Senate Health Care Bill Unconstitutional

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

While we know in our gut this massive piece of legislation coming out the Senate, and said to be a health care bill, is unconstitutional, most of us cannot concisely explain the unconstitutionality of it, and why those seeking to pass it should be strung up, tarred and feathered. The Heritage Foundation has done the hard lifting for us.

Congressional Health Care is UnConstitutional

Assuming a bill is passed, and assuming the information so generously provided by the Heritage Foundation is sound, which I believe it is, then the legislation must get in front of the Supreme Court if we are to be rescued from the unconstitutional grasp of Congress...and their unlimited power in the future, once they have forced this upon us.

The argument that mandated health care is no different from mandated auto insurance is everywhere. It is the single most relied up argument among bloggers to support ObamaCare. That issue is addressed in 'D' below.

Those of you who read my blog know I sometimes take issues that are complex to me and cull them down in the form of a post. That's what I've done here. I encourage you to read the original or the many, many pertinent details I have omitted, but hopefully not misconstrued. My disclaimer is: read the original if you want to know you're getting it right.

From the Heritage Foundation, along with my conversation thrown in:

A)  The Constitution does not grant Congress the power to mandate that an individual enter into a contract with a private party or purchase a good or service. Nowhere is this in the Constitution, and contrary to the opinion of Congress, the power is not given under The Commerce Clause, as Nancy Pelosi claims. Remember this:

When Nancy Pelosi was asked where the Constitution authorized Congress to order Americans to buy health insurance, she dismissed the question by saying,

“Are you serious? Are you serious?”

According to CNSNews, her press spokesman said that this authority comes from Congress’s “constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce.”

Pelosi and others claim that the Commerce Clause "jurisprudence" leaves "no doubt" that the mandated insurance requirement is a constitutional exercise of that power. "They are wrong."

The Commerce Clause, set forth in Article I, section 8, grants Congress the authority:

"[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes."

The Congressional Research Service has acknowledged that the mandate for individuals to buy health insurance or be subject to a tax or fine, may not be constitutional:

...it is unclear whether the clause would provide a solid constitutional foundation for legislation containing a requirement to have health insurance.

Whether such a requirement would be constitutional under the Commerce Clause is perhaps the most challenging question posed by such a proposal, as it is a novel issue whether Congress may use this clause to require an individual to purchase a good or a service.

The above is contained in a report by the Congressional Research Service, written by Jennifer Staman and Cynthia Brougher for Congress.

The Heritage Foundation points out that these words above: "it is a novel issue," means that it is "unprecedented." There is no previous legislation or judicial opinion to support this "unprecedented" legislation (mandate, demand on an individual person).

B) The only avenue for Congress to gain this power, is for the Supreme Court to create a new constitutional doctrine. Because the mandate is unprecedented, the Heritage Foundation believes it unlikely that the Supreme Court will "stretch the commerce power even further than it already has," "even under the most expansive readings" already given by the Supreme Court," this power does not fit into the "class of activity" needed to be constitutional.

C) According to the Supreme Court, "Congress has the power to regulate three categories of activity pursuant to the commerce power:"

(1) Congress may regulate the "channels of interstate or foreign commence". This includes the regulation of steamship, railroad, highway or aircraft transportation.

(2) Congress may regulate and protect "the destruction of aircraft, or persons or things in commerce. An example is "thefts from interstate shipments."

(3) Congress may regulate economic activities that "substantially affect interstate commerce.

Mandating individual health insurance must fall into one of the three categories of regulation above. The first two are not a possible fit, so the mandate must fall into (3) to be constitutional, and Congress is asserting that (3) is precisely the mechanism that gives them the power they want.

The Heritage Foundation says:

The Senate bill asserts (erroneously) that: "[t]he individual responsibility requirement...is commercial and economic in nature, and substantially affects interstate commerce.... The requirement regulates activity that is commercial and economic in nature: economic and financial decisions about how and when health care is paid for, and when health insurance is purchased.

The question of "what class of activity is Congress seeking to regulate?" must be answered, so to rely on (3) the mandating that you and I purchase health insurance, must be an economic activity that substantially "affects interstate commerce."

Significantly, the mandate imposed by the pending bills does not regulate or prohibit the economic activity of providing or administering health insurance.

Nor does it regulate or prohibit the economic activity of providing health care, whether by doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, or other entities engaged in the business of providing a medical good or service.

Indeed, the health care mandate does not purport to regulate or prohibit activity of any kind, whether economic or noneconomic. To the contrary, it purports to "regulate" inactivity.

 Here is a tricky, but important part of this puzzle:

Proponents of the individual mandate are contending that, under its power to "regulate commerce...among the several states," Congress may regulate the doing of nothing at all! 

 You or I did not have health insurance for whatever our reasons - we did nothing at all, and Congress proposes to regulate our inactivity!

In other words, the statute purports to convert inactivity into a class of activity. By its own plain terms, the individual mandate provision regulates the absence of action. [Again, we have chosen not to buy health insurance - and by that choice, Congress says we have participated in an activity that affects interstate commerce!]

To uphold this power under its existing doctrine, the Court must conclude that an individual's failure to enter into a contract for health insurance is an activity that is "economic" in nature-- that is, it is part of a "class of activity" that "substantially affects interstate commerce." ...

 Although Congress may possibly regulate the health care industry or the health insurance industry in light of their substantial effect on interstate commerce, the individual mandate regulates the noneconomic inactivity of not purchasing a particular service or entering into a contract.

 Note this:

Never in this nation's history has the commerce power been used to require a person who does nothing to engage in economic activity. 

 A mandate to enter into a contract with an insurance company would be the first use of the Commerce Clause to universally mandate an activity by all citizens of the United States....

The health bill's individual mandate provision would have the unprecedented effect of subjecting an individual's decisions to federal control by virtue of the fact that the individual merely resides within the borders of the United States.

According to the Heritage Foundation, if Congress is allowed to get by with regulating and mandating this "class of inactivity," then they will have gained unlimited power:

Congress would have the unlimited power to regulate, prohibit, or mandate any or all activities in the United States. Such a doctrine would abolish any limit on federal power and alter the fundamental relationship of the national government to the states and the people.

Here are examples of how interestate commerce has not been used in the past:

Even in wartime, when the production of materiel is crucial to national survival, Congress has never claimed such a power.

For example, during World War II, no farmer was forced to grow food for the troops; no worker was forced to build tanks.

While the federal government encouraged the public to buy its bonds to finance the war effort, it never mandated they do so.

While Congress levied a military draft, it did so as necessary and proper to its enumerated power in Article I, sec. 8 "to raise and support armies," not its commerce power.

