

Nauseating ... just nauseating.  I don't have a problem with providing the detainees with recreational facilities, but to the tune of $750,000?!?  All you gotta do is smoothe out some space, give 'em a soccer ball, and some cones to create makeshift goals.  Done! ... and at a dirt-cheap price!

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani: Pray to Stop His Execution

This is a nightmare that has been unfolding for the past two years with rumors running back and forth lately with regard to whether Nadarkhani is still alive.

First, from The Washington Post's On Faith section yesterday:

Youcef Nadarkhani’s case unites people around religious liberty

By Jordan Sekulow, Matthew Clark and Anna Sekulow

The fight to save the life of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been sentenced to death in Iran for his faith, is truly uniting people of all faiths - atheists too - and political persuasions across the world.

We have seen statements calling on Iran to release this persecuted pastor from President Obama’s White House, Secretary Clinton’s State Department, and Republican presidential campaigns. Governor Mitt Romney was one of the first political leaders to call for Pastor Nadarkhani’s freedom, calling Iran’s actions an “outrage against humanity.”

Representatives Joe Pitts (R-PA), an evangelical Christian conservative, and Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim and one of the most liberal members of Congress, are spearheading a congressional resolution in support of Pastor Youcef, H.Res. 556. Thus far, 61 members of Congress, including nine Democrats, have signed on to co-sponsor the resolution, “Condemning the Government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy.” We hope and expect the resolution to receive overwhelming bipartisan support when it is brought up for a vote before the full House on Wednesday.

As the resolution states, “[F]reedom of religious belief and practice is a universal human right and a fundamental freedom of every individual, regardless of race, sex, country, creed, or nationality, and should never be arbitrarily abridged by any government.”

It has been remarkable to see how religious liberty can unite every side of the political divide. Liberal-leaning blogs like the Huffington Post have reported on the fight to save this evangelical pastor’s life, and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin has been tremendously supportive on this issue.

In fact, Jordan (a co-author of this blog) appeared on a liberal radio show discussing this very fact. Conservatives and liberals in America have truly joined forces to fight for Pastor Youcef’s life.

Nadarkhani’s case and the cause of religious liberty have done more than unite differing political parties; it has united religious leaders in America and around the world. In addition to Congressman Ellison’s public stand, Harris Zafar, national spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, has joined the fight for Youcef’s release, calling Iran’s actions “a violation of human rights and . . . a violation of Islam.”

Diverse religious groups such as the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S., and Hindu American Foundation have called for Pastor Youcef’s release.

Internationally, foreign leaders from the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil,, European Union and United Nations have spoken out on Pastor Nadarkhani’s behalf. The European Parliament, Australian Senate, Mexican Senate, and Uruguay House of Representatives have all passed resolutions calling on Iran to respect the basic human right of religious liberty and free Pastor Youcef.

At the ACLJ, we have witnessed firsthand this truly immense outpouring of support for Pastor Youcef and religious liberty as more than 165,000 people have signed our “Petition to Free Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.” In addition, our “Tweet for Youcef” campaign is reaching nearly 900,000 people each day in over 87 percent of the world’s nations.
 
It is amazing what can be accomplished when we refuse to let religious liberty become a political punching bag and all join forces to stand up for freedom to believe, or not believe, across the globe.

We urge every member of Congress to support the resolution in support of Pastor Youcef, and ask everyone to pray for Pastor Youcef, utilize the ACLJ’s “Tweet for Youcef” program, and share his story with friends and family.
 
The Washington Post’s “On Faith” deserves thanks for publishing, “some of the first major media coverage of Pastor Nadarkhani’s case since his appeal was rejected” by Iran’s Supreme Court on September 21st, 2011 and for highlighting his “pending death sentence” September 27th. 

Jordan Sekulow is Executive Director of the American Center for Law & Justice and writes for On Faith’s blogging network at the Washington Post. Matthew Clark is an attorney for the ACLJ. Anna Sekulow is Director of Digital Policy for the ACLJ and creator of “Tweet for Youcef.”

Please pray for him and his release, his family, and for his captors.

From FoxNews:

Erykah Badu: Another Nitwit "Entertainer"

Note to Miss Erykah: don't perform in a Muslim nation after having broadcast your Muslim-based tattoos and without knowing something about Islam other than "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God."  It's not always hip to be cool ...

Erykah Badu concert in Malaysia canceled over her 'Allah' tattoo, report says

A publicity photo of Erykah Badu has gotten the singer, and the newspaper that published it, in trouble in Malaysia.

Badu had her concert canceled by the Kuala Lumpur's Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry when a photo showing a tattoo of the Arabic word "Allah" written on Badu's upper body was published in the Malaysian newspaper The Star, BBC News reports.

A Malaysian official reportedly called the photo "an insult to Islam."

