Talking points. Anyone standing in front of a group of people, representing an organization or focused message has ‘em, just in case the person speaking decides to veer off topic and start discussing the lunch that gave him heartburn.

Yeah, most of us see the need for ‘em.

But when our own government sends out a list of  9/11 talking points in order to curb and dilute the message of this terrible sacred day, it shows how far gone this administration really is when it comes to knowing the pulse and sentiments of its people.

According to a the New York Times report, the adminstration said its goal in issuing 9/11 talking points is to “present a positive, forward-looking narrative.”

“As we commemorate the citizens of over 90 countries who perished in the 9/11 attacks, we honor all victims of terrorism in every nation around the world. We honor and celebrate the resilience of individuals, families and communities on every continent, whether in New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or Manila, or Lahore or London,” the guidelines state.

We all understand people of many different nationalities perished on 9/11. We also understand the global impact of 9/11 and how it changed the face of terrorism in the world. Suddenly, we were all acutely aware of the danger out there – the fact we, as Americans were being targeted and hated as a country for our beliefs in freedom, independence and liberty. So, to globalize the 10th anniversary into a memorial to victims of terrorism around the world seems to demean the significance and importance of this one, very real event in America’s history.

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The recent media action line regarding the Tea Party is that they are indeed “terrorists”. On top of the media, Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) stated, “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.” Vice President Joe Biden quickly followed up with the remarks, “They have acted like terrorists” in regards to the debt ceiling negotiations.

Given the media and some liberal politicians were driving the “terrorists” meme home at every opportunity, Rasmussen asked 1,000 likely voters whether they agreed. Out of the respondents, 29% believed they are, while 71% believed it was an outlandish accusation.

MRCTV’s Joe Schoffstall went to the nations Capitol to see if people were buying into the organized effort to paint them as such.

Here’s what we found:

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Yes, we understand that politics is a blood sport and that name-calling has become the common coin of the political realm.  But this past week, following the passage of the bill to raise the debt ceiling, and before the nation’s credit rating was downgraded, the Left’s barkers unleashed a well-harmonized and profane ad hominem campaign that established a new low in American politics.

The Standard and Poor’s downgrade, which punctuated a week of very bad news, cannot entirely be laid at the feet of the Obama Administration nor the 112^th Congress, because a succession of Administrations and Congresses nurtured the entitlement sacred cow that more, much more, than anything else put the nation on the road to Europe, and now, a credit rating to match.  This is, however, the Administration and the Congress that could have stopped it.  Frankly, we think the House-passed Ryan budget would have been an excellent start, but the common-sense proposal was slapped down by the White House as too radical.  We also believe, and have stated in past essays, that the President’s own Simpson-Bowles Debt and Deficit Commission recommendations would have been a strong start down the road to fiscal sanity, but that too was slapped down by the President.

It is tempting to dismiss the terrorism tirade as simply childish, but that’s a temptation on which we’ll pass.  “Terrorist” has become, perhaps, the most pejorative term in our common vocabulary.  It is, after all, instantly and correctly associated with the murder of thousands of Americans, as well as innocent citizens of other civilized countries, and such grotesqueries as the beheading of captives, hostages and other non-combatants.  To be labeled a “terrorist” is instantly to be consigned to (in the words of Nancy Pelosi) “the dark side”.

As is by now common knowledge, Rep. Michael Doyle of Pennsylvania was the first Democrat to use the terrorist analogy when referring, behind closed doors, to the Republican negotiators during the debt ceiling dust up. According to Politico, Vice President Biden who was present, then responded, “they have acted like terrorists.” And then, fast as one can say “chronic hoof and mouth disease,” word spread.  Biden quickly denied he ever said such a thing and the White House immediately walked back (Washington lingo for reversing course) the Biden snafu with the admonishment that such talk was inappropriate.

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As an authentic grass roots movement in which every Local Tea Party organization has different beliefs from the next we have a core value system aligning with all the others.  Some are libertarian, some are religious, some are the flat-out stock broker business types.

They all have one thing in common: They are responsible people.  Their word is their bond.  As much as the groups differ and may argue on issues they all understand that there is a greater good and focus on the tasks at hand.  They get over their personal differences and get to work on what they can contribute.

I heard comments from our own administration (Biden calling Tea Partiers Terrorists) and leaders calling ME, a veteran, a patriot and a true American, Satan. What is Nancy Pelosi thinking when making such comments? (Actually, if I wanted to have fun with this and play it out a little I’d say … it is a “Satan sandwich” with “Satan fries” on the side!)  Biden called the Tea Party terrorists!

