A Tale Of Two Cities (States).

Illinois & Oklahoma:

I thought these two states, the first part about Illinois and the second part about Oklahoma, made for an interesting contrast .

PART 1 — Illinois 

"A State with No Republicans!"

Some interesting data on the 'state' of, the State of Illinois ... There are more people on welfare in Illinois than there are people working.

Chicago pays the highest wages to teachers than anywhere else in the U.S..  Their average pay is $110,000/year. Their pensions average 80-90% of their income. Wow, are Illinois and Chicago great or what? Be sure to read till the end. I've never heard it explained better. Perhaps the U.S. should pull out of Chicago?

Body count:

In the last six months, 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago . . . 221 killed in Iraq; AND Chicago has one of the strictest gun laws in

the entire US.

Here's the Chicago chain of command:

President: Barack  Hussein Obama •

Senator: Dick Durbin •

House Representative: Jesse Jackson Jr.

Governor: Pat Quinn •

House leader: Mike Madigan •

Atty. Gen.: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike) •

Mayor: Rahm  Emanuel •

The leadership in Illinois - all Democrats. •

Thank you for the combat zone in Chicago. •  Of course, they're all blaming each other. •  Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any! •

Let us get ALL the facts out while we are at it:

Chicago school system rated one of the worst in the country. Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any!

State pension fund $78 Billion in debt, worst in country. Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any!

Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax 10.25% highest in country. Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any!

This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois . And he is going to 'fix' Washington politics for us?

George Ryan is no longer Governor, he is in prison. He was replaced by Rob Blagojevich who is, by the way, also in prison.

And Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned . . . and, that's right, he and his wife are both in prison.

The Land of Lincoln, where our Governors and Representatives make our license plates.  What?

As long as they keep providing entitlements to the population of Chicago, nothing is going to change, except the state will go bankrupt before the country does.

"Anybody who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian."

Don't forget Detroit, another great example of a Democratic empire…With all the bad news, there is hope, so let's go to:

  

PART 2— Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA- may soon have plenty of new residents!

THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING, AND TRUE ... PLEASE READ IT!

Oklahoma is the only state that Obama did not win even one county in the last election...  While everyone is focusing on Arizona's new law, look what Oklahoma has been doing!!!

An update from Oklahoma:

Oklahoma law passed, 37 to 9 an amendment to place the Ten Commandments on the front entrance to the state capitol. The feds in D.C., along with the ACLU, said it would be a mistake. Hey this is a conservative state, based on Christian values... HB 1330

Guess  what... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Oklahoma recently passed a law in the state to incarcerate all illegal immigrants and ship them back to where they came from unless they want to get a green card and become an American citizen. They all scattered. HB1804. This was against the advice of the Federal Government, and the ACLU, they said it would be a mistake. 

Guess what... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Recently we passed a law to include DNA samples from any and all illegal's to the Oklahoma database, for criminal investigative purposes. Pelosi said it was unconstitutional SB1102

Guess what... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Several weeks ago, we passed a law, declaring  Oklahoma as a Sovereign state, not under the Federal Government directives. Joining, Texas, Montana and Utah as the only states to do so; More states  are likely to follow: Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia,

Carolinas,  Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, West Virginia, Mississippi and Florida .

Save your confederate money, it appears the South is about to rise up once again. HJR 1003

The federal Government has made bold steps to take away our guns. Oklahoma, a week ago, passed a law confirming people in this state have the right to bear arms and transport them in their vehicles. I'm sure that was a setback for the criminals  The Liberals didn't like it -- But.... 

Guess  what... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Just this month, the state has voted and passed a law that ALL driver’s license exams will be printed in English and only English and no other language. They have been called racist for doing this, but the fact is that ALL of the road signs are in English only. If you want to drive in Oklahoma, you must read and write English. Really simple.

By the way, the Liberals don't like any of this either

Guess what... who cares... Oklahoma is doing it anyway.