The Star has already issued an apology, BBC News reports, calling the publication of the photo "inadvertent."

"We deeply regret any offence caused to Muslims and sincerely apologize for the oversight," the paper said on Tuesday.

Badu, already in Kuala Lumpur for the concert, is reportedly "worried and dismayed."

Tattoos are a no-no in Islam, as is using the word "Allah" in any way deemed disrespectful. Malaysia is predominantly Muslim.

There were already protesters outside The Star offices when the paper issued its apology, BBC News reports.

Seriously!  Is she ... and her managers ... that dumb?!?  

Gee, I don't recall any entertainers ever avoiding, let alone apologizing, for having offended Christians for their thoughtlessness and blatant disrespect.

Leap Day: Rare Disease Day 2012

We always find Leap Day an interesting thought: having to add a 29th day to February to correct for our calendar's inaccuracy.  I was surprised to learn today that it is also Rare Disease Day in which those with such rare diseases as ... bond together in order attract, not only awareness but also, funding for research.

I first learned of today's event via a story about an Oklahoma family and their young son with

Gordon family raises awareness for called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive

By Dan Bewley

Claremore, OK (KOTV/CNN) - An Oklahoma family hopes their son's battle with a rare disease could help other parents cope in similar situations. Their 4-year-old's muscles can turn to bone.

Zip Gordon is like every other 4-year-old. He loves to ride his tricycle and even play video games.

But Zip suffers from a rare disease called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive or FOP, commonly called stone man disease. It causes his muscles to turn to bone.

"Basically what it does, he gets a flare up in his muscle, it causes swelling, which then that swelling turns to bone," said his father, Jacob Gordon.

Jacob says the new bone comes from swollen cartilage and can appear anywhere.

"He gets ribbons of bones on top of his muscle basically forming a second skeleton underneath his skin," he said.

Zip was diagnosed with the disease last summer. Stone man is one of the rarest diseases in the world, afflicting only one in two million people. They can treat the swelling to try and prevent the calcification, but once it's turned to bone there is no treatment.

Right now, Zip's bones have fused in his neck and back, his left bicep, and on his shoulders.

"It hasn't been that hard. He's ours. He's mine, he's Amy's, he's our little boy and this is just the way it is," said Jacob.

The life expectance for someone with FOP is between 30 and 40 years.
...

I found the society's webpage: Rare Disease Day 2012.  Here is how "rare disease" is defined:

A disease or disorder is defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2000.

A disease or disorder is defined as rare in the USA when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time.

One rare disease may affect only a handful of patients in the EU (European Union), and another touch as many as 245,000. In the EU, as many as 30 million people alone may be affected by one of the 6000 to 8000 rare diseases existing.

• 80% of rare diseases have identified genetic origins whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative.
• 50% of rare diseases touch children.

If you know someone with a rare disorder, perhaps it might be beneficial to them to share this information with him or her.

School Lessons in Love & Tolerance: Teens "Marry" and Learn to Use Condoms

Yet another article that makes me proud as a teacher [total sarcasm there] ... From The San Francisco Chronicle (emphasis added):

SF teens learn lessons in love, tolerance at fest

Jill Tucker

02/15/12

Galileo High School celebrated Valentine's Day in a style befitting San Francisco on Tuesday as hundreds of students lined up to "marry" their sweethearts regardless of gender, sexual orientation or relationship status.

They then learned how to correctly put on a condom using goggles that gave them a drunken view of things, and played a variety of games that promoted safer sex.

The school's annual "Love Fest" drew hundred of teens in the school's central courtyard.

While a federal appeals court in San Francisco only last week ruled that a California ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, Galileo students and staff said their fake teen weddings had nothing to do with that. The event, sponsored by the Gay Straight Alliance and the Wellness Center, tried to promote acceptance and tolerance at school and safe decisions in the intimate moments that could happen at that age.

At one table, health teacher Raina Meyers put goggles on students that made their vision slightly blurry, simulating a drunken state. She then told them to put a condom on a wooden penis.

Most of the students left air in the condom tip, which could lead to breakage, and that prompted an instructional rebuke from Meyers.

"You're pregnant!" Meyers told one girl who failed the drunk-goggle test, and to a boy, "You have gonorrhea."
A handful of students milled about at the safer sex exhibits, but the biggest draw was the wedding table, where students fidgeted as they waited for their nuptials.

They signed a photocopied marriage certificate and said a quick "I do" when a student officiant asked about taking the other person as spouse.

The marriage was sealed with optional, one-size-fits-all plastic gold bands.

For love and credit

Many students admitted they decided to participate after teachers said they would get extra credit.
Others were serious sweethearts.

Seniors Farheen Shaikh and Shafa Almakra were best friends.

