The Plain Truth

Denny Hamlin Stays Honest Despite NASCAR's Secret Fine

The top 12 Sprint Cup drivers came through the Pocono Raceway media center one by one Friday, sitting down in front of the microphone in a four-hour-plus orgy of content providing, knowing that anything they said can and will be used against them, either by NASCAR or the media or both.

It was the first weekly press session in the Sprint Cup series in the wake of Monday's Associated Press story that NASCAR had secretly fined two drivers for negative comments about the sport, with one being a $50,000 fine.

Most of the drivers more or less circled the wagons and said they understood and supported their sanctioning body's actions because if it's for the good of the sport, it's okay, and who better to decide than NASCAR.

But it was Denny Hamlin who, after confirming he was one of those fined, really stepped up to the plate of honesty and frankness, criticizing NASCAR's decision to keep the fine a secret and blaming his fine in part on his penchant for Tweeting.

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Our Future In Chains: The For-Profit Debtors' Prison System

Michael Edwards

Activist Post

Debtors' prisons have a sordid history that was thought to be best left behind in Medieval Europe and in Charles Dickens' fictionalized accounts of the 19th-century hellholes of Victorian England.  America was not to be outdone, debtors’ prisons were widespread in the United States as well, and stories of the conditions in New York's debtors’ prisons could make one question if repayment of debts was really the purpose; violent criminals were much better clothed and fed.  In fact, history shows that terror and slavery have always had a close relationship with debt, and it follows a path from the Romans right through to 17th century England, and into America from English common law.  However, America chose to abolish her debtors’ prisons a full 36 years before England; first in New York in 1831, and by 1833 the rest of the America had followed.(1)  Read the rest===========>

Shirley Sherrod to Sue Andrew Breitbart; Brent Bozell Reacts

Andrew Breitbart is going to be fine. He's done nothing wrong. I wonder if Ms. Sherrod, who is such a champion of transparency, will publicly disclose who is putting her up to this. And I also hope this champion of honesty will stop lying about Fox News. I'm also waiting for Ms. Sherrod to publicly apologize for accusing anyone opposed to nationalized healthcare of being racist. Last time I checked, that was more than half the country.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/#ixzz0v7jn4L9R

JournoList Erodes Media Prestige

Creators Syndicate – Tucker Carlson's website, the Daily Caller, has unearthed a treasure trove of liberal journalists talking (nastily) to themselves in a private e-mail list about how they should use their media power to remake the world in their image.

The funniest thing about this expose of JournoList was witnessing journalists say it was unfair to leak these e-mails when reporters had an "expectation of privacy." More than 90,000 pages of secret documents on Afghanistan have been leaked and journalists are tripping over one another in a mad stampede to cover the story. Everyone should laugh heartily at leak-devouring journalists getting a fistful of their own bitter pills.   More>>>>>>

OBAMA'S OMB nominee got $900,000 after Citigroup bailout

President Obama's choice to be the government's chief budget officer received a bonus of more than $900,000 from Citigroup Inc. last year -- after the Wall Street firm for which he worked received a massive taxpayer bailout.

The money was paid to Jacob Lew in January 2009, about two weeks before he joined the State Department as deputy secretary of state, according to a newly filed ethics form. The payout came on top of the already hefty $1.1 million Citigroup compensation package for 2008 that he reported last year.

Google, CIA Invest in ‘Future’ of Web Monitoring

By Bob Barney

Have you ever wondered how small internet companies have become billion dollar corporations? You can believe the "smart kid got rich" stories propagated by the web founders, or you can use your brain power to figure out why certain "kids" in college became billionaires almost overnight. The dirty little secret is that these companies like Google, Facebook and YouTube had help. In many cases that help was from the government, who hid behind these young entrepreneurs as they developed spying sites in an attempt to know everything about everyone. Today's story comes as no surprise. Google has been a CIA controlled site since its inception-- that's why China went to war with Google. They knew the same thing to be true. Google was a tool of American espionage and the Chinese decided to end its power in their homeland pronto. The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the web in real time — and says it uses that information to predict the future.