What Congress did not and cannot do during a wartime emergency, with national survival at stake, it cannot do in peacetime simply to avoid the political cost of raising taxes to pay for new government programs....

Simply because Congress can regulate wheat production under the Agricultural Adjustment Act does not entail that Congress can require every American to buy boxes of Shredded Wheat cereal on the grounds that, by not buying wheat cereal, non-consumers were adversely affecting the regulated wheat market.

Give Congress the power they are now seeking, and all of the above powers can be extended to them.

D) How about mandating that individuals buy car insurance? The argument that "a universal federal mandate to obtain health insurance is no different than a state requiring its licensed automobile drivers to have liability insurance for their injuries to others, is not a valid comparison.

...there are several important constitutional differences that render the comparison decidedly inapposite.

One difference is that in our republic, states have police powers that Congress does not have:

Thus, states may craft numerous regulations for the protection of their citizens which are beyond Congress' power.

The "level of insurance" required to operate within a specific state is granted by "a state' police power," "a completely different source of constitutional authority" that Congress cannot invoke.

Further:

(1) Auto insurance requirements impose a condition on the voluntary activity of driving

(2) A health insurance mandate imposes a condition on life itself [you exist and your life makes you available to mandated health care].

States do not require non-drivers, including passengers in cars with potentially bad drivers, to buy auto insurance liability policies--even though such a requirement undoubtedly would lower the auto insurance premiums for those who do drive.

The auto insurance requirement is linked to driving and to the possibility that bad driving may cause injuries to others, including passengers in the driver's car, not to those who benefit from roads generally.

(3) State auto insurance requirements are limited to those who drive on public roads.

Driving on government roads is a privilege--one easily distinguished from merely living. For those who choose to drive on public roads, the state can establish terms and conditions reasonably related to preventing injury to others.

These same rules do not extend to driving on private roads or property. Indeed, one may drive vehicles on private property without ever obtaining a state driver's license.

(4) A driver is required to provide insurance to cover the damage or injuries he/she may cause to others. The driver himself is not required to insure himself or his auto.

Thus, the auto insurance requirement covers the dangers and liabilities posed by drivers to third parties only, ...

...the driver remains free to assume the risk that she will injure herself, even if she is insolvent to pay for her own expenses.

E. An Unconstitutional Tax

Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution delegates to Congress the power "To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States...."

Congress' "implied power to spend tax revenues" may not be legal but there are no precedents to limit their "spending power" to only those expenditures that are necessary and proper:"

Therefore, the courts may well allow Congress to use its taxing and spending powers to craft a general income tax sufficient to pay for health care insurance for more Americans.

They may also allow grants to states to encourage them to insure more Americans.

...they may allow Congress to create tax credits for individuals who pay for their own health insurance policies.

But just because Congress may use its powers of taxation in these ways does not mean that anything it decides to call a "tax" is constitutional.

Congress would have to take the political wrath taxpayers would reign down upon them if they instituted the taxes laid out above. And this is precisely why Congress is calling the fines and penalties they plan to levy against any citizen not purchasing health care, "shared responsibility penalties," and thereby funding the their new program without calling it a tax.

It is likely that the Supreme Court will find this effort to avoid political and fiscal accountability a pretextual assertion of Congress's taxation powers and therefore, unconstitutional.

Whether it is called a "responsibility penalty," a fine or a tax, it is unconstitutional because it is not a tax on income, but a tax on the person - which is known as a "capitation tax."

 ...the Constitution requires that capitation taxes be apportioned among the states on the basis of census population.

...the health care mandate tax must be assessed evenly based upon population, and not vary based upon factors such as the financial condition of the state's residents. A state with 5 percent of the population must therefore pay 5 percent of the tax, even if its residents are disproportionately wealthy or poor as compared with other states.

 But, the Heritage Foundation says it will be impossible to meet the constitutionality required, because:

...the mandate exempts individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States. But illegal aliens have been counted in the census,...

Failure to apportion the tax to include illegal immigrants would therefore be constitutionally fatal to the tax.

The mandate also excludes taxpayers with:

...income under 100 percent of the poverty line,

individuals for whom the required contribution would exceed 8 percent of their income,

religious objectors,

incarcerated individuals,

and anyone determined to have suffered a hardship regarding their capability to obtain coverage, as determined in the discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

 The problem is, these exceptions work within an individual income tax, but the Constitution forbids "these distinctions in capitation or direct taxes," because they "would upset apportionment on the basis of census population...."

So there you have it. I hope this has supplied a few arguments for your liberal friends, if you have any - but then we seldom argue with them do we? We're usually too polite. Two bottomlines: (1) Obama Care is unconstitutional, and (2) who takes this to the Supreme Court for us, should it be necessary?

Photo courtesy of DC Works for Us

Barack's Chanukah Message

Still on a high from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize (for excellence in speech making and a high charisma), Barack Hussein Obama is now trying to revive his support among American Jews (now at 52%).  In this age of High Technology, he has decided to forgo the video equipment and issue just a written letter:

מישל ואנוכי שולחים את מיטב איחולינו לכל מי שחוגג בימים אלה את חג החנוכה ברחבי העולם. סיפור חנוכה של המכבים ושל הנסים שהם חוו מזכירים לנו שאמונה והתמדה הן כוחות עצומים המסוגל ים לקיים אותנו בתקופות קשות ולעזור לנו לגבור על מכשולים כנגד כל הסיכויים.

חנוכה הוא העת לא רק לחגוג את אמונת העם היהודי ואת מנהגיו, אלא להעלות על נס את השאיפות המשותפות של בני כל הדתות. בשעה שבני משפחה, חברים ושכנים נאספים יחדיו כדי להדליק את הנרות, מי יתן והלקחים של חנוכה ישמשו השראה לכולנו להודות על החסד שנפל בחלקינו, למצוא מקור אור בתקופות אופל ולפעול יחדיו למען עתיד יותר מלא אורה ותקווה

A very nice, heart-felt message to the Jewish people.

What was that?  You don't read Hebrew?  Oh.  Here is the English translation:

"Michelle and I send our warmest wishes to all who are celebrating Hannuka around the world," US President Barack Obama said in a holiday greeting issued Friday, addressed to worldwide Jewry.

"The Hanukkah story of the Maccabees and the miracles they witnessed reminds us that faith and perseverance are powerful forces that can sustain us in difficult times and help us overcome even the greatest odds," he said, seeking to remind Jews that even thousands of years later there was strength to be drawn from their religious texts.