The two girls giggled as they took their vows and said they wanted that piece of paper to remember that moment in high school.

"I'll show my husband when I get married," Shafa said.

District officials acknowledged the school's activity on Valentine's Day might offend some, but school officials said the event highlights the joy and importance of healthy relationships, no matter who a student chooses to be with.

Most of the married teen couples consisted of two boys or two girls - friends or classmates.

"I think it encourages those who are afraid to walk around together," said English teacher Jacqueline Peters, who sponsors the Gay Straight Alliance. "No one is going to freak out if two guys marry each other even if they're straight. At the event, nobody cares - at least for a day."

Many school staffers and students wore bright shirts with the message, "Gay? Fine by me."
...

Being here in the Midwest and knowing my school as well as I do, I cannot imagine such an event taking place here.  You know, we folks here in "Flyover Country" are so backward and narrow-minded.

Vacation time AGAIN for the First Family: Number 16 in 3 Years

Mr. "Everyone must have some skin in the game and everyone must pay their fair share" President Obama's vacation schedule mirrors those of the "99%."  Yeah, right.  From the Washington Examiner (tip from Bob Parks of Black & Right) ... emphasis added:

Michelle's ski trip marks 16 Obama vacations

First lady Michelle Obama’s weekend jaunt to Aspen, Colorado for a President’s Day ski holiday with her daughters Sasha and Malia makes the 16th time members of the first family have gone on extended vacations during their three years in office. Their stay at the home of a major Chicago fundraiser for President Obama makes the fifth time the first lady and her daughters have taken a break from Washington on their own. Only once has Obama had a long weekend out of town and alone, celebrating his 49th birthday in Chicago in August 2010.

Accounting for trips out of Washington for several days, the total number of vacations Washington Secrets tabulated is 16, 10 where the family was together, such as for Christmas and summer vacations, one by the president and five by the first lady. Not included were Camp David visits or trips like the first family’s New York City date night in May, 2009.

According to presidential watcher Mark Knoller of CBS, George W. Bush, at this time of his presidency, had made 30 visits to his Texas ranch spanning all or part of 220 days. The Obama’s vacation day count is less than half of that.

But his have become more controversial because of the costs associated with moving the first family to a public vacation spot, unlike the Bushes to their remote ranch in Crawford, Texas. For example, the Hawaii Reporter said the first family’s 2011 Christmas vacation in Hawaii would exceed $1.5 million.

Critics and even some in his own party say the vacations present a bad image at a time when many Americans are struggling to get by during the recession. According to recent Harris poll, only three in 10 said they plan to take a vacation lasting longer than a week in the next six months, and that number has been dropping during the recession as people worry about the costs of vacations. Other polls have found that less than half of all Americans take all the vacation time they earn because they can’t afford trips.

The Obama Vacation List

-- President’s Day 2012, Michelle and the first daughters in Aspen, Colorado to ski.
-- Christmas 2011, the first family in Hawaii for an extended vacation.
-- Summer 2011, in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., for the annual beach break.
-- June 2011, the first lady, her mother and daughters traveled to South Africa and Botswana.
-- President’s Day 2011, the first lady and first daughters travel to Vail to ski.
-- Christmas 2010, in Hawaii.
-- August 2010, the first family traveled to Panama City Beach, Fla., for some sun and fun at the beach.
-- August 2010, Obama spent the weekend alone in Chicago for his 49th birthday bash.
-- August 2010, the first lady and daughter Sasha traveled to Spain for a mother-daughter vacation.
-- August 2010, summer vacation again at Martha’s Vineyard.
-- July 2010, the first family went to Mount Desert Island, Maine.
-- May 2010, the first family had a four-day trip to Chicago.
-- March 2010, first lady and daughter spend Spring Break in New York City.
-- Christmas 2009, Hawaii again for the annual break.
-- August 2009, at Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon for a short vacation.
-- August 2009, their first summer vacation as first family at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

I wonder who is paying for all of this.  Yes, I do agree that we taxpayers should pick up the tab for security.  However, who is paying for the travel expenses -- the Obamas or the U.S. little people?

And you wonder why The First Lady has been nicknamed Michelle Antoinette ... and "Moochelle."

Occupy to a High School Classroom Near You!

Can you believe how lame-brained some people are?!? ... and these are supposedly intelligent, educated people.  (Guess they never had lessons on how to smell B.S.)  From FoxNews with emphasis and snarky comments added by moi: 

Summer students get taste of Occupy movement at Maryland community college

Students in ninth through the 12th grade attending summer programs at a community college outside Washington, D.C., will get a taste of the Occupy operation in a new course that aims to get them interested in "the movement for justice."

"Occupy MoCo!," one of the newest courses at Montgomery College in Montgomery County, Md., is part of the Summer Youth program offered for 2012. 