The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come. In a white paper, the company says its temporal analytics engine “goes beyond search” by “looking at the ‘invisible links’ between documents that talk about the same, or related, entities and events.”

... now onto the story:
Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/exclusive-google-cia/#ixzz0v7er63OY

 

Alexis de Tocqueville and 'Democracy in America'

Alexis de Tocqueville was born JULY 29, 1805. A French social scientist who traveled the United States in 1831, de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America: "Religion in America...must be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it...This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or a party, but it belongs to the whole nation." De Tocqueville stated: "The sects that exist in the United States are innumerable. They all differ in respect to the worship which is due to the Creator; but they all agree in respect to the duties which are due from man to man. Each sect adores the Deity in its own peculiar manner, but all sects preach the same moral law in the name of God...Moreover, all the sects of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same." De Tocqueville added: "There is no country in the whole world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence than in America...and nothing better demonstrates how useful it is to man, since the country where it now has the widest sway is both the most enlightened and the freest."

Show Endnotes

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Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1835, 1840. Alexis de Tocqueville, The Republic of the United States & Its Political Institutions, Reviewed & Examined, Henry Reeves, translator (Garden City, NY: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1851), Vol. I, p. 331-332. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2 vols. (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), Vol. I, p. 303. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (NY: Vintage Books, 1945), Vol. I, pp. 314-315. Gary DeMar, "The Christian America Debate " (Atlanta, GA: The Biblical Worldview, An American Vision Publication - American Vision, Inc., February 1993), Vol. 9, No. 2, p. 14. Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Pub., Inc., 1987), p. 97.

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Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery Solved?

The recent decoding of a cryptic cup, the excavation of ancient Jerusalem tunnels, and other archaeological detective work may help solve one of the great biblical mysteries: Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The new clues hint that the scrolls, which include some of the oldest known biblical documents, may have been the textual treasures of several groups, hidden away during wartime—and may even be "the great treasure from the Jerusalem Temple," which held the Ark of the Covenant, according to the Bible.  Read the story

You Want to Talk About Scandal?-

 Abe Greenwald -

Forget Wikileaks. For genuine scandal, check out the newly released letter from the U.S. embassy in London to Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond. It reveals a) the Obama administration’s passivity in the run-up to Scotland’s release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, b) the administration’s deception in claiming to have had no foreknowledge of Megrahi’s release, and c) the administration’s inability to persuade other governments of anything. Although President Obama previously said that he was “surprised, disappointed and angry” You Want to Talk About Scandal?

Financial 'Reform' Bill Has Provision Exempting SEC from Information Requests, Will Media Call Obama on It?

Fox Business is reporting that the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that President Obama signed recently includes a provision that exempts the Securities and Exchange Commission from responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. Fox wrote:

The law, signed last week by President Obama, exempts the SEC from disclosing records or information derived from "surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities." Given that the SEC is a regulatory body, the provision covers almost every action by the agency, lawyers say. Congress and federal agencies can request information, but the public cannot.

Several years ago, the media was confronted by several similar issues involving attempts by the Bush Administration to narrow the provisions of FOIA and exempt certain agencies from having to respond to requests filed under that act. The question that remains in these next few days as the media reports on this story is weather their response will be as condemnatory as it was when George W. Bush was in office.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/#ixzz0v27kOanz

Fallen Soldiers' Families Denied Cash as Insurers Profit

The package arrived at Cindy Lohman’s home in Great Mills, Maryland, just two weeks after she learned that her son, Ryan, a 24-year-old Army sergeant, had been killed by a bomb in Afghanistan. It was a thick, 9-inch-by- 12-inch envelope from Prudential Financial Inc., which handles life insurance for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Inside was a letter from Prudential about Ryan’s $400,000 policy. And there was something else, which looked like a checkbook. The letter told Lohman that the full amount of her payout would be placed in a convenient interest-bearing account, allowing her time to decide how to use the benefit.