 

Federal Courts Issue Conflicting Rulings On ObamaCare Subsidy

Good. This means that we are a nation of laws and the Rule of Law still applies. The Rule of the Political Party does not control; not yet, anyway. But wait, this is not over. The DOJ plans to appeal this decision to the full Washington DC Circuit Court. This was a 2-1 majority decision by 3 judges out of the full 11 on the DC Circuit. 4 of the 11were appointed by Obama and 7 of the 11 were appointed by Democrats. If the Rule of Law still governs in America, then an "en banc" decision by the full 11 judges will result in the same decision. But if political party trumps the Law then an appeal would result in the politically absurd ruling advanced by the Democrats who pushed thru the flawed and defective ObamaCare Law.
WASHINGTON –  Two federal appeals court rulings put the issue of ObamaCare subsidies in limbo Tuesday, with one court invalidating some of them and the other upholding all of them.
The first decision came Tuesday morning from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The panel, in a major blow to the law, ruled 2-1 that the IRS went too far in extending subsidies to those who buy insurance through the federally run exchange, known as HealthCare.gov.
A separate federal appeals court in Virginia, next door to Washington, DC -- the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals -- hours later issued its own ruling on a similar case that upheld the subsidies in their entirety.
The conflicting rulings would typically fast-track the matter to the Supreme Court. However, it is likely that the administration will ask the D.C. appeals court to first convene all 11 judges to re-hear that case.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest stressed Tuesday that different courts have reached different conclusions on the subsidy issue, and said the latest ruling against the subsidies “does not have any practical impact” at this point on the ability of people to get tax credits. The White House later said the D.C. decision was "undermined" by the Fourth Circuit decision.

Still, the D.C. court ruling nevertheless strikes at the foundation of the law by challenging subsidies that millions of people obtained through the federally run exchange known as HealthCare.gov.
The suit maintained that the language in ObamaCare actually restricts subsidies to state-run exchanges -- of which there are only 14 -- and does not authorize them to be given in the 36 states that use the federally run system.
The court agreed.
“We reach this conclusion, frankly, with reluctance. At least until states that wish to can set up Exchanges, our ruling will likely have significant consequences both for the millions  of individuals receiving tax credits through federal Exchanges and for health insurance markets more broadly,” the ruling stated.
The case, Halbig v. Burwell, is one of the first major legal challenges that cuts to the heart of the Affordable Care Act by going after the legality of massive federal subsidies and those who benefit from them.
The decision said the law "unambiguously restricts" the subsidies to insurance bought on state-run exchanges.
The dissenting opinion, though, claimed political motivations were at play. “This case is about Appellants’ not-so-veiled attempt to gut the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ('ACA'),” the dissent stated.
The ruling, though likely to be appealed, could threaten the entire foundation of the newly devised health care system. Nearly 90 percent of the federal exchange’s insurance enrollees were eligible for subsidies because of low or moderate incomes, and the outcome of the case could potentially leave millions without affordable health insurance.
“Today’s decision rightly holds the Obama administration accountable to the law,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a written statement adding, “… As it has on so many occasions, the Obama administration simply ignored the law and implemented its own policy instead.”
The next step for the Obama administration would be that they request a so-called en banc ruling, which means there would be a vote taken by all of the judges on the court. An appeals court can only overrule a decision made by a panel if the court is sitting en banc.
Earnest said the Department of Justice will likely appeal to the full D.C. Circuit Court and defended the administration’s position that Congress intended “all eligible Americans” to have access to the subsidies regardless of which entity set up the exchange.
“We are confident in the legal position that we have,” Earnest said.
Ron Pollack, founding executive director of Families USA, said in a written statement that the ruling “represents the high-water mark for Affordable Care Act opponents, but the water will recede very quickly.”
He added, “It will inevitably be placed on hold pending further proceedings; will probably be reheard by all of the 11-member active D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals members, who predictably will reverse it; and runs contrary to" the ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The appeals process could eventually lead to the U.S. Supreme Court deciding on the legality of the subsidies, but Pollack, whose group supports the law, believes that won’t happen.
Of the 11 judges that could rehear the case, seven are Democrats and four are Republicans.
Halbig v. Burwell, which previously had been called Halbig v. Sebelius, is one of four federal lawsuits that have been filed aimed at targeting the idea of tax credits and other subsidies afforded under ObamaCare.
A total of $1 trillion in subsidies is projected to be doled out over the next decade.
A U.S. District Court previously sided with the Obama administration on Jan. 15.

All Publicity Is Good

United States Coast Guard Academy Alumni: London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, JR.

