Transformational Change: Mao's Great Leap Forward Led to Murder of 45 Million People

Here's a man who oversaw the murder of 45 million and has admirers in the Obama administration. The brutality revealed here is almost unimaginable.

Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, qualifies as the greatest mass murderer in world history, an expert who had unprecedented access to official Communist Party archives said yesterday.

Speaking at The Independent Woodstock Literary Festival, Frank Dikötter, a Hong Kong-based historian, said he found that during the time that Mao was enforcing the Great Leap Forward in 1958, in an effort to catch up with the economy of the Western world, he was responsible for overseeing "one of the worst catastrophes the world has ever known".

Mr Dikötter, who has been studying Chinese rural history from 1958 to 1962, when the nation was facing a famine, compared the systematic torture, brutality, starvation and killing of Chinese peasants to the Second World War in its magnitude. At least 45 million people were worked, starved or beaten to death in China over these four years; the worldwide death toll of the Second World War was 55 million.

Mr Dikötter is the only author to have delved into the Chinese archives since they were reopened four years ago. He argued that this devastating period of history – which has until now remained hidden – has international resonance. "It ranks alongside the gulags and the Holocaust as one of the three greatest events of the 20th century.... It was like [the Cambodian communist dictator] Pol Pot's genocide multiplied 20 times over," he said.

Between 1958 and 1962, a war raged between the peasants and the state; it was a period when a third of all homes in China were destroyed to produce fertiliser and when the nation descended into famine and starvation, Mr Dikötter said.

His book, Mao's Great Famine; The Story of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, reveals that while this is a part of history that has been "quite forgotten" in the official memory of the People's Republic of China, there was a "staggering degree of violence" that was, remarkably, carefully catalogued in Public Security Bureau reports, which featured among the provincial archives he studied. In them, he found that the members of the rural farming communities were seen by the Party merely as "digits", or a faceless workforce. For those who committed any acts of disobedience, however minor, the punishments were huge.

State retribution for tiny thefts, such as stealing a potato, even by a child, would include being tied up and thrown into a pond; parents were forced to bury their children alive or were doused in excrement and urine, others were set alight, or had a nose or ear cut off. One record shows how a man was branded with hot metal. People were forced to work naked in the middle of winter; 80 per cent of all the villagers in one region of a quarter of a million Chinese were banned from the official canteen because they were too old or ill to be effective workers, so were deliberately starved to death.

Mr Dikötter said that he was once again examining the Party's archives for his next book, The Tragedy of Liberation, which will deal with the bloody advent of Communism in China from 1944 to 1957.

There are still people out there who believe Communism works. Which is why they must be removed from our government.

Stupid: Colbert and Stewart Plan 'Rally to Restore Sanity'

This big event will occur the weekend before the Democrats get their asses kicked on November 2. We'll be the ones laughing at these clowns come election night.

Comedians Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert plan a pair of rallies in the National Mall shortly before Election Day.

Stewart said he was organizing a "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Washington on Oct. 30, billed as a "million moderate march" against ideological extremists in both parties.

Colbert, who plays a hyperbolic conservative personality on his show, announced a "March to Keep Fear Alive" in response to Stewart.

Both events ostensibly have the purpose of mocking some of the more strident rhetoric members of both parties have employed in political debates over the past decade.

Stewart's event, in particular, seems to be more of a direct response to the Fox News host Glenn Beck, who held a "Restoring Honor" rally on the mall in August. That event drew a hoard of conservative supporters (crowd estimates ranged around several hundred thousand participants), and focused on largely religious themes. Top GOP personalities like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) did participate.

A hoard of conservative supporters? Uh, it's horde, and it was several hundred thousand people, at least.

Climate of Hate: 'I Very Often Watch the Recycled News Shows on MSNBC'

Well, we can officially blame the leftwing climate of hate on cable television for driving people to commit crime. The folks over there must be so proud of themselves.

A Spring Hill man who threatened U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite during the health care debate will spend more than two years in federal prison.

Eric Lawrence Pidrman, 66, claims he was in an alcoholic blackout when he telephoned Brown-Waite's office about 6:30 a.m. on March 25 and left a message saying he had 27 people who would make sure she "doesn't live to see her next term."

"I'm terribly sorry that it ever happened," Pidrman said this morning before he was sentenced. At the time of the morning he made the call, he said, "I very often watch the recycled news shows on MSNBC."

When agents questioned Pidrman in April, he said he was upset about threats reportedly made against Democrats during the health care debate. He said he probably thought, "Let me scare one of those righties."

Pidrman also opposed Brown-Waite's support for the exhumation of veterans buried in France.

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday imposed a 27-month sentence, more than twice as long as recommended by the prosecution under a plea deal. The government had agreed not to oppose a term at the low end of the sentencing guidelines, which called for 12 to 18 months behind bars.

But Merryday said he felt a longer term was required because of the gravity of the threats.

"These threats are disturbing, and they are calculated to interfere with the operation of the community," he said. "It is not an inconsequential matter to interfere with a congressional representative's right to cast their vote freely."

Five Arrested in Plot Against Pope Benedict

Must be some of those wayward Presbyterians. Couldn't possibly be peaceful Muslims.

Police have arrested five men in connection with an alleged plot against the pope.

Counter-terrorism officers from Scotland Yard swooped on the men after receiving information that Pope Benedict XVI could be in danger.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said the security arrangements for Benedict's visit had been reviewed, but said his itinerary would not be affected by the arrests.

The suspects, aged 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50, were held under the Terrorism Act 2000 at business premises in central London. They were taken to a central London police station where they will be interviewed by detectives.

The spokesman said: "At approximately 5.45 this morning five men were arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Services Counter Terrorism Command on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism … Searches are being carried out under the Terrorism Act 2000 at business premises in central London and residential premises in north London and east London."

Update: The five arrested are Algerians. Must be one of those small factions of Algerian extremists.

Your Brain on Dhimmitude

Can't wait for the ACLU and separation of church and state crowd to rise up.

'It Ain’t About Nancy. It’s About Black People'

Why does wealthy elitist liberal Nancy Pelosi hate black people so much?

Three staffers working for embattled Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) were asked by security officers to leave an event in downtown Washington on Thursday after they tried to display large campaign signs just as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was about to speak.

The aides were holding lawn signs that defended Waters from the ethics charges she is facing in the House.

“Let’s fight for Maxine Waters,” read a headline on the signs above a large picture of the congresswoman. Smaller headings read: “No improper action. No benefit. No failure to disclose. No one influenced. No case!”

Pelosi was appearing outside the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., where she addressed an X Prize awards ceremony honoring the winners of a contest to build a safe car that gets at least 100 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency. The staffers entered the outdoor area where Pelosi was scheduled to speak and departed without incident when asked to leave minutes later.

Waters told The Hill afterward that the staffers had been displaying the signs at the annual legislative conference for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which was held at the Washington convention center a few blocks away. “It ain’t about Nancy. It’s about black people,” Waters said.

The charges against Waters were first handled by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which was established by Pelosi in 2008.

Waters said she was deploying campaign signs at events throughout the country to defend herself against charges that she improperly intervened to help a failing bank secure a meeting with Treasury officials even though her husband had owned stock in the company and previously served on its board. “These signs will show up wherever large numbers of African Americans gather,” Waters said.