CLICK LINK TO READ MORE-------->

Illegals win: Judge blocks vital parts of Arizona immigration law

A federal judge this morning blocked several critical provisions of Arizona's new immigration law from taking effect, delivering a last-minute victory to opponents of the law that brought the state a flurry of mostly negative international attention.

The overall law will still take effect Thursday, but without the provisions that angered opponents. Sections barred from being enforced include:   MORE>>>>>>>

Counterfeit smokes, unchecked, growing in NY

US tobacco companies are worried that the recent tax hike on cigarettes in New York is encouraging their worst scourge -- an increase in counterfeit black market smokes, especially from China, that are dead ringers for popular brands.

Excuse me for using the word "dead" in a cigarette story but in this case it's doubly justified since nobody seems to have ever tested these Chinese cigarettes for their content. Some yak hair mixed with your tobacco? Maybe a few grams of chicken droppings added to make the "tobacco" go further? Could be -- as I said, nobody has bothered to do an analysis.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/counterfeit_smokes_unchecked_growing_fTZMz5FnUNGQYIFl7bjbWI?sms_ss=email#ixzz0uymmxoLc

Jon Stewart: ‘Andrew Breitbart may be the most honest person in this entire story’

July 27, 2010 at 2:49 pm - Comedy Central
Dateline: New York

Jon Stewart brings his unique perspective to the Shirley Sherrod story.

EUGENE J. MORRIS 1910-2010 (Dick Morris' dad)

By Dick Morris

07.26.2010

Gene Morris was a force of nature. Strong, dynamic, energetic, and industrious, but also tender, loving, loyal, mentoring, and creative. He died on Saturday, July 24, 2010, but three months shy of his 100th birthday.

My father – I am an only child – was my inspiration and role model throughout my life. He first taught me about politics on our long walks to his office through Manhattan’s Central Park.

He came from a political family. His uncle, Albert Cohn, served as a judge on New York State’s top court and was a close associate of Ed Flynn, FDR’s political advisor. Al’s son and my father’s first cousin was Roy Cohn who went on to fame as chief counsel to the McCarthy Committee investigating communism in the 1950s. My father and Roy were close.

Full Story

Natural gas could lead to new Lebanon-Israel war

Source: AP

The discovery of large natural gas reserves under the waters of the eastern Mediterranean could potentially mean a huge economic windfall for Israel and Lebanon, both resource-poor nations - if it doesn't spark new war between them.

The Hezbollah militant group has blared warnings that Israel plans to steal natural gas from Lebanese territory and vows to defend the resources with its arsenal of rockets. Israel says the fields it is developing do not extend into Lebanese waters, a claim experts say appears to be correct, but the maritime boundary between the two countries - still officially at war - has never been precisely set.Read Full Article Here...

The Death of Paper Money

As they prepare for holiday reading in Tuscany, City bankers are buying up rare copies of an obscure book on the mechanics of Weimar inflation published in 1974.

Ebay is offering a well-thumbed volume of “Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations” at a starting bid of $699 (shipping free.. thanks a lot).

The crucial passage comes in Chapter 17 entitled “Velocity”. Each big inflation — whether the early 1920s in Germany, or the Korean and Vietnam wars in the US — starts with a passive expansion of the quantity money. This sits inert for a surprisingly long time. Asset prices may go up, but latent price inflation is disguised. The effect is much like lighter fuel on a camp fire before the match is struck.

People’s willingness to hold money can change suddenly for a “psychological and spontaneous reason” , causing a spike in the velocity of money. It can occur at lightning speed, over a few weeks. The shift invariably catches economists by surprise. They wait too long to drain the excess money.

Full article here

H.R. 5741 Slave bill now in Committee

Slavery has a new name: “Mandatory Service”, introduced July 15th 2010 by Charles Rangle.

Democrat Charles Rangel.

