MIGHT THE USA STOCK MARKETS CRASH WITHIN THE NEXT 40 DAYS? YES...

VIA MEMEORANDUM.

BLOOMBERG:

This week’s plunge in U.S. stocks triggered a technical indicator known as the Hindenburg Omen that may signal a more severe selloff, according to analysts who follow charts to predict market moves.

The market signal, named for a German zeppelin that caught fire and crashed more than seven decades ago, occurs when an unusually high number of companies in the New York Stock Exchange reach 52-week highs and lows. The indicator last occurred in October 2008, according to UBS AG.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index yesterday completed the biggest three-day decline since July 1, after an unexpected increase in unemployment claims added to evidence an economic recovery is weakening. The benchmark gauge for U.S. stocks has dropped 3.4 percent so far this week as Federal Reserve policy makers said growth “is likely to be more modest” than they previously forecast.

The indicator may suggest “a savage equity downturn is imminent,” said Albert Edwards, a London-based strategist at Societe Generale SA, who has told investors to favor bonds over stocks for more than a decade.

WIKI: HINDENBURG OMEN

every NYSE crash since 1985 has been preceded by a Hindenburg Omen.

... The traditional definition of a Hindenburg Omen requires that:

1. The daily number of NYSE new 52 Week Highs and the daily number of new 52 Week Lows must both be greater than 2.2 percent of total NYSE issues traded that day (currently, greater than or equal to 69, which is above 2.2% of 3126).
2. The NYSE 10 Week moving average is rising.
3. The McClellan Oscillator is negative on that same day.
4. New 52 Week Highs cannot be more than twice the new 52 Week Lows (however it is fine for new 52 Week Lows to be more than double new 52 Week Highs). This condition is absolutely mandatory.

These measures are calculated each evening using Wall Street Journal figures for consistency. The occurrence of all five criteria on one day is often referred to as an unconfirmed Hindenburg Omen.

A confirmed Hindenburg Omen occurs if a second (or more) Hindenburg Omen signals occur during a 36-day period from the first signal.

... Looking back at historical data, the probability of a move greater than 5% to the downside after a confirmed Hindenburg Omen was 77%, and usually takes place within the next forty-days.

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN... SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 IS THE ... DEADLINE...

BRITISH CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY: 3000 BRITISH FORMER MUSLIMS LIVE IN FEAR

NINE MINUTES OF TRUTH ABOUT ISLAM.

ISLAM NO MORE BELONGS ON EARTH THAN NAZISM IN GERMANY.

NEW STATISTICAL ANALYSIS DEMOLISHES THE HOCKEY STICK

THERE HASN'T BEEN A STEEP INCREASE IN TEMPERATURES THAT IS OUTSIDE PAST FLUCTUATIONS:

WUWT:

MANN'S HOCKEY STICK:

THE TRUTH:

... we conclude unequivocally that the evidence for a ”long-handled” hockey stick (where the shaft of the hockey stick extends to the year 1000 AD) is lacking in the data. The fundamental problem is that there is a limited amount of proxy data which dates back to 1000 AD; what is available is weakly predictive of global annual temperature.

[...]

[...]

Our backcasting methods, which track quite closely the methods applied most recently in Mann (2008) to the same data, are unable to catch the sharp run up in temperatures recorded in the 1990s, even in-sample.

IOW: AGW = TFBS.

HMMM...: Iran gold imports hit 22 tons in four months

Iran imported over 22 tons of gold ingots worth over $855 million in the first four months of the current calendar year (started March 20, 2010).

The amount shows 85,000 percent increase in terms of volume and 81,000 percent rise in terms of value in comparison to the same period previous year, ISNA News Agency reported.

The figure accounts for 4.64 percent of Iran's total value of imports during the mentioned period.

Turkey, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates were the main exporters of gold to Iran.

Iran imported $1 million worth of gold during the first four months of previous Iranian year.

WHY WOULD THEY NEED GOLD - AND SO MUCH OF IT - NOW?

IT'S NEARLY A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF GOLD.

IS THE ELITE AFRAID THE CURRENCY IS SOON GOING TO COLLAPSE?

COULD BE.

STAY TUNED...

Berwick's First Strike: Susan G. Komen Foundation and Ovarian Cancer Alliance Decry First-Ever Medicare Denials of FDA-Approved Cancer Drugs

Just days after the recess appointment of Donald Berwick, the controversial new head of Medicare and Medicaid, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance posted the following grim news: for the first time in history, an FDA-approved anti-cancer therapy may not be covered by Medicare.

Provenge, a vaccine to treat the recurrence of prostate cancer, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)... Medicare usually covers the cost of FDA-approved anti-cancer therapies. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is still reviewing whether it will cover Provenge, and at what rate.

The CMS statute states that Medicare must cover therapies that are reasonable and necessary, while the FDA is instructed to approve drugs that are safe and effective. Because of the conflicting Federal coverage and approval requirements, there are some non-FDA approved drugs (called off-label drugs) that are paid for by CMS. However, with respect to Provenge, it appears that CMS is arguing that while the treatment is safe and effective, it may not be reasonable and necessary. For the first time, an FDA approved anti-cancer therapy may not be covered by Medicare.

A life-saving cancer treatment "may not be reasonable and necessary"? Gee, that kind of decision-making by an unelected federal bureaucracy certainly sounds like a death panel to me.

Say, I thought the President said that pre-existing conditions would always be covered. Isn't cancer a pre-existing condition?

Oh. What's this?

Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Appeal to FDA and Key Lawmakers on Avastin Issue

Patient Access and the Impact on Development of New Treatments at the Heart of Komen for the Cure's Concerns

Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA) today urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue to allow the use of the drug bevacizumab, commonly known as Avastin, for metastatic breast cancer patients, noting that it is effective for some patients and warning of a chilling effect on new drug development if approval is withdrawn...

