[Note: This is the latest segment in an ongoing series about Code Pink and its co-founder Jodie Evans.  Click here to read earlier articles.]

Top Obama donor and fundraiser Jodie Evans met with the Taliban in Afghanistan on a recent trip there, according to a report by Jane Fonda of a discussion she had with Evans last month. The meeting with the Taliban took place just weeks before Evans was videotaped directly handing to President Barack Obama a package of information about her trip to Afghanistan at a high dollar fundraiser in San Francisco.

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House Republican leaders today sent the AARP a letter calling on the organization to reconsider its endorsement of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) 2,000-page government takeover of health care in light of a new Obama Administration report that unequivocally shows the legislation would raise costs and cuts seniors’ Medicare benefits.

AARP_Letter –

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The British government has banned Radio talk show host Michael Savage from traveling to the United Kingdom. The UK government placed Savage’s name on a list of prohibited individuals that is generally reserved for murderers, other serious criminals and terrorists. Today, Congressman John Culberson (R-TX) sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her to press her counterparts in the UK to remove Mr. Savage’s name from list of banned individuals. Full test of the letter below:

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A must read piece by Peter Wallison in today’s Wall Street Journal:

It’s hard to imagine a worse piece of financial regulatory legislation than the bill Barney Frank and the administration put before the House Financial Services Committee last month. But Sen. Chris Dodd’s effort, introduced last week, clears this hurdle

Much attention has focused on the fact that his “Restoring American Financial Stability Act” differs from the administration and Frank proposals by creating an entirely new agency to function as a “systemic regulator” of nonbank financial institutions, instead of the Federal Reserve. Far more important, however, is the regulatory and bailout powers it gives to the government. Here the Dodd bill follows the same flawed ideas advanced by the administration and Mr. Frank, but in some ways make things worse.

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It’s okay for the Chinese to lecture President Obama on free market capitalism because he clearly doesn’t understand even the most basic principles of capitalism  and needs all the help he can get.  What’s not okay is for the Chinese to lecture the American people.  Here’s what I think:

Americans understand that prosperity, true prosperity, is created by an economic system where strong dynamic firms with better ideas, management and motivated employees  are free to prosper and the weak are allowed to fail.  This kind of Darwinian economic system has allowed our country to prosper for over 200 years.

Americans also understand that the federal government doesn’t really create jobs that lead to economic growth because Americans know that any job the government creates  can only be paid for by increasing taxes or by borrowing money–probably from the Chinese.  Nor is there any need to remind Americans that small businesses are the engine that move our economy, and that small businesses create 3 out of every 4 jobs in this country.

On the other hand, there is an urgent need to help President Obama learn the basic principles of a free enterprise system and how jobs are actually created in a market economy, for he is plunging headlong in the opposite direction.

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Throughout the debate over health care reform, there has been a great deal of discussion over the role of special interests in influencing the votes of lawmakers. Liberal democrats, progressive think tanks and mainstream media have repeatedly accused anyone who opposes government run health care of standing with special interests instead of with needy Americans, painting them as greedy and selfish. And now that a bill has passed in the House and is on its way to the Senate, big government proponents of a ‘public option’ are already attacking their fellow Democrats’ own bill, insisting that it may as well have been written by special interests.

Funny they should mention that. Because, just like the stimulus bill, it was written by special interests.

While it’s true that Republicans certainly receive their fair share of donations from the health industry, the surprising truth is that Democrats actually receive more.  Because there’s one giant special interest sector that everyone seems to be leaving out:  Big Labor.  And in the monarchy of labor these days,  there is one queen that’s at the top of the money chain, and that’s the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the top billing union in its parent coalition, Change to Win. Especially when it comes to the issue of health care.

Let’s start first by breaking down the numbers.

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At the center of the health care debate is the simple – but profound – question of whether government can deliver services, in this case health care services, better than private enterprise sensibly regulated.   President Obama clearly believes that the ‘public option will not only be more equitable but more efficient as well – a claim he made when he spoke to the Joint Session of Congress earlier this year.  Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

The reason Obama is wrong, and the Left in general on issues of public options versus private enterprise, is simple human nature.  When it comes to such matters, it was never so well explained as by the legendary Milton Friedman:

“There are four ways in which you can spend money.  You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else.  For example, I buy a birthday present for someone.  Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost.  Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself.  And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch!  Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else.  And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get.  And that’s government.”

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The FCC, in proposing to change the definition of an “open Internet” from competition-driven to government-driven is setting a very dangerous precedent; that it is acceptable for countries to preemptively regulate the Internet for what might happen in the future, even if they lack the legitimacy of constitutional or legal authority to do so, or even if there is thinnest of justification or evidence to support it.