I think you really don’t understand the gravity of these statements Mr. Biden and Mrs. Pelosi.  Luckily, I am aware you know not of service to MY Country and you are not aware of the words you have called me and the people of my ilk.  I AM the Tea Party as are the millions of citizens I call my countrymen.

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It’s almost expected anymore when the media does it but our elected officials aren’t supposed to turn on the constituency with bullying tactics.

From the St. Louis Tea Party:

ST. LOUIS TEA PARTY CONDEMNS “TERRORIST” REMARKS FROM VICE-PRESIDENT BIDEN, LAWMAKERS

It was revealed Monday by Politico that Vice-President Joe Biden, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, and other lawmakers referred to the tea party as “terrorists” during a heated discussion on the debt ceiling debate. From Politico:

Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour,  closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting.

“We have negotiated with terrorists, ” an angry Doyle said,  according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”

Biden,  driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal,  responded: “They have acted like terrorists.”

The St. Louis Tea Party condemns the comparison of private citizens who desire fiscal restraint in Washington to murderous terrorists who have killed thousands of Americans world-wide.

“It’s reprehensible to me that our Vice-President and other elected leaders would make such a grotesque analogy when in just over a month we will mark the tenth anniversary of the worst attack on American soil,” remarks Dana Loesch, Co-Founder of the St. Louis Tea Party.

“It’s an insult to Americans and the Democratic process to refer to dissenting Americans in such a way,” says Bill Hennessy, St. Louis Tea Party Co-Founder. “Are our elected leaders so out of touch with what terrorism actually is that they are willing to defame, by way of analogy, a vast group of people? We have members who lost friends to terrorists in the 9/11 attacks. We do not have any members who have lost friends due to peaceful protest.”

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If I had a nickel for every time someone on the far-left likened the Tea Party to terrorists, I might have enough to pull the United States out of its economic turmoil. The entire situation has grown to be far more than just something that foolish people say; it has climbed the political ladder to reach the highest echelons of American government:

From Politico (quoting Biden in reference to the Tea Party):

They have acted like terrorists.

It is one thing when Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania decided to embrace the crazy when he compared the debt ceiling dealings to a virtual hostage situation, with the Tea Party essentially running around the House strapped with C4, waving Ak-47’s at the Democratic Caucus. It is a different story entirely when the Vice President of the United States engages in this type of violent rhetoric. Apparently, Mr. Biden did not receive the memo that terrorism, and those who commit terrorist acts, has never, will never, and can never be a laughing matter.

Is it unreasonable then to ask for the resignation of the Vice President? Mr. Obama suggested that Anthony Weiner resign over allegations (which were later confirmed) that he used Twitter to provide one too many dirty photos to several different ladies over a three year period. Certainly this situation is much more foul, much more divisive, then the one involving a man who seemed incapable of keeping it in his pants. And while Biden will cater to his need to not be overly criticized for his remarks with a “sincere” apology delivered via secretary, it will be some time before those on the Right who associate themselves with the movement, including members of congress, forget what was said during that closed door meeting.

But such remarks can be taken much more personally.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Anne Sorock discusses the Sam Adams Alliance study on the Wisconsin union protesters. Then Pejman Yousefzadeh talks about the brutal battle between Jewish settlers and Palestinian terrorists.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Madison Unwrapped: Reading the Union Label
Tea Parties and the Political Establishment
Buy Tickets to the Sammies
Coffee & Markets: Wisconsin Assemblywoman Michelle Litjens Discusses Union Protests
Insiders Sharply Split On Influence Of Unions In U.S. Life And Politics
Are Israeli Settlers Human?

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George Will in today’s Washington Post:

The theory – perhaps by now it seems like a quaint anachronism – on which the nation was founded is, or was: Government is instituted to protect preexisting natural rights essential to the pursuit of happiness. Today, that pursuit often requires flying, which sometimes involves the wanding of 3-year-olds and their equally suspect teddy bears.

What the TSA is doing is mostly security theater, a pageant to reassure passengers that flying is safe. Reassurance is necessary if commerce is going to flourish and if we are going to get to grandma’s house on Thursday to give thanks for the Pilgrims and for freedom. If grandma is coming to our house, she may be wanded while barefoot at the airport because democracy – or the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment; anyway, something – requires the amiable nonsense of pretending that no one has the foggiest idea what an actual potential terrorist might look like.