...In a joint letter sent to the FDA and key Congressional lawmakers Thursday, Komen for the Cure and the OCNA wrote, "We are particularly concerned about patients who are presently receiving bevacizumab and the message that this decision sends about drug development for women with advanced breast cancer."

...According to Komen, the decision to use Avastin should be made between a woman and her doctor after a thoughtful conversation that carefully considers the drug's benefits and risks. Komen does not want to see access limited by Medicare and Medicaid.

Gee, and I thought no one would be denied coverage by ObamaCare.

Didn't the President himself say, "I want seniors to know, despite what some have said, these reforms will not cut your guaranteed benefits."

That's what President Obama told us, endlessly and repeatedly, for months on end.

Do you mean to say he was lying?

Folks, this is precisely why the cancer survival rate for the U.K. is so much lower than that of the U.S. -- and, in some cases, lower than Eastern Europe's. And why Donald Berwick's nickname is Dr. Death.

America's seniors are about to find out that having coverage is not the same thing as receiving care. And our seniors are about to pay the piper.


Hat tips: Valerie Ward and Mark Levin. Cross-posted at: Doug Ross @ Journal.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: WWE VS BHO JR'S BS

FREAKIN' QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

"Linda McMahon ran a successful, profitable business that brought entertainment to millions of people, so, naturally, she’s evil.

Obama just wanted to score some votes by making an awkward, ridiculous, forced appeal to people he doesn’t know and wouldn’t be caught dead with under any other circumstances, so he’s the good guy."

By Jim Treacher via Glenn.

RUNNER UP, NEVER YET MELTED:

{OBAMA:} [H]ere in the United States, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country.

I’ve read very widely in that subject myself, and I’ve actually never discovered either of the two facts the president mentioned.

I can recall no Muslim presence in the United States at all before recent years, if you don’t count Shriners wearing fezes. And the only Islamic contribution to America I can think of would be the Barbary pirates supplying “To the shore of Tripoli” to the Marine Corps hymn.

WE SHOULD NO MORE ALLOW A MOSQUE NEAR GROUND ZERO THEN PERMIT THE KKK TO BURN A CROSS NEAR THE SITE OF THE OLD LORRAINE MOTEL.

REMEMBER THE BABRI MOSQUE!

IN THE 15TH CENTURY, THE MUSLIMS BUILT A MOSQUE ON TOP OF A HINDU TEMPLE.

IN 1992 HINDU TORE IT DOWN.

THERE'S A MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS IN THERE, SOMEWHERE...

OBAMA SIDES WITH MUSLIMS - AND AGAINST MOST AMERICANS - ON GROUND ZERO MOSQUE

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS IN FAVOR OF THE GROUND ZERO MOSQUE -

WHICH IS JUST ABOUT AS POPULAR AS OBAMACARE...
AND AMNESTY...
AND MORE STIMULUS BILLS...
AND MORE BAILOUTS.

MEANING THAT ALMOST 70% OPPOSE IT (PDF).

AND THEY WONDER WHY THE DEMOCRAT PARTY POLLS POORLY!?

SHEESH.

THE USA USED TO BE A DEMOCRACY.

IT CAN BE AGAIN - THIS NOVEMBER: VOTE GOP!

BBC: CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSING RABID VAMPIRE BAT ATTACKS IN PERU - AND ER, UM... IT'S UNUSUALLY COOL WEATHER AND NOT WARM THAT'S TO BLAME!

BBC: Peru battles rabid vampire bats after 500 people bitten

Vampire bats feed on the blood of mammals while they sleep

Peru's health ministry has sent emergency teams to a remote Amazon region to battle an outbreak of rabies spread by vampire bats.

Four children in the Awajun indigenous tribe died after being bitten by the bloodsucking mammals.

Health workers have given rabies vaccine to more than 500 people who have also been attacked.

... Some local people have suggested this latest outbreak of attacks may be linked to the unusually low temperatures the Peruvian Amazon in recent years.

IF WE WANT TO STOP THIS THEN WE OUGHT TO BURN MORE CO2 TO HEAT THINGS UP!

NOT.

IOW: AGW - TFBS.

MERKEL'S BUDGET CUTS WORKED: GERMAN ECONOMY GREW AT FASTEST PACE IN 20 YEARS

THEY CRITICIZED HER FOR IT - OBAMA AND THE MEDIA - BUT IT WORKED:

The German economy grew by 2.2% in the three months to the end of June, its fastest quarterly growth in more than 20 years, official figures show.

"Such quarter-on-quarter growth has never been recorded before in reunified Germany," the national statistics office, Destatis, said.

... "The strong second quarter performance of the German economy is impressive but not surprising," said Carsten Brzeski at ING Financial Markets.

"The German economy mainly benefited from two factors - a catching up in the construction sector after the harsh winter and strong foreign demand for German goods."

FLASHBACK: Merkel Introduces German Austerity Package

June 8, 2010, 3:48 am

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday introduced a major austerity package aimed at finding savings of more than 85 billion euros by 2014, but it was immediately criticized by the opposition and trade unions, which pledged that they would unite to fight cutbacks they claimed would undermine the country’s generous social welfare system.

“The savings offer no perspective whatsoever,” Michael Sommer, leader of the German Federation of Trade Unions, told Judy Dempsey of The New York Times.

Speaking after two days of intense talks in the Chancellery, Mrs. Merkel said the savings program — the largest in the country’s postwar history — was the only way for Germany to “stand on its legs.”

SHE WAS RIGHT!

THE SOCIALISTS OPPOSED HER:

The German government's newly announced budget cuts may be a signal for the struggling euro, but the decision not to hike taxes on the rich will fuel public protest against the measures, say media commentators. If Chancellor Angela Merkel was hoping for a fresh start for her embattled government, this wasn't it.

