Earthquake in New York City Metropolitan Area and Beyond

Today New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and much of the eastern half of the U.S. and even Canada felt an unusually strong shaking of the earth that this region is not all that comfortable or familiar with. The earthquake's epicenter was near Mineral, Virginia and registered a 5.8 on the Richter scale. Most quakes in this region of the continent are usually much less noticeable than this one was.

I didn't time it, but the shaking seemed to go on for around thirty seconds or so. At my office, it wasn't strong enough to knock things down. But it was definitely a new experience for many of us. The quake only caused limited damage to some buildings near its epicenter in Virginia.

Office buildings in New York and New Jersey emptied themselves out as if they were all having simultaneous fire drills, including the one I work at in Parsippany, New Jersey. In our building, many of us remained inside, wanting to get back to work. But building security, showing an abundance of caution asked everyone to wait outside. After twenty or thirty minutes, we went back in. It was nice a nice break to get out in the summer sun for a little while and talk.

While this quake was disconcerting and worry inducing for parents and families, and even a little awe inspiring considering the power involved, we can be thankful that it was not worse than it was. Hopefully the involved faults have had their pressure relieved for another 50 years or so.

Obama Administration Gives Administrative Amnesty to People in the U.S. Illegally, but Not Committing Other Crimes

It's called selective enforcement of the laws of the United States of America, and it is not something the director of the Department of Homeland Security or the Executive office should be engaging in - and especially not announcing it to the world. "Oh, we won't be enforcing these particular laws, so... you're good." The people behind this outrage are sworn to uphold the laws and Constitution of the U.S. I state here and now that it's treacherous and treasonous, because it erodes the rule of law and the power of Congress and the Constitution. It is plain circumvention to support a liberal political intention. What they could not get through the legislative process last year, because it was unpopular, they have initiated by executive fiat.

Why can't the liberal numbskulls in this country get it through their heads that illegal is illegal? Why also do they insist on calling illegal aliens (or illegal immigrants) just plain immigrants, as if they had gone through the same legal process of getting into this country that legal immigrants do? Or they are often referred to as "undocumented" immigrants, as if they somehow overlooked getting a visa or passport, or as if some bad Tea Party person came along and stole these poor, downtrodden people's documents. It really is like we're in Bizarro World!

Do we want laws that enforce the borders of our country or not? If it is OK for people to come to the United States and stay at will, then change the law to reflect that idea. But as it stands now the laws make it illegal for foreign nationals (aliens, as they are called to the left's annoyance) to come into this country without asking whether they may do so. What's wrong with that? And do you know why we don't make it legal for people to cross the border at will and stay here legally? Because the vast majority of Americans want border security and additionally don't want to throw their tax dollars away supporting every down-on-their luck poor person that breaks into this country expecting to get rich. We just cannot afford it.

But this "rule change" from the Obama administration is going to make coming here illegally MORE ATTRACTIVE to people outside this country, since it is now de facto okay for them to do so. There won't be consequences for being illegal. And the burden on the taxpaying citizens of this country will increase.

On top of not pursuing the illegal immigrants, they will be allowed to apply for work permits, which will allow them to compete legally for jobs with the 30 million Americans looking for work. Good news for job hunters! Not.

My suggestion to La Raza, Robert Menendez(D) NJ, Janet Napolitano, and every other illegal alien supporter, if you don't want to break up families, then suggest they don't do something that's illegal in the first place. Don't rob a bank, don't commit tax fraud, don't commit document fraud, and don't break into a sovereign nation expecting that the citizens of that nation will look the other way.

Let's get out of Bizarro World before it becomes the New World Order.

2012 Presidential Primary Update

Things are looking good in the Republican primary race for the 2012 presidential election. After an ornery second debate on Fox News last week, Governor Tim Pawlenty has left the race and Governor Rick Perry of Texas has entered it. Pawlently placed third in the Iowa straw poll, which Michele Bachmann won by a small margin over Congressman Ron Paul.

After an errant Tweet by a staffer, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has once again reaffirmed that he is not going to enter the race, much to columnist Ann Coulter's dismay.

Governor Sarah Palin remains cagey about her plans as far as running for president in 2012. To date, she has not denied or affirmed. But to all appearances she is certainly acting as if she could jump in at any moment.

Real estate developer and reality show Don, Donald Trump is still threatening to throw his hat in for 2012, but I think he will be content with Governor Perry's candidacy and will choose to stay out. However, if Mr. Trump doesn't like the eventual primary choice, then don't rule out an independent run for president from Trump. And though he believes he would pull voters from Obama in the general election, he would also split the conservative vote. It would probably be a disaster for the Republicans and lead to Obama's reelection.

Rick Santorum and Herman Cain are both still in the race, and they are both great conservatives, but neither appears to have the traction that Bachmann, Romney, or Perry have. I believe they will be the next candidates out of the race along with Newt Gingrich. Newt would be a smart and effective president and get the country's economy turned around, but he can't get conservatives to coalesce around him, much less the independents and Democrats he'd need for the general election.