"We are at an exciting time in the history of the world. People all over the planet are taking democracy into their own hands and working together to create solutions for a better world," reads the course description for YOU392. 

"Take advantage of this interactive opportunity to learn critical thinking skills [yeah, there's the necessary buzz word!] that will help you in college and gain insight into becoming a global leader of the 21st century. Learn about the Occupy Wall Street movement and explore real-life human rights implications. Review social justice [and another buzz word!] concepts and explore human rights issues related to current events. Young people hold the power [buzzword!] to change [buzzword!] their community, their schools, their future -- are you ready to join the movement for justice? [buzzword!] "

Elizabeth Homan, the school's director of communications, said the class "does not take a stance on the Occupy movement. [Reee-ee-ee-ee-eaaaallllyyyyyy?] Rather, the movement provides a creative opportunity for students to discuss protests throughout history, as well as current events, definitions, and various processes that can be used to voice opinions in the community."

The class, however, is a standout among the academic courses offered for the season.

Other new classes being offered for the summer 2012 session include "3D Geometry -- Let's Build a City," "Be a Nurse or Just Work with One," "Battle-Bot Build-a-Thon," "Be a Real Life Investigative Reporter," "Chemical Wizardry," "Diggin' for Dinosaurs Rockin' Rocks and Crystal Creations," "Junkyard Warriors," "Game Building Software," "Passion for Fashion," and "Your Doll and You," among others.  [Whuh the?  The summer OWS course is equally tame and milk-toasty as these courses, isn't it?]

Homan said the class is a noncredit program that is two weeks in length, and is designed for high school students who take AP/honors classes. 

"The class is a hybrid of history and current events. Students will learn about protests throughout history, as well as the current events of today. They will participate in role-playing [buzzword!], read newspapers, and learn how people voice opinions in the community," Homan said in an email to FoxNews.com. 

The Occupy MoCo! class costs $190 for 10 three-hour sessions. Homan said tuition covers the cost of the class, which is being taught by a part-time summer youth instructor. Homan said there will be no homework or field trips.

"Everything will take place in the classroom," she said.  

Oh?  And why wouldn't you want to take kids to some of the OWS sites?  But, that's academia for you: all theory and discussion, but no real backbone to venture out from La-La-Land and get one's hands dirty.

I wonder if the participants and instructor(s) will be attending class in a nice, cushy classroom with nice furnishings and tech equipment.  I imagine the kids and "teacher" will have some expensive electronics on them ... those damned Capitalist Pigs!  How dare they!  [Oh, the irony!]

Tea Party v. Occupy

I caught this video clip at Newsbusters.org, thanks to Noel Sheppard:

Rick Santelli in 60 Seconds Describes Difference Between Tea Party and Occupy Movement

By Noel Sheppard | February 14, 2012 | 19:35

CNBC's Rick Santelli in 60 seconds Tuesday perfectly described the difference between the Tea Party and the Occupy movement.

Responding to a question from "Squawk Box" guest host Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, Santelli dispelled the notion that "the Tea Party's done" (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):



RICK SANTELLI: While the vandals are on the street corners, the Tea Party conservatives they’re working state houses, the governorships, the mayorships, the Senate, the House. See, they understand, they’ve read the Constitution. If you want to make a difference, don't go break windows, okay? Break some phony arguments that things like austerity are going to put you in the hole. What put you in the hole is borrowing 38 cents of every dollar you spent. That’s what put you in the hole, pure and simple. Everything else is political spin.

By the way, if you haven't heard, the St. Louis Tea Party is having a special third anniversary "celebration/workshop" next weekend, Feb.24th and 25th.  Click on this link for details ...

3rd Anniversary Tea Party PLUS 7 Events That Made America America with Dr. Larry Schweikart

Romney Has A "Jewish Problem"

This is awkward: Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has called upon Mitt Romney to get the Mormon church to cease posthumous baptism of Jews.  This from MSNBC (emphasis added) --

Wiesel to Romney: Tell Mormons to stop baptizing dead Jews

Prominent Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has called on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to “speak to his own church” and ask them to stop performing posthumous proxy baptisms on Jews.

The demand, reported on the Huffington Post website, comes after members of the Mormon church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), baptized the dead parents of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, an act that provoked a storm of criticism and led to an apology from the church.

The site also reported that Wiesel’s name, as well as those of his father and maternal grandfather, had been entered into a database for the deceased, sometimes an early part of the process leading toward posthumous baptism. The members involved apparently were unaware that the Nobel Peace Prize winner was still alive.

"I think it's scandalous. Not only objectionable, it's scandalous," Wiesel, 83, told the HuffPost.

Wiesel told the site that the situation has gotten so out of hand that the most prominent Mormon in the country should speak out about it.
...

