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	<title>The Bejarana&#039;s &#187; Getting Political</title>
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		<title>Let me be clear &#8211; I Stand With Israel</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/let-me-be-clear-i-stand-with-israel/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/let-me-be-clear-i-stand-with-israel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:29:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.net/?p=832</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There seems to be lots of confusing things being said on the internet and in the main stream media.  Some are claiming they stand on the side of peace when they call for Freedom of Palestine, but I don&#8217;t feel that position is correct and I am writing this post to make my position very [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-833" title="I Stand with Israel" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/I-Stand-with-Israel.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="203" />There seems to be lots of confusing things being said on the internet and in the main stream media.  Some are claiming they stand on the side of peace when they call for Freedom of Palestine, but I don&#8217;t feel that position is correct and I am writing this post to make my position very clear.</p>
<p>I stand for Freedom and therefore I Stand for Israel.</p>
<p>I view the Free Gaza movement as nothing more than an attempt to justify killing the Jews.  In 1939 America turned a blind eye to the masses of so called peace loving Germans as they expounded the virtues of eradicating the Jews from Europe.</p>
<p>In my opinion, no American should support a movement that pledges &#8220;Death to Israel.&#8221;</p>
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<p>I stand with Israel and, if pushed, will give my life to defend the rights of Jews to exist.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-834" title="Real Americans Defend Israel" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Real-Americans-Defend-Israel.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="313" /></p>
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		<title>New pistol announced by Ruger</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/new-pistol-announced-by-ruger/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/new-pistol-announced-by-ruger/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:09:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.net/?p=820</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ruger has just announced that they are coming out with a new pistol in honor of Obama.  It will be named the “Union Worker”. It uses hollow points for ammo. It doesn’t work you can’t fire it.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h4 style="text-align: center;">Ruger has just announced that they are coming out with a new pistol in honor of Obama.  It will be named the “Union Worker”.</h4>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-821" title="Ruger Union Worker Pistol" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Ruger-Union-Worker-Pistol.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="365" /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">It uses hollow points for ammo.<br />
It doesn’t work<br />
you can’t fire it.</h2>
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		<title>I light a candle for the Fogel Family</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/i-light-a-candle-for-the-fogel-family/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/i-light-a-candle-for-the-fogel-family/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:36:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.com/?p=771</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[God bless the Fogel family. To those who feel empowered by horrific acts of violence, your day will come. To those who feel Islamic terrorists are just misunderstood, ingrain the faces of the Fogel family in your memory.  One day, the monster you protect will bite you.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-772" title="candle_flame_2" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/candle_flame_2.jpg" alt="" width="270" height="378" /></p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 460px"><a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/this-is-a-test-of-my-faith-father-of-west-bank-massacre-victim-gives-emotional-interview/"><img title="Fogel Family" src="http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/fogels1.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="247" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Link to story on TheBlaze.com</p></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">God bless the Fogel family.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">To those who feel empowered by horrific acts of violence, your day will come.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">To those who feel Islamic terrorists are just misunderstood, ingrain the faces of the Fogel family in your memory.  One day, the monster you protect will bite you.</p>
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		<title>My Dog is just like some people I know</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/760/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/760/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:21:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.com/?p=760</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day. She has her food prepared for her. She can eat whenever she wants, 24/7/365. Her meals are provided at no cost to her. She visits the Doctor once a year for her checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise. For this she pays [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-761" title="Swimming Dog" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Swimming-Dog.jpg" alt="" width="464" height="312" /></p>