After eight months of in-fighting, stalling and setbacks, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government finally took a landmark decision on Monday, announcing the country's largest package of budget cutbacks since World War II. It plans to cut the budget by a total of around €80 billion ($95 billion) by 2014 to meet the requirements of the EU's stability pact and of the so-called "debt brake" enshrined in the German constitution.

The savings involve cuts in social spending, including reductions in allowances for the long-term unemployed. There will also be several new business levies including an air travel tax, a tax on nuclear power station operators and a financial transactions tax, although the latter would only be introduced if it were agreed at a European level.

The government also plans to axe 15,000 jobs from federal payrolls by 2014, and to scale back several tax subsidies, including reducing the number of exemptions to Germany's environmental tax.

The opposition Social Democrats, Greens and the Left Party have attacked the measures as socially unfair and complained that the coalition has spared its core base of wealthy and middle-income voters much pain.

THE SOCIALISTS WERE AS WRONG THEN AS THEY ARE NOW - AND AS WRONG THERE AS THEY ARE HERE!

WE NEED TO DO THE SAME THINGS SHE DID THERE, HERE: LIKE CUT SPENDING!

TO DO THAT WE NEED TO DEFEAT OBAMA'S COMRADES THIS NOVEMBER - BY VOTING GOP!

OTHERS WEIGHED IN HERE:

Nicholas Kulish / New York Times:

Defying Others, Germany Finds Economic Success — BERLIN — Germany has sparred with its European partners over how to respond to the financial crisis, argued with the United States over the benefits of stimulus versus austerity, and defiantly pursued its own vision of how to keep its economy strong.

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

+

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Marginal Revolution and FrumForum

MORE EVIDENCE THAT MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS COLLUDE WITH THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, USA Today, PoliticO, Tribune Company, McClatchy, and Bloomberg meet with President Obama in "Off-the-Record" Secret conference.

From The Yahoo News blog, The Upshot:

Reporters wouldn't say Thursday who joined President Obama for an off-the-record lunch at the White House.

The Upshot noted the irony that news organizations have been at the forefront of the fight to make White House visitor logs public. Not to mention the fact that the names of those who visit the White House in August will be made available to the public by November anyway.

But who wants to wait until November? The Upshot has now learned which White House beat reporters attended the off-the-record meeting.


Here's the lineup: Ben Feller (Associated Press), Jonathan Weisman and Laura Meckler (Wall Street Journal), Michael Shear and Scott Wilson (Washington Post), Caren Bohan (Reuters), David Jackson (USA Today), Carol Lee (Politico), Peter Nicholas (Tribune Co.), Margaret Talev (McClatchy) and Julianna Goldman (Bloomberg).

Several reporters on this list gave "no comments" to The Upshot on Thursday.

The New York Times was invited but did not attend. White House reporter Peter Baker told The Upshot that the paper "politely declined because we'd like very much to talk on the record."

The New York Times acted appropriately here. The rest of the news outlets did not.

What does the President have to discuss with the media that he can not discuss in public? Obama is the servant of the people, and he is hired by the people. The Press is protected by the First Amendment, because they are supposed to serve as a check against the power of the Federal government.

If the Media is involved in keeping secrets from the people about the machinations of the Presidency, then they have ceded their role as a check against the government and are, instead, working in collusion with the government against the interests of the people.

ONLY TWO DEVELOPED NATIONS IN THE ENTIRE GLOBE HAVE AUTOMATIC BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FOR THE CHILDREN OF TOURISTS AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

FOLLOWING ARE ALL THE DEVELOPED NATIONS OF THE WORLD THAT OFFER BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP TO THE BABIES OF TOURISTS AND ILLEGAL ALIENS:

• United States
• Canada

That's right, every other modern Developed nation in the world has gotten rid of birthright citizenship policies.

Yet, most of U.S. news media and politicians the last two weeks have ridiculed the comments by some other politicians that it is time for the U.S. to put an end to birthright citizenship for tourists and illegal aliens.

Folks, the U.S. and Canada stand alone.

No country in Northern Europe offers birthright citizenship.

No country in Western Europe offers it. Nor does any country in Southern or even Eastern Europe offer it. Nor Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand.

ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS LIMIT AUTOMATIC BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP TO LEGAL RESIDENTS.

'Turks hit PKK with chemical weapons'

UPDATE: WE SCOOPED HOT AIR BY 8 HOURS ON THIS.

WHAT MUSLIMS DO TO EACH OTHER IS FAR WORSE THAN WHAT WE DO TO THEM
LESSON #11,473

And the lesson is, they will eventually do this to us.

From the Jerusalem Post:

Report: German newspaper says photos of dead Kurds confirm use.

BERLIN – German politicians called on Thursday for an international investigation into the reported use of chemical weapons by the Turkish military. The weapons were used against members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to the online edition of the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

“Turkey needs to urgently look into these accusations,” said Ruprecht Polenz, chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee in the Bundestag and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party.

Polenz recommended an international investigation to examine the deaths of eight Kurdish activists from the PKK. Claudia Roth, co-chair of the German Green party, echoed Polenz’s criticisms, seconding his call for an investigation.

MP Andrej Hunko urged the German Foreign Ministry to file a complaint against Turkey with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.

A forensic report from Hamburg University Hospital confirmed that the eight Kurds had been murdered by “the use of chemical substances.”

Turkish Kurdish human rights members delivered photos in March to a delegation of German politicians, Turkey specialists, and journalists. The bodies in the photos were severely deformed and torn to pieces; the photos formed the basis for the forensic report. Hans Baumann, a German expert on the authenticity of photos, confirmed that photos had not been doctored.

The eight Kurdish PKK members were killed last September. The 31 photos, according to German media, are so disturbing that news organizations have been reluctant to publish them. The murdered PKK rebels – two women and six men – range in age from 19 to 33.

The allegation of employing chemical weapons against the Kurdish minority group could further taint Turkey’s battered human rights record.