A campaign aide to the congresswoman said the young men at the Pelosi event were staffers paid for the day. The aide said 40 to 50 yard signs were printed, in addition to 10,000 handouts. The aide said a similar presence would be made at other events between now and when Waters’s trial takes place, but that no formal plans had been made.

Just yesterday members of the Congressional Black Caucus slobbered over the soon-to-be former House Speaker.

Just after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the legislative conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Wednesday, Rep. Barbara Lee offered an endorsement that would warm the heart of any congressional leader facing the prospect of landslide losses this fall.

“Everyone here recognizes why we all say you are the greatest speaker ever,” Lee, caucus chairwoman, said to cheers from the audience.

Nancy Pelosi: Not only the greatest speaker ever, but quite likely the dumbest.

Good News: CT Senate Race Now a Toss Up; Better News: Obama Campaigns for Lying Dick Blumenthal

First the good news. Considering she wasn't even expected to contend, Linda McMahon is now withing shouting distance of serial fabricator Richard Blumenthal in the Connecticut Senate race to replace Chris Dodd.

So what's a lying sack like Blumenthal to do? Why bring in the golfer-in-chief to do his bidding.

Barack Obama carried Connecticut by an overwhelming majority two years ago when he ran for president. But President Obama's campaign appearances in Connecticut Thursday night holds both risks and rewards for Democrat Richard Blumenthal, who seeks to help Democrats keep retiring Sen. Chris Dodd's Senate seat.

The risks? Obama's popularity has fallen in this reliably Democratic state. It could be a risk for the four-year veteran of Connecticut politics and the state's attorney general to appear side-by-side with the president. Thursday night Obama will hold a fundraising event with Blumenthal in Stamford, and then has a DNC event at a private home in Greenwich.

"President Barack Obama appears to be a drag on Blumenthal, even in Connecticut, where the president's job approval rating is a negative 45 - 52 percent, " said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD. "For attorney General Blumenthal, an elected official with a 70 percent rating, this race is surprisingly close. "

The Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows Blumenthal with a 51 percent to 45 percent lead against Republican former pro-wrestling executive Linda McMahon. Blumenthal is holding on to a lead but the new number is a significant slide for the Democrat, who enjoyed a 17-point lead in July's poll.

For all the Democrat cackling over a potential GOP loss in Delaware (no lock), what does it say when they've also now got to defend another Northeast stronghold that shouldn't even be a concern?

Update: Support my man, Blumenthal, despite his bad lawyering:

"Vote for my friend, Richard Blumenthal! He's wrong on the law, and my Administration is fighting him in the Supreme Court, but otherwise, he's OK by me."

Ouch.

Albany Incompetence Nearly Let Pants-Wetting Terrorist Wannabe Get Away

There's been a curious lack of coverage of the New York City schoolteacher turned pants-wetting terrorist wannabe Theophilus Burroughs since news broke yesterday. I guess this is a sensitive time to point out some Americans have an affinity for Hamas and Hezbollah.

Today the New York Post's John Crudele notes how bungling bureaucracy in Albany nearly let Burroughs slip away, as he was no longer under surveillance during a critical time in the investigation and was even allowed to travel outside the country.

Bureaucratic nitpicking and petty jealousies in Albany nearly let one of the bad guys get away.

A screwball Stuyvesant High School music teacher named Theophilus Burroughs had a dream of sending some serious weapons -- AK47s, M16s, grenades, Uzis and hunting rifles with scopes, to name a few -- to a Middle Eastern terrorism organization.

The plan, he told undercover investigators, started long ago when his parents wouldn't give their consent for him to fight in the Middle East.

It was better, Burroughs' Trinidadian mother purportedly told him, to follow his dream while inside the US.

Warped idealism wasn't Burroughs' only motive.

The teacher also apparently didn't like the salary he was making at the high school, so like so many others in his profession, he moonlighted.

Only instead of tutoring, coaching sports or teaching driver's ed, Burroughs allegedly branched out into things like selling bootleg cigarettes, counterfeit tax stamps and -- eventually -- guns.

At least 20 guns in all, although Burroughs had promised more and led confidential government informants to the South Carolina source of his weapons.

As The Post reported exclusively this week, Burroughs was nabbed on Tuesday by authorities at a warehouse in a grimy section of the Bronx. He'd been there a number of times, first to buy cartons of illegal cigarettes, which he'd resell at huge profits, and later to sell guns -- also at big markups -- to people he thought were like-minded terrorists.

He was mistaken!

The only trouble was, the good guys almost couldn't hold on long enough to nab Burroughs. Officials in Albany came close to shutting down the Bronx sting a few weeks ago, even though they had already been informed that it had hooked a teacher with bad intentions.

The reason: a dispute over EZ Passes, pizzas and a few other petty things that normally wouldn't come between justice and an alleged gunrunner who talked matter-of-factly of killing cops and bombing religious centers.

The undercovers, I'm told, had taken a bank's suggestion and segregated EZ Pass money from the operation's regular funds without asking the bureaucrats. And they'd spent a little too much -- in the eyes of Albany -- on pizza and other meals.

The standoff between the undercover operatives and Albany got so bad, in fact, that gun-loving Burroughs, who has at least one young daughter, was roaming around the region without surveillance for weeks and even took a pleasure trip to the Caribbean.

Such incompetence will probably result in promotions for the idiots in Albany. They'd fit right in with Janet Napolitano's crew in Washington.

'You May Be the Tall, Young, Hot Nymph, But I Am the Prize'

Quite a prize

Now this dude is smooth. Problem is, he's no longer much of a prize.

Calumet County Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz resigned as chairman of the Wisconsin Crime Victims Rights Board after the victim in a domestic abuse case he was prosecuting complained to police that Kratz sent her repeated text messages seeking an affair.

Kratz, who was prosecuting Stephanie Van Groll's ex-boyfriend on charges he nearly choked her to death, sent her 30 texts in three days in October 2009, according to documents compiled by the Kaukauna Police Department and obtained Wednesday by The Post-Crescent.

"Are you the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA ... the riskier the better?" Kratz, 50, wrote in a message to the woman.

In another, Kratz wrote, "I'm the attorney. I have the $350,000 house. I have the six-figure career. You may be the tall, young, hot nymph, but I am the prize."

After Van Groll complained to Kaukauna police, Kratz reported his actions to the state Office of Lawyer Regulation, which handles disciplinary actions against attorneys. The office said earlier this year it would not pursue disciplinary action against him.

"Although (Kratz's) communication with you was inappropriate, it did not appear to involve possible professional misconduct," Cynthia Schally, a lawyer regulation investigator, wrote March 5 to Van Groll.

Kratz released his file on the case to The P-C after an anonymous source contacted The Associated Press about the complaint. He said the text messages are "embarrassing and stupid, but not horrible."

For the record, Kratz is a Republican.

A slew of the text messages can be seen here.

'We Can’t Say for Sure What is Going On, But it is Clandestine and Secretive'

Something secretive going on between Iran,. Syria and Venezuela? You don't say. Don't worry though. The crack team of Obama, Napolitano and Clinton are on the job.

A Venezuelan airline's “mystery” flight that shuttled among the capitals of three of the world’s most terror-friendly nations — Venezuela, Syria and Iran — has abruptly canceled its regularly scheduled departures amid accusations that it was used primarily to transport spies, terrorists and lethal cargo among the pariah counties.

