Stimulus Working Great: Unemployment Graph

Unemployment in the United States hit 9.8% in September, despite the $787 billion stimulus that a Democratic Congress passed without a single Republican vote in the House and only 2 in the Senate.

That is roughly 2 points higher than the 7.8% that the White House had promised for September if the stimulus package became law.

How’s that stimulus working for ya?!

Unemployment graph as of August

Source: The Heritage Foundation

Texas to Receive Supply of H1N1 Vaccinations

The State of Texas will receive its first supply of the H1N1 vaccine today and will distribute them to a high priority populations, such as children, pregnant women, and those with serious medical conditions.

It is estimated that the Lubbock Health Department, as well as Texas Tech, will not receive a supply until mid-to-late October sometime. Texas Tech has requested 35,000 vaccinations.

I’m certainly not qualified to say whether or not you should get the vaccine once it arrives, but personally, I would rather take the chance of getting the swine flu than take a vaccination that has not been tested yet.

Ever since we passed the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA) in 2006 that gave vaccine makers immunity from illnesses and deaths related to their vaccines, I can’t say that I trust anything they make. How can vaccine makers be held accountable for their products if it kills people? If they have immunity, they can’t be held accountable, so this rush to push the H1N1 vaccine without any testing is scary to me. There are no consequences if it causes serious problems.

Sources:
News Radio 1420
The Daily Toreador

Unemployment Rate Continues to Climb

Unemployment Rate (Chart from Google)

As new reports released by the Labor Department show, unemployment and underemployment continue to climb, reaching 9.8% and 17% respectively. Underemployment data includes those who wish to work full-time, but are currently working part-time or have given up searching for work.

I remember back in the summer of 2008, I told some coworkers that I expected unemployment to reach about 14% and underemployment to reach over 20% before all is said and done. They laughed at me and said I had no clue what I was talking about.

I had just finished reading Crash Proof by Peter Schiff that previous winter, so the message was still pretty fresh in my mind. The more money we pump out of the private sector to spend on government projects, the less money we will have for jobs, thus higher unemployment. This is especially true right now as the government continues to spend to help curb the recession. Ironically, it’s the massive spending by government that will prolong the recession.

Peter Schiff has a new book out titled, Crash Proof 2.0. It builds on the previous Crash Proof book and explains how the “crash” that Schiff describes in the first book is no longer theoretical, but is actually happening now. I haven’t actually read the second book yet, but if I know Schiff’s thinking, it probably lays out the case that this isn’t the crash, but the precursor to a much larger crash. The collapse of the dollar.

Source: Associated Press

Gov. Rick Perry Fires Investigators After Finding Flawed Evidence Led to Execution

Governor 'Good Hair'

First, let me qualify by saying that Rick Perry is not a friend of Liberty. Rick Perry is a friend of Rick Perry. He would rather cover up evidence of a shoddy investigation rather than expose the truth.

Instead of listening to independent investigators detail the multiple flaws in an arson investigation that led to a man being convicted and sentenced to death, he fires the head of the commission investigating the incident. The replacement commissioner, assigned by Perry,  immediately cancels a hearing on the matter originally scheduled for Friday.

So Perry fires the man who finds a flawed investigation and replaces him with someone willing to hide the details.

“Gov. Rick Perry has replaced the head of a state commission that is investigating a questionable finding of arson in the case that led to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, just as the commission was due to hold a public hearing examining the case.

The commission had hired a nationally known expert whose review of the Willingham case was released last month. The author, Craig Beyler, called the investigation slipshod and determined that almost all of the evidence presented was based on junk science….

This week, the governor chose not to extend the terms of Austin lawyer Sam Bassett, former chair of the commission, as well as two others on the nine-member Texas Forensic Science Commission. The new commission chair promptly canceled Friday’s meeting on the Beyler report…”

Source: The Dallas Morning News

Ron Paul Appearance on The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart

Congressman Ron Paul appeared on The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart last night (September 29th, 2009) to discuss his new book, End the Fed. In all, I thought it was a pretty fair interview with Stewart genuinely asking questions about Ron Paul’s solutions. It gave Dr. Paul a chance to explain how the Fed promotes bigger government by financing social and corporate welfare programs and never-ending wars.

This video probably won’t be up long since it’s on YouTube, but here you go. Enjoy!

UPDATE: This video has been taken down. But you can still watch it on Comedy Central’s website.

Texas GOP Chair Tina Benkiser Resigns to Work for Perry

Tina Benkiser

Texas GOP Chair Rina Benkiser has announced plans to resign effective October 5th so she can serve on Rick Perry’s campaign for governor.

The Texas State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) will be filling the vacancy within the next 30 days.

Though a replacement has yet to be chosen by the SREC, right now is a great time for the Liberty movement to pick someone to fill this position during the next state convention.

During the 2008 convention, incumbents Tina Benkiser and Robin Armstrong were challenged by Ron Paul supporters Paul Perry and Debra Medina for the GOP Chairman/Vice-Chairman positions. Perry and Medina garnered nearly a third of the vote.

Fast forward a year, Debra Medina is now running for governor against Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primaries and Paul Perry is serving as the Vice-Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas.

Who will we choose in 2010? The answer is unclear right now, but I can assure you that we will be prepared and ready when the time comes.

Source: The Austin American-Statesman

http://www.medinafortexas.com/

Lubbock Hero of the Week: Lawyer Ben Webb

Ben Webb

Lubbock lawyer Ben Webb was strip-searched and jailed because he refused testify against his former client as ordered by Judge Jim Bob Darnell. Yes, his real name is Jim Bob.

