The secret’s out: U.S. spends tens of billions on intel

     WASHINGTON D.C. — The price of staying ahead of terrorists and other bad guys? More than $43 billion a year.

     For the first time, the government is revealing how much it spent on intelligence in the 2007 budget year just ended. The disclosure is required by a new law implementing recommendations of the September 11th commission.

     Hey, click here to read this story now.

     I’m sure there will be those who say, “$43 billion is too much to pay for information”, but it would seem that if Uncle Sam had been paying this all along that 911 may not have taken place. Somewhere along the line we became lax by taking on the attitude that intelligence doesn’t matter, and now we know the result.

     As I recall, Presidente Clinton was a bit lax in this area, actually disassembling our intelligence community. It was someone in his own administration that drafted the law that disconnected domestic law enforcement as well as state and federal enforcement.

     I think it’s pretty plain that unless we have a strong intelligence community, another 911 could take place. Since it’s the Federal Government’s responsibility to protect our borders, per the U.S. Constitution, I think that a strong intelligence community is an absolute must.

     Don’t you think so, too? If you disagree, I’d like to hear from you. If you agree, I’d like to hear from you, too. Click on the comment link and let me know how you feel about this.

     Yours, Albert

     It would seem that when a man is down on his luck that public utilities would make an effort to help in some way other than turn off his services after he reaches the 60-day mark, but that is exactly what American Electric Power (AEP) appears to routinely do. I know because I’ve had to bail my son out of a tough spot several times now.

     Of course, I’d rather that he not need my financial help, but things being as they are, it can’t be helped. And so the last time I did this I asked the gril on the phone if AEP has simply lost all heart. At first she wouldn’t comment on that–after all this kind of “conversation may be recoreded for training purposes”.

     And then there’s the neighbor who use to get $500 worth of food stamps each month. He has a fairly good size family and I guess when he went out and got a second job, the county or state government worker he accounts to took his $500-a-month food card away–never mind that he doesn’t earn $500 a month working this part-time job.

     I’m not normally a public assistance kind of guy, as I, myself, have never resorted to taking this kind of help. But it thoroughly upsets me how Uncle Sam has, for several generations, worked to get people dependent on him–and then he up and jerks the public assistance rug out from under everyone.

     Frankly, it would seem that everyone is losing heart, and I don’t mean the people down on their luck either.

     One of the most important aspects of blogging is networking. If you would like to exchange banners or links with the Albertaclipper Blog, please send yours to albert@wmml.info.

     To fly Albert’s (my) banner, you have a choice of two. Here they are:

     If it’s a link exchange, that’s fine, too. Send your link to me and I’ll put it on my Blog Links page. Our web address is http://www.wmml.info/albert/

     Yours, Albert

Posted by Bobby Eberle
October 24, 2007 at 6:24 am

Today, the Senate takes action on the DREAM Act (S.2205). This proposed measure is just another example of Washington’s relentless push for amnesty for illegal aliens. By continuing to ignore the will of the American people, these legislators thumb their collective noses at the rule of law. Now is the time for all of us to act!

The Democrats are pushing this measure which they say is designed to allow school-aged kids to stay in the U.S. (amnesty) to attend college. The Heritage Foundation describes the bill, saying, “The bill purports to grant amnesty to individuals unlawfully in the United States who arrived before the age of 16. Publicized as a humanitarian measure for children, the bill would allow applicants to immediately receive conditional legal status, including eligibility for federal benefits like student loans.” 

To read it: http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=585

Archbishop Williams told Catholic News Service Oct. 22 that one of the topics discussed at lunch was his suggestion that Christian leaders together compose an official response to the Muslim scholars.

He said the pope and the Rev. Samuel Kobia, a Methodist minister and secretary-general of the World Council of Churches, reacted positively to the suggestion and “now it’s a question of trying to connect the dots” with their interreligious dialogue experts drafting a text.

Before the lunch, Pope Benedict told the religious leaders, “We are all called to work for peace and to make a concrete commitment to promoting reconciliation among peoples.”

Read it now!

So there you have it, the World Council of Churches’ goal is to bring peace to the world in which we live. Surely the Council’s goal of world peace is in harmony with that of Jesus Christ. After all, as Christians we advocate the teachings of Jesus and anyone who fails to do so in the church is not of Christ.

So, what does Jesus have to say about this?

51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Luke Chapter 12

So, what does this all boil down to? It says that the World Council of Churches’ goal of world peace, as noble and good as it may appear, is contrary to Jesus’ own teachings. It means that we mustn’t be different. It means that someone wishes to eliminate the rough edges. In any case, it’s not a good thing.

Yours, Albert

     Wanna give us U’r opin on something? I’d love to hear it. All you have to do is provide your name, e-mail, and your website URL. All comments will be reviewed and acted on within 48 hours.