“I am sorry, but we are no longer flying to Tehran and I do not know when the flights will resume. It was a flight that left Caracas on Tuesdays, but it no longer does,” Jenny Gil Romero, who handles international departures for Conviasa, the national airline that operates the flight, said in a message to FOX News.

Messages to the airline seeking further information went unanswered.

Romero's comments came in response to FOXNews.com's efforts to buy tickets on the regularly scheduled, 48-hour round trip from Caracas to Damascus to Tehran, then back again.

Intelligence analysts with both the CIA and Israel said that, despite the listing of the flight as a regular commercial route and a code share with Iran air -- Flight IR744 is also Flight VO3744 -- there was no way that anyone could buy a ticket and travel without being vetted by the Venezuelan or Iranian government. And without passport controls, flight manifests and other documents, it meant some of the world's most dangerous men could travel without fear of being uncovered.

Curiously, unlike most other bookings on the national airline, calls for reservations on this particular flight were routed to a cell phone in Argentina, rather than to Conviasa's regular service in Caracas.

The Venezuelan ambassador to the United States had defended the flights as recently as two weeks ago in response to criticism in a State Department report that cited the flight’s questionable route and procedures. Messages left at the Venezuelan embassy's press office and the ambassador's office were not returned, and a list of questions submitted to the embassy's press office was not answered.

For the past three years, every other Tuesday, Flight VO3744 would roll out to a secluded loading platform at Simon Bolivar Airport in Caracas. Shrouded from public view and unencumbered by the normal exit procedures, a select passenger list would board the flight.

Over the next 48 hours, according to Western intelligence agencies, Venezuelan opposition figures and a former Iran-based spy for the CIA, the flight would carry illicit, lethal cargoes -- such as explosives and possibly radioactive materials -- and provide safe passage to terrorists, spies, weapons experts, senior Iranian intelligence operatives and members of both Hezbollah and Hamas.

Reza Kahlili, the pseudonym for an Iranian who the CIA has confirmed once spied for the United States as a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, told FoxNews.com these "special flights" have been "instrumental in creating an Iranian dominated worldwide terror network that now reaches the United States." He said the flights were used to expand Iran’s efforts to create a base of operations in the Western Hemisphere.

Peter Brookes, a former Defense Department analyst and CIA employee now with the Heritage Foundation, said there was a steady stream of elite Al Quds officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who were transported to Venezuela aboard the flight and took up positions in the Latin American country’s intelligence service.

“We can’t say for sure what is going on, but it is clandestine and secretive,” he said.

By the end of the day Hugo Chavez will be parroting Media Matters in denunciations of Fox News.

Link to the report here.

Michelle Obama on Being First Lady: 'I Can't Stand It'

Trust me, sister, most of America can't stand you as First Lady, either.

Michelle Obama thinks being America’s First Lady is ‘hell’, Carla Bruni reveals today in a wildly indiscreet new book.

Miss Bruni reveals that Mrs Obama replied when asked about her position as the U.S. president’s wife: ‘Don’t ask! It’s hell. I can’t stand it!’

Details of the private conversation, which took place at the White House during an official visit by Nicolas Sarkozy last March, emerged in Carla And The Ambitious, a book written in collaboration with Miss Bruni.

Living large on the taxpayer dime of a downright mean country must be so taxing. All the luxurious trips just can't help make it any better, huh?

Expect the requisite denial and trashing of Bruni to commence at any moment.

Deadbeat Slumlord Rauf Skips Court Appearance

Typically people would be held in contempt of court for such an act, but this "man of peace" apparently is held to a different standard.

At what point is he responsible for anything, or do we all just have to cower and quiver in his presence?

While the Imam behind plans for a mosque near Ground Zero was jetting around the globe and advocating for his Downtown project, a pair of dilapidated apartment buildings he owns in New Jersey fell into such disrepair that cops have to stand watch in the event of a fire.

The fire watch, at taxpayer expense, was revealed during a court hearing today when Union City lawyers asked to have two buildings owned by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf placed into receivership so that rent s could be used to fix dozens of violations, including inoperable alarms and sprinklers.

Rauf skipped today’s hearing as did his wife Daisy Khan. Their lawyer, Tomas Espinosa, said he didn’t know why the Imam didn’t come to court.

“There have been a lot of stress on these people,” Espinosa said when asked after the hearing to explain why Rauf was a no-show “The legal process will show that my client is an honorable man that has taken care of his property.”

Asked why he was confident that Rauf would prevail, Espinosa said of the Imam, “There is integrity and character,” adding, “He is a man of peace.”

Oh, OK, I've got it now. So if I'm ever ordered to appear in court I can just blithely ignore it and my attorney can declare me a man of peace and everything is peachy? Well, this man of peace if a documented slumlord, but apparently leaving two building in disrepair and endangering the lives of his tenants is alright because supposedly he's peaceful?

WTF?

Christine Vanek, a lawyer for Union City, said cops were put on fire watch rather than evict tenants from 16 apartments in one of the buildings after a Sept. 7 inspection determined there was an imminent hazard. Rauf, she said, did not respond to an order to hire a private fire patrol.

“The city immediately put a police officer there and sent a detail officer, which means we have to pay over-time,” Vanek said of putting an extra cop on duty just to watch Rauf’s building. She did not say how much it is costing Union City, and other officials did not return calls for that information.

Espinosa, however, said he was told a fire alarm contractor has been working at the building and is putting together a plan to fix the alarms and sprinklers.

But Judge Thomas Olivieri bristled when Espinosa said he had no documents to show what work was done or what might be planned and then asked the judge for more time “to come here with a total picture of what has been done.”

“The allegation here is that nothing has been done,” Olivieri said. “The city is spending taxpayer money to put a fire person, man or woman, at the building that is occupied to monitor it so that there’s not a fire that occurs.”

Olivieri then blasted Espinosa for coming to court empty-handed.

"There is no reason whatsoever, none, in the last 48 hours why your client could not have submitted something to you that you could have submitted to the court. this is serious. I am somewhat surprised that I have nothing from the defense -- nothing.

"And I reject that you were busy and they were busy," the judge said.

And to think this punk is on the State Department payroll and now Union City is footing the tab to keep people safe on his property.

But nobody seems to care about any of this. If this re-occurs we hope the judge would order him held in contempt and jailed until the case is adjudicated. Then he might at least show up in court rather than making the rounds as a media darling.

Community Service: Retired Schoolteacher Shoots Burglar

All I can say is it's a good thing this guy had a permit. Otherwise King Bloomberg would have the guy up on charges already for defending his property. This heartwarming tale of instant justice took place in Brooklyn, where suddenly his neighbors are becoming Second Amendment fans.

Two brazen burglars in Brooklyn apparently picked the wrong house to break into – on the other side of the door, they found a retired schoolteacher with a licensed, and loaded, gun.

Neighbors describe Larry Goldstein as timid and shy, and the retired schoolteacher certainly appeared that way. He hid behind his front door as police investigated the early morning shooting in Mill Basin, where Goldstein opened fire with his licensed handgun on two would-be burglars.

“I know Larry well – he’s a very nice fellow,” Larry’s mailman, Luis Ramirez, said. “He was protecting his house. He had a right to bear arms, so obviously he’s in the right, but when you shoot somebody, it’s difficult to comprehend.”