"Hanukkah is not only a time to celebrate the faith and customs of the Jewish people, but for people of all faiths to celebrate the common aspirations we share," he said.

"As families, friends and neighbors gather together to kindle the lights, may Hanukkah's lessons inspire us all to give thanks for the blessings we enjoy, to find light in times of darkness, and to work together for a brighter, more hopeful tomorrow," concluded the US president, just one day after receiving the Noble Prize for Peace in the Norwegian capital.

It is actually a bland, generic message.  Not like his last message to the Muslims.  The one he actually made a video for.

For those who still wish to see a nice Chanukah video, here is one.  Enjoy!

Happy Chanukah!

Tonight we light the first candle to start the Chanukah holiday.

More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.

When they sought to light the Temple's menorah, they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.

Some interesting facts about Chanukah:

Did you know that Chanukah is referred to as the Festival of Lights? Chanukah begins four days before the new moon, which is the darkest night of the month. Kislev, the month in which Chanukah takes place, is also close to the winter solstice, which is the longest -- and darkest -- month of the year. The only ritual associated with Chanukah is lighting the candles on the chanukiah. Like many other faiths, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah brings light into the darkest time of the year.

Did you know that the eight-day holiday of Chanukah falls anytime between the middle of November and the beginning of January? The date fluctuates because Chanukah is set according to the Jewish calendar, which is lunar-based. The holiday of Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.

Did you know that Chanukah is one of the least religiously significant holidays in the Jewish calendar? The principle holidays of the Jewish faith include Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot. Due to its proximity to Christmas, however, Chanukah has taken on greater prominence in the last century.

Did you know that giving gifts is not a tradition historically associated with Chanukah? Again, the proximity to Christmas has rubbed off on Chanukah celebrations -- commercially speaking, at least.

Did you know that Chanukah is a holiday that celebrates national and religious freedom? The story of Chanukah dates back more than 2,000 years ago, when the Jewish people of Judaea were being ruled by a brutal Greek king named Antiochus. The Jewish people rose up against the king, restoring their Temple, removing the Greek idols and returning to the practice of their monotheistic faith.

Find out more facts here.

On Chanukah we eat latkes, spin the dreidle, and exchange gifts.  This is a minor holiday, but a fun one too.

Without Chanukah and the liberation of Jerusalem, there would have been no Christmas.  For the Jews would have assimilated into the Greek culture, into the Greek religion, into a province of Greece.  There would have been no Judaism in the land by the time Rome entered the picture.

A Chanukah Greeting from the President of Israel:

"Yesterday, I blessed our Arab citizens because they had their holiday which is called Eid Al-Adha, a holiday of good will. Tomorrow, I am going to bless our Christian citizens; they are going to have Christmas. But now, it’s the time of Chanukah, our own holiday; full of light, full of optimism, full of hope," President Peres said, speaking in English. "Not that everything is so easy and promising, but it’s a clear declaration that finally light will win the day."

Peres noted the dangers facing Israel at the present time, specifying the Iranian threat, but he said he is an optimist. "I have the right to be one. Most of the things we have hoped for came true. We continue to hope they will come true as well," the president said.

"We would like to be a contributing people. We can be a contributing people not only in science and technology, but also in peace and promise. The greatest of them is that all children - ours, the Arabs’, the Christians’ - will arrive to a day when their mothers do not have to worry about their safety, which means peace."

Returning to the Chanukah theme, President Peres said: "Light and peace are the two things on which Jewish heritage are based." He concluded with the blessing "Happy Chanukah" in English and Hebrew.

The President's Office encouraged viewers to screen the president's video greeting in Jewish communities around the world, and to embed the video or link to it on Jewish websites. The President's Office also asked that viewers from around the world share their own candle lighting and blessings with the president through his Youtube channel.

"Through the channel the president hopes to strengthen the ties between Jews inside and outside Israel," a statement from the President's Office said. "Viewers are encouraged to reply to the president’s message with their own comments and video responses."

Muslims and Jews: 'Long History of Cooperation'
On November 26, President Peres offered his official greetings to Israel's Muslim community in honor of Eid Al-Adha ("the Festival of the Sacrifice").

"On the eve of the Eid Al-Adha festival, on behalf of the State of Israel and its entire people, I convey my best and warmest wishes to those of Islamic faith," the president said in a statement.

Eid Al-Adha is an annual holiday in which Muslims celebrate the willingness of the patriarch Abraham to slaughter his chosen son upon an altar at G-d's behest. That son was ultimately spared and replaced with a ram. However, the Torah account of the story places Isaac, son of Sarah as that son - the Muslims say it was Ishmael, son of Hagar, the half-brother of Isaac. The celebration of Eid Al-Adha, though a home and hearth holiday for Muslims, also celebrates a historical account at odds with that of the Jews.

"The Jewish and Islamic religions share a faith in one Lord and an adherence to fundamental values of truth, justice and peace," Peres claimed. "From this common ground we believe beautiful fruit can grow." He added his hope, in the name of the citizens of the State of Israel, "that the Eid Al-Adha festivities will see the attainment of peace in our region."

Muslims and Jews, the president concluded, "have a long history of cooperation. Only peace can ensure the prosperity and well-being of all our people."

May peace and prosperity follow you through out these days.

 Happy Chanukah To All!

Obama Poses with Tareq and Michaele Salahi - Long Before the White House?

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

This photo came to me in an email. It shows Barack Obama with Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the White House State Dinner crashers. At this moment, FOX is showing the couple making their way to Capitol Hill for their subpoenaed testimony - and they say they wil take the Fifth.

Just my opinion here, but I don't think there's any photoshopping involved. We all knew something wasn't right about these people in the White House with no credentials. The Salahis and the President look noticeably younger - no doubt about that.

The emailer believes the photo was taken when Barack Obama was a U.S. Senator or before. Does anyone else think the guy on the left looks a bit like Randy Jackson, the American idol judge (who we know is an Obama friend?).

 Compare Tareq and Micahele Salahi "then" and "now."

Tareq Salahi, Joe Biden and Michaele Salahi

Because the Salahi's were allowed into the White House with no credentials, several Secret Service agents are in danger of losing their jobs. The person responsible, Desiree Rogers, the White House Social Secretary - who decided no one from her office needed to meet and greet guests as has been the custom for years, will not be subpoenaed. The White House has forbidden her testimony and Congress did Obama's bidding and did not invite her to testimony party. Instead, taxpayer money will be wasted on the gate crashers, who will plead the Fifth Amendment, and we will hear of no White House involvement in a very serious crime.