     You can also register with this blog so we know who you are. Say what you want, but be sure it’s in good taste. Thanks!

Yours, Albert

Have you ever taken the time to really read through the U.S. Constitution? It was 1992, at the age of 42 when I finally sat down and read it. Before that, as a professed socialist, I could have cared less about it.

     Do you know what made me sit down and do that? It was during the presidential race of 1992 that I heard Bill Clinton say on NPR that if he and Al Gore were elected that he would remove the U.S. Constitution.

     That got me thinking and so I dug out an old history book at home that night and read through it. Later that evening I told my wife what he had said and what I found when I took the time to read it. I’ll tell you as I told her then, “This is a wonderful document that is right on target whether it’s today or a hundred years ago!”

     If you haven’t read through it, perhaps it’s time you do:

     www.usconstitution.net/const.html

     Your’s, Albert

     

Board Approves Birth Control at Middle School

     This story from Portland, Maine, makes me remember that middle schoolers have a lot more to deal with than finding a way to get tickets for a Miley Cyrus concert.

     On Wednesday, school board members approved a plan to make prescription birth control available to students as young as 11 at King Middle School’s health center starting either this year or next. The move comes after a number of pregnancies in the city’s middle schools.

     U Gotta Read This One!!.

     I think I’ve just heard it all. 7th and 8th graders given birth control by a public school whether the parents want their children to have them or not. Boy, things are sure upside down these days. I think it’s time we take a step back and rethink this train wreck we’re on. Maybe they should work to control what goes on the television and the movie house screens instead of just reacting to the shameful trash we and our children see day in and day out.

     I think the most striking thing about all of this is that by taking this action, the school board of this Maine public school has basically demonstrated that they believe they have the right to determine what’s best for these children and not their own parents. If the roles were switched, providing any of them have any common sense left, they would feel abused as parents, too.

     Where do you draw the line between state rights and parental rights? Next thing you know we’ll hear that some hair brained, god-awful school board are given condoms and birth control to elementary school students. Hey, let’s just cut to che chase and start giving them to pre-schoolers so we don’t have to bother later.

     The only hope for planet earth is to wipe it clean and start afresh… Oh, but God did that once or twice already. Perhaps He’ll do it again.

     Yours, Albert

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — The House today upheld President Bush’s veto of a bill to provide health insurance to 10 million children, but Democrats vowed to send it back to him next month, with minor changes, in the belief that they could ultimately prevail.

Despite a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign and intense lobbying by children’s advocates, supporters of the bill were unable to convert a single House Republican who voted against passage of the bill last month.

Read it now!

So, according to the New York Times, despite “a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign and intense lobbying by children’s advocates” the Congress decided not to veto the President’s veto. When I read this I had to ask myself the question: “Who are the ‘children’s advocates’ spoken of in this story?” Who is it that is willing to spend “millions” to advertise and lobby the Congress to help our poor children?

As I read on it also occurred to me that there might be more to this story than what we’re being told. I do know that politics is part of the issue, as Democrats want to muck up the works for Republicans and vise versa. That was obvious when I read the Times totall unbiased article as cited above:

For now, the insurance vote stands as the latest example of how Mr. Bush can still get his way on Capitol Hill. Through artful use of veto threats and his veto pen, Mr. Bush has fended off attempts to force a change of course in Iraq — a feat Democrats would never have imagined when they pushed Republicans out of power a year ago. He has twisted Democrats into knots over domestic surveillance, and forced them to rethink a resolution condemning as genocide a century-old massacre of Armenians.

Let’s see here… The author of this totally unbiased and wonderful work of journalism in what is commonly thought of as a respected newspaper seems to have another agenda up his sleeve. He’s not content to just report the news, which is that this wonderful effort to exhort billions of dollars from our government (equating to a blank check) just cost “someone” millions of dollars… but he then rants and raves about the President’s agendas, not all of which I agree with, mind you, but Iraq and other issues should not be part of an honest and unbiased news story on how this wonderful effort to veto a veto failed.

I hope by now the American public at large is beginning to see the light so far as modern day journalism goes. If I were a journalist in a popular magazine or newspaper, I’d probably not survive the experience as I’d be tempted to tell the truth. Too bad society has only the Internet to turn to for pieces and parts of truth and justice, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, it’s very hard sometimes to ferret out the good from the bad on the Web.

In closing, the one thing I have found over the years is that no matter how much you think you know about an issue, you can be sure you don’t know it all. Oftentimes what seems good is bad and what looks bad might be good. It takes long observation and a good deal of analysis in order to tell the difference and then you can’t be totally sure you still have the total picture.

Sometimes it’s just best to sit back, relax, and observe the dog and pony show without getting too worked up about it. In the finale, Good will prevail against Evil. You have God’s Word on it….

Yours, Albert