Turkey’s nearly 12 million Kurds are seeking increased rights and autonomy. Turkey’s armed forces have, according to human rights groups, brutally suppressed the Kurdish ethnic minority’s attempts to secure more independence in the southeast. In July, a series of violent clashes between the Turkish military and Kurdish rebels broke out. The PKK had previously attacked a Turkish military post, killing eight Turkish soldiers, prompting a wave of military strikes resulting in the deaths of 12 Kurds.

Turkey is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention. The alleged use of chemical weapons would constitute a violation of the anti-chemical weapons treaty.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry denied engaging in chemical and biological warfare, according to a report in the daily Tageszeitung. The paper noted that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had been informed of the chemical weapons allegations before his trip to Turkey in late July, but has declined to take diplomatic action.

TURKISH ARMY CONTINUES TO MUTILATE CORPSES

‘I am sending photos and information. They belong to guerillas who died in the clashes that took place in Şemdinli. They were handed over to the Şemdinli Municipality as they were. People are washing the bodies in the river.’ I couldn’t look at the photos, burned young bodies in pieces… the Günlük daily has been publishing the photos for a few days.

In another letter, an article published in Günlük daily was sent. It is on the same topic. ‘…The images the cameraman recorded are detailed. The cameramen who recorded every single detail of the corpses of the guerillas will leave their mark in the history. That’s for sure. Or rather, the cameramen record acts of violence the state is involved in against Kurds, Kurdish bodies, corpses in the 21st century…

I cannot look at the photos. My eyes are shut. Yes, we are at the end… where humanity ends. In the 21st century such acts are flat violence. Their goal is to destroy the willpower of the Kurdish people, scare away Kurdish women and the Kurdish youth.’ For days, funeral ceremonies are being held for the PKK members in Hakkâri, Şemdinli, Diyarbakır, Van and in many other southeastern cities.

The corpses are not being returned to the families. They are buried at the scenes of encounters. For this reasons, demonstrations are held, people fight against police officers. The PKK members who are killed in the regions mostly driven by a political trend advocating the Kurdish identity are welcomed not as ‘terrorists’ but as ‘martyrs.’ They are treated like martyrs. This is the latest picture in the Southeast… In other words, a completely different psychology and public opinion is settling in the region…

KASHMIR HEATING UP - AND, PREDICTABLY, THE MEDIA PORTRAYS IT AS A BORDER SKIRMISH AND NOT GLOBAL JIHAD

NYTIMES:

For decades, India maintained hundreds of thousands of security forces in Kashmir to fight an insurgency sponsored by Pakistan, which claims this border region, too. The insurgency has been largely vanquished. But those Indian forces are still here, and today they face a threat potentially more dangerous to the world’s largest democracy: an intifada-like popular revolt against the Indian military presence that includes not just stone-throwing young men but their sisters, mothers, uncles and grandparents.

The protests, which have erupted for a third straight summer, have led India to one of its most serious internal crises in recent memory. Not just because of their ferocity and persistence, but because they signal the failure of decades of efforts to win the assent of Kashmiris using just about any tool available: money, elections and overwhelming force.

... After two summers of protests on specific grievances, this summer’s unrest has taken on a new character, one more difficult to define and mollify.

That anger has led to a cycle of violence that the Indian government seems powerless to stop. Events that unfolded last week in Pulwama, a small town 20 miles from Srinagar, illustrate how the violence feeds itself.

It began on Monday, Aug. 2, when a young man, Mohammad Yacoub Bhatt, from a village near Pulwama was shot dead during a march to protest the earlier killings of other young protesters.

Four days later, a procession set off to protest his death. Soon it swelled into the thousands. The police blocked the road and refused to let the marchers pass, worried that the crowd would burn down government buildings, as previous crowds had.

What happened next is disputed. Protesters claimed that when they tried to surge through a barricade, the police opened fire.

“We did not think they would open fire,” said Malik Shahid, 17, who had joined the march. “There was no violence. It was a peaceful protest.”

First the police fired in the air, witnesses said, then into the scattering crowd. A bullet felled Mr. Shahid’s uncle, Shabir Ahmed Malik, a 24-year-old driver, and killed him on the spot.

Mr. Shahid, a 12th grader who hopes to become an engineer, said the latest violence was evidence to him that remaining part of India was impossible.

“If India took steps against those who kill us, maybe the people of Kashmir would be willing,” he said. “But when there is no justice how can we remain with India? They are not doing anything but killing. So we will just go for freedom.”

Commandant Prabhakar Tripathy, spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force, the main paramilitary force trying to keep order in Kashmir, declined to comment on the episode but said that the protests were not as spontaneous as they appeared.

“Militants are just mingling with the crowd, firing bullets from the crowd,” Mr. Tripathy said. “Now they are trying to raise this confrontation between the public and the security forces.”

“We are charging them with tear gas, rubber pellets, firing in the air, nothing works here,” he said. “When a crowd of thousands attacks the camp, what can you do?”

Indian officials have tried to portray Kashmir’s stone-throwing youths as illiterate pawns of jihadist forces across the Pakistan border and have suggested that economic development and jobs are the key to getting young people off the streets.

But many of the stone throwers are hardly illiterate. They organize on Facebook, creating groups with names like “Im a Kashmiri Stone Pelter.” One young man who regularly joins protests and goes by the nom de guerre Khalid Khan has an M.B.A. and a well-paying job.

THE ANGER FUELING THE VIOLENCE IS NOT NATIONALISTIC OR ECONOMIC; IT IS RELIGIOUS.

DENYING IT ONLY GIVES THE ENEMY TIME TO STRENGTHEN.

PAKISTAN AND SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN MUST BE NEUTERED FOR GLOBAL PEACE TO REPLACE GLOBAL JIHAD AND FOR WW4 TO END WITH VICTORY FOR THE WEST.