ISBN13: 9781155406800  ISBN10: 115540680x

 0  19  0  0  21

 All publicity is good. There is no such thing as bad publicity. It is better to be attacked and slandered than to be ignored. You must not discriminate between the different types of attention. In the end, all attention will work to your favor. Welcome personal attacks and feel no need to defend yourself. Court controversy, even scandal. Never be afraid or ashamed of the qualities that set you apart or draw attention to you. Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in a crowd, or buried in oblivion. Stand out; be conspicuous at all costs. Make yourself a magnet for attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and the timid masses.
Burning more brightly than those around you is a skill that no one is born with. You have to learn to attract attention. At the start of your career, you have to attach your name and your reputation to a quality or an image that sets you apart from other people. This image can be something characteristic like a style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets you talked about. Once the image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your star. Attack the sensational, the false, the scandalous, and the politically correct. Keep reinventing yourself. Once you are in the limelight you have to renew it by reinventing ways to court attention.
People feel superior to people whose actions they can predict or control. If you show them who is in control by playing against their expectations, you will gain their respect and tighten your hold on their fleeting attention. Society craves people who stand apart from general mediocrity.

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Chapters:

 London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Erroll M. Brown, James C. Van Sice, Chester R. Bender, Peter Boynton, J. William Kime, Charles D. Wurster, Owen W. Siler, Daniel C. Burbank, Thomas H. Collins, Paul A. Yost, Jr., John B. Hayes, Willard J. Smith, Timothy S. Sullivan, William D. Baumgartner, Thomas T. Matteson, Terry M. Cross, Steven H. Ratti, Edwin J. Roland, Robert E. Kramek, Billy Tauzin III, James S. Gracey, George Naccara. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: 

  London Eugene Livingston Steverson (born March 13, 1947) was one of the first two African Americans to graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1968. 

Later, as chief of the newly formed Minority Recruiting Section of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), he was charged with desegregating the Coast Guard Academy by recruiting minority candidates.

 He retired from the Coast Guard in 1988.

In 1990 was appointed to the bench as a Federal Administrative Law Judge with the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration. Steverson was born and raised in Millington, Tennessee, the oldest of three children of Jerome and Ruby Steverson. 

At the age of 5 he was enrolled in the E. A. Harrold elementary school in a segregated school system. He later attended the all black Woodstock High School in Memphis, Tennessee, graduating valedictorian.
A Presidential Executive Order issued by President Truman had desegregated the armed forces in 1948, but the service academies were lagging in officer recruiting. 

President Kennedy specifically challenged the United States Coast Guard Academy to tender appointments to Black high school students. London Steverson was one of the Black students to be offered such an appointment.

More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=432685

Synopsis:

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. 

Chapters: 

London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Erroll M. Brown, James C. Van Sice, Chester R. Bender, Peter Boynton, J. William Kime, Charles D. Wurster, Owen W. Siler, Daniel C. Burbank, Thomas H. Collins, Paul A. Yost, Jr., John B. Hayes, Willard J. Smith, Timothy S. Sullivan, William D. Baumgartner, Thomas T. Matteson, Terry M. Cross, Steven H. Ratti, Edwin J. Roland, Robert E. Kramek, Billy Tauzin III, James S. Gracey, George Naccara. 

Excerpt:  

Wilbert Joseph Billy Tauzin III was born December 1, 1973 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, the son of Congressman Billy Tauzin and Gayle Clement Tauzin. After graduating from Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, VA, as a National Honor Society Student and 3 sport lettermen (football, wrestling and lacrosse), Tauzin accepted an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. After quitting the Coast Guard Academy his junior year, Tauzin finished his bachelor's degree in marketing at Louisiana State University in 1996. That summer he applied for and accepted an entry-level position selling wireless phones for Bell Atlantic Wireless in suburban Virginia. Three promotions later, he moved to outside sales in Rockville, Maryland. When the desire to return to his home state overwhelmed him, he applied for and accepted a job in Metairie, Louisiana as a Corporate and External Affairs Manager for BellSouth. In a decision that provoked internal dissension in the Louisiana Republican Party, the 30-year-old Tauzin was endorsed by the Republican Party executive committee as its candidate to fill the open seat caused by his father's 2004 retirement from the United States House of Representatives due to his battle with pancreatic cancer. Tauzin bested a crowded ...

Reasons For Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action works. Public opinion polls suggest that most Americans support affirmative action, especially when the polls avoid an all-or-none choice between affirmative action as it currently exists and no affirmative action whatsoever.