LDS officials in Salt Lake City were quick to apologize Monday, telling the Salt Lake Tribune that the Utah-based faith "sincerely regret[s] that the actions of an individual member ... led to the inappropriate submission of these names," which were "clearly against the policy of the church."

"We consider this a serious breach of our protocol," spokesman Scott Trotter said in a statement, "and we have suspended indefinitely this person’s ability to access our genealogy records."

Moral obligation
In the practice, known as "baptism for the dead," living people stand in for the deceased to offer that person a chance to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the afterlife, according to an account in the Tribune. Mormons believe it is their moral obligation to do the temple rituals, while those on the other side can choose whether to accept the action or not.

According to the HuffPost, negotiations between Mormon and Jewish leaders led to an agreement in 1995 for the church to stop the posthumous baptism of all Jews, except in the case of direct ancestors of Mormons, but some Mormons failed to adhere to the agreement. Wiesel was among a group of Jewish leaders who campaigned against the practice and prompted a 2010 pact by which the Mormon Church promised to at least prevent proxy baptism requests for Holocaust victims. Wiesel said that proxy baptisms have been performed on behalf of 650,000 Holocaust dead.
...

A few thoughts of mine ...

1) It is a report from "The HuffPo" ... so who knows, although Wiesel is quite upset about it, so perhaps there is some veracity to the story;

2)  I remember visiting a Mormon temple when it was opened to the public before its final dedication.  I was with a group of friends from my church and recall how we were a bit shocked at this notion of someone possibly having us baptized as Mormons after our passing.

3) I have some disagreements with Mormonism ... this being one of them.  But, I don't know if it's Romney's role to be the Great Mediator between the Church of LDS and the rest of the world.

Media Matters: Its Agenda to Control the News

Have you been hearing about the story that recently broke on The Daily Caller?!?  The Tucker Carlson-founded news website has published some wild stuff about Media Matters for America and its founder David Brock, a leftwing media-monitoring entity.  The DC is charging (and supplying documentation) Brock and MMFA with a campaign to take down FoxNews.  It appears that MMFA

- has close ties with The White House
- wrote a lot of MSNBC's prime time reporting
- ordered that private investigators dig up dirt on all Fox reporters
- erratic bevavior on the part of MMFA's head Brock
- a Politico reporter (Ben Smith) withheld details from a MMFA memo, such as employing a "opposition research team" to investigate FoxNews and conservative political personalities, groups, websites and financiers, along with researching certain Republican figures

Citing MMFA's anti-Israel rhetoric, Alan Dershowitz, liberal Harvard law professor,  today declared that this could become the Rev. Jeremiah Wright story of the 2012 election if the White House and the DNC don't distance themselves from MMFA.

I highly encourage you to go to The Daily Caller's main page, where you will find several articles, including THE memo from MMFA that is cited throughout.

Ringtones Making Us Stupid?

Interesting ... although another case where I have to ask myself: "How much money was spent on this study on something that we all know?  Duh!"  Check this out (emphasis added):

Your ringtone is making me stupid

By Emily MainRodale.com

The next time you hear strains of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” emanating from a cell phone one cube over in your office, take note of how it affects your brain. Do you feel like your thought processes are temporarily on hold? According to a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, ringing cell phones are so distracting, they actually reduce our ability to remember information and slow our capacity to get back on task once the ringing stops.

THE DETAILS: Researchers broke their experiment down into a few different parts. In the first test, they had college students in a lab do computer exercises, for which they were asked to identify items that flashed across a screen as quickly as possible. During those tests, a cell phone would ring repeatedly, either with a standard ring, a generic tone, or a recognizable song (in this case, the university’s fight song). Each time the phone rang, researchers noticed that the students’ reaction times to the computer tests slowed down. However, students who heard the ring or the generic tone recovered more quickly and were less affected by subsequent cell phone interruptions than students who heard the university fight song.

In the second experiment, one of the researchers sat in a classroom while a professor gave a lecture, at the end of which students were given a test. During the lecture, the researcher allowed her phone to ring for 30 seconds. A second group was tested as well but didn’t have the cell phone interruption. The test scores revealed that the first group scored 25 percent worse than the nonphone group on questions related to material presented while the phone was ringing.

WHAT IT MEANS: A cell phone ringing in the middle of your next meeting is more than just annoying. It could inhibit your and your coworkers’ ability to think or remember important information. “Cell phone rings do make you respond more slowly,” says lead author Jill Shelton, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the psychology department at Washington University in St. Louis. “It’s a short-lived effect,” she adds. But tiny interruptions can add up, something anyone who’s sat through a long meeting with frequent cell phone interruptions will agree with.

