By Alison Slade
GCN Live.com

According to myth, the Roman emperor Nero played the fiddle as the capital city burned to the ground around him. The story of the brutal emperor who loved music, playing as Rome burned is legend, a fabrication in time, but a narrative that is haunting nonetheless. In some histories, Nero started the fire himself, a cruel means to achieve his selfish vision of a new and improved Rome. It is not beyond the realm of comprehension to envision Nero laughing and playing as the commoners watched their lives fall apart before them, losing everything while the leaders of the city lost nothing. As I watched the presidential news conference yesterday, I could not help but think of Nero and his destruction of an empire.

In case you missed the dog and pony show (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43575197/ns/politics-white_house/t/amid-budget-impasse-obama-calls-news-conference/#slice-2), you can find a variety of breakdowns from various news outlets. While the media continued to suck down the crazy juice and praised President Obama for his eloquent handling of today’s interviews, let me tell you what I heard.

The Economy. President Obama opened his news conference with a discussion on the economy, and he was just a little, teensy bit off-base describing the worries of the middle class. As the self-appointed representative of the middle class, I can assure that a broken refrigerator or car transmission is not on the top ten list of my worries. Actually, those would be classified in the file “I am not even going to consider the possibility of this or this happening because I will then be up a creek.”

The most immediate needs for families struggling would be food on the table or keeping the roof above them, not thinking about a pay raise for the job I may or may not possess. But the President identified that the struggles of the middle class have existed for so long before the recession hit in 2007, so maybe he was just a little confused on the details. And anyway, that was only about two minutes into the talk, so I gave him a moment to collect his thoughts.

However, the conversation was quickly derailed by the good ole “it’s not my fault, it’s Congress’ fault” train. I heard “if Congress can get their act together and quit goofing around, I will look so much better to my constituents.” Apparently Congress is lazy. This is not really a surprise; remember they admit to not reading bills before they vote on them. President Obama called Congress out for not passing pending bills which could help the economy while eloquently reminding us how hard he has worked in the last two years to make sure tax cuts were made and manufacturing jobs were on the way. Oh, and let’s not forget the scare tactics in this segment, where we are warned that Congress failing to do their job means no college scholarships, no food safety, no medical research and no help for old folks. The Democrats are willing to compromise, but the GOP is stalling and lazy. That’s what I heard.

The good news, according to the President, is that he has been working hard. Real hard. You know, golf, basketball, Martha’s Vineyard, Obamacare and failed stimulus took a lot of time and work. The critical decisions regarding Libya were difficult to come by all alone. Congress needs to get real, never take a vacation, and solve these problems before the United States defaults on our bills in August. I heard he is responsible for a lot of “good” things happening in our country while everyone else is slacking. Well, except his daughters, who do their homework a day ahead of time. Who knew Presidential privilege allowed the children to get their assignments early?

I heard arrogance and blame placed on everyone else for not working hard. I heard not so gentle reminders that the American people would be eating rotten food if the GOP did not come to agreements with the compromising and helpful Democrats. I heard some dodging on social issues, like gay marriage, and some fluff about Afghanistan. I heard the only clear plan to fix our country’s economic problems rests on the backs of everyone but the President.

I did not hear accountability. I did not hear responsibility. I did not hear clear answers without pointing fingers or blame. But I think I am starting to hear some fiddle music coming from the Rose Garden.

Alison Slade is a professor who has her own talk radio show: The Alison Slade Show. This political news-talk program airs every Sunday night from 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. CST on the GCN Radio Network. Or listen On Demand anytime.

Steve Watson
GCN Live.com
June 30, 2011

In the same week that the TSA came under renewed fire for forcing a cancer stricken elderly woman to remove her adult diaper comes news of a shocking security lapse.

A Nigerian man was able to board and take a seat on a Virgin Airways flight from New York to Los Angeles without a passport or a valid boarding pass.

The incident occurred last week at JFK airport as the man, Olajide Oluwaseun used an expired boarding pass in someone else’s name for a flight scheduled on the previous day.

FBI investigators say that Noibi was only questioned after the flight was airborne when a flight attendant noticed that the seat he was sitting in should have been vacant.

The only ID he had with him was a University of Michigan identification card with his picture on it.

Worse still, the man was then allowed to disembark the plane on arrival and leave without incident.

Noibi then returned to LAX some days later and attempted to board a Delta flight to Atlanta, again with an expired boarding pass.

Airport officials say they found a further ten expired boarding passes in his luggage, all with different names on them.

When asked for clarification, the TSA issued the following statement:

“Every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint… TSA’s review of this matter indicates that the passenger went through screening.”

The man has now been arrested and charged as a stowaway. The investigation is still ongoing.