Officials say the Salahis went through metal detectors and passed all the rigorous tests to be allowed into the White House sanctuary...except, they did not have an invitation to the event. American Power, however, reported Tareq Salahi's ties to the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP):

In addition, and ominously, it turns out that Tareq Salahi, the polo-playing intruder, is a Palestinian nationalist with ties to the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) , a pro-Palestine lobby demanding the "right of return" for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants. The "right of return" has long been considered the backdoor to Israel's destruction. But not only that: ATFP President Ziad Asali is an America-basher who blamed 9/11 on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Asali was a lead U.S. official to PLO terrorist Yassir Arafat's funeral in 2004. And in a position paper in 2007, the ATFP called for a power-sharing agreement at the Palestinian Authority, which would have included the State Department's designated-terrorist group, Hamas.

ADDED: ATFP has removed Tareq Salahi from its website's board of directors page.

As Glenn Beck would indelicately say, this stinks on ice.

A thank you for the pic of Obama and the Salahis to reader, Lynne, who finds amazing news as she works to combat this evil administration everyday. The photo was sent to her husband and she passed it along. Visit her at TravelLight to see a wonderful game for children to adults. She is a true conservative, a devoted Christian, and she is the game's designer. The tagline for the game:  "A game plan for life! TravelLight - A Self-Help Phenomenon. Here is how the game is described?

TraveLight is a futuristic-fun card game designed with the idea to rescue man from dysfunctional relationships and hardships in life. Simply playing the game will not provide a life change. As one learns to apply the principles of the game it brings about cognitive logic of how to get rid of Excess Baggage by replacing it with Light Baggage. Then he or she is sure to learn how to TraveLight.

Now, let's see if the MSM prints this photo of Obama with the pro-Palestinian Salahis - probably taken long before the White House State Dinner, or at least investigates it.

The Planet Is Fine, We're F*@ked!

There is nothing wrong with the Planet Earth.  Unless a huge meteor is to hit the Earth or the Large Hadron Collider has actually created an Black Hole, the Earth is  NOT going to end!

That is the real truth!  While the climate is changing, in light of recent revelations concerning the facts behind Global Warming,

More than 1,700 scientists in Britain agree to sign a statement defending the "integrity and honesty" of global warming research, but at least one alleges he felt pressured to do so.

Britain's Met Office has embarked on an urgent exercise to bolster the reputation of climate-change science after the furor over leaked e-mails, referred to as "Climate-gate."

More than 1,700 scientists have agreed to sign a statement defending the "professional integrity" of global warming research. They were responding to a round-robin request from the Met Office, which has spent four days collecting signatures. The initiative is a sign of how worried it is that e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia are fueling skepticism about man-made global warming at a critical moment in talks on carbon emissions.

One scientist said that he felt under pressure to sign the circular or risk losing work. The Met Office admitted that many of the signatories did not work on climate change.

John Hirst, the Met Office chief executive, and Julia Slingo, its chief scientist, wrote to 70 colleagues on Sunday asking them to sign "to defend our profession against this unprecedented attack to discredit us and the science of climate change." They asked them to forward the petition to colleagues to generate support "for a simple statement that we ... have the utmost confidence in the science base that underpins the evidence for global warming."

Met Office reports on temperature changes draw on the work of the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit, from which the e-mails were hacked. Phil Jones, unit director, has agreed to stand down while an investigation takes place into claims that he manipulated data to exaggerate the warming trend and tried to block publication of alternative views.

At Copenhagen the delegates to the Global Warming Climate Change Convention could make do with buses, bicycles, walking and car pooling would send the right message.  Instead there are 1,400 limos (many had to be imported from other European nations) and the delegates came in 140 private jets (I take it that flying coach is out).  So much for Carbon Emissions and Cap & Trade.  Not when one can be treated to such luxury.

No the planet is going to do well, with or without us.  We people, now that is another story.  When the idiots on the left Moonbats cry the Earth is in danger, they really don't give a rat's ass about the Earth.  Only about themselves and their personal habitat.  Otherwise why would the liberals in Martha's Vineyard be protesting a wind farm off the coast that they really can't see?  The one the Late Sen Edward Kennedy (D Mass) tried to get stopped.  I guess that liberal values will always get upstaged by property values.  The all mighty dollar is always more important than an liberal's ideals.  I guess that is why they live in segregated neighborhoods in which Blacks and Hispanics very seldom live in (the only time you will see either is if they are the gardner, housekeeper or maid), but these same liberals will force desegregation on the poor and Middle Class in the hope of "Bettering America".  There is a word that best describes them:  HYPOCRITE!

Actually I cannot write about Copenhagen as well as what the late George Carlin said on this subject years ago.

WARNING:  EXPLICIT LANGUAGE!!

First They Came For My Charmin

While the Moonbats on the left will not support the War on Terror, The War in Iraq, The War in Afghanistan, they do support whole heartily the War On Toilet Paper.

Yes they are back!  This time they are blaming Global Warming on Soft Toilet Paper.

"They'll take my Ultra Soft Charmin only when they pry it from my cold, dead, aloe-smelling hands."

Highly doubtful it will come to that. Please, sit.

We're talking about toilet paper. Charlton Heston's famous vow was of guns.

The issue over tissue in the bathroom — the really super-soft stuff — is more like the fight about the big SUVs loved by many Americans.

Anti-green, according to environmentalists. Politically incorrect. Why should Americans use luxurious toilet paper made from old-growth trees when much of the world gets by with a far more basic and often recycled product?

Why should we flush redwoods, so to speak?

Why not? Why should we suffer like the idiots in Europe, South America, and Asia.  Perhaps they should insist on soft, pillowy toilet paper too.

So Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups have pushed manufacturers such as Kimberly-Clark (Cottonelle) and Procter & Gamble (Charmin) to stop using wood from virgin forests to make tissue products.

Mountains of paper are dumped every day into recycling bins in homes, offices, factories and schools. Use that to make toilet paper, the activists said.

Time to roll off the big number: If each American family would buy one recycled roll just one time, it would save 400,000 trees, allegedly.

The problem, though, is that each time paper is shredded during the recycling process, its fibers get shorter. The shorter the fiber, the less soft the tissue. And Americans, though indicating in surveys that they embraced green initiatives, also said they don't want to sacrifice comfort.

"The truth is that other parts of the world are further along in using recycled content," said Kay Jackson, spokeswoman for Kimberly-Clark. "The American consumer still wants softness, and they are speaking with their pocketbooks."

Pulling back in a competitive market is asking a lot, manufacturers said. They also point out that only 5 percent of forest-industry production goes toward toilet paper.

Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, understands the pressure of customer demand but wonders: Do we really need toilet paper to be as soft as it can be, or do we need it just soft enough?