But enough, already.

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Sen. Barbara Boxer’s Capitol Hill staff is stonewalling a request by military mother Beverly Perlson for a copy of a reported diplomatic letter provided by the California Democrat to the leftwing group Code Pink/Global Exchange in support of the delivery of $600,000 in cash and aid to the “other side” in Fallujah, Iraq in late 2004.

Perlson, whose son has served four tours in the war on terror, is founder of the pro-troops group The Band of Mothers.

After initially telling Perlson the letter could not be found, Boxer’s staff has given Perlson the run around. Since she first made her request by telephone last week, Perlson says she has been passed from one staffer who, after failing to return several phone calls, referred her to another staffer who has not returned repeated phone messages. The receptionist refuses to give an e-mail address to Perlson so she can send her request in writing.

The stonewalling by Boxer’s office is in stark contrast to California Rep. Henry Waxman’s office which promptly provided Perlson a copy of a similar letter by Waxman.

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What a shock. A majority of the arrested “peace activists” who brutally attacked the Israeli soldiers with pipes, metal rods. chairs and knives are linked to terror groups including Al-Qaeda. Several are members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The activists include Turks, Yemenites and Indonesians. And, many of the arrested “peace” fanatics have no identification papers.

The terror-linked “peace activists” even brought their own “Hezbollah slingshots” with them on their “peace” mission. (IDF)

YNET News reported:

The ongoing interrogation of passengers who were aboard the Marmara – the Gaza aid flotilla’s flagship – revealed that the majority of those who attacked the Israeli Naval Commandos boarding the ship have direct and indirect Global Jihad ties.

Israel’s investigation has revealed some 100 people infiltrated the peace and humanitarian aid activists making their way to Gaza, with the explicit design to attack Israeli soldiers using cold arms.

Some among that group are believed to have ties with World Jihad groups, mainly al-Qaeda.

The majority of suspects are Turks, but some are Yemenites and Indonesian. One Yemenite Islamist was photographed with a dagger in his belt prior to the raid.

The suspects are not cooperating with investigators. Most of them have no identification papers, and Israeli authorities are still trying to ascertain their identity.

So, will the Western media omit this from their reports, too?

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Over the past decade or so, there’s been a movement in our schools to make every kid a winner.  In gym class, in sports events, in spelling bees, in tests of every kind, every child was often given an award or citation to cushion their fragile self-esteem.  Competition was eliminated and “winning” was downgraded to a mere technicality.  If you came in second, you still won!  No losers here, kids.  You’re all equally mediocre.

This politically correct virus has now spread dangerously into the U.S. military.  The armed forces exist for this reason: if called upon, to kill the enemy.  The military also exists to deter the enemy so that lethal force is not needed.  But if necessary, our troops are trained and ready to wipe out our enemies before they can wipe us out.

Now, thanks to same Pentagon social engineers who brought us the ideas of gays serving openly in the military and women on submarines, the military is considering a “courageous restraint” award.  What on God’s green earth is THAT, you ask?  Good question.  Apparently, you will now be able to win a medal for “holding your fire” and avoiding civilian casualties.  Implicit in this utter ridiculousness is that our troops do not NOW show “courageous restraint,” do not NOW “hold their fire” until absolutely necessary, and do not NOW avoid civilian casualties.  This is an insult to the fine and selfless men and women in uniform who give up their lives—in some cases,
literally—to prosecute a war and defend the American people.

Military awards are bestowed for uncommon valor in combat.  They should not be given for doing what the good and decent American armed forces are trained to do anyway: use force judiciously.

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The University of Illinois Alumni Association recently awarded it’s “International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement” to the current President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado.  Since the University of Illinois is the premier university for the state of Illinois, let’s see the list of accomplishments President Correa can boast of while claiming this prestigious award:

• Transparency International listed Ecuador as one of the world’s most corrupt countries under Correa.
• He has seized numerous TV and Radio outlets in his country.
• He has jailed reporters critical of his government.
• Organzied crime has had a magnificient rise during his reign.
• He has rammed through constitutional changes to increase his power and extend his term of office.
• He was found to have FARC terrorists fund his campaigns.
• Documents found by Colombia show that he has actively worked with FARC terrorists. FARC has also been involved with kindnapping Americans.
• Ecuador has provided a safe haven for FARC terrorists to launch attacks on Columbia, an ally of the United States.
• Ecuador has ties to both Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and has increased ties to Iran.