<p>My dog  sleeps about 20 hours a day. She has her food prepared  for her.  She can eat whenever she wants, 24/7/365. Her  meals are provided at no  cost to her. She visits the Doctor  once a year for her checkup, and  again during the year  if any medical needs arise. For this she pays  nothing,  and nothing is required of her. She lives in a nice   neighborhood in a house that is much larger than she  needs, but she is  not required to do any upkeep. If she  makes a mess, someone else cleans  it up. She has her  choice of luxurious places to sleep. She receives  these  accommodations absolutely free. She is living like  a queen, and  has absolutely no expenses whatsoever. All  of her costs are picked up  by others who go out and earn  a living every day.</p>
<p>I was just thinking about all this,  and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head;<br />
My dog is  a Democrat!!!</p>
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		<title>Do you know who Walter is?</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/do-you-know-who-walter-is/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/do-you-know-who-walter-is/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:40:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.com/?p=658</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I knew he reminded me of somebody famous&#8230; On the left is &#8220;Walter&#8221;, Jeff Dunham&#8217;s dummy. The one on the right is Obama&#8217;s]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I knew he reminded me of somebody famous&#8230;</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-659" title="walter-biden" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/walter-biden.jpg" alt="" width="356" height="255" /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #ff0000">On the left is &#8220;Walter&#8221;, Jeff Dunham&#8217;s dummy.</span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left"><span style="color: #ff0000">The one on the right is Obama&#8217;s</span></h2>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/walter-biden.jpg"><br />
</a></p>
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		<title>Sheriff Joe is at it Again!</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/sheriff-joe-is-at-it-again/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/sheriff-joe-is-at-it-again/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:11:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.com/?p=652</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You all remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona , who painted the jail cells pink and made the inmates wear pink prison garb. Well&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.. Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs.. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You all remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona , who painted the jail cells pink and made the inmates wear pink prison garb. Well&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-653" title="Sheriff-Joe" src="http://bejarana.com/files/2010/06/Sheriff-Joe-300x202.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="202" />Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs.. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay.</p>
<p>The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who&#8217;d like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.</p>
<p>The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78.</p>
<p>The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.</p>
<p>I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand..</p>
<p>He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 &#8211; $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.</p>
<p>Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.<br />
Now he&#8217;s in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn&#8217;t doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He&#8217;s kind of a &#8216;Git-R Dun&#8217; kind of S heriff.</p>
<p>TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO</p>
<p>HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF</p>
<p>AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER<br />
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:</p>
<p>Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the &#8216; Tent City Jail&#8217;:<br />
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.</p>
<p>He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut off all but &#8216;G&#8217; movies.</p>
<p>He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.</p>
<p>Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn&#8217;t Get Sued For Discrimination.</p>
<p>He took away cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again . Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel.</p>
<p>When asked why the weather channel He Replied, So They Will Know How Hot It&#8217;s Gonna Be While They Are Working ON My Chain Gangs.</p>
<p>He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value.</p>
<p>When the inmates complained, he told them, &#8216;This Isn&#8217;t The Ritz/Carlton&#8230;&#8230; If You Don&#8217;t Like It, Don&#8217;t Come Back.&#8217;</p>
<p>More On The Arizona Sheriff:</p>
<p>With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports:<br />
About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before.</p>
<p>Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS.</p>
<p>&#8216;It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,&#8217; Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The TENTS for 1 year. &#8216;It&#8217;s Inhumane.&#8217;</p>
<p>Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic.. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: &#8216;It&#8217;s 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear,<br />
But They Didn&#8217;t Commit Any Crimes,So Shut Your Mouths!&#8217;</p>
<p>Way To Go, Sheriff!</p>
<p>Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes &#8211; not live in luxury until it&#8217;s time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can&#8217;t afford to have for themselves.</p>