“Wonderful person, very mild-mannered, gentle man, it’s just unfortunate. What could be going through his head, now having to have to shoot someone in his own house, being invaded like that. It’s unfortunate,” said resident Mike Reinhardt.

Police say it was just before 2 a.m. Wednesday when Goldstein and his wife heard a noise downstairs in the home on 64th Street. The 62-year-old confronted two suspects in his kitchen after they apparently slipped in through a basement window.

The suspect who was shot, police say, had a starter’s pistol in his hand. He was shot three times as his accomplice fled, reports CBS 2′s Magee Hickey.

Goldstein was eventually brought to the 63rd Precinct stationhouse for questioning, but was released without being charged with any crime.

When reached for comment, Goldstein said that on the advice of his lawyer, he was not allowed to talk about what happened in the early morning hours at his home. When asked if he was a hero, he said, “no comment.”

“I believe he is [a hero],” neighbor Fred Barone said. “Hopefully he’s going to make people think twice about coming around here and knocking down doors.”

“As a person who has never been a proponent of gun ownership, I am glad he had one now,” another neighbor, Betty Sikorski, said.

The gun haters usually come around when they see how efficient and safe gun ownership can be.

DNC Reaching Out to Young Voters

We were told yesterday big news was forthcoming from the DNC. Is this bland new website with a heavy Obama presence all there is? They have a link noting Obama will be making a mere five appearances this fall. Heck, he'll likely spend more time golfing and partying in the next week than he will on behalf of doomed Democrats.

Their news yesterday was announcing a new look and logo. If you ask me, it seems they've painted a nice target on themselves with the logo.

Tim Kaine supposedly will be announcing something this afternoon. If this lame new site and logo are the focus of it they're in bigger trouble than we thought. But hey, you can at least get the newborns a onesie with an Obama logo on it. Don't worry, they don't feel ashamed about their clothing until they're at least in kindergarten. As for the older set there's plenty of new swag. You too can wear the Big D target on yourself.

I have a hunch sales will be slow this fall.

Senate Democrat Incumbent: Hey, I'm New Here in Washington!

Even facing nominal GOP opposition in New York, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand doing her best to distance herself from her own party. Forget the fact the name Obama isn't mentioned, it's curious that in this spot the word Democrat is neither seen nor heard.

She pretends she's for "transparency," whatever that means these days. That's funny since she voted for ObamaCare before even reading the bill.

Elected to Congress in 2006 before assuming Hillary Clinton's seat in 2009, Gillibrand claims she hasn't been in Washington for long. Four years seems plenty long.

The occasional incumbent/establishment carnage witnessed again last night seems to have inspired Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the cutting her first TV spot.

“I haven’t been in Washington long, but I’ve been there long enough to know things are broken,” she says in opening the ad.

She closes it by saying congress shouldn’t be able to give itself raises.

So, don’t blame her, and her colleagues don’t deserve a pay raise. Got it?

For all the babbleheads and political "experts" cackling over Christine O'Donnell today, at least she's not shy about telling you what party she represents, unlike Democrats who are running for the hills.

Excellent News: Democratic Party Hacks Facing Mass Unemployment

When is unemployment a good thing? When it's a bunch of Democratic Party apparatchiks out on the street. Various party hacks are looking directly into the ugly face of unemployment post-election and they are getting scared. I mean, after all, unemployment is for the little people who cling to their guns and bibles, not the chosen elite.

And K Street will not be a safe haven, either.

Democratic congressional aides aiming for a big payday from K Street have seen their value plummet with their party’s declining fortunes, according to corporate headhunters and lobbyists.

Less than two years ago, after President Obama’s coattails increased already-large Democratic majorities in Congress, Democratic congressional leadership aides could demand premium salaries from K Street firms. Lobbying salaries offered to Democratic staffers leaving Congress for K Street about a year ago ranged from $250,000 to $500,000

It’s difficult to say how much those salaries have dropped now that the party appears poised to lose seats in the House and Senate, and possibly their majorities, in November. But corporate headhunters say Democratic salaries have probably peaked, and that they could go down further with a GOP victory in the fall.

“It is likely we have seen the peak of Democratic salaries, with the exception of those folks involved in the ‘money committees,’ ” said Ivan Adler, a principal for the McCormick Group. “Money committees” are the congressional panels overseeing healthcare, taxes, energy and financial services.

Aides on committees or in leadership who lose their jobs because of a congressional shake-up could suffer the most. The minority party gets fewer committee and leadership aides than the majority.

“The people really affected by this are in the committees or in leadership because if it flips there are a lot less people in [those jobs] in the minority than in the majority,” said Adler, who specializes in headhunting for lobbying jobs.

Democrats would be likely to flood the market if the GOP wins control of the House.

“Hundreds and hundreds of professional staff will be out of work,” said Robert Raben, founder of the Raben Group. “There will be many more people than there will be jobs available.”

So pretty soon these hacks will find out what 15 million plus unemployed have known for a long time now. Which is that the Democratic Party's Socialist agenda has seriously damaged this economy, the Democrats have no clue how to grow an economy nor encourage private sector job creation.

And while I do not wish unemployment on anybody, it could not happen to a more deserving group than them.

Welcome to our nightmare.

'He's a Terrible Landlord Who's Unresponsive to the Residents Who Live in His Building'

Looks like the enablers of media darling Imam Rauf are going to have to find some creative spin to explain this away. The silence from Imam Bloomberg is deafening.

The religious leader behind the proposed mosque near Ground Zero has been slapped with a lawsuit in Union City, NJ, where officials have accused him of ignoring dozens of violations at two rundown apartment buildings he owns.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's buildings, with a total of 48 apartments, have been the targets of more than 30 health and safety complaints, among them mold, uncollected garbage, bedbugs, odors, dirty hallways and a lack of heat, the lawsuit says.

One of the buildings has been boarded up by Rauf since a blaze on Feb. 8, 2008, that broke out after Union City had issued a dozen fire-code violations there.

"He's a terrible landlord who's unresponsive to the residents who live in his building," Mark Albiez, a spokesman for Union City Mayor Brian Stack, told The Star-Ledger of New Jersey, which first reported the lawsuit.

The Post last month interviewed tenants at Rauf's buildings on Central Avenue in Union City, and heard complaints about rundown conditions.

"Nothing gets done. We have to go through City Hall to get things done," said tenant Jamie Barillas.

Amazing how not a single interviewer asked him about any of this while he's been making the rounds.

Meanwhile, Rauf's thug pal Sharif El-Gamal is another deadbeat who's gotten the boot from his office for failing to pay his rent.

Soho Properties and is heading the project two blocks from Ground Zero, was slapped with eviction proceedings last month after tallying up $39,000 in back rent, a Manhattan Housing Court filing shows.

The management company that runs 552 Broadway, where El-Gamal leases space, said in the filing that he was warned in July and given until mid-August to pay up.

But when the August deadline passed, management company Royal Crospin Corp. filed the eviction notice.

It's not the first time El-Gamal's company has fallen behind in rent.

Royal Crospin sued Soho Properties last year for nearly $89,000 in back rent. El-Gamal's firm paid $56,000 to settle.

So exactly how are these two grifters going to raise $100 million to build the Ground Zero Victory Mosque?