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A member of the terrorist support group Code Pink assaults then Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice at a Congressional hearing, Oct. 24, 2007. AP Photo by Charles Dharapak

Code Pink co-founder and Democrat activist Jodie Evans and President Barack Obama, Oct. 15, 2009.

[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.]

House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (SC)  recently accused Republicans of “aiding and abetting terrorism” because of their support for the Tea Party movement. With all due respect, Rep. Clyburn needs to clean out his own party first before he has standing to say anything on the subject.

Top Democrat Party activists Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, through their group Code Pink, have spent the past eight years terrorizing soldiers, their families and public officials on the homefront while working with terrorists and state sponsors of terrorism abroad. Rather than being condemned and disowned, Code Pink is embraced by President Barack Obama and leading Democrats while being celebrated by the media.

The Code Pink Democrats have harassed wounded soldiers and their families at military hospitals in Washington, D.C. and San Diego; they have repeatedly targeted military recruiting centers for abuse; they cruelly taunted the children of military families at a White House Halloween party; they have terrorized government officials at their homes and they have led a campaign for the kidnapping of former President Bush and his wife Laura (for this they enlisted the support of the Muslim Brotherhood).

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Last Thursday President Obama, whose commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is “unwavering,” met with Sen. Chuck Schumer D-N.Y. and Sen. Lindsey Graham R- S.C. to discuss a proposed bill to fix the broken immigration system. While the details remain somewhat elusive, according to the Los Angles Times:

“The basis of a bill would include a path toward citizenship for the 10.8 million people living in the U.S. illegally. Citizenship would not be granted lightly, the White House said. Undocumented workers would need to register, pay taxes and pay a penalty for violating the law. Failure to comply might result in deportation.”

With the recent failures of the government agencies on full display during the failed Christmas Day bombing of flight 253, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that would be responsible for processing millions of illegal aliens should a path to citizenship become law, deserves national security scrutiny. Like the State Department, the USCIS is on the front lines of America’s defence. As we now know, Hillary Clinton’s State Department revoked known al-Qaida member Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab’s, visa after he allegedly attempted to blow up an airliner with explosives in his underwear. The credit for thwarting the Christmas Day terrorist attack goes to the passengers and the crew of flight 253—not to government agencies. Under the Department of Homeland Security, the USCIS’ mission includes keeping nefarious people off U.S. soil while preserving America’s tradition as a nation of immigrants by processing lawful foreigners’ applications for visas, residency and citizenship.

According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report,  Immigration Benefits: Actions Needed to Address Vulnerabilities in Process for Granting Permanent Residency,  “Terrorists and other individuals posing a threat to national security have applied for lawful permanent residency–” the Green Card. The “available data” provided to the GAO found that the “USCIS background checks identified individuals who were (1) KSTs [Known or suspected terrorist], (2) associates of terrorists, (3) involved in providing material support to terrorists or terrorist organizations, and (4) agents of a foreign government involved in espionage. From March 2003 through December 1, 2007, FDNS [Office of Fraud Detection and National Security] received about 14,500 national security referrals for all application types. According to FDNS officials, about 10 percent involved individuals on TSC’s [Terrorist Screening Center ] watch list and the balance of these cases involved individuals who were not on the terrorist watch list, but whose background checks indicated other possible national security concerns, such as those having associations with known or suspected terrorists.” The same applies for the Federal Bureau of Investigations. As the GAO report documents: “In addition to identifying potential national security concerns from checking an alien’s name against watch lists in TECS [Treasury Enforcement Communications System], name checks against the FBI’s investigative files have uncovered individuals who raised national security concerns. We reviewed a random sample created by FDNS of FBI name check results provided to USCIS to ascertain the types of national security concerns identified during the name check process. We found that the FBI provided information to USCIS that these individuals:

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Following up on our post yesterday, the Workforce Fairness Institute has this video asking SEIU boss Andy Stern which Senators does he think are terrorists.

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Wow, this is beyond the pale. Andy Stern has called two Senators “terrorists” for not going along with the plan to socialize the nation’s medical system. Analysis from TheTruthAboutEFCA.com:

You probably thought it was outrageous that SEIU president Andy Stern has persecuted his own members and driven away large chunks of his own organization.

You probably thought it was incredible that he dropped tens of millions of dollars on politics after leading a split in labor because the other federation was spending too much on politics.