Say it loud, "I'm Black and I'm proud!". Obama was the first Black President. And Obama is the first Affirmative Action President.
 http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tygrrrr-express/2013/jan/31/barack-obama-still-affirmative-action-president/
Under the Obama watch the economy has contracted, the debt has skyrocketed, environmental “investments” have gone bankrupt, and anti-business policies have stifled growth. Americans are being murdered and kidnapped globally.
Numerous scandals are coupled with the failed policies of the administration to become the open secrets many dare not utter. The alleged superior intelligence of Obama and his administration team is marked by sub-par performance. Let the perpetually outraged left hyperventilate and scream.

Adding to, or detracting from, his record, Obama is the failed affirmative action president (FAAP). To say he was elected solely because of his race would be wrong. Many Blacks and guilty white liberals are fixated on his race, but many other Americans love the idea of a multi-racial leader. In reality, though, most Americans turned to him after Lehman Brothers burned.
Upon taking office, something happened that is an insult to everybody who believes in affirmative action but also values merit. The standards were lowered for Obama regarding actual job performance.
It’s impossible to deny that his defenders make excuses for him. The worse things get, the more he is propped up. He is too liberal to fail and, for those people who focus on race, too black to fail. Thus criticism of Obama is de facto racism, regardless of any objective merits to the criticism.
 http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tygrrrr-express/2011/jul/11/barack-obama-affirmative-action-president/
From now on, liberals need to pretend that Barack Obama is 100% Caucasian. It is the only way they will be able to view him objectively as a man, not a demigod.
To refuse to allow any person, business, or entity to fail is to ensure greater failure in the long run.

Many of America's "Black Firsts" were allowed to become "Firsts" because of Affirmative Action. By any other name, it would be the same. Ability without opportunity is wasted. It is futile and unproductive to have a talent and never get the opportunity to use it for the benefit of humanity.
When many others are as qualified for a coveted position and a Black or other minority group person is chosen for the position, there is a strong possibility that Affirmative Action played a part in the selection. That is nothing to be ashamed of.

Jackie Robinson was the first Black professional major league baseball player. Jackie Robinson was an Affirmative Action Baby.
 http://www.jackierobinson.com/

Thurgood Marshall was the first Black lawyer appointed to be an Associate Justice of the U S Supreme Court. President Lyndon Baines Johnson made Justice Marshall an Affirmative Action Baby.

http://www.biography.com/people/thurgood-marshall-9400241
Johnson claimed that the reason he did not run for another term as President was because he had lost all of his Southern Support because he appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court; as the Southern politicians said, "it was because he put his nigger on the Court".

So, the escalation of the Viet Nam War had nothing to do with Johnson pulling out of the Presidential Race.

Wilt Chamberlain was an Affirmative Action Baby. Chamberlain and Bill Russell were the First Black superstar NBA Basketball players.
http://www.nba.com/history/players/chamberlain_summary.html

Wilt was a pretty good student. He was capable of a gentlemanly "C", as was said about President John F. Kennedy.

I was an Affirmative Action Baby.

Like Wilt, I was capable of a gentlemanly "C", but I got mostly A's and B's.
http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781155406800
I was the beneficiary of a program designed to redress the effects of past discrimination. So were Jackie Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Constance Baker Motley, Spottswood Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Eric Holder, and President Barack Obama; and so are many Americans of African descent who were pioneers in their fields.


http://www.understandingprejudice.org/readroom/articles/affirm.htm
Job discrimination is grounded in prejudice and exclusion, whereas affirmative action is an effort to overcome prejudicial treatment through inclusion. The most effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is to make special efforts at inclusion, which is exactly what affirmative action does. The logic of affirmative action is no different than the logic of treating a nutritional deficiency with vitamin supplements. For a healthy person, high doses of vitamin supplements may be unnecessary or even harmful, but for a person whose system is out of balance, supplements are an efficient way to restore the body's balance.

Some may take umbrage or offense at my use of the term because it has become so politically charged and may not be politically correct; however, Affirmative Action works. It is easier to implement than Reparations.
Affirmative Action allows America to make a partial down-payment on a debt owed to the children of the builders of America. To many it is a dirty word or two, but Reparations would not sound as sweet. Germany paid the Jews; America paid the Japanese; and America will have to pay the children of the African slaves who built America's wealth, if Affirmative Action is abandoned. How else will we make up for past discrimination against African Americans?