Does Marion Berry (AR-01) Accept Federal Farm Subsidies?

So which is it, Congressman? View the following video and referenced articles to find the truth! Marion Berry has long denied that he owns any farms that accept subsidies, yet his response to a question on the topic yesterday seems to contradict this. And the data shows "slick" Berry is may seem more dim witted with age but he has been more than smart enough to fleece the public for years.

Blue Dog Berry - Not so Blue With Farm Subsidy - Ken Cook at Mulch reports: Blue Dogs Are Big Winners In Subsidy-Laden Farm Bill . . .

Arkansas Rep. Marion Berry (D) Cashing In on Federal Service . . . receives farm subsidies . . . - Consider if you will, between 1996 and 2000, farm and land-holding companies that Berry owns with relatives in eastern Arkansas have received $750,449 in federal crop subsidies, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture records. . .

The Other King of Pork -- AR Representative Marion Berry - Congressman Marion Berry (D-AR) promises more pork barrel spending now that the Democrats are in charge of Congress. This is no surprise. Last year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette wrote, "Arkansas’ Rep. Marion Berry would like to be known as the king of pork. “Nothing would please me more,” he says. . . .

BOOT BERRY

Kelly Ayotte and the NH Senate Seat

Politico reports that Kelly Ayotte is likely to have a primary challenger in the race for Senator Gregg's open Senate seat.

It’s easy to see why the National Republican Senatorial Committee is so enamored of Ayotte. She’s a youthful, female face in a party that has been criticized for not fielding a diverse crop of candidates. With deep New Hampshire roots and a law enforcement record that has drawn bipartisan praise during her five-year tenure, the 41-year-old Ayotte could prove to be a compelling alternative to the likely Democratic nominee, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.).

Indeed, to demonstrate its commitment behind her candidacy, the NRSC is even prepared to offer Ayotte its endorsement if she requests it.

Yet two credible GOP candidates — a former nominee for governor and a well-heeled businessman — have signaled that they’ll also pursue the nomination, and the state GOP chairman, John H. Sununu, is indicating that he’s not going to choose sides.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25238.html#ixzz0M0u45siB

On Facebook:
Friends of Kelly Ayotte

Kelly Ayotte for Senate

John Murth: "What's That Got to do With Me?"

When the liberal media keeps nipping at the tail of a liberal democrat, then something must be in the wind. Maybe for even the Democrats there is a point at which too much graft is really too much. Of maybe its time for the Democrats to toss the public a pork chop. With every passing day, porker and earmark king Rep John Murtha appears to be the pork chop that is going to fed to the public. Not that he doesn't deserve it.

Yesterday, The New York Times blasted John Murtha in an editorial with innuendos of his connection to using Federal money to advance his interests via family and friends. Below are a few of the comments:

One of the most favored insiders in Representative John Murtha’s rich churn of defense earmarks has pleaded guilty to criminal charges, shedding light on a twisting, pay-to-play money trail. . . . What’s that got to do with me?” commented Mr. Murtha, who previously lavished praise and tens of millions of dollars in contracts on the two companies caught up in the criminal investigation. . . . Investigators have not identified him as a target. But the inquiry is backtracking a trail of hundreds of millions awarded to Pentagon contractors who gratefully requited with tens of millions in political donations to Democrats on the appropriations subcommittee headed by Mr. Murtha.

In just one tangent of the complex inquiry, Mr. Ianieri’s company hired the lobbying firm of Mr. Murtha’s brother Kit. The company soon was blessed with money from an $8.2 million defense earmark. . . . Representative Murtha, using a 2005 tsunami relief bill, took the $8.2 million from another contractor that had severed ties with his brother’s lobbying firm. The Department of Justice alleges that Mr. Ianieri’s company then illicitly distributed $1.8 million of the money to other companies, some of them represented by Kit Murtha’s firm.

The Murtha money trail is far from fully explored but already features a second tangent of Congressional appropriations staff members’ exiting through the golden door to defense lobbying and scoring big contracts from their old bosses. Taxpayers should press the question of what all this has to do with Mr. Murtha . . .

Beyond the criminal investigation, a full-scale ethics inquiry should be pressed by House Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. If not, the Murtha money trail could lead them back to the minority.