Try not to tax anyone’s brainpower by following these ring-tone tips:

• Bid adieu to Beyoncé. At least on your phone. Familiar, popular tunes seem to command more attention. “Those song ring tones are particularly distracting to people,” says Shelton. “I hate to say that, because don’t we all love them? Maybe it’s because we can’t keep ourselves from wanting to listen.” If you can’t shut off the ringer, switch it to one of the boring, single-tone rings that came with the phone.

• Send out a warning signal. If you’re heading into a meeting and expecting a call that you don’t want to miss, let other people know that your phone might ring and interrupt your conversations. “People recover from distraction more quickly when they know it’s coming,” Shelton notes.

• Turn ringers off on the road. This is largely precautionary, as Shelton says that they’d have to conduct a separate study to see how much a ringing cell phone would affect your attention while driving. However, “in two different settings, our experiments showed people trying to pay attention to something in particular, and the sound of the cell phone ring disrupted their ability to do that successfully,” she says. A ringing phone wouldn’t distract you as much as a conversation while driving, she adds, but it could pose enough of a distraction to slow your reaction time at a critical moment.

By the way ... I wonder if movie theaters in your area are also getting tougher on cell phone users during movies? 

Food Police: Turkey Sandwich Is A Violation!

God forbid a parent should pack his or her kid's school lunch with a turkey sandwich and juice!!!!  Check out this story from today's Fox Insider --

Outrage After School Tells Mom Her Child’s Lunch Is Unhealthy and Unacceptable

A mother is outraged after school officials told her 4-year-old daughter that her home-packed lunch was not healthy enough to eat. What was so unhealthy about her lunch? Trace Gallagher reported that a lunch inspector at the school told the girl she couldn’t eat her turkey sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice. Instead, providing the girl with a USDA-approved lunch with the following guidelines: one serving of meat, one serving of grains, and two servings of fruit or vegetables.

When the girl returned home from school, her unopened lunch contained a note from the school saying that her lunch didn’t meet the guidelines and a $1.25 bill for the replacement lunch. The mom was outraged and anonymously wrote to the local newspaper and called a state representative. The North Carolina representative called the school which apologized, because in fact the lunch did meet all the USDA requirements.

In her statement to the newspaper, the mother argues that the issue isn’t whether the lunch meets any requirements but rather says, “Don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunchbox properly. I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats.” 

Frankly, I'm pleased that the mother had packed a nice lunch for her daughter, rather than buying who knows what kind of swill the school served!  Now, I am perhaps being unfair in saying that about the school's cafeteria, but if I were to judge by my school's menu, I can't imagine the lady's school would be much different.  I am rather picky about what I eat, choosing to bring my lunch to school each day rather than eat stuff from the cafeteria.  I probably would pack something similar to what the mother did ... except for the fact that I'm "low-carbin') it these days.

So, yes, the school said a mistake was made; but, who was the nitwit that made the determination that the lunch was unfit for human consumption?   

"Lunch inspector?!?"  Who and what the hell is that?!?

It seems like the Food Police have been on the prowl as of late.  Here are some related stories

- Food Police Target Schools with Cameras:
A new scheme in Texas public schools has cameras tracking students to monitor what and when they eat.

The US federal government via the US Department of Agriculture granted schools in Texas $2 million in funds to place high-end cameras into San Antonio schools that can read barcodes on students’ cafeteria trays.

“We're going to snap a picture of the food tray at the cashier and we will know what has been served," Dr Roberto Trevino of the Social and Health Research Centre in San Antonio told Reuters. “When the child goes back to the disposal window, we're going to measure the leftover."

The goal of the program is to fight increases in childhood obesity by providing information on student diets to parents and nutritional experts who design school lunch programs. The program will track calorie counts as well as other nutritional details.

 - Food Police & Lunch Box Privacy: Recent news articles out of Great Britain reveal that staff members in a Gloucestershire school district have become a food-police force. They were secretly opening children's lunchboxes and photographing the contents. They then scored the various lunches for nutritional value and sent notes to the parents advising them on how to pack healthier meals. Their one concession to the Englishman's cherished privacy was that they didn't identify which child each photographed lunch belonged to.

- Jolly Rancher lands Brazos ISD third-grader in detention for a week:
ORCHARD, Texas – A third-grader at Brazos Elementary was given a week’s detention for possessing a Jolly Rancher.  School officials in Brazos County are defending the seemingly harsh sentence. The school’s principal and superintendent said they were simply complying with a state law that limits junk food in schools.

- A crackdown on Bake Sales in City Schools: There shall be no cupcakes. No chocolate cake and no carrot cake. According to New York City’s latest regulations, not even zucchini bread makes the cut. In an effort to limit how much sugar and fat students put in their bellies at school, the Education Department has effectively banned most bake sales, the lucrative if not quite healthy fund-raising tool for generations of teams and clubs. 