'There's No Good Money in Teaching'

Well, I guess if there's no good money to be made as a New York City teacher then you turn to selling arms to Hamas and Hezbollah. Seems like an easy way to supplement your income.

He's graduated to gun running.

A former Stuyvesant HS teacher was busted last night for selling high-powered weapons to undercover operatives he thought were connected to Middle East terror organizations, The Post has learned.

Theophilus Burroughs wet his pants when he was slapped with cuffs at a Bronx warehouse, where he was arrested in a sting operation, law-enforcement sources said. The seats on a van waiting to transport him to the 49th Precinct had to be lined with plastic.

The arrest caps a yearlong investigation that saw Burroughs allegedly negotiate the sale of firearms -- including AK-47s, assault rifles with scopes and .40-caliber guns -- during "deals" with informants in which he praised Hamas and Hezbollah and suggested killing cops and Jews, sources said.

"There's no good money in teaching," Burroughs once griped.

Burroughs, 49, a former Marine from Newark, was on unpaid medical leave from the Department of Education.

He showed up at the Westchester Square warehouse expecting to collect a cool $10,000 for a pair of night-vision goggles, two bulletproof vests and 200,000 counterfeit cigarette stamps, a source said.

Burroughs was instead hauled away by city and state tax agents, and investigators from the Bronx DA's Office.

He faces a slew of charges, including weapons possession and forgery, the source said.

Burroughs began his teaching career as a sub in 1992, and taught music at Stuyvesant in 2002 and 2003.

He went on unpaid medical leave from a Brooklyn high school in September 2009 -- around the time he first went to the Bronx warehouse, where he allegedly bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of untaxed cigarettes from informants, sources said.

But he soon set his sights on a more deadly deal, allegedly proposing firearm sales on his third visit.

He later referred to Hamas as "my people" and declared, "Hezbollah good, Hezbollah strong," a source said.

On another occasion, the informants gave him a Koran and said they wanted to do "something big." He suggested they blow up a police station, a police car or the Jewish Community Center on Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street, the source said.

Naturally he's still on the NYC payroll, yet to be fired. He should be happy he's not a NJ Transit worker who ripped out pages of the Koran.

Clueless Rendell 'Embarrassed' and 'Appalled' Pennsylvania Is Tracking Protesters

Actually, what Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell should be embarrassed and appalled by is the fact he's so out of touch he doesn't even have the slightest idea what his state's Homeland Security office is spending money on.

Gov. Ed Rendell said Tuesday evening that he was “embarrassed” and “appalled” that a contractor hired by the state has been tracking all sorts of “legitimate protest groups,” and that the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security then disseminated that information to law enforcement around the state in its tri-weekly intelligence bulletins.

Rendell said the contract with the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, based in Philadelphia, would be not be renewed when it expires at the end of October, and until then the state would not disseminate information they supplied.

The state is charged by the federal government with determining and alerting local officials to “credible real threats to critical infrastructure.”

Instead, the Office of Homeland Security was notifying law enforcement of gay pride parades, taxpayer rallies and protests in support of the Governor’s own education policies, said Rendell.

Just imagine if a Republican governor was monitoring gay pride parades.

He said he first learned of the issue and ordered a review “this morning when I read the story in the Patriot-News.”

“Let me make this as clear as I can possibly make it,” he said. “Protesting against an idea, a principle, a process, protesting is not a real threat... Protesting is a God-given American right, a right that’s in our constitution.”

Rendell called the items included in the intelligence bulletins “absolutely ludicrous,” and he said distributing it to gas drilling companies “was against the guidelines set up for this program to begin with.”

But James Powers, the director of Homeland Security, will remain employed.

“He thought he was carrying out the federal mandate,” said Rendell. “He was wrong. He made a significant mistake.”

The governor said, “It’s easy to kick one person, but I think there’s shared responsibility here. I’m most interested in why I didn’t know... I would have stopped this on day one... Ultimately the responsibility is mine, and I’m deeply embarrassed.”

Update: For some reason the PennLive link is down. Here's an AP story.

'Radical' NJ Transit Worker Fired for Burning Koran Pages

No doubt the ACLU and other free speech groups will be rushing to this man's defense, no? And since when do newspapers label someone a radical in such circumstances?

A radical who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero was fired from his job at NJ Transit, sources and authorities confirmed.

Derek Fenton, an 11-year employee at NJ Transit, was fired Monday, the agency said in a statement, two days after he was photographed burning the Koran.

Who knew public employees were kept on such a short leash? Heck, teacher's union goons wished death upon Governor Christie and they still all have jobs.

Fenton's hate-filled display occurred during a protest against the mosque on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11.

When someone burns an American flag are they hate-filled radicals or just people exercising free speech?

When SEIU thugs storm people's houses and they beat up tea partiers they all get to keep their jobs. Why such selective justice in this case?

Heh: Muslims Protest Moment of Silence

We noted these pinheads in Hartford last week groveling to Muslims by having them open with a prayer at City Council meetings. Well, that idiotic idea sure blew up in their faces.

Hartford’s City Council revoked its offer for an imam to say a prayer at Monday’s meeting, but outside City Hall on Monday night, Imam Kashif Abdul-Karim prayed for the city, in Arabic and English.

“We beseech you to help our leaders to decide with wisdom,” said Imam Kashif.

The Hartford City Council had invited imams to start its two September meetings with prayer, including the meeting on Monday. It was meant to show solidarity with Muslims at a time of controversy over the proposed mosque near Ground Zero and the possible Koran burning. Instead, it brought on a slew of hateful emails and phone calls. Amid the public outcry, the council revoked that decision after public outcry.

Some who protested said the timing was simply too close to the September 11th anniversary.

"It’s basically just disrespecting the whole Muslim community by lumping us together with 12 people out of 1.5 billion people around the world," Imam Kashif said, speaking of some of the 19 terrorists who carried out the attacks.

Uh, 12 people? So exactly what religion were the other seven 9/11 madmen?

“I am not linking them to anything. It is my responsibility that I represent everybody in the city of Hartford," said Council President Jo Winch.

That’s why, Winch said, she came up with an alternative to the traditional invocation -- a moment of silence for the month.

“Our fix is that nobody will speak for the month of September. Everyone will come in and do a moment of silence. That way, we are not disrespecting anyone," Winch said.

Actually an entire month of dopey liberals shutting up would be a great idea.

However, some who attended Monday’s prayer vigil said the silence is letting the haters have the last word.

Aw, poor confused nitwits.

Chuckie Schumer Has a Tantrum

These sanctimonious liberal Democrats like to pretend they care about the little people and the working class. Except when they're inconvenienced. Then they act like obnoxious boors.

Apparently even Sen. Chuck Schumer isn't immune to the pitfalls of the new voting system.

What the hElmo is going on with these voting machines?

A party insider told me Schumer showed up at his polling place, P.S. 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, at 5:55 a.m.

"They don't open the polling place until 6:10... They can't figure out how to open the machine and he is, like, screaming at the staff that he wants to vote," the insider said.

What a putz. Imagine the tantrum he'd have if he actually had someone running against him.

Another source said, "First, the site opened late. Second, the room was in a different location. Third, there were only 2 machines, and workers told him there were supposed to be 8. And 4th, the machines did not boot-up on time."