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		<title>Who said BLUE dogs can not be trained?</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/who-said-blue-dogs-can-not-be-trained/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/who-said-blue-dogs-can-not-be-trained/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 12:43:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.com/?p=648</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-647" title="train-blue-dogs" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/train-blue-dogs.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="414" /></p>
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		<title>AZ Sonoran Desert, outside Tucson, AZ</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/az-sonoran-desert-outside-tucson-az/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/az-sonoran-desert-outside-tucson-az/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 May 2010 19:19:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Support Arizona]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.com/?p=636</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Would you be happy to stand by and say nothing if this was happening in your back yard? Do the right thing&#8230;support Arizona and their desire to also do the right thing by the letter of the law and the responsible thing for their States legal citizens and the environment. Everyone needs to enjoy the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Would you be happy to stand by and say nothing if this was happening in your back yard?</p>
<p>Do the right thing&#8230;support Arizona and their desire to also do the right thing by the letter of the law and the responsible thing for their States legal citizens and the environment.</p>
<p>Everyone needs to enjoy the beauty of the Arizona desert.</p>
<p>***SNIP***</p>
<p>Hey everyone out there!</p>
<p>We, in Arizona , know you&#8217;re boycotting us &#8212; but you really should come out here and see our Beautiful Sonoran Desert .</p>
<p>It&#8217;s just gorgeous right now!  We know you&#8217;d love it and maybe you can share what you saw with the rest of the country so they can love it too!</p>
<p>AND WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL OF THE ENVIRONMENTALIST?</p>
<p>This is on an &#8216;illegal super &#8211; highway&#8217; from Mexico to the USA ( Tucson ) used by human smugglers.</p>
<p>This area is located in a wash, approximately 1.5 miles long, just south of Tucson , Arizona . If a flood came, all this would be washed to the river and then onto the sea!</p>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-2.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-638" title="mime-attachment-2" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-2.jpeg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></a></p>
<p>This is on an &#8216;illegal super &#8211; highway&#8217; from Mexico to the USA ( Tucson ) used by human smugglers.</p>
<p>This area is located in a wash, approximately 1.5 miles long, just south of Tucson , Arizona . If a flood came, all this would be washed to the river and then onto the sea!</p>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-3.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full  wp-image-639" title="mime-attachment-3" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-3.jpeg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></a></p>
<p>It is estimated over 5,000 discarded backpacks are in this wash.  Countless water containers, food wrappers, clothing, feces, including thousands of soiled baby diapers. And as you can see in this picture, fresh footprints leading right into it.</p>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-4.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full  wp-image-640" title="mime-attachment-4" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-4.jpeg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></a></p>
<p>As we kept walking down the wash, we thought for sure it was going to end, but around every corner was more and more trash!</p>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-642" title="mime-attachment" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment.jpeg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></a></p>
<p>And of course the trail leading out of the wash in our city, heads directly NORTH to Tucson , then leads to your town tomorrow.</p>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-1.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-637" title="mime-attachment-1" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-1.jpeg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></a></p>
<p>They&#8217;ve already come through here. Isn&#8217;t Arizona just beautiful, America ?<br />
Why would you boycott us???</p>
<p>Our desert has basically been turned into a landfill.</p>
<p><a href="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-5.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full  wp-image-641" title="mime-attachment-5" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mime-attachment-5.jpeg" alt="" width="512" height="384" /></a></p>
<p>The trash left behind by people illegally crossing our border is another Environmental Disaster to hit the USA .</p>
<p>If these actions had been done in one of our Northwest Forests or Seashore National Parks areas, there would be an uprising of the American people&#8230;..but this is the Arizona-Mexican border.</p>
<p>You won&#8217;t see these pictures on CNN, ABC, NBC or the Arizona Republic Repugnant newspaper.  Nor will they mention the disease that comes from the uncovered human waste left in our desert.</p>
<p>However, with respect to CNN, ABC &amp; NBC, they do offer us &#8220;Special Reports&#8221; on cheating celebrity spouses&#8230;.</p>