IF & WHEN IRAN GETS NUKES - OR WHEN PAKISTAN'S REMAINING PRO-WESTERN FACTIONS COLLAPSE AND PAKISTAN'S NUKES FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE JIHADISTS - OR WHEN THE ANTI-WEST HALF OF THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY SEIZES POWER, WELL THEN... CHANCES OF WINNING WW4 WITHOUT A GLOBAL CATACLYSM ARE NEXT TO NIL..

TIME IS RUNNING OUT...

RIFQA BARY'S ATTORNEY KORT GATTERDAM SPEAKS ABOUT THE TRIAL

Former Muslims United presents an interview with one of Rifqa Bary's attorneys, in two parts:




Interview was conducted by Tom Trento of the Florida Security Council, and Gatterdam sets the record straight on several issues.

NHS KILLING PATIENTS BY IGNORING HEALTH ALERTS

Patients dying because NHS ignores warnings from safety agency - report

• Poor response to 57 alerts on drug and surgery issues
• Minister says unsafe care will not be tolerated

Hospitals, mental health services and primary care trusts are killing and injuring patients by ignoring orders from an NHS regulator to improve the safety of treatment, a report alleges today.

Official records disclosed to the charity Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) show frequent non-compliance with alerts issued by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to prevent health staff accidentally causing harm.

The report has sparked fresh concern about the priority given to safety in the NHS after a series of scandals involving hospitals and a critical report last year from the Commons health select committee.

AvMA used the Freedom of Information Act to find out which of the organisations across England had complied with the 57 alerts issued between 2004 and 2009, in an attempt to reduce mistakes involving drugs, surgery and other areas.

The Department of Health's reply revealed that by 7 June:

• More than 200 NHS organisations had failed to comply with between one and 23 of the 57 alerts;

• Twenty-nine NHS trusts – 11 of which were high-performing, semi-independent foundation trusts – had not implemented 10 or more alerts;

• There were 1,242 examples of alerts not adhered to by the NPSA's deadline;

• Dozens of care providers had not yet complied with two rapid response alerts, prompted by patients dying or suffering serious injury, which carry extra urgency. Some 116 had not implemented one on safe use of oxygen with patients, while 67 had still to put in place new arrangements recommended by NPSA experts to improve the safety of injectable medicines.

"It is impossible not to conclude that lives are being put at unnecessary risk, and it is likely that avoidable injuries or deaths are still being caused as a result of trusts not complying with patient safety alerts," said the report.

IF THE BRITISH CAN'T MAKE THE NHS WORK AFTER 60 YEARS, THEN OBAMACARE WON'T EVER WORK EITHER.

WE CAN PREVENT OBAMACARE FROM RUINING OUR HEATH AND OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM THIS NOVEMBER: VOTE GOP!

PROF. WISTRICH: ANTI-SEMITISM IS WORSE TODAY

The Jerusalem Post interviews Hebrew University professort Robert S. Wistrich, who wrote a new book called A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism - From Antiquity to the Global Jihad. He says:

"There's a common resentment of Israel and American often linked with anti-Semitic thinking. Clearly, this has been round 70-80 years but it picked up steam with the Islamic Revolution. What we see is an assault on the West in which Israel and the Jews have become a surrogate for an attack."

Interesting observation.

DC AND GM TELL US ALL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BHO JR

• DC'S ECONOMY IS BOOMING - AS THE NATION'S ECONOMY COLLAPSES.

• GM'S MAKING A REBOUND.

• AND GOVERNMENT WORKERS EARN DOUBLE WHAT WORKERS MAKE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.

THIS ISN'T CHANGE. AND IT ISN'T "PROGRESSIVE".

IT'S RIGHT OUT OF BREZHNEV'S SOVIET RUSSIA.

OBAMA IS SERVING THE MACHINE AND RUINING THE NATION.

WE CAN FIX THIS IN NOVEMBER: VOTE GOP!

THIS WEEK ON THE GATHERING STORM RADIO SHOW

Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, hosted by WC and Always On Watch. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.

The call-in number is 646-915-9870.

Callers welcome!

Our scheduled guests this week are Revere Rides Again and Andy Sullivan, field super for the biggest union construction outfit on the east coast, is the author of "The 911 Hard Hat Pledge," refusal to work the construction site of the proposed Ground Zero Mosque. Mr. Sullivan's recent interview on Fox News:



Listen to the August 13, 2010 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later, by CLICKING HERE.

UPCOMING SHOWS
August 20: Midnight Rider
August 27: IQ al Rassooli

LET'S WISH RIFQA BARY A HAPPY 18TH

So now, Rifqa Bary, Sri Lankan apostate from Islam, has turned 18. We must wish her well and that she be safe in her future life.

With that, let's also turn to a related subject that's quite disturbing, involving her supposedly loving and caring father: The Jawa Report revealed that Mohammed Bary apparently threatened a counselor of Rifqa's into not testifying on her behalf via a court-appointed counselor of his (!), as reported in court filings, some of which may remain sealed. And the prosecutor in the case, Ron O'Brien, refused to file charges because "it will negatively impact the Muslim community". Seems that what we have here is someone unsuitable for his job, because he acts according to cultural sensitivity.

Mr. O'Brien has backed off his initial stance following an outburst - at least it seems that way - but we've still got to keep our eyes open. You can contact his office here, or at the following address:

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien
373 South High St. 14th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 462-3555
prosecutor@franklincountyohio.gov

The father - and come to think of it, the mother and brother too - cannot be allowed to evade justice again.

Update: see also this troubling topic from Atlas Shrugs.

THE MECCA CLOCK: BIG BEN OR SAURON'S TOWER?

THE SAUDIS BUILT A HUGE CLOCK TOWER IN AN ATTEMPT TO TRY TO MAKE MECCA-TIME AS IMPORTANT AS GREENWICH MEAN TIME.