There was some dispute about whether the senior senator had to vote by emergency or regular ballot, but his office says he was (finally) able to vote by regular ballot.

Gee, I hope that 15-minute delay he suffered didn't wreak havoc on his press conference schedule.

When Tearing Pages Out of the Koran Is Acceptable

This is the face of the enemy we are fighting and the tactics they employ. The left in this country, who no doubt has been the source of amusement and entertainment of the Taliban and their ilk, just can't seem to be bothered with recognizing this aspect of the wonderful religion of peace.

From 3- and 4-year-olds used as human shields or to gather spent cartridges, to teenagers offered motorcycles for planting roadside bombs, children are being used more and more to fight Americans here, Marines say.

“We’ve seen children actually dropping mortar rounds in the (firing) tubes against us,” says Lt. Col. Michael Manning, commander of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment that is rotating home after seven months in this hilly northern district of Helmand province.

“I’ve never seen a culture that cares so little for human life. They [The Taliban] truly don’t care unless it impacts their own personal family,” says Manning, who has lost 13 Marines and seen 127 wounded since March.

When will the media and the progressives in this country who fancy themselves better then everybody else cause they have some sort of imaginary "moral high ground" finally come to grips the truth on the ground? They are being used, but I guess just like every other addict until they can admit they have a problem they can't begin the road to recovery. The addiction in this case is their blind allegiance to promoting a socialist agenda.

Speaking of addicts.

At a remote firebase east of here, a squad leader, Sgt. John Ellis, says he found children selling heroin dosages wrapped in torn pages of the Koran in the village streets.

Sort of makes all that hoopla last week over the minister, who is a fool, with his little stunt seem nothing more then a crisis fabricated for our western consumption with our newsreader overlords vastly over-inflating the story.

Here is a little test for you. See if you can spot the good guys and the bad guys in these photos.



How is that view from your moral high ground? One side murders, maims, and tortures women and children while the other side offers themselves up as human shields to protect them.

Welcome to the Nanny State: FLOTUS Wants to Revamp Restaurant Menus

Is there nothing these meddlers won't stick their noses into? How about leaving businesses alone to cater to their patrons as they see fit and mind your own business?

First Lady Michelle Obama, who has been unable to convince the Smoker-in-Chief to give up that dreadful habit, now has some health suggestions for other American families and for restaurant menus across the country. The goal is to eat healthier, although that might hurt restaurant sales and cause disappointed children.

Obama, who has made combating childhood obesity and inactivity her favored causes, addressed the National Restaurant Assn. (See the text below, along with photos of her husband not eating arugula.) She, of course, has her own personal chef brought in from Chicago and took full parental responsibility for guiding her daughters' diets because parents are crucial habit-formers and role models, even in food choices.

But Obama would like to see more healthy choices for Americans dining out, even if it means a restaurant deleting a best-selling menu item.

The Democrat suggested that Americans are "programmed" by taste and advertising to eat many things that the government and health professionals know are not healthy for their bodies. So she wants to facilitate a nationwide re-programming of personal tastes by having restaurants start serving less of what customers ignorantly want and more of what they should have.

One idea Mrs. Obama had is to serve apple slices as the default side dish with, say, hamburgers, instead of French fries, which she confessed to liking.

Also she'd like less butter and cream in restaurant dinners, not enough to....
...ruin the flavor but enough to make them healthy. A difficult balance, millions have learned.

Her other suggestions: Substitute whole wheat pasta for white. Smaller portions (presumably for smaller prices). Less mac and cheese, chicken fingers and cheeseburgers on kids' menus. More carrots.

Of course she spends her time traveling the world on our dime sucking down lobster every chance she gets, but the rest of you peons can't have fries if she has her way. More for her and her husband, of course. We know how much they love their fast food.

Update: Reader Pat reminds us of this this gem from last year.

Is the White House having a boutique burger taste test? At the end of a week that saw the president and vice president pay a visit to local cult fave Ray's Hell Burger in Virginia, first lady Michelle Obama dropped by Spike Mendelsohn's burger place Good Stuff Eatery on Pennsylvania Avenue over lunch, the White House confirmed.

Local blog DC365 was first to write on the visit, snapping a shot of the casually dressed style icon as she exited the building.

"She whizzed past us, waving and smiling, in a kicky little ponytail and grey capri pants, as the crowd shouted 'We love you!'" wrote the blogger.

The first lady was joined on the outing by her staff, said spokesperson Katie McCormick Lelyveld, who had recommended the place to her. "Our staff had been before and we had told her about it and it was great," she said. The outing was just one of several the first lady and her staff have made to local eateries for lunch, also visiting Five Guys Burgers and Fries and a barbecue place. "Sometimes you just need a burger," said McCormick Lelyveld. "It was her idea."

Burgers galore for the Obama, but you better watch what you eat. And they wonder why they're so loathed.

Great News: Obama to Publish Kids Book

Doesn't this guy have a day job? Where does he find the time between all the parties, golf and wrecking our economy to write another book? Or does he have a ghostwriter like with his past efforts?

Not content with solving the problems of an ailing U.S. economy, Barack Obama has now published a book of children's stories.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My Daughters is a tribute to 13 groundbreaking U.S. authors, including the first president George Washington and artist Georgia O'Keeffee.

The book, which is due for release in November, features his two daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, nine, walking their dog Bo on the front cover.

It runs at 40 pages and an initial print run of 500,000 copies will be made, at a cost of £17.99.

Forty pages and they're charging that much for it?

Mr Obama has pledged to donate any proceeds from the book to 'a scholarship fund for the children of fallen and disabled soldiers serving our nation'.

Chip Gibson, publisher at Random House - which is also produced Mr Obama's previous works Dreams From My Father and The Audacity Of Hope - said the book was intended for children aged three and above.

'It is an honour to publish this extraordinary book, which is an inspiring marriage of words and images, history and story.

Wipe the spittle off your chin, Chip.

More here.

Obama agreed with Random House in 2004 to write a children's book, which, according to the publisher, he completed before he became president. "Of Thee I Sing" is part of a $1.9 million, three-book deal with Random House reached in 2004, according to a disclosure report filed in 2005, when Obama was a U.S. senator from Illinois. The other two books were nonfiction.

A financial disclosure form released by the White House in May 2010 refers to an agreement — originated in 2004, amended on Jan. 9, 2009, shortly before Obama became president — for a "nonfiction work, the subject to be determined," that would not come out while he was in office.

The children's book and the nonfiction work are separate projects, although both are part of the three-book deal, said Obama's literary representative, Washington attorney Robert Barnett. The other nonfiction book was "The Audacity of Hope," released in 2006.

Something seems very dubious about this book deal.

NJ Town Files Suit Against Deadbeat Landlord Rauf

This must be Islamophobic.

A lawsuit filed by Union City charges that the landlord of two apartment buildings has repeatedly failed to address complaints by tenants and orders by the city on issues ranging from moldy bathrooms to fire hazards.

Landlord-tenant disputes are nothing new, even those with municipalities entering the fray. Except in this case, city officials say the landlord is Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial proposal to develop an Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.

The suit, filed today in state Superior Court in Jersey City, identifies Rauf as the sole officer of Sage Development LLC, a company based at his home address in North Bergen and listed as the owner of the two buildings. The suit also alleges that Sage’s corporate status was revoked by the state in March 2005, for its failure to file annual reports.