H.R. 5741 will give the president the authority “To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.”

Barely a year after introducing H.R. 1444, which was supposed to form a “Congressional Commission on Civic Service to study methods of improving and promoting volunteerism and national service, and for other purposes”, Congress has upped the ante. Anyone between 18 and 42 will be eligible for a two year commitment of civilian or military service. With more college graduates working for the fast food industry, a depression era unemployment rate and less people retiring; the government will have plenty of eligible able bodies to move into the slave ranks.   More============>

BP Oil Spill: Clean-Up Crews Can't Find Crude in the Gulf

For 86 days, oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's damaged well, dumping some 200 million gallons of crude into sensitive ecosystems. BP and the federal government have amassed an army to clean the oil up, but there's one problem -- they're having trouble finding it.  More=============>

Steve Wynn Takes On Washington

Oliver Stone: 'Jewish-Dominated Media' Prevents Hitler from Being Portrayed 'in Context'

Director Oliver Stone belittled the Holocaust during a shocking interview with the Sunday Times today, claiming that America's focus on the Jewish massacre was a product of the "Jewish domination of the media."

The director also defended Hitler and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and railed against the "powerful lobby" of Jews in America.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/#ixzz0ukVJOozS

White House backed release of Lockerbie bomber

Looks like BP's control over this White House goes pretty deep!

THE US government secretly advised Scottish ministers it would be "far preferable" to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya.

Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was freed in August last year on grounds that he had terminal cancer.

The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama's claim last week that all Americans were "surprised, disappointed and angry" to learn of Megrahi's release.   more========================>

NASCAR: France says schedule facelift possible

NDIANAPOLIS -- NASCAR appears ready to give its 2011 Sprint Cup schedule a facelift.

CEO Brian France said before Sunday's race at Indianapolis that stock car's top series is in the "final throes" of completing next year's Cup slate and that it will have a considerably different look.

"There will be some changes as they look now," France said. "That could not quite materialize, but I sense it will and we'll have some pretty impactful changes to the schedule that I think will be good for NASCAR fans."

“

It's no secret that Kentucky is talking about hosting a Sprint Cup event and that's not that far away. It's fine to talk about Kentucky. It's a worthy market to at least discuss.

” -- NASCAR CEO Brian France

International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports Inc., the top two track operators in the series, have both petitioned NASCAR to alter the 36-race Cup schedule to accommodate date or track changes.

ISC is hoping Kansas will receive a second Cup date, while SMI could juggle its lineup to bring a second race to the popular Las Vegas venue and give its 1.5-mile track in northern Kentucky the Cup race its former ownership group has long coveted.

SMI president Bruton Smith wouldn't reveal specifics of SMI's requested schedule changes, but said NASCAR should feel "morally obligated" to bring a second Cup race to Las Vegas.  Read the rest==============>

Smith also said he'd like to have a Cup race at "all" of SMI's NASCAR-sanctioned tracks. The only one that lacks a Cup date right now is Kentucky, where the former ownership group filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and ISC five years ago after its request for a Cup race was consistently denied.

North Korea warns of nuclear 'sacred war'

Thousands of personnel will be taking part in the naval exercises starting on Sunday

North Korea says it will use its "nuclear deterrent" in response to joint US-South Korean military exercises this weekend.

Pyongyang was ready to launch a "retaliatory sacred war" at any time, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Washington and Seoul say the war games are to deter North Korean aggression. Read the rest of the story=================>

BP set to begin oil drilling off Libya

The Gulf of Mexico spill has raised serious safety concerns for BP.... HOWEVER  ---- Oil giant BP has confirmed it will begin drilling off the Libyan coast in the next few weeks.

The deepwater drilling will take place in the Gulf of Sirte following a deal signed in 2007 with Libya on oil and gas development.

The news comes amid major concerns over BP's environmental and safety record following the Gulf of Mexico spill.

It also follows claims, denied by BP, that it lobbied for Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi's release. read the story===========>