How can we ever hope to influence China, Iran and other undemocratic regimes to provide more Internet access and freedom to their citizens and businesses when our FCC is proposing a radical take back of existing Internet freedoms without legitimate authority or justification?

The grave mistake the FCC is making in the broader international context is claiming that private companies are the primary threat to Internet freedom and free speech, and not governments. History and common sense tell us only Governments have the effective coercive power to dictate real censorship.

The FCC is effectively declaring “open season” on well-established Internet freedoms.

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From ABC News:

Here’s a stimulus success story: In Arizona’s 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have beensaved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that’s what the Web site set up by the Obama administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says.

There’s one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts.

And ABC News has found many more entries for projects like this in places that are incorrectly identified.

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Hu Jintao and Barack Obama sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Is America becoming more like China under President Obama? Or should we be upset that it isn’t? We’ll talk about the President’s jarring diplomatic trip to Asia and how the markets responded to Ben Bernanke’s New York speech on today’s Coffee and Markets, a daily podcast from The New Ledger on politics, policy and the marketplace with Francis Cianfrocca, brought to you by BigGovernment.com.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

WSJ: Common Ground With Obama and Jintao
AP: China and America, Working Together
WP: Obama, Hu vow to continue to strengthen partnership
Niall Ferguson: The Great Wallop
RCW: Asia and the West in the Age of Obama

Once again we see how clueless Democrats like Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Senator Dick Durbin are on matters of national security. With Barack Obama’s decision to treat the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay as if they are common American criminals, as the president bestows constitutional rights upon them, and with his decision to spread these monsters out across the U.S.A, we see Quinn and Durbin idiotically asserting that terrorists equal “good paying jobs.”

These jobs might come from the sale to the federal government of the Thomson correctional facility in west central Illinois where Obama could send some 100 detainees in preparation of closing down the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba facilities. Obama is struggling to figure out what to do with these detainees after his hastily made, ill-informed decision last January to close down the terrorist detainment facility.

After the idea was announced both Quinn and Durbin found themselves all excited to welcome these monsters into their state and both imagined that the occasion means that Illinois gets jobs. Durbin is quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying that this is a dramatic opportunity.

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Many remember a creation, or rather concoction of The Drew Carey Show, Buzz Beer. The delightfully titled beverage was a mix of coffee and a presumably dark beer… stout perhaps. Buzz Beer almost became a character of its own, as it evolved into an ongoing enterprise, run out of Drew’s garage. If the show were still on the air, writers would be charged with the task of writing-in new federal regulations, regarding Drew’s side-business. Why? Because although fictional, Buzz Beer will soon be outlawed. While this would provide an interesting plot development for a sitcom, it will inevitably cause a slew of problems in real life. Go figure.

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration notified 27 manufacturers of so-called “alcoholic energy drinks (AEDs),” that they have 30 days to prove the safety of such drinks. If the listed manufacturers fail to comply, or fail to prove the safety of their products, they will be forced to discontinue them. Many companies, such as Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, and Diageo have already stopped the sale and production of similar products, in anticipation of the FDA crackdown. Needless to say, in the midst of a recession this is not ideal.

Probes into the safety of AEDs were conducted by a task force, comprised of 18 State Attorneys General and one city attorney. The task force is called the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Youth Access to Alcohol Committee… doesn’t that have a nice bureaucratic ring to it?

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SEIU is not stupid. When reports first came out of violence at the Russ Carnahan TownHall in Missouri, SEIU flacks jumped into their media spin machine and got to work. Tim Targaris, the SEIU new media spokesman started the party with a Tweet declaring:

Seven teabaggers arrested at Missouri town-hall event today. One SEIU staffer sent to hospital (shoulder) and will be ok. 9:01 p.m. August 6th.

We know now that it was five HCAN supporters who were arrested, but Tagaris continued to tweet false information, defending the story by citing an internal brief and then moving to other media response. A pledge was quickly created and touted by SEIU, decrying violence at townhalls. A video was cut that took the post-attack YouTube footage and spliced it with alternating footage of SEIU members singing peacefully followed by groups of tea party protestors shouting. And then an anonymous phone call characterized as a death threat was played for dramatic effect. It was some very fine propaganda.

Step 2 was turning the initial attacker Elston McCowan into a saint. SEIU and their pet bloggers on the left started talking about the 40-something, blind in one eye Baptist minister who was brutally attacked by teabaggers (SEIU likes to repeat the sexual slur). McCowan published photos of himself in a black outfit, a white priest collar, and a sling. He was Saint Innocent, the real victim. Once the video was released, SEIU created a second version of the story, maintaining it was McCowan who was attacked while laying helplessly on the ground. On August 13th, a full week after the attack, in an interview with Don Fitz of the St Louis Gateway Greens, McCowan relates what he claims is the real story behind the attack:

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Today, in 1903, the Bolshevik party was born, splintering from the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.