THEY MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT THEY WERE COPYING BIG BEN, BUT I THINK ANOTHER TOWER IS CLOSER TO THE SPIRIT OF THE STRUCTURE...

SAURON'S TOWER.

DEAR LEFT-WING: IT'S NOT OBAMA. IT'S THE LEFTISM, STUPID!

THE LEFT ISN'T HAPPY WITH OBAMA:

The Note:

Jane Hamsher: Obama in ‘Trouble Across the Board’ with Liberals — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: With White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lashing out at President Obama's liberal critics, a card-carrying member of Gibbs' “professional left” joined us on ABC/Washington Post's “Top Line” today.

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

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Discussion: CNN, AMERICAblog News, Balloon Juice, The Foundry and Right Wing News

–

Discussion:

Fhardingj / CNN: Obama, top advisors review Iraq drawdown

Jacki Schechner / AMERICAblog News: Shattered Expectations: My 2 Cents

John Cole / Balloon Juice: No one could have predicted that the outcome of Gibbs' stupid remarks …

Conn Carroll / The Foundry: Morning Bell: Summer of Bailouts

John Hawkins / Right Wing News: Wednesday Awesome: A Round-Up Of Liberal Bloggers Eviscerating …

» All Related Discussion

« Hide All Related Discussion

RELATED:

The Huffington Post:

Gibbs Stands By His ‘Professional Left’ Critique, Expects Liberals To Vote In 2010 — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Speaking publicly for the first time since he disparaged the “professional left,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he stands by his comments, has no plans to resign …

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

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Discussion: The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, Liberal Values, Hot Air, TalkLeft, Townhall.com, FrumForum, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Questions and Observations

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Discussion:

Matt Negrin / The Politico: Robert Gibbs: 'I don't plan on leaving'

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog: Gibbs's disdain, reciprocated

Ron Chusid / Liberal Values: Gibbs Is Right-Both On Initial Comments And In Calling His Comments Inartful

Allahpundit / Hot Air: Gibbs to angry liberals: I'm not sorry

Big Tent Democrat / TalkLeft: Gibbs Retrenches: Stands By “Professional Left” Remarks

Meredith Jessup / Townhall.com: Gibbs: Critics of Obama are ‘Crazy,’ ‘Ought to be Drug Tested’

FrumForum: Gibbs Defends His Critique of Liberals

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: Robert Gibbs Was Right

Bruce McQuain / Questions and Observations: Gibbs lights a fire (update)

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Gibbs returns to press podium after battle with ‘professional left’ — White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, under fire from liberals, made it clear Wednesday he has no plans to resign. — Gibbs returned to the daily White House briefing on Wednesday a day after his criticism of the …

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

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Discussion: The Politico, CNN and The Hill

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Discussion:

Roger Simon / The Politico: The press doesn't get Robert Gibbs

Fhardingj / CNN: White House, Deal trade barbs over Georgia race

Sam Youngman / The Hill: Gibbs: Comments about left were inartful

Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Is it time for Gibbs to move on? — The truth hurts.

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

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Discussion: The Daily Beast, Truthdig and Don Surber

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Discussion:

Kirsten Powers / The Daily Beast: Robert Gibbs' Calculated Explosion At Liberals

Truthdig: Gibbs Up for Reinvention? — He's been the Obama administration's …

Don Surber: The answer is yes — From Scott Wilson at the Washington Post …

The Huffington Post:
Michael Bennet Got Fewer Votes Than GOP Loser, Kaine Not Happy With Gibbs' Comments

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

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Discussion: Firedoglake and Outside the Beltway

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Discussion:

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake: Video: Discussing Robert Gibbs' Comments on ABC's “Top Line”

Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Colorado Primary Shows Evidence Of Enthusiasm Gap

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Depressed Democratic Turnout Portends Rotten November

Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask

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Discussion: Associated Press, NRSC and New York Times

THE LEFT'S UNHAPPINESS IS MISPLACED.

THE PROBLEM ISN'T - AS THEY FEEL - THAT OBAMA HAS BEEN TOO CENTRIST.

THE REAL PROBLEM IS TWO-FOLD:

• FIRST, OBAMA'S LEFTIST POLICIES HAVE MADE THINGS WORSE.

• SECOND, OBAMA'S LEFTIST POLICIES HAVE PROVEN THAT OBAMA HAS BEEN MORE LEFTIST AS PRESIDENT THAN OBAMA THE CANDIDATE WAS - AND THIS HAS ALSO UPSET THE INDEPENDENTS WHO WERE DUPED INTO THINKING THAT OBAMA WAS A MODERATE.

HAD OBAMA BEEN EVEN MORE LEFTIST - HAD HE BEEN AS LEFTIST AS HIS CRITICS ON THE LEFT DESIRE - THEN THE RESULTS WOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN WORSE ON BOTH COUNTS:

1. THE COUNTRY WOULD BE DOING EVEN WORSE
2. AND THE INDEPENDENTS WOULD BE EVEN MORE PISSED OFF!

IOW: OBAMA IS A SCAPEGOAT FOR THE LEFT:

• INSTEAD OF LOOKING IN THE MIRROR AND ADMITTING THAT THEIR LEFTIST POLICIES SUCK, LEFTISTS ARE BLAMING OBAMA.

• THIS IS LIKE HOW LEFTISTS USED TO EXCUSE THE USSR'S HORRORS ... BY SAYING THAT THE USSR WASN'T REAL COMMUNISM.

BOTTOM LINE: IT'S NOT OBAMA. IT'S THE LEFTISM, STUPID!

NDM-1: THE NEXT GLOBAL HEALTH SCARE?

MAYBE.

GREEK-ISRAELI TIES CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN: BIBI TO MAKE FIRST EVER ISRAELI PM VISIT

GEE, I WONDER WHY...


RTWT.

COMING SOON: A BREATHALIZER THAT WILL BE ABLE TO DETECT CANCER

An "electronic nose" could be used as a simple breath test to detect lung, breast, bowel and prostate cancers, Israeli scientists said on Wednesday.