Environmentalists said other countries — particularly in South America, Africa and Asia — seem to be OK with "soft enough."

They know no better!

Greenpeace has come up with a "toilet paper guide," which looks at recycled content and the use of chlorine bleaches.

The actual toilet paper Greenpeace now suggests.

"When you're doing your grocery shopping or just stopping by the corner store to grab a roll of toilet paper, make an informed decision as both a consumer and someone concerned about the world's ancient forests," the guide advises.

Probably no surprise that brands with names such as Green Forest, 365, Earth Friendly, Natural Value and Seventh Generation scored the highest on the Greenpeace scale.

Bringing up the rear: Charmin, Cottonelle, Angel Soft and, of course, Quilted Northern, which sounds thick enough to keep someone warm on a cold night in Minnesota.

Some manufacturers said they were taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. More wood is from sustainable forests, and they are trying to up their recycled content.

Critics, though, such as Natural Resources Defense Council senior scientist Allen Hershkowitz, point out that many of the reforms apply only to the professional market — schools, businesses, theaters, stadiums and restaurants.

Home is another tissue. There, many Americans insist on the pillowy soft of virgin fibers.

Lisa Jester at P&G said the company was committed to the environment and took seriously its responsibility to help ensure sustainability of the world's forest resources.

"All the fiber we use comes from sources that practice sustainable forestry," she said. "That means that the trees are regrown or replanted and the soil, water and biodiversity are protected."

Environmentalists said old trees were being cut down when recycling alternatives exist. And it's not just about trees, they said. It's about carbon dioxide and ecosystems necessary to wildlife.

"The large old trees are the ones that do the most good," said Bill Grotts, head of the Heartland Tree Alliance, which is part of Kansas City's Bridging the Gap.

"They absorb the most water because they have more leaf area and provide the most cooling effect."

To him and others, that's the bottom line.

I have done some checking and although the old growth forests do absorb a great amount of CO2, so does any mature forest.  It is not just the old growth trees that are great at absorption.  There is an idea of using artificially constructed trees to soak up CO2 at higher rates than old growth forests.

The Shape Of Trees To Come!

I just cannot see anyone writing beautiful poetry about that?  Just imagine what it could be like:

I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as the steel, wire, and plastic CO2 collector.

Just doesn't do it for me

And the suggestion that David gave me when I wrote The War On Toilet Paper is typical of idiot Moonbat thinking:

Save Trees? Save money and the Earth and be clean at the same time! Get serious and add Bathroom Bidet Sprayers to all your bathrooms. I think Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: "if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn't wipe it off with paper, would you? You'd wash it off” Available at www.bathroomsprayers.com with these you won't even need toilet paper any more, just a towel to dry off!

Don’t worry, you can still leave some out for guests and can even make it the soft stuff without felling guilty. It's cheap and can be installed without a plumber; and runs off the same water line to your toilet. You'll probably pay for it in a few months of toilet paper savings. And after using one of these you won't know how you lasted all those years with wadded up handfuls of toilet paper. Now we're talking green and helping the environment without any pain.

Funny how men decide how women should use the toilet.  Unlike men, women do not urinate standing up.  So we would be either walking around with wet undies or drying ourselves with towels.  Thus defeating the purpose of why toilet paper is not good for the enviroment.

It is strange that Dr. Oz would be defending the use of the bidet only.  And strange that the bidet is the only approved method in the Islamic world.  And further strange that Dr. Oz is a Muslim.  Just a bit strange isn't it.

Here is some information that I guess Dr. Oz didn't learn at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  Men urinate standing up.  They can sit down, but in general they urinate standing.  No real usage of toilet paper.  Women urinate sitting or squatting down.  For a woman to urinate standing up, she would need more than a bidet, she would need a shower.

Cloth towels are unsanitary at best.  Can you imagine the germs living on those things?  And the expense of washing them?  I wonder if David or Dr. Oz ever tried to get blood out of a towel.

I find these idiots at the extreme end of the enviromental movement.  I can say this with extreme pleasure due to the orders my oldest child gave me concerning the type of toilet paper that is allowed in the house:

"At least 2-ply and ultra-soft!"

This from my environmental, ultra-liberal daughter who yelled when I brought home the cheap, 1-ply stuff.

She knows what she wants, and to hell with Greenpeace!

Safe For All Tokhes!

Beware The Witch Doctor

Not the one living in the White House in Washington DC, but the African Witch Doctor running amok in Kuwait.

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 7: Police are looking for an unidentified person believed to be African man who is robbing people using his magic power, reports Al-Dar daily.

It has been reported several complaints have already been filed by the victims with the police.
One Iranian man told the Shuwaikh Industrial Area police a tall African man visited him in his garage and began talking to him in a strange language much above his voice. The man said he felt he was frozen and when he came to his senses he realized the man had disappeared and he had given him all his money.

According to the daily, two similar complaints have been filed with the police. In one complaint a Syrian man said the man matching the same description robbed him of KD 450 ($1,578.67 or 1,073.09 EU) and a Lebanese woman working for an insurance company lost all her money, driving license and credit card in a similar manner.

What a great talent to Freeze people then steal their money.  I wonder why this great Witch Doctor doesn't leave the slim pickings of Kuwait and try his luck in the richer cities of London, Paris, Rome, New York, Washington DC.  Now that last city could really use a magic man.  With his talent, he could solve the National Debt (now over $12.1 Trillion), find a way to fully fund Healthcare, and bring President Obama's poll numbers back up to 80%.  That would be real magic.

But instead, Kuwait has an African Witch Doctor problem they can't solve.  They should just make friends with him:

It worked for the Chipmunks!

Wednesday's Hero: Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Elsey

Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Elsey


Abdul Rashid, a 5-year-old resident of the Nawa district of Afghanistan, receives a dressing for a wound on his face from Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Elsey, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, while a linguist translates at a medical aid station at Patrol Base Jaker Dec. 3. Rashid was injured by a motorcycle earlier that day. Navy hospital corpsmen like Elsey routinely see local residents and children here to treat their wounds.

Photo Courtesy United States Marine Corps

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Attack Of The Killer Potatoes!

Killer Potato

And Petunias.  And quite a few other plants too.  And according to some scientists, maybe all plants.  They all are carnivorous!

Petunias and potatoes may actually be carnivorous plants, scientists now suggest.
Indeed, carnivorous behavior may be far more widespread in plants than commonly thought — if we take a closer look, botanists said.

At least six different kinds of killer plants have been recognized since the time of Darwin, such as Venus flytraps, which snares insects between its jaw-like leaves, and pitcher plants, which capture victims in slippery pits. These plants apparently target animals to supplement their growth in harsh, nutrient-poor habitats.