Webb’s courage to stand up for his former client’s rights is a shining example of true patriotism.

A Lubbock attorney this morning was exculpated after a judge signed an order finding him not guilty and releasing him of his bond obligations.

Ben Webb was arrested and jailed in June of this year after he refused to testify against a former client on trial in the 140th District Court.

Judge Jim Bob Darnell found him in contempt and ordered him arrested.

He was strip-searched and jailed before another judge released him on a personal recognizance bond.

Darnell also stipulated he must pay back any attorney fees he collected for representing the defendant he refused to testify against, Donald R. Johnson.

Visiting Judge Paul Davis, appointed after Darnell recused himself, freed Webb by signing the order agreed upon by Rod Hobson, Webb’s attorney and John Grace, who represents the county.

“I feel two things today: pride and vindication,” Webb said at a news conference on the courthouse lawn. “It feels good to know what I felt was right was right.”

Darnell declined comment.

Source: Lubbock Avalanche Journal

School Girl Dies After Being Given HPV Vaccine

Girls' fear after cancer vaccination death

The teenager – named in reports as Natalie Morton – died on Monday in hospital shortly after receiving the HPV1 Cervarix jab at the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry.

She apparently suffered a “rare but extreme reaction” after being given the injection, with a number of other girls also suffering dizziness and nausea and being sent home.

Health bosses in Coventry have launched an immediate investigation into her death, also quarantining the batch of Cervarix allocated to the school as a “precautionary measure”.

Charmaine Dunn-Myria, 15, who was in the same year as Natalie, said pupils were in tears after being told about the death.

She told the Daily Telegraph: “There was panic around the school when we found out what happened. Girls were in tears in the corridors and everyone was in shock. I had my jab as well and I was really worried about it and that something was going to happen to me.

“They never told us that there was any danger in these jabs. I didn’t know you could get sick or die from them.

Read the rest of the article at Yahoo! News.

Related article by The Daily Mail

Cervarix v Gardasil

• Cervarix was chosen for the NHS programme because it offered ‘best overall value for the NHS’.
• The vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline, beat off its rival Gardasil, made by Merck, for the lucrative contract last year.
• The jab is currently being offered to girls aged 12 and 13 years to protect against strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted and causes most cases of cervical cancer.
• Both vaccines are equally effective against HPV strains, but Gardasil also protects against 90 per cent of genital warts.
• However, the Department of Health secured a deal which meant a catch-up programme could be offered to older girls.
• Around £100 million was earmarked for the programme involving young girls, while the two-year catch-up programme was expected to cost a further £20 million.
• The NHS pays £80 a dose, plus admin and staff costs, and three jabs are given altogether.

Crowd Prays to Obama: ‘Hear our cry, Obama!’

In yet another shocking video of the cult following of Barack Obama, we witness a crowd exclaiming “Hear our cry, Obama” and “Deliver us, Obama!” during a speech from a clergywoman. Invoking the prophet Jeremiah and prophet Martin Luther King, Jr., a clergywoman advocates for health care for all. The transcript is below.

TRANSCRIPT:

CROWD: EVERYBODY IN, NOBODY OUT! (walking into building)

CLERGYWOMAN: We are here for the healing of the nation.

CROWD: YES!

CLERGYWOMAN: With the prophet Jeremiah, we cry out. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?

CROWD: HEAR OUR CRY, OBAMA! (some say “OH GOD”)

CLERGYWOMAN: With the prophet Martin Luther King, Jr., we cry out: Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is most shocking and inhumane!

CROWD: HEAR OUR CRY, OBAMA! (again some say “OH GOD”)

CLERGYWOMAN: From health care systems and industries that place profit over people.

CROWD: DELIVER US, OBAMA! (again some say “OH GOD”)

CLERGYWOMAN: From lobbying efforts that block access to quality health care to all.

CROWD: DELIVER US, OBAMA! (again some say “OH GOD”)

CLERGYWOMAN: From greed and fear that replace the reality of God’s abundance and the power of community with a mix of scarcity and isolation.

CROWD: DELIVER US, OBAMA! (more people start to say “OH GOD”)

CLERGYWOMAN: From scapegoat-ism of immigrants, from blaming the poor, from all simple attitudes which deem health care as a right of the privileged rather than a basic human right

CROWD: DELIVER US, OH GOD (fewer people can be heard saying “OBAMA”)

CLERGYWOMAN: Protect all those who face illness without good health care insurance.

CROWD: *sings* “OH WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN…”

Lubbock Police Arrest and Stun Tech Student

Lubbock Police officers used a stun gun on a Texas Tech student Saturday afternoon during the “Tour de Tech Terrace”.  The student was charged with evading arrest with a vehicle, resisting arrest, failure to identify and public intoxication.

Hunter Temperton, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, was arrested at about 6:40 p.m. Saturday at the Tech Terrace Park at 23rd Street and Gary Avenue, according to Lubbock Police Department officer Sgt. Jon Stewart. Sgt. Stewart said the subject was in the street when officers told him to go into the park. Temperton did not comply with officers and was subsequently arrested, he said.

However, students witnessed Temperton walking to a group of students while one of the officers was writing him a ticket and then the officers tackled him from his bicycle and pinned him to the ground.

As you can see in the video, it appears as though Temperton is subdued on the ground by two officers and is offering little resistance.

However, in the audio, one of the officers can be heard saying “keep your hand down.” The officers then stun him with a stun gun and say, “Now give me your other hand or I’m going to tase you again.” The student’s hands are obscured by the body of one of the police officers in the video.

Source: The Daily Toreador