Using the sensor to pinpoint chemical variations, the team found they could not only distinguish between healthy and malignant breath but also identify the four different common tumour types. While more work is needed to develop the technology, the early success could lead to the development of a cheap, easy-to-use and portable test to help diagnose cancer earlier. "

If we can confirm these initial results in large-scale studies, this new technology could become a simple tool for early diagnosis of cancer along with imaging," said Abraham Kuten of Technion Israel Institute of Technology.

OH THERE GO THOSE JOOOOOOOZE AGAIN!

ANOTHER STATE-SPONSORED GREEN ECONOMY FIASCO: SPAIN ONLY SELLS 16 GOVERNMENT UNDERWRITTEN ELECTRIC CARS , NOT THE 2000 THEY PROJECTED

UNREAL - IT'S NEARLY A BILLION DOLLARS THROWN DOWN THE TOILET:

Spain's plans to have 2,000 electric cars on the road by the end of 2010 have been dealt a blow as figures showed just 16 have been sold.

The government-backed REVE electric car and wind power project said 15 cars had been sold so far this year, in addition to one last year.

In April, the government said it would invest 590m euros ($775m; £490m) in the production of electric cars.

It aims to have 250,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in circulation by 2014.

REVE played down the poor sales.

"The figures are similar to what happened in the beginning with personal computers or mobile phones," it said.

"The first models are expensive and with few options and initial sales were low."

The 16 models sold in Spain were made by Norwegian car maker Think.

REPEAT:

Spain's plans to have 2,000 electric cars on the road by the end of 2010 have been dealt a blow as figures showed just 16 have been sold.

REPEAT:

Spain's plans to have 2,000 electric cars on the road by the end of 2010 have been dealt a blow as figures showed just 16 have been sold.

THIS IS HOW SOCIALISM ALWAYS WORKS AND WHY IT ALWAYS FAILS.

OBAMA HAS TAKEN US DOWN THIS ROAD - THE ROAD TO SERFDOM.

WE NEED TO MAKE A U-TURN.

WE CAN THIS NOVEMBER: VOTE GOP!

MORE PROOF TURKEY IS PART OF THE AXIS OF EVIL: ERDOGAN HIRES POLYGAMIST DESPITE ATTATURKIAN BAN

ERDOGAN IS NOW FLOUTING TURKISH LAW AND EFFECTIVELY MAKING SHARIA SUPREME.

WE SHOULD ACCEPT THAT TURKEY IS LOST AND KICK THEM OUT OF NATO.

IF FEINGOLD IS IN TROUBLE, THEN THE DEMOCRATS ARE IN BIG TROUBLE...

... AND FEINGOLD IS IN BIG TROUBLE: ROTHENBERG MAKES HIS RACE TOSS-UP!

YEAH BABY!

AFTER ALMOST 2 YEARS OF CHUMP CHANGE, REAL CHANGE IS COMING!

OBAMA ISN'T FOR PEACE; HE'S ON THE OTHER SIDE: WANTS MILITARY AID TO LEBANON RESTORED!

VOA: Obama Administration Seeks to Overturn US Lebanon Aid Suspension

The Obama administration said Tuesday that it is trying to persuade key Democratic legislators to end a hold on U.S. military aid to Lebanon. Two House of Representatives committee heads are blocking delivery of $100 million in assistance, out of concern about possible Hezbollah influence in Lebanon's armed forces.

OBAMA IS ON THE OTHER SIDE.

WE CAN SEVERLY HAMPER HIS ABILITY TO HURT OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE AND THT OF OUR REAL ALLIES BY VOTING GOP THIS NOVEMBER.

REASON # 2,876,413 WHY BUREAUCRATS LIKE REGULATIONS: THEY CAN TAKE BRIBES TO LET CROOKS AVOID THEM

NYTIMES:

Seven city employees and four other people were arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on federal charges of bribery and conspiracy, and accused of paying and taking bribes to improperly issue city permits to day care centers, approve vouchers for millions in services that were never provided and a range of other crimes, according to court papers.

The investigation involves more than 30 day care centers and four operators, and accuses the day care operators of paying thousands in bribes to the city workers since 2007, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday morning in federal court in Manhattan.

The complaint suggests that far more than the seven city workers charged in the case on Tuesday took payments from the day care operators and their associates and that some of the employees and associates of the day care operators cooperated with city investigators, secretly recording bribe payments and other conversations.

The seven city employees worked for three different agencies: the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Human Resources Administration and the Administration for Children’s Services, according to the document.

The investigation focused on a city program, funded with city, state and federal funds, that is meant to help low-income parents obtain gainful employment, the complaint said.

“They used the centers to fraudulently obtain millions in public funds,” according to a person briefed on the matter. The investigation was conducted by the city’s Department of Investigation, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and prosecutors in the office of the United States attorney for the Southern District, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the charges had not been formally announced.

The three agencies were expected to announce the charges at a news conference at 1 p.m.

According to the complaint, a city employee accessed internal databases in an effort to conceal the inappropriate issuance of Department of Health permits for day care centers controlled by the lead defendant in the case, Liudmila Umaraov, described as being at the center of the scheme.

Bribes were also paid to day care center inspectors, and vouchers were submitted to the Administration for Children’s Services for payment for day care services that were never provided, the complaint charged.

OPEN COMPETITION IS THE BEST ANTIDOTE TO BRIBERY, NOT OVERPAID INSPECTORS AND OVERLY COMPLEX RULES.

IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN COMPLEX CAMPAIGN FINANCE REGS.

THE REAL SOLUTION IS MAKING ALL CONTRIBUTIONS PUBLIC - TRANSPARENT.

IF YOU WANNA GET THE CROOKED REGULATORS OUT OF THE BRIBERY BUSINESS AND INCREASE TRANSPARENCY, THEN VOTE GOP THIS NOVEMBER.