<p>This information needs to be seen by the rest of the country.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not about Right vs Left, Liberal vs. Conservative, Republican vs. Democrat . It&#8217;s about supporting the US Constitution&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Where to put President Obama&#8217;s Picture?</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/where-to-put-president-obamas-picture/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/where-to-put-president-obamas-picture/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:17:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just For Fun]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.net/?p=584</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[George Washington, our nation&#8217;s first president and leader of the American Revolution! Abe Lincoln, honorable leader pulled our nation through its darkest time! (Though he was the first president to violate the US Constitution to maintain Power) Alexander Hamilton, a founding father, first secretary of the treasury, and leader of the constitutional convention! Andrew Jackson, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>George Washington, our nation&#8217;s first president and leader of the American Revolution!</h2>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-589" title="dollar-bill" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/dollar-bill.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="131" /></p>
<h2>Abe Lincoln, honorable leader pulled our nation through its darkest time!</h2>
<p>(Though he was the first president to violate the US Constitution to maintain Power)</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-588" title="five-dollar-bill" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/five-dollar-bill.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="128" /></p>
<h2>Alexander Hamilton, a founding father, first secretary of the treasury, and leader of the constitutional convention!</h2>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-585" title="10-dollar-bill" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/10-dollar-bill.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="125" /></p>
<h2>Andrew Jackson, &#8220;Old Hickory,&#8221; fought the British in New Orleans!</h2>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-591" title="20-dollar-bill" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/20-dollar-bill.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="129" /></p>
<h2>Ulysses Grant, Union army general, lead the North through the Civil War!</h2>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-586" title="50-dollar-bill" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/50-dollar-bill.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="122" /></p>
<h2>Ben Franklin, genius inventor, political theorist, and leading author of the constitution.</h2>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-590" title="100-dollar-bill" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/100-dollar-bill.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="129" /></p>
<h2>Finally, we have someone to put on the food stamp!!!</h2>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-587" title="food-stamps" src="http://bejarana.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/food-stamps.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="193" /></p>
<p>Obamas policies will put more people on welfare than any president before him so this placement is most appropriate. Unlike the Nobel Peace Prize, for which he did nothing, this is an honor he richly deserves.</p>
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		<title>FACT CHECK: Obama and the &#8216;hatchet&#8217; job</title>
		<link>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/fact-check-obama-and-the-hatchet-job/</link>
		<comments>http://bejarana.net/getting-political/fact-check-obama-and-the-hatchet-job/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:40:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ed Bejarana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Political]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bejarana.net/?p=580</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON (AP) &#8211; President Barack Obama, who once considered government spending freezes a hatchet job, told Americans on Wednesday it&#8217;s now part of his solution to the exploding deficit. He didn&#8217;t explain what had changed. His State of the Union speech skipped over a variety of complex realities in laying out a &#8220;common-sense&#8221; call to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WASHINGTON (AP) &#8211; President Barack Obama, who once considered government spending freezes a hatchet job, told Americans on Wednesday it&#8217;s now part of his solution to the exploding deficit. He didn&#8217;t explain what had changed.</p>
<p>His State of the Union speech skipped over a variety of complex realities in laying out a &#8220;common-sense&#8221; call to action.</p>
<p>A look at some of his claims and how they compare with the facts:</p>
<p>OBAMA: &#8220;Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
<p>Quantcast<br />
THE FACTS: The anticipated savings from this proposal would amount to less than one percent of the deficit &#8211; and that&#8217;s if the president can persuade Congress to go along.</p>
<p>Obama is a convert to the cause of broad spending freezes. In the presidential campaign, he criticized Republican opponent John McCain for suggesting one. &#8220;The problem with a spending freeze is you&#8217;re using a hatchet where you need a scalpel,&#8221; he said a month before the election. Now, Obama wants domestic spending held steady in most areas where the government can control year to year costs. The proposal is similar to McCain&#8217;s.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: &#8220;I&#8217;ve called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This can&#8217;t be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline. Yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: Any commission that Obama creates would be a weak substitute for what he really wanted &#8211; a commission created by Congress that could force lawmakers to consider unpopular remedies to reduce the debt, including curbing politically sensitive entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. That idea crashed in the Senate this week, defeated by equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Any commission set up by Obama alone would lack authority to force its recommendations before Congress, and would stand almost no chance of success.