1 million attend tea parties in 50 states
An estimated 1 million Americans participated in at least 1,000 tea parties, according to reports by organizers tabulating the nationwide numbers, with documented protests held in 50 states.

Texas Governor fires up anti-tax crowd
Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up an anti-tax "tea party" Wednesday with his stance against the federal government and for states' rights as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, "Secede!" An animated Perry told the crowd at Austin City Hall — one of three tea parties he was attending across the state — that officials in Washington have abandoned the country's founding principles of limited government. He said the federal government is strangling Americans with taxation, spending and debt.

Heritage Foundation: EPA Out of Control
The Environmental Protection Agency today formally declared that carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases are pollutants that threaten the public health and welfare.
Heritage Foundation environmental expert Ben Lieberman reacted to the announcement as follows: "This clears the way for the most expensive and expansive environmental regulation in history. The EPA approach to regulating COs will dramatically affect the lives and day-to-day practices of all Americans... all for a change in the Earth's temperature too small to ever notice. "The finding opens the door to federal regulation of almost anything that emits carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. That includes virtually everything that moves, from cars, trucks and ships to lawn mowers and tractors. The agency could also go after things that stand still—regulating millions of emissions-producing hospitals, restaurants and other commercial buildings, and perhaps even eying backyard barbeques.

IRS workers see double standard on tax errors
The Treasury secretary, who oversees the IRS, didn't pay all his taxes. Neither did five other top nominees for the Obama administration, or their spouses. Now, as Wednesday's tax deadline looms, some Americans are wondering why they should comply with the arcane requirements of the Internal Revenue Service when top administration officials failed to do the same. Even some IRS employees are upset at what they see as a double standard.??The most criticized example has been Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who admitted not paying $34,000 in payroll and Social Security taxes, saying his failure to pay was an oversight. Five other nominees disclosed similar tax issues, including one as recently as two weeks ago when Kathleen Sebelius, President Barack Obama's pick for secretary of health and human services, admitted she didn't pay $7,040. "Our members are upset and angry," said Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, referring to concern bubbling up within the IRS over unusually strict rules that can cost agents their jobs if they make a mistake.

Four CIA chiefs said 'don't reveal torture memos'
Four former CIA directors opposed the release of classified Bush-era interrogation memos, officials say, describing objections that went all the way to the White House and slowed disclosure of the records. Former CIA chiefs Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet and John Deutch all called the White House in March warning that release of the so-called "torture memos" would compromise intelligence operations, current and former officials say. President Barack Obama ultimately overruled the objections after internal discussions that intensified in the weeks that followed the former directors' intervention. The memos were released on Thursday.

Obama has no response to Ortega Rant/Clinton calls it Facinating
President Obama endured a 50-minute diatribe from socialist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega that lashed out at a century of what he called terroristic U.S. aggression in Central America and included a rambling denunciation of the U.S.-imposed isolation of Cuba's Communist government. Obama sat mostly unmoved during the speech but at times jotted notes. The speech was part of the opening ceremonies at the fifth Summit of the Americas here. Later, at a photo opportunity with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Obama held his tongue when asked what he thought about Ortega's speech. "It was 50 minutes long. That's what I thought." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ignored two questions about Ortega's speech, instead offering lengthy praise of a cultural performance of dance and song opening the summit. "I thought the cultural performance was fascinating," Clinton said. Asked again about the Ortega speech, Clinton said: "To have those first class Caribbean entertainers on all on one stage and to see how much was done in such a small amount of space, I was overwhelmed."

Businesses Outraged Over City Council Actions in Florida
A businessman outraged by perceived government attempts to silence free speech is turning the tables on city officials by posting a giant mural depicting their banning of the First Amendment.

Planned Parenthood's Annual Report Shows Record Net Assets, Increased Abortion
The Planned Parenthood Federation of American released its annual report for 2007-2008 last week, revealing record net assets of $1.014 billion and an increase of 15,560 more abortions in 2007 than the previous year.* The American taxpayer also contributed more than ever before, with $349.6 million of Planned Parenthoods funding coming from government grants and contracts. The report says that in 2006 Planned Parenthood clinics performed 289,750 abortions and in 2007 the number was 305,310.