A letter from California Attorney General Jerry Brown has surfaced that deals a tremendous blow to sham internal investigations everywhere.  Brown, also a California gubernatorial candidate, has requested the Alameda County district attorney look into secret tapings his office conducted with five different news reporters on six different occasions.  California is what’s known as a “two-party state,” that is, it is illegal to record someone without their consent.  Brown’s former communication director recorded the conversations and has since resigned; still the Attorney General’s office has asserted secretly recording news reporters is legal if it is for public use.

Brown’s office announced an internal investigation into the matter and was roundly condemned by the right for undertaking a case in which it has a vested interest.

Brown’s position on the recordings strikes the Big Government editorial panel as arrogant.  First, the Attorney General is in the process of investigating the ACORN filmmakers for violating laws about secret tape-recordings while conducting similar recordings himself… repeatedly.  Second, Brown conducted an internal investigation on himself (much like John Podesta of Media Matters and Andy Stern of the SEIU conducting the internal investigation of ACORN) for nearly three weeks before he solicited a third party.  And judging by the wording in the attached letter, Brown seems none too happy to pass that duty elsewhere.

Much like the internal investigations movement, Brown might be hurting right now.  Stay tuned…

A complete article on the controversy here.  Read the letter below:

On November 12 2009, the federal government moved to seize four mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by the Alavi Foundation, a group allegedly under the direct control of the Iranian government.  The following day, the Washington Times exposed the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) for allegedly lobbying on behalf of the Iranian government in violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act and the Foreign Agents Registration Act.  We believe that a third U.S.-based group may be guilty of illegal ties to Iran under the Iranian Assets Control Regulations: the Council On American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

On November 18, 2006 and November 23, 2008, CAIR held their gala annual fundraisers at the Marriott hotel in Arlington, Virginia.  We’ve posted previously that the Interests Section of Iran attended both events.   Because the U.S. and Iran do not have diplomatic relations, the Interests Section of Iran, sponsored by the Embassy of Pakistan, functions as the defacto embassy representing Iran’s government.

At the 2008 event, we recorded video of Master of Ceremonies and then CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Ahmed Bedier giving personal thanks to “the Interests Section of Iran”  for their support:

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Although Mr. Felix D. Harris of Los Angeles ACORN told us he didn’t care about our prostitution business in regards to a housing loan, he drew the line when we spoke about the underage girls.  Although he did not kick us out, he was the only employee in our nationwide ACORN child prostitution investigation who would not assist us.

For his leadership, superior ethics, unwavering integrity, compassion for young women, and for serving as a shining beacon of inspiration for his fellow ACORN employees, I am honored to present Felix Harris, program director at ACORN Housing, with the humble award of ACORN EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR.

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The notion of remaining silent is not one readily associated with Al Gore. But, by his steadfast, years-long refusal to do anything other than pontificate about his views, such as defend them in an exchange with anyone who might know what they’re talking about, he does seem to be adopting some form of the adage “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”.

So, today the Competitive Enterprise Institute has launched its Gore Debate Challenge. As CEI’s press release notes:

“For years, Al Gore has steadfastly refused to debate the global warming issue.  Most recently, he ignored a put-up-or-shut-up challenge on the Glenn Beck Show from climate policy expert Lord Christopher Monckton, a former British government adviser.  Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute hopes to change all that with the release of a new video campaign.  In it, CEI offers Mr. Gore a $500 check, together with the proceeds of a world-wide email pledge-a-dollar drive, all aimed at persuading Mr. Gore to accept Lord Monckton’s challenge.

“To our knowledge, Mr. Gore hasn’t been in a debate since he ran for president,” said Sam Kazman, CEI General Counsel.  “But given that he and his allies are seeking the biggest tax increase in history in the form of new energy taxes and rationing, he ought to at least have to courage to engage in a face-to-face defense of his position,” Kazman stated.

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ACORN and its affiliates are content to impose crippling big-government laws, regulations, and taxes on Americans, but when called upon to obey those same rules, ACORN’s network of scofflaws and deadbeats simply refuses to comply.

ACORN and its affiliates currently owe more than $2.3 million in long overdue back taxes to all levels of government.

It's deathly quiet at the former funeral home at 1024 Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans. (photo: Kevin Kane)

As of Nov. 11 the exact figure was $2,328,596.95.

ACORN owes money to the IRS, Arkansas, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and to the cities of New York and Philadelphia.

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