And the list goes on and on.  Just try googling "food police" and see what comes up!

Now, I am a bit of a health nut, having been passionate about healthy eating and life style since my college days.  But, c'mon on! -- who didn't live for bake sales at school?  Now, I will say at my old elementary school, the bake sale was only on Friday's, and it seems we kids "back then" didn't eat all the snacks and junkfood that are so prevalent these days.

But, will Big Brother -- SHOULD Big Brother -- control what we eat?  Is putting food in our mouths the ultimate personal right?  Are we willing to hand that right over to the government?  We do need to police ourselves and quit overindulging.  I think we, collectively as well as individually, need to examine why our society seems to take everything to extremes. 

Why are we overeating?  Is it a "middle finger" to all the PC crappola in life these days?  Odd how despite the government pushing low-fat diets since the 80's we've grown fatter. 

Why are we overeating?

That is what WE need to figure out ... and not permit Big Government to conform to its notions of what is right and wrong.  Otherwise, I think we will continue to overeat -- even more! 

Rebellion.  Rebellion against what?  Frustration.  Frustration with what?

TEOTWAWKI and Invisalign: My Two Current Indulgences

Kind of an odd headline, ain't it?  Well, those two topics indeed have been my current indulgences.  The latter -- Invisalign -- is one that I proudly beam to all I meet.  Being an adult, I originally felt a bit guilty going to my orthodontist about straightening my teeth, never having been all that happy with my smile.  Mind you -- my teeth weren't "that" bad, but I was a bit self-conscious.

Initially, I wasn't too thrilled that my plan also included having buttons and attachments to my teeth, along with "elastics"; but, being that many of my "clientele" (read "students") likewise have metal and elastics in their mouths, I figured I would be in good company.  However, now I have completed my two years of plastic trays and am now in the "retainer phase", needing to wear them pretty much full-time for a year to allow healing of the bone. (Thereafter, I will only wear them at night ... for the rest of my life.)  It's nice to be in the home stretch of orthodontics.

My other indulgence?  TEOTWAWKI: "The End of the World As We Know It."  As Wiktionary  explains it, "The original phrase was popularized in the song It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by the band R.E.M. It is used often online by members of survivalist groups."  It was also an acronym first coined by Mike Medintz on misc.survivalism in the mid-1990s. (Pronounced "ti.ɑt.wɑk.i" ... I guess it rhymes with "Milwaukee.")

Being a volunteer with The American Red Cross, I know they and the government advise that everyone have several days' worth of food and supplies in cases of emergencies.  Then, while watching a show on History Channel advised by former military and government guys (of course), the likeliest scenario they presented was that of a pandemic, for which all advised having about a 45-day supply.

I guess I come by this passion honestly.  Dad was a pilot during the early days of  The Cold War.  I remember him telling me a bit of his training: pilot survival training in Alaska, close calls as he flew The Bomb around the globe, knowing secrets for which he could possibly still be court martialed, etc.  Here's one wild thing he told me when I was a girl: he still held on to some lance-like, drug-laced objects that would put a man into a coma for several days, dropping heart rate and breathing so low that it would mimic death should "the enemy" come across your body ... gives a kid some vivid imagery, you know?

I am trying hard not to go overboard with disaster preparedness, worrying that I might go the way of those hoarders we see on TV.  Luckily, a good book has given me some well-reasoned arguments for not thinking that the world would explode tomorrow: The Disaster Preparedness Handbook by Arthur T. Bradley, Ph.D.  Bradley eschews "the sky is falling" mentality and instead goes more for the practical and more realistic idea of  "plan for what makes sense" -- events such as natural disasters (here in the Midwest, tornadoes are common), terrorist attack such as a computer hack on food supply chains, or a pandemic.  (Anyone see "Contagion" last fall?)  This book has talked me down from the rafters a bit and helped me to realize I don't have to go all survivalist with this obsession and can instead keep disaster preparedness more reasonable.  Plus, watching National Geographic's new series "Doomsday Preppers" helps me gain perspective .... or, does it fuel my fear?  Gulp!

So, what have I done so far?  Well, in my basement I have a mix of canned goods, MREs ("meals-ready-to-eat"), and freeze-dried meals (i.e. short-term, mid-range, and long-term storage ... also going from cheap to more expensive). I probably have about a month's worth of food in canned goods, 2 weeks' worth in MREs, and about 70 servings of freeze-dried meals.  I've also got a small mix of over-the-counter medications and some minor first aid supplies, tequila and wine (gotta have the booze stash ... great for consoling you when the shit hits the fan or "WTSHTF"), very simple cooking equipment a la backpackers, a terrific water purifying system, etc.