The buildings occupy the same lot at 226 Central Ave., one containing 32 apartments and the other 16. The larger building has been vacant since Feb. 8, 2008, when a fire broke out there, one year after the city says it issued 12 separate fire code violations that Rauf ignored.

Rather than addressing the violations after the fire, the city says Rauf boarded up the building, barring residents from their apartments. A spokesman for Mayor Brian Stack said he could not immediately say what had become of the displaced families.

"He’s a terrible landlord who’s unresponsive to the residents who live in his building," said the spokesman, Mark Albiez. "City officials and inspectors have reached out to him to express the urgency in correcting problems in his buildings, and it’s unfortunate that it’s gotten to this point, but it’s our responsibility to insure that residents receive the care that is needed."

In case anyone is wondering, Union City is in Hudson County, a largely Democratic stronghold.

Meanwhile, Rauf's been caught in another lie.

Will TOTUS Appear at Obama Speech to High School Kids?

I'm sensing a recurring theme here. Yesterday Obama told some people he feels their pain and now he's going to be telling school kids today about struggling through life with an identity crisis or something.

President Obama will get personal in Philadelphia on Tuesday when he encourages students across America to study hard and help their classmates.

The president will decry school bullying and tell students about his own struggles with identity during high school, according to speech excerpts released by the White House.

"Being a teenager isn’t easy. It’s a time when we’re wrestling with a lot of things," Obama will say. "When I was your age, I was wrestling with questions about who I was; about what it meant to be the son of a white mother and a black father, and not having that father in my life. Some of you may be working through your own questions right now, and coming to terms with what makes you different."

Despite the absence of his father he sure seemed at home with his mentor Frank Davis Marshall. I wonder if he'll be mentioned?

This year, Obama will announce his second commencement challenge: a contest for high-performing schools that could win the president as their commencement speaker.

Second prize will be two appearances by Obama.

Reporter 'Harassed' By Jets Shows Up at Game Dressed Demurely

Having apparently recovered from her ordeal in the locker room the other day, professional sports reporter Ines Sainz showed up at the Jets-Ravens game dressed like a serious journalist. Seems the Jets were still distracted by her assets considering their miserable performance in a 10-9 loss. Andrea Peyser isn't exactly a fan of hers.

I have zero tolerance for athletes who behave like kindergartners with pituitary problems. But Sainz can't seem to make up her mind. Yesterday, she told a Mexican TV station the guys were just "kidding around" and she never felt offended.

Huh?

Never mind that she once competed in the Miss Universe pageant and posed in the buff. And that her MySpace page contains one picture after another of this hottie-with-advanced-degrees shot in teeny bikinis, spreading her legs suggestively. I'd still defend her right to work in sports.

But all bets were off the minute Sainz declared herself "the hottest sports reporter in Mexico." This calls into question exactly what she's selling -- her sweat and hard work, or her body parts.

Women have worked long and hard for equality on the playing field and in the locker room.

We don't need a publicity whore to muck it up.

Previously.

Obama: I Feel Your Pain or Something

Feels your pain, especially during his backswing

Concerned with appearing aloof as he parties and golfs his way to oblivion, the current occupant of the White House channeled Bill Clinton today.

President Obama told a small crowd in Fairfax, Va., on Monday that he would stand in the hot sun with them and “feel their pain.”

He was meeting with a Fairfax family for a backyard discussion on the economy in an effort to improve voter perceptions about his empathy with ordinary people.

Unlike former President Clinton, who famously felt the pain of voters during a recession, Obama has not connected emotionally with voters over their worries and fears.

He then regaled his audience with the tired tale of just recently finishing paying off his student loans. A regular man of the people.

He then quickly dashed back to the White to get ready for a weeklong series of parties that will clearly demonstrate his concern for the great unwashed.

Mugshot of the Day: Idiot Uses BB Gun to Force Stepson to Run Sprints

I'm thinking this cretin sleeps with his hat on.

A Central Florida man was arrested Saturday after sheriff’s investigators said he used BB gun to motivate a boy under the age of 16 to perform wind sprints.

Robert Barker, 41, was charged with child abuse after investigators said neighbors saw the man forcing the boy to run wind sprints while he fired a BB gun at him.

The boy’s exact age and relationship to Barker aren’t being disclosed in order to protect the boy’s identity.

According to the arrest report someone phoned 911 Saturday and reported seeing Barker shooting at the boy. The anonymous caller added that the boy was being forced to perform the wind sprints because he had failed to finish playing in a school football game earlier in the day.

Lake County deputies responded to the Leesburg address and Barker admitted that he had forced the boy to run the sprints because he was out of shape. The boy was also forced to wear full football gear during the sprints.

Barker said that he used the BB gun for motivation but never actually fired it at the boy but up in the air. Barker said the boy had suffered a concussion a few weeks prior but had been cleared to play. During the game Saturday, the boy complained that he was feeling dizzy and the coach decided to bench him.

Always seems like a bright idea to have a kid complaining of dizziness run in full pads in 107 degree weather. As if this slob should complain about someone being out of shape. He obviously hasn't looked at a mirror lately.

This report indicates it's his stepson.

Guess Who Took Twice as Much Lobbyist Cash as Boehner?

You'll never guess. Can't wait for the New York Times hit team to unveil their investigation of Queen Nancy.

If you read this weekend’s New York Times’ hit job on would-be Speaker John Boehner and his “lobbyist friends,” you might think, as the reporter clearly thinks, that John Boehner is cozier with lobbyists than most powerful politicians are.

But did you know:

* Nancy Pelosi has raised almost twice as much money from lobbyists this election as Boehner has?
* At least 18 House Democrats have raised more lobbyist cash this election than Boehner has.
* Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid have pocketed more lobbyist cash in the past 18 months than Boehner has raised in the past 6 elections, combined?

Heck, it's been almost two years and has the Times even mentioned Schumer was up to his eyeballs in Bernie Madoff cash?

Your Brain on Liberalism: 'Do It for Bieber'

You could well wind up with brain damage sitting through the entire 1:17 presentation here but it's a useful exercise if only to see how desperate these Democrats are heading into the midterms. Figures the idiots behind this are part of the Hitler Soros Youth so throwing away money on idiotic efforts is nothing new.

Internet-savvy types know that teen heartthrob Justin Bieber pretty much rules the internet. Just last week, rumor spread that Bieber’s fan base was so active on Twitter that the microblogging website has servers dedicated just to him. Twitter didn’t confirm, but they didn’t deny it, either.

The takeaway? If you're trying to get a message to go viral, your success rate will surely be higher if you can somehow tie-in the Biebs.

So that’s just what Campus Progress, the college spinoff of the Center for American Progress, decided to do to get people to vote in the midterms.

The organization is highlighting a submission to its VoteAgain2010 video contest that argues, while Bieber can't vote in our midterms (he's both too young and too Canadian), shouldn't you?

"This isn't your standard election year video of celebrities asking you to vote," the ad says. "It's us, asking you to vote for celebrities who can't, celebrities like Justin Bieber. Bieber's too young to vote, yet whomever we elect in the 2010 midterm elections will impact his future and ours. ... So tell your parents, your grandparents, your Facebook friends ... If they won't do it for you, ask them to do it for Bieber."

I can't wait for the video spoofs of this one. Surely they're already in production.