Many other plants, some quite common, have also been suggested as potential carnivores over the years that have failed to gain wide acceptance as such thus far. Petunias and potatoes, for instance, have sticky hairs that trap insects, and several species of campion flowers (pictured right) have the common name catchfly for the same reason.

"We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think," said botanist Mark Chase, Keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in England.

We're surrounded and Homeland Security is ignoring the threat.

Chase and his colleagues reviewed all the research so far on carnivorous plants. A number of plants might actually be carnivorous, they noted, but merely go about their murderous business in a subtler manner than their more conspicuous cousins.

For instance, the cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) is not typically considered a carnivorous plant (pictured left), but this pink flower possesses sticky, adhesive glands and dwells in poor soils. Also, while carnivorous seeds might be a strange concept, those of the shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) possesses a sticky layer with chemicals that can attract, kill and digest victims (pictured right).

"Although a man-eating tree is fictional, many commonly grown plants may turn out to be cryptic carnivores, at least by absorbing through their roots the breakdown products of the animals that they ensnare," Chase said.

The reason why most of these plants are not generally thought of as carnivores is because they have not been found capable of digesting what they entrap as more obvious carnivorous plants do. Still, because roots can readily absorb nutrients released from decaying corpses, nearly all plants are capable of carnivory, Chase and his colleagues assert.

"In almost every habitat, the nitrogen and phosphorus that animal bodies can provide are limiting factors for growth, and even a minimal amount of carnivory can reap some benefit," Chase told LiveScience.

Although Chase feels there is more than just circumstantial evidence that demonstrates how widespread carnivorous plants are, to prove the point, researchers can dose insects with mildly radioactive nutrients. Scientists can then track such molecules to see if the plants are really absorbing them, which would show they are benefiting from killing prey.

"What plants are doing is much more sophisticated than we ever imagined," Chase said. "Although animals are eating plants, plants are also eating animals. It's not just a one-way street."

The scientists detailed their analysis December 4 in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.

Deadly Petunia

Yes that potato plant you are nurturing and caring for so lovingly is actually thinking:



Oh my!  Our plants are murderous killers wanting and needing blood for their growth.  Pretty soon, if we don't check this action in our plants, they will be demanding a blood sacrifice from us.  A virgin or two a week (now where could we find said virgins).  Or we might discover this is true:

You have been warned!

Christmas Banned at the White House...before it wasn't

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told a group of her predecessors that the White House "did not intend to put the manger scene on display. This happened earlier in the year, but is just now breaking news. Rogers' comments indicating that the White House Christmas was banned...was before the White House reversed their decision and Christmas wasn't banned after all. See a video below.

White House Creche (between draperies) - previous administrations

Ms. Rogers, this participant said, replied that the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display — a remark that drew an audible gasp from the tight-knit social secretary sisterhood. (A White House official confirmed that there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive and whether to display the crèche.)

I would like to know how the former social secretaries kept this secret. 

The report says "in the end, tradition won out...and the creche is in its usual East Room spot. What a sad, sad commentary for our country. Would you ever have believed that such a discussion would be possible in the house where the President of the United States lives?








White House Christmas Tree, Manger (Creche)

Days Of Infamy!

9/11, December 7th.  Days that will foreve live in our hearts and memories.

These were dates in which the United States asked itself Why?  What did we do to Japan to warrant their attacking our military without warning, without provocation, with a declaration of war.  That was the one in which angered the American people the most.  There was no Declaration of War by the Japanese before they attacked Pearl Harbor (their Declaration actually came after the attack had been underway for a while).  The American Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor (with the exception of the Aircraft Carriers) was decimated and very nearly wiped out (as was the Air Group at Wheeler Field).  16 Medal of Honors, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Crosses, 4 Navy and Marine Corps Medals, 1 Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished Service Medal, and 3 Bronze Stars were awarded to the American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat at Pearl Harbor.

The nation was plunged into a war that would engulf the whole world.  A fight for Freedom, Decency, and Democracy.  Fought by the Greatest Generation this nation ever produced.

A war in which the enemy was considered evil (both civilian and military).  There were no outcries from the Press of the "Poor Innocent Civilians".  Of how we shouldn't bomb them.  We as a nation knew there was a job to do, and we did it.

And we won!  We conquered both Japan (who attacked us on Dec. 7th) and Germany who declared war on us.  In doing so we killed thousands (maybe even millions) of civilians.  This is a price civilians pay for being the backers of armies.  This is one of the prices of war.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 9/11/01 we asked ourselves the question again.  Why?  What did we do to warrant this attack?  What type of religion would sanction an attack on innocent civilians and still claim the moral high road?  We are still waiting for the answer to that question.

Unlike Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the attacks on 9/11 by al-Qaeda were not carried out by any one nation or government.  Al-Qaeda is nothing more than a bunch of thugs trying to be self-important, but in reality they scurry from a real fight like cockroaches scurrying from a light.  They mooch off of any quasi-nation (Sudan, Somoza, Afghanistan under the Taliban) as long as they can (or until Civilized nations attack to dislodge them).  Their weapons are fear and intimidation.  The weapons of the bully.

And yet, when the United States went to the UN, and demanded that the Taliban who controlled Afghanistan, surrender Osama bin Laden and the members of al-Qaeda, the US was told no.

Once again the US has sent her sons into battle against evil.

This time evil just might win.  For this time we have a President who will cut and run from a fight rather than commit to finishing the job and bringing Freedom to the people of Afghanistan.

On this anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it is best for not only our leaders to remember the date, but for our enemies to remember it too.  For on December 7th, 1941 the United States awoken into anger.  An anger that couldn't be contained until we had complete victory over our enemies.

Anger that lead to this over 2 Japanese cities:

And resulted in this:

Remember that well supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

You have been warned!

Enough Already!

Is what I am now screaming. Every year it begins earlier and earlier. This year it started 2 weeks before Halloween. Next year it will start the day after Labor Day, and pretty soon it will start the day after July 4th.

What am I yelling about? Those horrible Christmas Carols!

No not the specials on TV this time of year (those are to be expected). I am yelling about the ones you hear in stores and malls. Those songs that are suppose to put one into a holiday mood.

Some idiot professor must have done a crazy study that suggested the playing of Christmas Carols non-stop increases sales. It doesn't you know. People are going to spend more this time of the year because of the holidays involve, not because of the music the store is playing.

So we are subjected to this:



Or this:



Or this:



Not bad, but when it is played over and over it can be maddening.