Green Stimulus Money Costs More Jobs Than It Creates, Study Shows
Every “green job” created with government money in Spain over the last eight years came at the cost of 2.2 regular jobs, and only one in 10 of the newly created green jobs became a permanent job, says a new study released this month. The study draws parallels with the green jobs programs of the Obama administration. President Obama, in fact, has used Spain’s green initiative as a blueprint for how the United States should use federal funds to stimulate the economy. Obama's economic stimulus package, which Congress passed in February, allocates billions of dollars to the green jobs industry. But the author of the study, Dr. Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid, said the United States should expect results similar to those in Spain.

Vatican Nixes Kennedy Appointment the Holy See
Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint. The Italian paper said that the Vatican strongly disapproved of Mr Obama's support for abortion and stem cell research. The impasse over the ambassadorial appointment threatens to cloud his meeting with the Pope during a G8 summit in Itay in July.

Jay Leno Under Fire for Hosting Fundraiser for Pro-Abortion Group
Late-night NBC talk show host Jay Leno is coming under fire for plans to host a fundraising event later this month for a prominent pro-abortion organization. A pro-life group is taking Leno to task for announcing that he will host a dinner for the Feminist Majority Foundation. As the king of late night comedy, Jay Leno has few living peers and he is watched and beloved by millions of American viewers. To Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, that makes it more difficult to understand why he would support a group that Perkins says works against the interests of pregnant women. “On April 29th, Jay Leno and his wife are hosting a fundraiser for the Feminist Majority Foundation, a radical pro-abortion group that not only advocates for abortion on demand, but also for the closing of pro-life pregnancy centers,” Perkins tells LifeNews.com.

Nicolas Sarkozy puts Barack Obama in the doghouse
French President Sarkozy is pouring cold water on President Obama's efforts to recast American leadership on the world stage, depicting them as unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated. Behind leaks and briefings from the Elysée Palace lies Mr Sarkozy's irritation at the rock-star welcome that Europe gave Mr Obama on his Europan tour earlier this month.

Sebelius nomination ‘source of greatest embarrassment,’ Archbishop Burke says
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services is "sad" and "the source of greatest embarrassment" because she has repeatedly betrayed her Catholic faith through her "well known" support for legal abortion, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has commented.

Liberal actress says tea parties were racist
Liberal actress and political activist Janeane Garofalo, in all seriousness, said activists who attended tea parties are racists with dysfunctional brains in a recent prime-time television appearance. "Let's be very honest about what this is about. This is not about bashing Democrats. It's not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston Tea party was about. They don't know their history at all. It's about hating a black man in the White House," she said on MSNBC's "The Countdown" with Keith Olbermann Thursday evening. "This is racism straight up and is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. There is no way around that."

Obama does not want to share stage with Christ
When President Obama gave his economics speech at Georgetown University on Tuesday, several folks noticed something was missing. That "something" was an ancient monogram -- the letters IHS -- that symbolizes the name of Jesus. It was missing from a wooden archway above the dais in Gaston Hall where the president delivered his 45-minute speech. The gold-lettered monogram appeared near a painting of three female figures -- symbolizing morality, faith and patriotism -- and decorative edging along the wall that spelled out the Jesuit motto "Ad majorem Dei gloriam"—"To the greater glory of God." Georgetown was founded by the Jesuits. Some of them may have been turning in their graves in the cemetery across campus at the sight of the missing monogram which looked like a blacked-out space above a blue backdrop and a row of American flags flanking the nation's chief executive. Was Georgetown selling short its Catholic heritage, we wondered.

Religious Freedom Doesn’t Mean Religious Silence
Recognizing the influence of religion, tyrants have always begun their quest for absolute power by coopting religious leaders. Where they have failed in that enterprise, would-be despots have neutralized them by undermining their authority or doing away with troublesome ministers altogether. History's tyrants recognized the progression that some of us have forgotten: Where people are free to act according their conscience, they will demand the right to determine their political destiny. Where they choose their political leaders, they will seek the space to exercise economic freedom as well. The many dimensions of freedom tend to rise--and to fall--together. These are the connections that John Paul II, a churchman under Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, understood and articulated. Those who love freedom, be they of devout religious faith or none at all, should resist attempts to silence believers under the auspices of a perverted notion of separation of church and state.