In conclusion, the following remark by Does It All Matter posted three months ago is still appropriate [Hat tip to the same source for the above photo]: "Come on people, we had a revolution in this country once because of unfair government representation. Perhaps with the next election cycle we need to have another revolution and get rid of this bunch of corrupt scum!" [H/T to Veterans for Bill Russell]

Democrats' Criminalization of America's Health Care

ARRA News Service -Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House democrats rolled out their health care plan called "America’s Affordable Health Choices." Part of their plan would force employers to offer workers health coverage or face severe fines. Also it would forcw individuals to participate in a health insurance plan or face penalties that would generally vary with their income level. Maybe it should have been called "Criminalizing of America's Health Care" or the "Destroy Individual Choices in Health Care."

The Heritage Foundation is reporting the cost of the bill at $1.3 Trillion. The bill is 1,018 pages and comes to $1.264 billion per page. It even includes universal abortion coverage at taxpayer expense. The Congressional Budget Office, not a conservative "right minded" think-tank, reported that the health care reform plan proposed by House Democrats on Tuesday will add more than $1 trillion ($1,042 billion) to the national federal budget deficit over 10 years (2010–2019) . And, this is only their preliminary estimate of the damage.

The CBO report states that its cost estimates are not comprehensive. They are only preliminary as administrative and other costs are not yet projected. Heritage advises, "But even this analysis understates the true costs of the bill. The CBO only scores bills on a ten-year time frame, and House Democrats have designed their bill to obscure the catastrophic long-term fiscal path on which it places our country."

Heritage identifies that according to the CBO, the cost for the first four years is just $84 billion, but then it accelerates sharply. By 2019, the new entitlement is set to cost American taxpayers $254 billion. So while many Americans may look at the $1.3 trillion price tag over ten years and conclude the plan will cost $130 billion a year, in reality it will cost nearly double that. By backloading all the spending, the House is hiding the true cost of their plan from the American people. Between 2018 and 2019, federal costs for the new entitlement and the enlargement of Medicaid would increase by a combined 8.9%.

Last week CNS News reported that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) introduced legislation calling for a $540-billion tax hike to pay for the health plan that President Barack Obama insists will be “deficit neutral.” This tax is a new surtax on households earning $350,000 and above. It starts at 1%, bumping up to 1.5% at $500,000 in income and to 5.4% at $1 million. Since many small business owners fall within this income range, this surtax will also be a huge job killer.

The Washington Post writes: [T]here is no case to be made for the House Democratic majority’s proposal to fund health-care legislation through an ad hoc income tax surcharge for top-earning households. …There is simply no way to close the gap by taxing a handful of high earners. … Pretending that “the rich” alone can fund government, let alone the kind of activist government that the president and Congress envision, is bad policy any way you look at it.

Summary: President Obama, Democrats in Congress, powerful special interests and influential lobbyists are hard at work in Washington, D.C. trying to drastically change our current health care system. They are seeking to replace it with a "nationalized health care " system where the politicians and government officials will dictate the kind of medical services you and your family receive and the rules under which you access care and coverage. Read : Patients First - Vote No on Government Run Health Care and then take action.

Mother Of Protester - I Won't Be Silenced

A 19 year old, Sohrab Arabi, disappeared more than 3 weeks ago after he participated in post election protests in Iran. His mother was told he was being held in Evin prison, and she routinely visited the prison trying to find information about her son. Sohrab was dead, reportedly killed as a result of torture. At Sohrab Arabi's funeral his mother called out the cowards who murdered him and proclaimed, "I won't be Silenced."





Mother Of 19 Year Old Sohrab Arabi At Son’s Funeral – “I won’t be Silenced”

Letter Supporting Kelly Ayotte

Petty politics detract from Ayotte decision

I was saddened to see the partisan response in the July 8 Telegraph to the decision of Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to resign her post and explore a run for U.S. Senate.

One response was even critical of Gov. John Lynch for his reappointment of Ayotte. In this climate of partisan politics, one should stop and consider the commentary on Ayotte’s talents implied by this reappointment, by a Democratic governor, of a Republican to New Hampshire’s top law enforcement position. I know this of Kelly Ayotte.

When Mark Rowland, a staffer at Nashua Children’s Home, was murdered 10 years ago, on Aug. 20, 1999, it was Kelly Ayotte who so competently prosecuted this case, not once, but twice, ensuring that the murderer would be convicted to a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

It was early on in the retrial that then-Assistant Attorney General Ayotte was promoted to her current office. But she felt that this case was important enough – that her commitment to Mr. Rowland’s family, his friends and colleagues vital enough – that she saw it through.