But then some store managers will think themselves hip and subject their shoppers to this tribute to spousal abuse and murder:



Or if he or she is really in a festive mood, we will subjected to this classic:

But Your Honor, it is NOT illegal to kill rodents. In fact many municipalities give rewards to those who do this job.

And in the spirit of fairness we then get assaulted with this:



If they are trying to appease Jewish shoppers, it ain't working. I feel like hitting the warpath by now.

This should appease Muslim shoppers and CAIR:



African-Americans will shop more when they hear this:



No matter what is playing over the loud speakers, it is annoying to say the least to the shoppers, and to those who have to work retail, there is a special place in Heaven for set aside just for them.

This year it has gotten so bad, that even the animals are revolting with a BAH HUMBUG!



So to appease every one's nerves, I submit the following song. It demonstrates the TRUE meaning of Christmas as celebrated here in the United States:




Note to myself: Do not kill the store manager over his or her choice of music. Find the person who came up with this idiotic idea and kill him or her instead!

Heart Cells From Skin Cells!

Imagine some time in the future, a doctor needs a transplant for a patient. Instead of waiting for some one to donate an organ, etc... All the team has to do is gather up some skin cells, change them into the cells of the organ needed, then grow the part.

This is the promise of the new advance in Genetics from Israel:

Israeli scientists have discovered a way to create beating heart cells using human skin cells reprogrammed to become stem cells. The findings could lead to advances in disease research, and could in theory be used to repair damaged or diseased tissues.

Published in the latest issue of Circulation, the findings by Professor Lior Gepstein of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology could make it possible to clinically repair damaged human hearts.

Such an application is at least 10 to 20 years away, says Gepstein, but the process can already be utilized for in-depth study of genetic diseases and the development of personalized drugs for irregular heartbeats and other inherited disorders.

Transforming our cells through reprogramming
The team's work is based on the research of Japanese scientists followed by other groups, who generated "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPSCs) from adult mouse and human skin cells. The iPSCs can be turned into almost any type of body cell - something that experts previously thought possible only with embryonic stem cells - and could, in theory, be used to repair damaged or diseased tissues.

Taking a patient's own cells and turning them into iPSCs for use in tissue repair and regeneration would also eliminate the risk of rejection by the body.

Gepstein and his team from Technion's Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Rambam Medical Center used reprogrammed iPSCs derived from healthy human subjects' skin cells with the characteristics of pluripotent embryonic stem cells. They were then able to convert them into heart cells with all the necessary properties such as expression of heart-related genes, spontaneous electrical activity, mechanical contraction, and response to various hormones such as adrenaline.

According to Gepstein, the rejuvenation of human cells and their transformation into iPSCs can be accomplished with almost any human cell.

Read the full story here.

Remember the yelling by those on the left that people are dying because scientists cannot use embryonic stem cells? And now the Obama Administration allows the federal funding of stem cell research using embryonic stem cells.

Strange isn't it that Israeli doctors and scientists are using and researching with adult cells and adult stem cells, with very promising results. Could it be that those on the left were wrong? That any stem cell, and in the future any cell, could be used?

Now there is hope. But not in the short term. For research that involves human genetics MUST be done slowly and carefully, least a mistake or accident be unleashed upon the species. But hopefully, with G-d's help, one day many people will be cured using their own cells and genes.

Run Away!

Sung to the tune of Over There

Run away, run away.
The President is telling us, all of us,
To run away.

For there are too many, reasons to stay,
That it is easier to run away.

Stay the course, use the force,
Has been cried, all the while,
We're out of time.

We're rolling over, we're rolling over,
And we will surrender,
As they kill us over here.

Wednesday's Heroes: Spc. Michael P. Garton & Spc. Rolando R. Flores

Spc. Michael P. Garton & Spc. Rolando R. Flores



Spc. Michael P. Garton, a gunner with the Personal Security Detachment, with the 36th Sustainment Brigade out of Temple, Texas, and a Texarkana, Texas, native, relaxes on a Humvee and shares a laugh with Spc. Rolando R. Flores, a gunner with the PSD and a San Antonio native, during a break in preparations for a mission Nov. 23 in the maintenance yard at Contingency Operating Location Adder, Iraq.

Photo Courtesy U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

O Jerusalem!

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy.
Psalm 137: 5-6

These words have been sung by Jews for the last 2,000 years. A prayer unto the Lord in good times and bad. I spoke that Psalm the first time I visited Jerusalem. And I will speak it when I visit the city again.

Only next time my visit just might very well be to a divided city again. One in which the Jewish holy places will be destroyed by the Arabs. And we can then thank the anti-Semitic Swedes and the rest of the EU for the destruction of the Kotel.

Israel on Tuesday slammed a Swedish proposal to recognize east Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. "The move being led by Stockholm damages the European Union's ability to take part and be a significant element in the mediation efforts between Israel and the Palestinians," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy.

"The Europeans must pressure the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. Such moves like the one being led by Sweden lead to the opposite outcome," Levy said in response to a report by Haaretz newspaper that Sweden was working to change the EU's stated policy.

According to senior Foreign Ministry officials, it is unclear whether EU members will back the draft resolution formulated by the Swedes ahead of a foreign ministers' periodic meeting in Brussels this month.

Sweden is currently serving as the EU president until January. The Swedes presented a draft resolution stating that Jerusalem would be divided and that the eastern part of the city would serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

"There is practically no change in this wording compared to the wording of the Road Map," said a senior state official. "The Swedes are just indulging in polemics. For example, this formula only talks about the Palestinian capital, without any call to recognize west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and a plan to transfer all European embassies there."

According to the official, "The drama is not in the statement, whose wording is familiar in a less strict wording in the Road Map, but in the Swedish twisting which does not promote the peace process but only presents a one-sided stance with the aim of causing anger."

Read the full story here.

There is no way that any Prime Minister of Israel will give up a square inch of Jerusalem. 98% of Israelis will not give up the city of Jerusalem. And 99% of the world's Jews do not trust Arabs to control the Kotel (they are planning to blow it to piece the same way they destroyed the Buddhas as soon as they have control of the area).

Jerusalem is the one city all of Israel will fight for. This is one place the idiots anti-Semites of the United Nations cannot force Israel to give up. This will take a fight to pry it from Israel. And who is going to fight for the Arabs? Outside of the usual gang of fools (Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Hizbollah, etc...) who else is going to give the Arabs the Kotel? Great Britain? They have hated the Jews since the Middle Ages. France? Why not? They are practically a Muslim nation now. Sweden? They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. They are pussies. Germany? Why not? They could always claim that they are just following orders.