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: Discussing his health care initiative, he said: &#8220;Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: The Democratic legislation now hanging in limbo on Capitol Hill aims to keep people with employer-sponsored coverage &#8211; the majority of Americans under age 65 &#8211; in the plans they already have. But Obama can&#8217;t guarantee people won&#8217;t see higher rates or fewer benefits in their existing plans. Because of elements such as new taxes on insurance companies, insurers could change what they offer or how much it costs. Moreover, Democrats have proposed a series of changes to the Medicare program for people 65 and older that would certainly pinch benefits enjoyed by some seniors. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted cuts for those enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: The president issued a populist broadside against lobbyists, saying they have &#8220;outsized influence&#8221; over the government. He said his administration has &#8220;excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs.&#8221; He also said it&#8217;s time to &#8220;require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or Congress&#8221; and &#8220;to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: Obama has limited the hiring of lobbyists for administration jobs, but the ban isn&#8217;t absolute; seven waivers from the ban have been granted to White House officials alone. Getting lobbyists to report every contact they make with the federal government would be difficult at best; Congress would have to change the law, and that&#8217;s unlikely to happen. And lobbyists already are subject to strict limits on political giving. Just like every other American, they&#8217;re limited to giving $2,400 per election to federal candidates, with an overall ceiling of $115,500 every two years.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: &#8220;Because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed. &#8230; And we are on track to add another one and a half million jobs to this total by the end of the year.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: The success of the Obama-pushed economic stimulus that Congress approved early last year has been an ongoing point of contention for the president. In December, the administration reported that recipients of direct assistance from the government created or saved about 650,000 jobs. The number was based on self-reporting by recipients and some of the calculations were shown to be in error.</p>
<p>The Congressional Budget Office has been much more guarded than Obama in characterizing the success of the stimulus plan. In November, it reported that the stimulus increased the number of people employed by between 600,000 and 1.6 million &#8220;compared with what those values would have been otherwise.&#8221; It said the ranges &#8220;reflect the uncertainty of such estimates.&#8221; And it added: &#8220;It is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: He called for action by the White House and Congress &#8220;to do our work openly, and to give our people the government they deserve.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: Obama skipped past a broken promise from his campaign &#8211; to have the negotiations for health care legislation broadcast on C-SPAN &#8220;so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.&#8221; Instead, Democrats in the White House and Congress have conducted the usual private negotiations, making multibillion-dollar deals with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders behind closed doors. Nor has Obama lived up consistently to his pledge to ensure that legislation is posted online for five days before it&#8217;s acted upon.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: &#8220;We will continue to go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can&#8217;t afford and don&#8217;t work. We&#8217;ve already identified $20 billion in savings for next year.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: Identifying savings is far from achieving them. If the past is any guide, little will result from this exercise because Congress routinely rejects the White House&#8217;s suggested spending cuts.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: &#8220;The United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: Despite insisting early last year that they would complete the negotiations in time to avoid expiration of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in early December, the U.S. and Russia failed to do so. And while officials say they think a deal on a new treaty is within reach, there has been no breakthrough. A new round of talks is set to start Monday. One important sticking point: disagreement over including missile defense issues in a new accord. If completed, the new deal may arguably be the farthest-reaching arms control treaty since the original 1991 agreement. An interim deal reached in 2002 did not include its own rules on verifying nuclear reductions.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>OBAMA: Drawing on classified information, he claimed more success than his predecessor at killing terrorists: &#8220;And in the last year, hundreds of al-Qaida&#8217;s fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed &#8211; far more than in 2008.&#8221;</p>
<p>THE FACTS: It is an impossible claim to verify. Neither the Bush nor the Obama administration has published enemy body counts, particularly those targeted by armed drones in the Pakistan-Afghan border region. The pace of drone attacks has increased dramatically in the last 18 months, according to congressional officials briefed on the secret program.</p>
<p>Jan 27, 10:38 PM (ET) By CALVIN WOODWARD</p>
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