Ron Paul's ideas resonate with blue collar Republicans, and young voters like no Republican since Ronald Reagan. However, he does not appeal to the broad base of conservatives or Republicans due to his drastic foreign policy and social ideas. He will likely stay in the race as long as he can to take advantage of the extremely visible platform that his ideas have as a presidential candidate.

On the other hand, Michele Bachmann is looking strong after her Iowa straw poll win despite the mainstream media bias against her and continuous, baseless liberal attacks. She looks poised and espouses a consistent recipe for dealing with the country's economic woes, as do most of the Republican candidates.

Presidential frontrunner, Governor Mitt Romney's poll numbers took a big hit this week due to the entrance in the presidential race of Governor Rick Perry. While Romney would make a fine president who would handle the U.S.'s economic woes much better than President Obama has, Governor Romney has some negative baggage that might make Perry more attractive to voters. We'll have to wait and see what kind of negatives come out on the Texas governor in the days ahead.

Is Ralph Nader running? LOL, jk.

U.S. Thinks Pakistan Handed Over Pieces of Secret Helicopter to China

A Black Hawk Helicopter

Pakistan may have allowed a helicopter (used in the raid against Osama bin Laden) with secret stealth technology to be viewed by the Chinese government, according to the New York Times. And U.S. intelligence officials even believe that the Pakistanis may have allowed the Chinese to take a sample of the downed chopper.

As can be expected, Pakistan denies letting anyone see the helicopter and China denies any involvement. No surprise there. Pakistan and China are always denying things after sticking it to the U.S.

At the very least, it’s time we stop giving money that we don’t have to Pakistan. The U.S. gives that country billions of dollars a year and what we get is a haven for the Taliban who operate against and kill our troops from bases in Pakistan. We get Osama living in a compound in Pakistan for at least six years. We get begrudging help in the fight against the Taliban, all from a country that is filled with Islamic extremists that hate the West.

Ann Coulter Opines About Norway Murderer

The following is a sobering article by Ann Coulter regarding the crazy Norway murderer and the news coverage about him. Apparently facts are fruits that The New York Times and other mainstream media outlets can pick and choose from, like they're at the fruit market.
New York Times Reader Kills Dozens in Norway - HUMAN EVENTS

Stunning Australian Night Sky

The following is a beautiful night-time, time-lapse video of the Australian night sky including the Milky Way Galaxy. It is so stunning that it almost doesn't look real. Watch for sporadic shooting stars! (hat tips to the Blaze via Wired)


Ocean Sky from Alex Cherney on Vimeo.

By Blade and By Bullet They Died -- A Revolutionary War Poem

Before the day that blood was shed,

the Revolution was plied with words said

by pen, by press, and by speech.

King George then had little to dread.

The words were easy to speak, and though noble,

earned no badge of courage.

With the king we had yet to see trouble.

But tyranny does not sit forever idle

when want of freedom rises like a tide --

nor yet does courage stay in the middle.

Tyranny’s fist clenches

A king’s ears and eyes become wide

Men are sent to Prison,  to Death,

Mowed down in the street.

And with that tyranny we collide.

By blade and by bullet men died.

Patriots pledge

to country, to neighbor, against the other side.

Courage blooms in the fight for the noble cause

because life is dear

and death men do fear.

Yet for the freedom of men and women,

and sons and daughters here

from a distant tyrant, or near

From the rule of an oppressive king,

Men and women will ride with bravery --

do battle to choose their destinies.

Many by blade and by bullet they died

Who sought a free country

for they and their families, some toiled and some cried

with courage their only guide,

But by blade and by bullet, they too often died.

copyright (C) Brian M.Holmes

June 13 GOP Debate Will Push 3 Candidates Down in the Polls

(AP Photo/Jim Cole)

On June 13, CNN held a Republican debate in New Hampshire and there were actually winners and losers (despite what you may have heard elsewhere) and I don’t just mean the moderator John King.

It’s now seventeen months until the 2012 presidential election and the fight for who will be the next president of the United States has begun in earnest. The discussion and debates between the candidates will hopefully enlighten the voters as to why they should not elect Barack Obama to another term as president. The Republican primary debates are an especially important forum for voters getting to know the candidates and the issues better. 

In my opinion, no one person really won the debate, though Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney came out looking the best. Businessman Herman Cain also performed well, though I really think his thin political resume is going to hurt him. My advice to Mr. Cain is to run for governor or senator first and then come back and run for president. He’d be a shoe-in then! 

Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty didn’t do themselves any favors in Monday’s debate for the simple reason that they have no charisma. You must have some charisma or likeability factor if you’re going to have a chance and they didn’t have it. Ron Paul was his usual self, sometimes making sense and sometimes expressing radical and untenable ideas.

If you are going to be elected president of the United States you need to have charisma, and/or political gravitas, and not hold radical positions that most people would disagree with. Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney have the charisma. Newt Gingrich doesn’t really have charisma, but he does have the political gravitas. Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty have zero charisma, so even though they have good political backgrounds they are not electable to the presidency. Ron Paul has a non-politician’s genuineness but he consistently supports ideas outside the mainstream and is frankly too old. So, he is also unelectable to the presidency.