You probably thought it was horrifying to hear how SEIU badgers — almost terrorizes — companies that don’t cave into the union’s card check demands.

Even with all that, you’ll probably still manage to be shocked that Stern has criticized Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Ben Nelson for halting disastrous health care legislation by saying, “There are a lot of terrorists in the Senate who think we are supposed to negotiate with them when they have their particular needs that they want met.”

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Two ongoing trends I chronicled during 2009 highlight an ironic situation: Leftists remain tough on their domestic political opponents, while lax when it comes to our real common enemies.

As we recently saw with the Christmas airplane-bombing attempt, leftists seem bent on treating terrorists with kid gloves, insisting they receive rights normally reserved for U.S. citizens (even when this means failing to extract timely information that might save lives).

Conversely, leftists play “hardball” when their opponents are not terrorists or criminals, but instead, American businesses and industries.   One such example is the left’s battle against Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used for more than a half century to make plastics more durable.

Though clearly less consequential than the war on terror, the Left’s war on BPA serves as a microcosm of the larger attempt to use “junk science” and litigation to redistribute wealth from job-producing American industries into the hands of trial lawyers and liberal special interest groups.

In this regard, the Left’s attempts are reminiscent of their past battle against the insecticide DDT. In the 1960s, many developing nation’s had nearly wiped out malaria, but it came back after DDT was banned.  It did not matter that DDT was harmless to humans – and actually saved lives — the Left attacked it, ultimately causing 50 million preventable deaths.

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Once again, Media Matters’ evil twin – Media Matters Action Network – has penned a horribly offensive anti-Israel blog post: Compassion for Gilad Shalit Is Commendable But Easy [December 22, 2009 3:24 pm ET by MJ Rosenberg]

The gist of the entry is that anyone can feel compassion for hostage Gilad Shalit, but it takes a real humanitarian to feel compassion for Hamas.

Reading the first paragraph is like pulling back the curtain for a frightening peek into the ethically barren back room of Media Matters:

The year ends with Israel obsessively focusing on the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit. He has been held by Hamas for over three years and, with the help of Israel’s sensationalist media, the entire country seems to be in a fury over the boy’s continued captivity.

Wow! Israel is “obsessed” with their citizen being held hostage by an Islamist-terrorist group, all thanks to Israeli tabloid journalism paying too much attention to the subject. This is awfully dismissive of a nation’s grief over the fate of one of its own citizens, but what is the fate of one Jew worth when people are suffering  somewhere else? To Media Matters, apparently very little [emphasis added]:

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The same people who have brought you 10 percent unemployment, government run health care and a national energy tax are now attempting to bequeath you with another unwanted holiday gift.  This time, however, the stakes are even higher as they want to bring terrorists to US soil.

The White House has just announced their plan to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois.  From my briefings at GITMO and speaking with people who know the situation well, I can say that moving GITMO terrorists to Thomson, is a huge unnecessary gamble.

Those terrorists still remaining in GITMO are among the world’s most dangerous warriors. They are wickedly creative in thinking out of the box when contemplating doing us harm, as evidenced by the attacks of September 11, 2001.  They command the loyalty of thousands of fellow jihadists around the world and have complete control over the minds of followers, both in detention and on the outside.  On a whim, they can—and have—ordered those under their command to commit suicide at a moment’s notice.

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Who would have believed after 9/11 that our own president, the commander-in-chief who recently announced that he was sending another 30,000 troops to risk their lives in Afghanistan, would order that enemy combatants captured on the battlefield must be brought into the United States.  We will live to regret this.

Barack Obama continues to cast the closing of Guantanamo and the importation of Al Qaeda terrorists into the American heartland as a moral victory.  But this is nothing more than moral vanity and rank political theater aimed at satisfying his liberal soul-mates at the ACLU and Human Rights First.  In truth, the security nightmare he is about to visit on this country will only be surpassed by the legal morass that will accompany the transfer of foreign terrorists to American soil.   The moment the detainees arrive, their lawyers will drop an avalanche of legal challenges on the federal courts seeking to set them free, destroy what is left of the military commissions, and turn the 9/11 trial into a tragic farce.  Americans should remember this:  it doesn’t have to happen.   The Supreme Court has said that Gitmo is lawful and that preventative detentions are constitutional.  Barack Obama–and members of Congress who stand by and do nothing to stop him–will own this national security disaster.