AMERICA'S LOST DECADE: ARE WE HEADED FOR IT, OR JUST ABOUT TO HEAD OUT OF IT?

GLENN ASKS:

DEFLATION: Are We Heading For America’s “Lost Decade?” One hopes that the inflation-fears and the deflation-fears will somehow cancel out, but recent experience suggests that they will instead find some sort of unpleasant synergy . . . .

Posted at 8:50 am by Glenn Reynolds

MAYBE WE'RE NOT "HEADED FOR" IT; MAYBE WE JUST WENT THROUGH IT - BUT WE ONLY FOUND OUT ABOUT IT WHEN THE BUBBLE BURST AND BROUGHT US BACK TO REALITY.

I MEAN, ER... UM, IF YOU LOOKED AT A 10 YEAR DOW CHART OR A 10 YEAR CHART OF HOME VALUES YOU'D SEE THAT WE WENT NOWHERE THE LAST TEN YEARS.

HOW CAN WE PULL OUT OF IT?

WE NEED TO CUT TAXES AND SPENDING.

THAT'S THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE DEMOCRAT'S LEFTIST AGENDA.

IOW: IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMY, THEN VOTE GOP THIS NOVEMBER.

A NOTE OF CAUTION TO THE RIGHT: LET'S NOT NOMINATE A GOP DUKAKIS IN 2012

Dukakis ran as a technocrat; he ran on competence and the "Massachusetts Miracle".

(Which turned out to be a mirage.)P

But more importantly, Dukakis was a lousy candidate - i think one major reasin was that he had no poetry, only prose.

Mitch Daniels and Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty all strike me a CONSERVATIVE versions of Dukakis.

They'd each make a better president than Obama, abs they'd each be better candidates than Dukakis, but they're in that mold.

YES: I want someone more like Reagan - even more like Clinton was in 1992 than Dukakis was in 1988.

Someone who is as inspiring as they are competent.

Maybe Daniels OR Pawlenty can develop that ability.

Maybe Daniels is our Cool Cal'.

Dunno - and it's too early to say.

I just want a candidate who can inspire as well as s/he can counter punch and manage.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Could it be Haley Barbour? Chris Christie? Sarah Palin? Jim Demint? Jan Brewer?

IMHO: We have one year to figure out who this will be. We will have to raise $1BILLION to defeat the Obama-Clinton ticket and raising that much money takes time.

Maybe only Romney and Palin can do that.

ISN'T THE BLOGFATHER REALLY JUST A TWEETER?

Glenn Reynolds - the INSTAPUNDIT - was tweeting before there even was Twitter.

DON'T YOU AGREE?

His trademark terse, snarky one-line comments with a link are tweets.

I think the Twitter folks ought to give him a percentage of the profits!

UPDATING THE CITIZENSHIP CLAUSE OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT: POPULAR - AND POLITICALLY CORRECT

Via HOT AIR this item: Ed Rendell: What’s with these conservative wackos and birthright citizenship?

AND IT'S ALL OVER THE WEB:

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Ed Rendell: Many Republicans ‘are nuts’ — Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday said that Republican desires to repeal the 14th Amendment are “cuckoo” and prove that many in the GOP “are nuts.” — Asked during an MSNBC interview about many Republicans' calls to repeal the portion …

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Discussion: Congress Blog, Weasel Zippers and The Political Carnival

Excerpt:

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on Monday said that Republican desires to repeal the 14th Amendment are “cuckoo” and prove that many in the GOP “are nuts.”

Asked during an MSNBC interview about many Republicans’ calls to repeal the portion of the 14th Amendment providing citizenship to any person born in the United States, Rendell said the idea will likely turn off many independent voters.

“They're going to fire up their base, but I think it's a damaging strategy for independents,” he said. “If I'm an independent and I look at [GOP Gov.] Rick Perry saying Texas is going to secede from the union, and now I hear the Republican Party saying repeal the 14th Amendment — which has done so much good for the country — I'm beginning to worry that these guys are cuckoo.”

“Not all Republicans – there are plenty of good ones – but there are a lot of people who are nuts in there,” he said.

Allahpundit's reaction is typically CYNICAL & SARCASTIC:

Oh Ed. Sweet, innocent Ed. Don’t you know that the birthright citizenship amendment is nonsense being fed to the base by amnesty-minded Beltway Republicans to convince us of their immigration bona fides? Selling out to the left on a path to citizenship is way too electorally dangerous for them right now. But after a few months, or even years, of table-pounding about an amendment that’s going nowhere? They’re golden.

I think BOTH Ed Rendell and Allahpundit are wrong.

Rendell is also OUT OF TOUCH. Like the Democrats on MOST issues of the day.

I think amending the Amendment is a very good thing and would be a very popular thing. In fact, updating the 14th Amendment would be as hugely popular as the anti-Obamacare vote in Missouri and the Arizona immigration law enforcement law and building a wall on our border with Mexico.

These things all are favored by about 70% of the people in the USA. As is changing the 14th Amendment in AZ.

Here's some anecdotal evidence:

A few days ago, I asked a hardcore leftist buddy of mine (who is non-partisan) if he thought pregnant tourists or illegal aliens should be allowed to have their kids become USA citizens automatically just because they popped out here and he said - unequivocally: "no."

He agreed with me that only the babies of legal residents should automatically become USA citizens when born here, and that means folks with green cards.

And he is a leftist.

LOOKIT FOLKS, IT'S REAL REAL SIMPLE:

There were no green cards in 1868 when the amendment was written.

It's time to make automatic citizenship available only to babies born to legal residents. it would SIMPLE to do so.

Here is the 1868 clause:

Amendment XIV, Section 1, Clause 1:

“ All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

It's time to update it.

Here'ssome new simple - non-discriminatory language:

“ All persons born to legal residents of the United States or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."