W.Va. Governor to Buy New 2nd State Plane

While Gov. Palin sold Alaska's private jet, posting it at first on Ebay, to save taxpayers money, the democrat Gov. Joe Manchin III (who is a pilot) is buying a brand new and more expensive upgrade for the 2nd plane in West Virginia's state fleet.

Meanwhile West Virginia is one of the few states that has a food sales tax, the Dept of Highways wants to raise turnpike tolls (which it attempted earlier by slight of hand until a court granted an injunction), and the state was just granted $1.4 billion in federal "bailout" funds for states.

Taxpayers will remember this new state toy and luxury item should tolls increase or other taxes. This will also make the comparatively low income citizens a bit perturbed, especially during an economic crisis being played across TV everyday.

clipped from www.controller.com 2009 CESSNA CARAVAN 208B GRAND New Grand Caravan, March 2009, Garmin 1000, TKS deice system, all options clipped from dailymail.com W.Va., with flying governor, looks to buy new plane CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- After just three and a half years with its single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan airplane, West Virginia is looking to trade up. The state plans to buy a 2009 model of the plane, which costs around $2 million, because the latest model has de-icing features that make it more reliable in the winter. The Cessna is one of two planes in the state's fleet, along with a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 350. Gov. Joe Manchin is certified to fly the Cessna, but not the bigger plane. The state, which will trade in the old plane, has also specified that the color scheme for the new aircraft should be "dark blue" and "Las Vegas gold."

Whistleblower: NSA Targeted Journalists, Snooped on All U.S. Communications (Wired.com)

Just one day after George W. Bush left office, an NSA whistleblower has revealed that the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program targeted U.S. journalists, and vacuumed in all domestic communications of Americans, including, faxes, phone calls and network traffic.

Russell Tice, a former NSA analyst, spoke on Wednesday to MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. Tice has acknowledged in the past being one of the anonymous sources that spoke with The New York Times for its 2005 story on the government's warrantless wiretapping program.

After that story was published, President Bush said in a statement that only people in the United States who were talking with terrorists overseas would have been targeted for surveillance.

But Tice says, in truth, the spying involved a dragnet of all communications, confirming what critics have long assumed.

"The National Security Agency had access to all Americans' communications," he said. "Faxes, phone calls and their computer communications. ... They monitored all communications."

This is powerful testimony from an NSA insider that Bush lied about the extent and purpose of domestic spying being used upon Americans and this report reveals that journalists and media were specifically targeted. All this from a credible source, a former NSA analyst who had first hand knowledge and experience.

The mark of tyrannical governments is paranoia, particularly spying on the press as well as their own citizens.

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Against Israel's War on Gaza: The Censored Christian View

This short video from Rev. Ted Pike of National Prayer Network (who also lobbies against Hate Crime laws) presents an alternative and more historically correct Christian view of Israel, the Jews, and the recent Israeli war with Gaza and Hamas, from a standpoint consistent with the teachings of the Bible. Needless to say you will not hear this view from Michael Agnello on 58Live Talk Radio in Charleston, nor from John Hagee of Christians United for Israel (CUFI; see Bill Moyer's Journal on it's powerful influence on Congress), nor from nominal Christian politicians including George W. Bush or Barack Obama (whose Chief of Staff is Rahm Israel Emanuel). Nevertheless this is the more historically held Christian view, with some slight variations. (This is not necessarily an endorsement of all of Ted Pike's theology or political views).

Unfortunately, this historically held view was been drowned out and overcome by the infiltration of the early 20th century novel teaching of Christian Zionism which was largely started by Cyrus Scofield (and his new Bible) at Dallas Theological Seminary and promoted in the political agenda of the late "religious right", whose most formidable leaders (Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy) have died during the last two years.

Professing Christians and churches in particular should review this presentation and reconsider their position on modern Israel, including its re-establishment and subsequent wars. Many claim that "Christians must support Israel" (confusing the historic biblical nation with the modern secular state) and say incessantly in defense of Israel that "the Jews are God's chosen people" and quote verses (out of context) that say "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" as if this alone is the scriptural basis for unqualified, absolute, and even a "divine right" of Israel to exist, and even for them to make war upon whatever pretext, frequently branding Palestinians and all Arab nations in total as "terrorists". This is the view that the neoconservative "war party" (many of whom are Jewish) and the powerful AIPAC Lobby do not want political Christians to believe, because it threatens their propaganda which has been so effective in creating a new perpetual "war on terrorism" (justified by 9/11) largely centering on the middle east which coincidentally fits so well with the agenda for a "Greater Israel".

By the way, this historic Christian view is virtually consistent with Orthodox Jews who also oppose Zionism and the State of Israel on similar religious grounds, whose public protests against Israel's war and blockade of Gaza never seem to make the mainstream news no matter their numbers! (The same also met with President Ahmadinejad of Iran, whom neocon propagandists describe as "Hitler").

After seeing this video it will become apparent that the superficially based belief of Christian Zionism and unqualified support for the modern state of Israel is in contradiction with both Scripture and reason if one is intellectually honest and has a high view of the Bible's authority.

Alarmism vs. Realistic Threat Assessment of Terrorism--The Government Lies

CATO Institute offers some sanity in this short podcast from the typical propaganda and exaggerated threats about Terrorism that seem to justify the neoconservative (and now Obama) "war on terrorism" and Homeland "Security State" agendas. In fact they prove that the government's latest "WMD report" was based upon nothing, and therefore a fabricated lie to justify policy decisions.

Israel Increases War, Ground Assault on Gaza Begins

Watch this video from CNN to see the type of arms being used against Gaza. Several times in this video a type of cluster or anti-personnel bomb (Daisycutter?) is seen exploding projectiles downward upon the city, and in a very wide spread fashion.