Cuba and Venezuela would give it a try. But Israel isn't a banana republic or 3rd world African nation. It is a tough old girl.

Then there is Canada. The Muslims there would love to do the job. How many Canadians would help them do it?

Finally there is the United States. Would Obama send the Marines in to finish the job his idol Hitler started?

This is one point that will destroy any chance of peace in the area. And the UN will do it.

Funny how Sweden is proposing this. First it is their acceptance of the old Blood Libel, now this.

Will Speak For Money!

The Virginia couple who crashed the White House State Dinner last week is broke, and deeply in debt to the tune of over $900,000. They have informed the media that they will only do an interview if they are paid the sum of $500,000.

An American TV executive says the couple that crashed President Obama's first state dinner is now offering to talk to broadcast networks about it - providing they're well paid.

The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network doesn't publicly discuss bookings, says representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to "get their bids in" for an interview.

The executive says the Virginia couple was looking for a payment in the mid-six figures range - about half a million dollars.

Even thought Mrs. Salahi wore a sari to the event, they are not of the Indian community. She is a wannabee celebrity and Mr. Salahi is a Palestinian racketeer who is totally broke and the couple has been either the litigants or defenders in 16 court cases in Virginia.

The Virginia couple accused of crashing President Obama's first White House state dinner on Tuesday are named in at least 16 different civil suits in Fauquier County, sometimes as plaintiffs, sometimes as defendants.

A trawl through court records on Thursday revealed a more complete picture of Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who have left an extensive paper trail in federal bankruptcy and state court filings.

The couple did not respond to CNN requests for comment Thursday.

"At this time the Salahis will not make any formal comments regarding the rumors and media speculation surrounding the White House state dinner," their publicist, Mahogany Jones, said in a statement. "Their counsel, Paul W. Gardner Esq., states emphatically that the Salahis' did not 'crash' this event. We look forward to setting the record straight very soon."

Asked for comment on the Salahi's legal difficulties, Jones said in an e-mail, "We will begin doing press and media next week providing exclusive interviews and press junkets. If you would like to be considered in our media circuit we request that you hold your proposed published profile until then."

One of the lawsuits against the Salahis was filed by Robb Levin of Fairfax, Virginia, who held his wedding at the Oasis Winery in August 2005.

"I have a judgment against them," he said by phone on Thursday. "The settlement was for $15,000, plus interest from June 2008. They haven't paid a penny."

Levin contracted with the winery to provide vendors, such as florists and catering, for the event. But, he said, he discovered the winery was adding a "significant profit" to what the vendors were charging them. "Vendors told me what they were charging. They were charging me two or three times as much," he said. When he tried to use his own vendors, he said, he was fined $1,000.

After he signed a contract to hold his wedding there, "They were very, very, very hard to get a hold of," he said.

"I remember [the contract] being very short and it just said to hold the date. When I went back, I found it said they could charge my credit card at will. At the time I signed it I don't remember all those pages being there. I don't remember a whole 8- or 12-page document," Levin said. "There were thousands of dollars charged to my card with no explanation."

He fought with the Salahis, dealing mostly with Michaele, throughout the run-up to his nuptials, he said.

"They wanted more money and I wasn't releasing it," he said. "They threatened me with lawyers. They threatened to cancel the wedding."

In the end, Levin said, he paid up to make sure the wedding went ahead, then sued the Salahis afterward to get his money back.

Tareq and Michaele, meanwhile, were engaged in a long court battle with his parents over the winery.

Court records show Tareq sued his mother, Corinne, and the case was dismissed.

Corinne sued Tareq and the case went to trial. The outcome is not clear from a Virginia courts Web site.

Tareq and Michaele won control of the winery in 2007, but it has run into debt since then.

Oasis Winery filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records in the Eastern District of Virginia. Tareq Salahi is listed as company president in the filing. Creditors listed include the IRS, Fauquier County, the state of Virginia, several banks and American Express Corp., among others. The company claims about $335,000 in assets and $965,000 in liabilities.

Among the debts listed are more than $60,000 in credit card debt and an "unknown" amount in federal back taxes.

"Debtor has not filed corporate taxes since tax year 2006," the filing says. "Has always previously had business loss, with refund flowing to shareholders."

Also listed is a $65 parking ticket in Montgomery County, Maryland, nearly $3,000 in gasoline purchases to Exxon-Mobil and more than $95,000 in legal fees.

According to the February filing, Oasis made $1.7 million in 2007 but only $35,000 in 2008. The filing lists two pending lawsuits against Oasis, one for more than $300,000 for "catering services" and one judgment against the company.

Under "repossessions," the filing lists a 2004 Aston Martin, which it estimates was worth $150,000 when it was repossessed in October 2008. Some $85,000 was still owed, according to the filing. In addition, a boat valued at $90,000 was repossessed in June 2008, with $56,000 still owed, according to court documents.

The company also had closed a checking account, $3,800 in the red, about a year before the filing.

Oasis owes $224,000 "for rental of FedEx Redskins Suite and related hospitality services," according to court documents.

The Chapter 7 filing, under which a debtor's assets are sold to pay creditors, followed an apparent effort to save the winery earlier.

The business had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2008, with Salahi's mother, Corinne, listing herself as president.

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy is referred to as a "reorganization" bankruptcy, according to the federal judiciary's Web site.

Read the full story here.

What is scary here is that an unauthorized couple was admitted into the White House, while the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, and members of the Cabinet are there. If a terror group (such as Hizbollah) wanted to take out the US government, they could do it very well with such a plan. And Hizbollah is planning major attacks on Israel and the United States.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah laid out his political platform Monday during a speech filmed by closed-circuit cameras. The platform promotes armed battle against Israel and the US, as well as all of the latter's protectorates.

"We see the US as a power that aims to impose hegemony in the region," Nasrallah explained. "The Islamic resistance movement in Lebanon aims to fight this hegemony and the (Israeli) occupation."

He said the US has been treating the globe as a market it aims to control, and that it was waging "a strategy of unlimited expansion".

"The Bush administration found in September 11 a chance to impose his influence, with the excuse of a war on terror," the Hezbollah leader said.

"He tried to create a parallel between terror and resistance. There is no doubt that American terror is the source of all terror in the world. This administration gave itself the right to embark on a war of destruction which does not distinguish between one man and the other."

Now for an interesting question:

Given that Tareq Salahi is a Palestinian Muslim and that his loyalties just might lie with Hamas and Hizbollah, not with the United States, could he and his wife been scoping out the event int the chance that they could get in so that next time a hit team sent by Hizbollah, Hamas or both could infiltrate the event and decimate the United States Executive Branch?

Just a thought.