I, for one, have no issue with Kelly Ayotte’s commitment on any level.

I saw that morning’s headline (“Ayotte resigns as AG, eyes Senate run”) and was immediately filled with a sense of pride for knowing Kelly Ayotte. I’m certain that anyone who knows her feels the same way.

It was only when reading the typical, partisan political commentary within that story that I became dismayed.

David Villiotti
Executive Director
Nashua Children’s Home

Protests Continue in Iran - Phase 2

ABC is reporting that protests in Iran, while smaller, are continuing despite brutal crackdowns. Methods of protest have changed to reduce some of the risk of personal harm, but none-the-less persist despite the government's oppression and appear to be causing stress and turmoil within the government structures.

Iran Protests Continue Despite Crackdown

The government is lashing out, in what some see as a sign of political panic.

Despite the tough government crackdown, Iran's opposition appears to be operating on the premise that the time is now to reform Iran's theocratic system. Its nominal leadership – Mir Hossein Mousavi, former president Mohamed Khatami, and reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi – met this week in a broadened push for greater democracy and continued resistance against the Ahmadinejad's government.

Demonstrations continued through Wednesday, though more localized and limited than the early days of June's mass rallies.

In Tehran's Grand Bazaar there are some signs of a three-day strike called in protest of the government, timed with the religious holiday of Etekaf. For years Iran's government encouraged the three-day observance for the birth of Imam Ali. This year the holiday is being used for political cover so that people can go on strike without punishment.

Other forms of protest designed to evade the government crackdown involve green graffiti on neighborhood walls, often "V" signs for "victory," and writing opposition slogans on paper money that circulates through the country. "This is a second protest level. They want to try to keep the momentum going. Every opportunity that they get they want to show that the struggle continues," said Shahriar Shahabi, an Iranian analyst in Dubai who says protests continued in Shiraz, Mashad, and other cities. He says that if successful, Mousavi's plan to create a new political party would be a pivotal boost to opposition efforts.

Nightly rooftop chants of Allahu Akbar, held between 9 and 11 p.m. around the country, have continued since the June 12 election. Security forces have raided homes and attacked rooftop protesters, ending in at least two reported shooting deaths. This week, with severe sandstorms clouding the air of Tehran, protesters took advantage of the low visibility. "It is going crazy here…it is very very loud, and there is a lot of emotion," Ehsan, 34, wrote in an email to ABC News during Tuesday night's protest.

---

ABC Reports Iran’s Election Protests Continue But Move To A Second Phase

Let US Live the Dream

No matter where we are, the GOD of creation (Nature's God) gave humans the ability to dream. No government, business, or any other person can steal your ability to dream In America, we are free to live our dreams.

The question that I have is will it be harder to live our dreams in post modern America. The President gave a well spoken address today. He spoke of remembering the indomitable spirit of our founders. The fact that throughout our history we have been able to face down any trial and live up to any challenges. Then he started rattling off a host of government programs that we needed. All of a sudden we are not up to meeting the challenges that face us by unleashing our dreams rather by unleashing our government.

I have a great deal of respect for our President. He is living the dream. I am concerned that the very policies that he advocates such as energy rationing and putting on the hook for 99 trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities risks discouraging Americans from reaching their dreams by undermining their ability to take risk.

The more failure regulators have, the more regulation we are told that we need. The truth is regulators rarely have the ability to keep up with the targets of their regulation. When they are pressured to prevent failures instead of catch criminals, they act as if everyone is a criminal. The result is that they preemptively punish everyone. Innovation becomes something to be feared instead something to be honored. Risk becomes a proverbial four letter word instead of a literal one. America ceases to be unique.

I don't believe this is the time to give up on liberty. Setbacks are opportunities for comebacks. If your child takes a spill on a bike, do you ban bikes? We do not need a nanny state rushing to take our bikes away. We need to understand that price of greatness is temporary pain. Your child doesn't give up bike riding because it will take him/her to more places in a faster and more efficient way. It is about fulfilling the dream of the wind in your face as you and your friends expand your world.

America, this Independence Day one little citizen says, let's cast aside the voices of doom which tell us that our best days are behind us. We need to reach down within ourselves and understand that the greatness of America is not found in expenditures of our government. It is found within our souls. When we allow each other to turn our dreams into reality, then we shall be better than our dreams.

Happy Independence Day.