So the only person up there on Monday with charisma, political chops, and no baggage was Michele Bachmann. In my view, the race will be between her and Mitt Romney, assuming that no one else throws their hat in the race.

You Won’t Have Anthony Weiner to Kick Around

I am extremely pleased that U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner from New York has done the right thing and resigned and this fantastically lame story is going away. To see all of these news organizations making anatomical connotations and jokes playing off of his name is sixth grade, childish stuff. While you’d expect it of the late night hosts, the Comedy Central windbags Stewart and Colbert, morning radio show shock jocks, morning radio "zoos", and Saturday Night Live, where you don’t expect or want to see it is on news talk radio, television news programs, and in newspapers. I feel like the adults have left the room and the middle schoolers have locked the doors and are in charge of the voice of the media. 

The quicker the always obnoxious Mr. Weiner disappears and this issue disappears the better. Now we have to hope that these pictures and texts were the complete extent of his Tweeting and Facebooking and nothing else rears its ugly head in this sorry political debacle.

 

And why does every political scandal have to be tagged with the suffix “gate”? Weinergate? Come on mainstream media, let’s get a little more creative. And how about growing up too.

Obama Calls for Drilling, Gas Prices Fall

President Obama said in his weekly Saturday address on May 14, that he is directing the Department of the Interior to conduct annual lease sales in Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico, to streamline permitting in these areas, and to "speed up the evaluation of oil and gas resources in the mid and south Atlantic." Speeding up evaluation is very vague and could just as easily be taken to mean that they will hurry up and say "no" to new leases and permits in the Atlantic.

However, on the face of it, this all sounds very friendly to oil development. It may not be true, and probably won't amount to anything, but it has had the effect of causing gasoline prices drop more than 10 cents in the last two weeks. Personally I think it's been 15 or 20 cents. The same thing happened when prices were high under George W. Bush. Just the mention of drilling HERE softens the market speculation and causes futures prices for oil to drop and soon after that retail gasoline follows. Seeing that the mere mention of making oil development easier in the U.S. can drop gasoline prices, Mr. Obama is probably using this fact to get gasoline prices down, making it easier for his re-election, while not actually having to do any actual new drilling and thereby keeping his environmental base happy.

The fact that he puts the old canard out there that oil companies aren't using or developing the leases they do have is straight from the liberal playbook. There are many reasons that oil companies may not use a lease that they hold to drill for oil somewhere. One is the Obama administration's bureaucratic processes and hurdles for getting permits to drill for oil. Another is the cost-effectiveness in drilling in a particular location. Finally, the location of the lease may not have enough, or any, oil.

According to AAA, gasoline prices were $2.77 one year ago. They are on average $3.81 per gallon now. From the consumer's point of view, any downward direction in the price of fuel is going to be appreciated, regardless of whether more drilling permits are given.

No Official Bin Laden Death Photos - For Now

I agree wholeheartedly with the Obama administration's decision not to release pictures of Osama bin Laden's dead body. The fact that he is shark food at the bottom of the ocean and no longer a source of terrorist activity, murder, mayhem, and jihadist inspiration should be enough satisfaction for those of us in the U.S. and everywhere else in the civilized world who believe that the U.S. government wouldn't lie about THIS. In fact, they could not lie about it because the truth would leak out eventually. And for those that seriously want proof, I am sure they can approach the White House for the DNA evidence and other evidence, which some press outlets like 60 Minutes, The New York Times, or The National Enquirer will likely do. Besides, photographic evidence is almost worthless these days with the easy digital photo manipulation of photographs that goes on.

Already a horrible, fake, dead Osama is floating around on Facebook and probably scaring some kids whose newsfeed it shows up in because some friend or family member commented on it. The fake is really gruesome as I am sure the original is.

What would be the good reason to release the pictures? To assure our enemies the Islamic Jihadist terrorists, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbolla, and Ahmadinejad that we are not lying, Osama really is dead? Will that suddenly convert them to our side? No. We don't even need to think for a second about releasing it for their sakes. Should we release it for the sakes of the people of Afghanistan who may be on the fence about whether to support the U.S./Afghan government or the Taliban? Maybe, if it will convince the leaders and the citizens of Afghanistan that the main source of funds to the Taliban in the past is out of the picture and that they can side with the forces of good, then it may be a useful tool in ending the hostilities in that country.

As far as skeptical governments, the U.S. can work directly with any of these and show them directly all evidence it has, including the photographic evidence. But this is the problem.

Unfortunately, the way the world works today, information can't be kept secret for long if there is a desire for it. Think wikileaks. At some point the real photo will leak out, by someone within the government, or someone who the government shows the evidence to, then the U.S. government will feign anger at the leak, but then admit that the photo or photos are authentic.

It is just a matter of time before evidence or photos of Osama bin Laden's death leak from the sieve that is the U.S. government, so unfortunately, the arguments for or against releasing them are really a moot point.