DHS issued report on extremism despite concerns
The top Republican on the House intelligence committee, Michigan's Pete Hoekstra, has asked the director of national intelligence's ombudsman to investigate the Homeland Security report for "unsubstantiated conclusions and political bias." The senior Democrat of the House committee with oversight of the department said the report raises privacy and civil liberty issues. "This report appears to have blurred the line between violent belief, which is constitutionally protected, and violent action, which is not," Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., wrote in a letter to Napolitano. The department's definition of left-wing extremism in the March 26 report includes a reference to violence, stating these groups that embrace anticapitalist, communist or socialist beliefs seek "to bring about change through violent revolution rather than through established political processes."

Journalist Arrested for Journalism in LA
From the Someone Left the Irony On Department, John Ziegler gets arrested by security guards outside USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism for committing … er … journalism. He wanted to ask people attending their ceremony honoring Katie Couric with their Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism about the award, and the Annenberg School of Journalism apparently objected to … er … journalism.

Lou Dobbs Rips Olbermann, Garofalo, and MSNBC!
And to make the concept of Keith "Man on Fan" Olbermann a bit more tolerable, we have a delightful clip of Lou Dobbs as an appetizer. Listen as he goes after Krazy Keith, Goofy Garofalo, and that cesspool known as A-Mess-NBC.

The Tax Code: Business as Usual
Campaigning for president, Steve Forbes once remarked: "Some people in Washington say we can't afford the tax cut [that comes from a flat tax], well maybe we can no longer afford the politicians." Forbes's lack of success in his two presidential runs, largely based on his flat tax proposal, is just one example of the many failed attempts to reform our current federal tax code. One of the most obvious reasons to reform the current tax code is its sheer complexity. The code is over 60,000 pages and includes more than 1,100 forms and supplemental publications. Experts estimate that the total time Americans spend to file all of their paperwork is 6.6 billion hours. Many pay hundreds of dollars annually to pay tax professionals to file their returns, and businesses pay even more. "The present tax code is about 10 times longer than the Bible, a lot more complicated, and, unlike the Bible, contains no good news," joked former Senator Don Nickles.

Moore is No Blue Dog, He is Barney Frank’s Lap Dog!
To determine whether each Blue Dog had voted in a fiscally conservative manner, I looked at whether they voted against Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), the poster child for the views and policy instincts of today’s House Left. Frank missed the vote on the omnibus appropriations bill, so on that vote, lefty representative Barbara Lee (D., Calif.) took his place. The extent to which members of the Blue Dog Coalition agree with Frank and Lee is nothing short of astounding. Eleven sided with them 100 percent of the time. Ten others stood with them all but once, eleven more all but twice. Bottom line: Two of every three of these self-proclaimed fiscal hawks voted pretty much in lock-step with the biggest spenders on the Left. Frank-Lee’s 100 percent clones include Reps. Leonard Boswell (Iowa), Bart Gordon (Tenn.), Dennis Moore (Kan.), Patrick Murphy (Penn.), and Earl Pomeroy (N. Dak.). Those who strayed from the Frank-Lee axis only once include Reps. Jason Altmire (Penn.), Melissa Bean (Ill.), Ben Chandler (Ky.), Lincoln Davis (Tenn.), Mike Ross (Ark.), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S. Dak.), and John Tanner (Tenn.). Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.), Gabriella Giffords (Ariz.), Baron Hill (Ind.), and Charles Melancon (La.), were among those who voted the big-government line all but twice.

Sebelius lowballed donations from abortion doctor
President Barack Obama's health secretary nominee got nearly three times as much political money from a controversial abortion doctor as she told senators. The Health and Human Services Department said Monday that the omission was an oversight that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius would correct. In a response to questions from the Senate Finance Committee made public last week, Sebelius wrote that she received $12,450 between 1994-2001 from Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers. But in addition to those campaign donations, records reviewed by The Associated Press show that Tiller gave at least $23,000 more from 2000-2002 to a political action committee Sebelius established while insurance commissioner to raise money for fellow Democrats.