My next big purchase: something to offer a back-up power supply.  Some candidates: Goal Zero, and Ecotricity Portable Back-Up Power Solar Generator.  With my coming tax rebate, I have a little flexibility; but, I do want to be sure to purchase something that will deliver a lot of bang for the buck.  I'll keep you posted on this when the time comes.


For disaster preparedness supplies, here are a couple of  companies who have given excellent service thus far:
- Emergency Essentials
- MyPatriotSupply.com

So, I guess you'll see this "hobby" develop as I continue researching and adding to my stockpile.  Beside offering product info, I'll also share good retailers and resources.  I invite you to do the same!

Liberals The Aggressors in Today's Clashes

In case you didn't catch this op-ed piece from Jonah Goldberg published at USA Today (emphasis added):

Liberals are the true aggressors in today's culture wars

If you're not with us, you're against us. President Bush popularized this expression after 9/11 to describe his foreign policy doctrine: Countries couldn't support or indulge terrorists and be our friends at the same time. But his detractors quickly turned it into a fairly paranoid vision of domestic political life, as if Bush had been talking about domestic opponents and dissenters.

The irony is that few worldviews better describe the general liberal orientation to public policy and the culture war. The left often complains about the culture war as if it's a war they don't want to fight. They insist they just want to follow "sound science" or "what works" when it comes to public policy, but those crazy knuckle-dragging right-wingers constantly want to talk about gays and abortion and other hot-button issues.

It's all a farce. Liberals are the aggressors in the culture war (and not always for the worse, as the civil rights movement demonstrates). What they object to isn't so much the government imposing its values on people — heck, they love that. They see nothing wrong with imposing their views about diet, exercise, sex, race and the environment on Americans. What outrages them is resistance, or even non-compliance with their agenda. "Why are you making such a scene?" progressives complain. "Just do what we want and there will be no fuss."

Undermining Catholics

Consider President Obama's decision to require most religious institutions— including Catholic hospitals, schools, etc. — to pay for contraception, sterilizations and the "morning after" pill. When "ObamaCare" was still being debated, the White House had all but promised Catholic leaders that it would find a compromise to spare the church from the untenable position of paying for services that directly violate their faith. Now that ObamaCare is the law, the administration says the church, like everyone else, must fall in line.

Or consider the still-raging controversy over the Susan G. Komen For the Cure's entirely reasonable — albeit very poorly handled — decision to withdraw its funding of Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion provider. The Komen foundation is singularly dedicated to raising research money for, and awareness about, breast cancer. It's the folks with those pink ribbons. The organization decided to withdraw its comparatively meager funding in part because Planned Parenthood doesn't offer mammograms. (Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, was caught misleading people on this very point last spring.)

Other factors included the fact that Planned Parenthood is under investigation by Congress and the obvious but unstated fact that the organization is wildly controversial. It's this last point that infuriates the left. 

Pro-choice activists and their allies believe that Planned Parenthood should not be controversial, nor should abortion be up for discussion, either. If you have a problem with either it is because you are an ideologue, an extremist or a zealot opposed to the interests of womankind. And any attempt to suggest that abortion should offend the consciences of mainstream Americans, never mind such a revered organization as Komen, is simply unacceptable.

Resist, and you will pay

It's clearly not about the money. Komen's $600,000 in donations amount to less than .01% of Planned Parenthood's budget (as opposed to the nearly half that comes from taxpayers). It's about making it very clear: Resistance is not just futile, but dangerous.

That was evident almost immediately. Komen's website was hacked, its Wikipedia page filled with smears. Various allegedly objective news outlets rallied to Planned Parenthood's defense as if the behemoth abortion provider was a victim of the tiny little breast cancer foundation.

Komen apologized and seemed to offer a reversal of its policy. This "just goes to show you, when women speak out, women win," responded House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

This, of course, is ridiculous propaganda. Women are not a monolithic political bloc and were not unanimously opposed to Komen's decision. Indeed, roughly half of women are pro-life and, you can be sure, Komen will lose donations from women and men who do not want to see their donations going to abortion providers. But for a certain type of upper-class liberal woman, it simply must be asserted, if not believed, that there is only one acceptable definition of a woman's perspective when it comes to issues such as abortion.

You can understand why Komen wants to get out of the culture war crossfire. It just wants to spend its finite resources on the race for a cure. But that's not good enough. The real motive behind this backlash is to make it very clear: You must choose a side — ours. And once you choose our side, you can never change your mind without severe consequences. And what is true of liberal politics is also true of liberal public policy. As the Obama administration has made clear to the Catholic Church, there is no neutrality, no safe harbor from liberalism's moral vision. You're either with us, or against us — which means we shall be against you.

Jonah Goldberg is author of the forthcoming book, The Tyranny of Clichés (Penguin-Sentinel). He is also a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

Oh, and I've been really enjoying Goldberg's book Liberal Fascism.  Check it out!!