Of course, the last time a Nigerian man was able to board a plane without ID or a flight pass, it was because he was assisted by an unidentified well dressed man, according to witnesses.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab then attempted to blow up his own underpants, an incident which has led directly to the accelerated rise in TSA tyranny throughout the nation’s airports.

The latest incident represents yet another in a long list of concerning security lapses that seem to be increasing concurrently with more and more stories of ridiculous invasive security checks on wheelchair bound travelers, breastfeeding mothers, young children and even babies.

TSA agents are now so busy groping and irradiating airline passengers that they are routinely missing the presence of knives, bombs and guns in both tests and live situations.

Earlier this week ‘Raising Hope’ actor, Garret Dillahunt even tweeted that he had managed to walk right through a TSA checkpoint and on board a plane with a hunting knife.

After months of stalling, The TSA also announced this week that it was allowing airports to once again apply to use private security personnel in place of the government agency. However, according to airport officials, the agency has simply altered the application process to make it even more difficult to replace the TSA.

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Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.

By Josh Tolley
GCN Live.com

Recently New York City Mayor Bloomberg, with his coalition of 550 mayors from around the country, launched an ad campaign where home-grown terrorist Adam Gadahn was urging other terrorists to buy guns and to do so at gun shows because there are no background checks required. The purpose of the ad was to supposedly convince the public that the government shouldn’t allow the sale of guns at gun shows because there may be terrorists buying guns there.

The truth of the matter is that if a terrorist is urging other terrorists to stock up on guns, the problem is already here. We also know that terrorists are going to get guns no matter how many laws we pass to prevent it.

Will shutting down gun shows that need no background check to purchase a gun prevent terrorists from getting guns? Absolutely not. To suggest such a thing is to show either gross ignorance of the subject matter or governance by fear and that can also classified as terrorism. (Noun: the use of violence and/or threats of violence to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.)

So what does that ad really suggest? To me, and thousands of others, it would suggest that we need to exercise our rights and arm ourselves at these gun shows. If the mayor of New York is telling us that there are bad guys who want to shoot normal citizens and I am a normal citizen, than logic would dictate I better do something to protect myself. Note the key word here: myself.

If you believe that police having firearms is something that will protect your life from terrorists who have guns, you are a fool. The terrorist isn’t going to start shooting you in front of a cop, so there will be no cop around to protect you. Even if there was a cop in the area which the bad guy is going to open fire, the first target taken by surprise is going to be the cop. Why would the terrorist take out the cop first? Because he knows the cop has a gun. If guns were not a good way to protect oneself, then why would the terrorist be so afraid of the gun that he takes out the cop first?

If the mayor really cared about your safety, he would acknowledge that guns are going to end up in the hands of the bad guy — no matter what he does. He should then be urging his law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms, train in their handling, retention, and maintenance. If you feel that gun ownership isn’t for you (and I don’t think it is for everyone either) then at least support your fellow neighbors in their ability to own guns. You never know, your neighbor might just be there when you need him or her.

The bottom line is, if you see this ad, the first thing it should make you want to do is buy a gun!

What Are You Waiting For? from Fix Gun Checks on Vimeo.

The mayor, I assume, is hoping this ad will frighten you and fill you with so much terror that you will be in such fear of Adam Gagahn that you will want the government to take away your rights… just so Adam Gagahn doesn’t get a gun.

If you are that gripped by fear, so much so that you want people to have their rights taken way, I have news for you: Adam already won. He doesn’t need you dead in order for his terrorism work. The goal of terrorism is to make America change our way of life or die (mostly die, and changing our way of life helps them accomplish that). If you allow Mayor Bloomberg to accomplish this act, then America has changed, Adam won, and Mayor Bloomberg was an unwitting accomplice. The Mayor doesn’t want you to have a gun; the terrorist doesn’t want you to have a gun.

Save Mayor Bloomberg from inadvertently helping the terrorists – buy a gun.
*****

Author’s Note: Yes, I am aware that there is a difference between stopping gun show sales with no background check and stopping all gun sales. Do not be fooled though; this effort to stop gun show sales is a step towards stopping other classifications of ownership. If he is against gun show sales for the reason of no background checks, than he should be promoting proper gun ownership through alternative means. Let us not forget, there are people who are murdered while waiting for the background check to go through (Bonnie Elmasri). Besides, the bigger problem here is he is using fear of terrorists and fear of guns to make a political move. If fewer “good” people were afraid of guns, then some of these mass shootings that continue would not be so… “mass.”
*****

Josh Tolley is a business and behavioral strategist, and has a program coming soon to the GCN Radio Network. His latest book is Quit Your Job or Die: Discover the Importance of Self-Employment. You can find out more about what Josh is up to at www.JoshTolley.com.