Incredible: Kansas gets federal money to distribute to arts groups
The Kansas Arts Commission is getting $300,000 from the federal government to help preserve jobs in the arts. The commission said Monday most of the money from the federal stimulus package will be redistributed to arts and cultural organizations around the state.

Wichita Site Still goes undeveloped despite Pork Funding
Plans for the Nomar International Public Market remain in the development stage despite more than $500,000 paid to consultants during four years of study. Money for Nomar's development and construction comes from a $327,360 federal grant and from $500,000 in the city's capital improvement program fund. The city also budgeted $500,000 for streetscape improvements around the 21st and North Broadway corridor.

Topeka Business Owners Disappointed in Sales Tax Vote
A local business group said Monday it was "disappointed' city voters approved a sales tax question but that it will continue to served as a "watchdog for government spending, taxes and policies that impact business." The Topeka Independent Business Association had been a vocal opponent of the half-cent sales tax. "The small business community of Topeka wants responsible government first and foremost, and good streets are a by-product of responsible government," a TIBA news release read. "TIBA responded to the wishes of the business community to demand the city be responsible with the funds it is given by tax payers, and that effort does not end with an election."

Conservative Catholic Program Brought Back to Newman University
The Gerber Institute has seen many changes. However, 2009 is serving as the year of renewal and rebirth for the center as it continues, now more than ever, to strengthen the Catholic identity of Newman University and to promote scholarly work in the area of Catholic studies. Subsequent themes, to be chosen biennially, will enable the institute to promote interdisciplinary dialogue exploring Catholic thought and practice in the diverse realms of educational, philosophical, political, social and cultural life. Consistent with its interest in fostering dialogue and critical thought, the Institute will embark on a variety of activities and events designed to engage the Newman community along with a broader public audience.

Parolee Burglary Suspects were active for long time
Two men who allegedly ran a large burglary ring that was devastating Kansas City neighborhoods since December are now facing new charges. Jackson County prosecutors on Friday announced that a grand jury had indicted Michael S. Dorch, 55, on two burglary and two theft charges. The indictment also charged Thomas E. Simmons, 53, with felony receiving stolen property and added five new charges, including burglary, theft, tampering and stealing. He is on parole for receiving stolen property and is related to Dorch, police said. A judge set $100,000 bonds for each. “I expect with these two men in custody for there to be a lot less crime on the street,” said Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar. The indictments labeled both defendants “persistent and prior offenders,” citing three previous felony convictions for Dorch and five for Simmons, including a federal bank robbery conviction. Members of a special task force arrested Dorch and Simmons earlier this month. The task force was formed, in part, because of 100 crimes that appeared to fit the same pattern, concentrated in the area between 55th and 85th streets west of Wornall Road and into Kansas. Another example of criminals needed to be incarcerated as opposed to n parole.

Independence to present Truman Public Service Award to Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton will receive the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award next month in Independence. The honor, given annually by the city, will be presented to the former president on May 6 on the front steps of the Truman Library. Clinton is being honored for his public service before, during and after his presidency, said Mayor Don Reimal of Independence. Reimal cited Clinton’s post-White House career, which includes various international initiatives on AIDS and climate change.

DNA test confirms inmate’s guilt in 1984 KC rape case
For 25 years, Huntley Ruff claimed he wasn’t the rapist who attacked a guest at a downtown Kansas City hotel. And after a long court battle, the Missouri Supreme Court last summer ordered the DNA testing that Ruff argued would prove his innocence. Turns out he shouldn’t have bothered. Jackson County prosecutors announced Friday that the testing Ruff sought has confirmed his conviction, and they are now seeking legal sanctions against him for filing what they say was a frivolous motion. According to prosecutors, the testing of genetic material that had been preserved since 1984 showed that the odds of somebody else other than Ruff having been the donor were one in 103.7 quadrillion.