British Teenager Banned From US After Emailing Obama

If it was some punk kid who sent an annoying email to George W. Bush you can be sure he'd be a media celebrity by now with appearances on all the networks. If Bush had the kid banned from the United States there would be protests from human rights group around the world declaring Bush a bully.

But you send Obama an email and you wind up banned from the country for life.

A British teenager has been banned from America for life for sending Barack Obama an abusive email.

Luke Angel was reprimanded by police on both sides of the Atlantic after firing off a drunken message to the White House calling the president a "p****".

The FBI intercepted the message and contacted police in the UK who went to see the 17-year-old at his home in Silsoe, Bedfordshire.

Luke, a college student, is now on a list of people who are banned from visiting the States.

The teenager told the Bedfordshire On Sunday newspaper that he had sent the email after watching a TV programme about September 11.

When asked about the ban, Luke said: "I don't really care. My parents aren't very happy about it.

"The police who came round took my picture and told me I was banned from America forever."

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "The individual sent an email to the White House full of abusive and threatening language.

"We were informed by the Metropolitan Police and went to see him. He said, 'Oh dear, it was me'."

Officers will take no criminal action.

So there nothing criminal and he's banned?

Shocker! Imam Rauf Pal a 9/11 Truther

Of course we're hesitant to play guilt by association, which is something our dear friends on the left never do, but here goes anyway.

A founding member of an organization run by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the driving force behind the planned mosque near Ground Zero, claims that the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job" and that Muslims have been made scapegoats, The Post has learned.

Faiz Khan -- who has preached at least twice at the former Burlington Coat Factory building, the site of the proposed mosque -- was for years Rauf's partner in the American Society for the Advancement of Muslims, which is dedicated to promoting a better understanding of Islam.

Khan also serves on the advisory board of Muslims for 9/11 Truth and is a founder of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, known as MUJCA.

On MUJCA's Web site, Khan wrote that "the inescapable fact [is] that 9/11 was an inside job."

"The prime factor for the success of the criminal mission known as 9/11 did not come from the quarter known as 'militant Islam,' although the phenomenon known as 'militant Islamic networks' may have played a partial role, or even a less than partial role -- perhaps the role of patsy and scapegoat," he wrote in documents uncovered by the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

Khan was listed as one of three directors of the American Society for the Advancement of Muslims in its 1997 incorporation papers, when it went by the name of the American Sufi Muslim Association.

ASMA and Rauf's Cordoba Initiative are spearheading the drive to create a $100 million Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.

In an e-mail exchange with The Post, Khan said he ended his affiliation with the ASMA in "2002 and 2003," although that claim is contradicted by a record of him speaking at a 2006 ASMA conference in Copenhagen, where his bio listed him as a board member.

When The Post asked Khan who he thought was responsible for 9/11, he initially declined comment, but later said in an e-mail: "I am certain of a few things . . . The towers and WTC 7 could not have collapsed without controlled demolition place from the 'inside.' "

Ray Locker, managing director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, said: "For someone who claims he wants the mosque project near Ground Zero to help build bridges and heal the wounds from 9/11, it's odd that one of Feisal Rauf's fellow bridge builders is someone who thinks the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people were an 'inside job' by the US government."

Khan told a group of 9/11 deniers at a 2006 Chicago summit called "Revealing the Truth/Reclaiming Our Future" that "the most logical explanation" for 9/11 is that the hijackers were working for corporate America and that the heroin trade creates "billions of dollars" that are laundered by "Citicorp and Procter & Gamble."

Rauf's spokesman didn't return calls for comment.

Of course he didn't. He'll only respond to preferred media outlets that don't bother doing any backgrounds checks on him.

NFL To Investigate After Football Players Gawk at Hot Reporter

Gee, hard to believe a bunch of guys oozing testosterone would act like goofballs around this babe.

Ines Sainz of Mexico's TV Azteca, a shapely former Miss Universe contestant in town to interview Mark Sanchez , created quite a stir during practice yesterday.

Prodded by his players, defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman purposely overthrew passes to them in interception drills so that the footballs would land next to Sainz on the sidelines.

Realizing what they were doing, Taylor volunteered to come over and join the drills even though he is a linebacker and not a defensive back.

Rex Ryan then joined in the fun, having Thurman run a sideline pattern and also intentionally overthrowing in Sainz's direction.

The hijinx apparently then moved into the locker room.

The NFL is looking into reports that the Jets made sexually suggestive comments to sports reporter Ines Sainz following practice Saturday in the team's locker room at the Jets training center in Florham Park, N.J.

Team owner Woody Johnson spoke with Sainz about her treatment on Sunday.

"He stressed to Ines that he expects all member of the Jets organization to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times," the team announced in a prepared statement. "We will continue to work with the league to gather the facts and take appropriate steps necessary to maintain a respectful environment for the media."

Sainz, who works for TV Azteca, a Mexican television network, was the recipient of cat calls, whistling and extended stares by Jets players. In town to interview quarterback Mark Sanchez, who is of Mexican descent, she asked several questions at coach Rex Ryan's morning press conference, attended practice during the 30 minutes open to media and then waited in the locker room for Sanchez. She eventually spoke with Sanchez for a short interview by his locker.

I hope he got her number.

Obama's America: Record Increase of People in Poverty, Blacks and Latinos Hardest Hit

How's that transformational change working out, America?

The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

Census figures for 2009 — the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat's presidency — are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings.

It's unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just seven weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated poverty rate increase — from 13.2 percent to about 15 percent — would be another blow to Democrats struggling to persuade voters to keep them in power.

"The most important anti-poverty effort is growing the economy and making sure there are enough jobs out there," Obama said Friday at a White House news conference. He stressed his commitment to helping the poor achieve middle-class status and said, "If we can grow the economy faster and create more jobs, then everybody is swept up into that virtuous cycle."

Interviews with six demographers who closely track poverty trends found wide consensus that 2009 figures are likely to show a significant rate increase to the range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent.

Can't we just blame it all on Bush or something?

Demographers also are confident the report will show:

_Child poverty increased from 19 percent to more than 20 percent.

_Blacks and Latinos were disproportionately hit, based on their higher rates of unemployment.

_Metropolitan areas that posted the largest gains in poverty included Modesto, Calif.; Detroit; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

"My guess is that politically these figures will be greeted with alarm and dismay but they won't constitute a clarion call to action," said William Galston, a domestic policy aide for President Bill Clinton. "I hope the parties don't blame each other for the desperate circumstances of desperate people. That would be wrong in my opinion. But that's not to say it won't happen."

'It's Not Often You See That ... When the Husband is More Attractive Than the Wife'

The always charming Bill Clinton:

Tony Blair would be well advised to stay out of the country this week when a new BBC film is broadcast – his wife ­Cherie is likely to be outraged by ­disparaging remarks about her appearance and scenes showing her husband ­lusting after other women.

Producers of The Special Relationship, the latest drama to feature actor Michael Sheen as Blair, say that it was only the fear of legal action from Cherie which stopped them from portraying her in an even more unflattering light.

In one scene in the production, which focuses on the relationship between Blair and Bill Clinton, the former American President says of the Blairs: 'It's not often you see that . . . when the husband is more attractive than the wife.'

Judging by her appearance here I'd say she's Clinton kind of gal.