KCMO City Business Fees to Increase “Soon”
It’s been absolutely clear for a long time that we need to reform this,” said Mayor Mark Funkhouser. “It may be that the current economic crisis gives us the final push that we need to get it done.” Analysts don’t know how much the city may be losing. But even without any changes, a revenue investigation team’s beefed-up effort to collect unpaid taxes has brought in nearly $10 million just in the last year — a third of it business license fees and penalties. For years, businesses have clamored for the city to modernize the business license program to make it more efficient and fair. “It has fees for businesses that don’t exist, and doesn’t cover businesses that do exist,” said Pete Levi, president of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “It isn’t up to date on businesses that may be involved in the technology industry.”

“It’s about hating a black man in the White House.”

Jeanine Garofalo, Liberal Actress commenting on the Tea Parties

From Proverbs 16:5
“Every proud man is an abomination to the LORD; I assure you that he will not go unpunished.”

Gospel of John 20:19-31

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe."
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you."
27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing."
28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

“I Am an Extremist”

Washington, DC – According to the U.S. Government, I am an extremist. I am a Christian – and meet regularly with other Christians to study God’s word. My faith convinces me the prophesies in the Holy Bible are true. I believe in the sanctity of human life, oppose abortion and want to preserve marriage as the union of a man and a woman. I am a veteran with skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. I own several firearms, frequently shoot them, buy ammunition and consider efforts to infringe on my 2nd Amendment rights to be wrong and unconstitutional. I fervently support the sovereignty of the United States, am deeply concerned about our economy, increasingly higher taxes, illegal immigration, soaring unemployment, and actions by our government that will bury my children beneath a mountain of debt.

Apparently, all this makes me a “rightwing extremist.” At least that’s what it says in the April 7, 2009 “Assessment” issued by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The nine-page report, titled, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” is full of warnings about American citizens who share any of my background or subscribe to the beliefs above. It is one of the most alarming documents produced by our government that I have ever read.

Evidently neither you nor I were ever supposed to read this “Assessment.” At the bottom of the cover page is a warning that it is “not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know.” We’re Americans. We have a need to know what’s going on in our government – especially in an administration that promised to be “transparent.” A full copy of the report is posted at www.freedomalliance.org.

The “Assessment” purports to alert law enforcement officials that “rightwing extremists” – the term is used more than 35 times – are intent on exploiting Americans who have strongly held beliefs on everything from Christian faith to rising unemployment, U.S. sovereignty and the 2nd Amendment. It vilifies those of us in these categories by references to neo-Nazis, racists, militias, white-supremacists, and other “hate groups.” Notably, the report includes a warning that Rightwing Extremism “may include groups or individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.”

Though the report proffers a passing reference to the 1st Amendment, it is replete with bias against conservative thought, writing and communications. On page 3, law enforcement authorities are warned, “Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived (emphasis added) loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures.”

This is a frightening acknowledgement that political speech is being monitored in America. It is also wrong. It’s not “perception.” It is fact. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the manufacturing and construction sectors have lost 161,000 jobs and 126,000 jobs, respectively, in the last month alone.

In its “Key Findings” the DHS manuscript boldly charges “rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues” and warns that “The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”

Under the heading “Disgruntled Military Veterans” the report alleges, “rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists – including lone wolves or small terrorist cells – to carry out violence.” These unsubstantiated claims are followed by reminders that Timothy McVeigh – the 1995 Oklahoma City bomber – was a military veteran. Omitted is any reference to the fact that Mr. McVeigh was simply one of more than 40 million law abiding veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Thirteen lines after this egregious, unconscionable slander against those of us who are military combat veterans, DHS makes the stunning charge that, “lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.”

According to this DHS “Assessment,” the most dangerous threat we face here at home isn’t from radical imams preaching violence in U.S. mosques and madrassas, Islamists recruiting in our prisons, Somali terrorists enticing young immigrants to become suicide bombers or Hamas, Hezbollah or al Qaeda operatives plotting mass murder. No, according to DHS, the real threat comes from what our government labels “rightwing extremist ideology.”

Mr. Obama should publicly disavow this report and fire the officials responsible for issuing it. Those who prepare his remarks for the occasion should insert in the teleprompter, Senator Barry Goldwater’s words on the subject: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”

Oliver North is the host of War Stories on the Fox News Channel, the author of American Heroes, and the founder and honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance.