Month: November 2012

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One Party Rule

Mao

Chairman Mao

One Party Rule
November 27,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, According to Mike Huckabee , Republicans in the House are under a lot of pressure to go along with the Democrats after their election wins. But can you imagine what one-party rule would mean to the economy?

Luckily, we don’t have to imagine it. We have California, where a Republican legislator is about as rare these days as a silent movie. Conn Carroll at the Washington Examiner just crunched the latest West Coast numbers. Under virtual one-party rule, California has run up about $370 billion in total state and local debt, or more than $10,000 per resident. That’s despite having both the nation’s highest sales tax and an income tax with the highest top rate. If high taxes, unbridled spending and unlimited debt stimulated economies, California’s should be booming. So what did all that spending buy?

Well, according to a new Census Bureau report, nearly a quarter of Californians are living in poverty. California is home to one-eighth of the US population, but one-third of all welfare recipients. Chief Executive magazine just ranked California as the worst state of all to do business in. Texas was ranked as the best. Texas has a jobless rate of 6.8 percent, California’s is 10.2. But wait, didn’t all that redistribution of wealth at least create economic equality? Well, no: the Census Bureau reports that income inequality is actually worse in California than in Texas. So maybe the voters who opted to continue gridlock in Washington knew what they were doing. ( Huckabee Report, visit MikeHuckabee.com.)

Sandy Fitzgerald follows up in his November 23rd , Newsmax piece “One-Party Control Spreads to 37 States”

According to Fitzgerald, the Nov. 6 election left more than two-thirds of states under single-party control beginning in January 2013 , with one party holding the governor’s office and majorities in both legislative chambers.

The single-party control in at least 37 states means bold partisan agendas will likely grow over the next couple of years, and indicates voters are no longer interested in compromise even though President Barack Obama and Republicans have signaled a greater willingness to reach across the aisle, reports The New York Times.

Republicans will now control 24 states. These include Alaska and Wisconsin, where Republicans won the state Senate, and North Carolina, which went Republican.

13 states will be under Democratic control . Legislatures in Colorado, Minnesota, and Oregon, switched to Democratic majorities. In California, Democrats solidified their hold by winning a super majority.

This leaves a government split between the parties in only 12 states, the lowest number since 1952, Tim Storey of the National Conference of State Legislatures, told the Times. Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com https://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/states-control-legislatures/2012/11/23/id/465154?s=al&promo_code=10DC4-1#ixzz2D8MtrC38

Rather ominous …..

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4 Reasons Warren Buffett Is Wrong on Tax Hikes

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4 Reasons Warren Buffett Is Wrong on Tax Hikes
Amy Payne and Alison Acosta Fraser
November 27, 2012 at 9:40 am

Let’s talk taxes. In a New York Times op-ed yesterday, famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett once again argued that the wealthy should be taxed more.

This isn’t the first time Buffett has made the case for higher taxes, and it’s not the first time he’s been wrong. Here are four reasons he is wrong to push for tax hikes.

1. Buffett says tax hikes won’t hurt jobs.
Fact: Tax hikes, especially those he espouses, hurt jobs.
Buffett cites periods when tax rates were high and says that “Under those burdensome rates,” employment “increased at a rapid clip.”
This country has an employment problem right now, and tax rates aren’t even as high as Buffett wants. The tax increases President Obama champions would hit small businesses that create jobs. According to Treasury figures, 1.2 million Americans who employ people are paying their taxes through the individual income tax, and they would be hit head-on. The amount that their taxes would go up could be roughly equivalent to one employee’s salary, meaning that’s one person they can’t hire in the new year. A study by Ernst and Young estimates that these tax hikes would kill 710,000 jobs.
2. Buffett says tax hikes won’t stop investors from investing.
Fact: Any time you tax something, you get less of it.
Buffett says: “So let’s forget about the rich and ultrarich going on strike and stuffing their ample funds under their mattresses if—gasp—capital gains rates and ordinary income rates are increased. The ultrarich, including me, will forever pursue investment opportunities.”
Let’s think about what taxes are intended to do. The cigarette tax is intended to curb smoking. Proponents of a carbon tax want to curb the amount of carbon emissions we are producing. In Washington, D.C., a plastic bag tax is intended to curb the number of plastic bags people use.
When you tax something more, people do less of it. This is how taxes work. It doesn’t change because the behavior being taxed is investing rather than smoking.
3. Buffett says the wealthy aren’t even paying a minimum tax.
Fact: We already have an Alternative Minimum Tax.
Buffett says, “We need Congress, right now, to enact a minimum tax on high incomes.”
We already have this. It’s called the Alternative Minimum Tax. As Heritage’s Curtis Dubay explains:
Congress passed the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in the early 1970s to ensure that a few high-income taxpayers did not reduce their tax liability too much by taking advantage of all the deductions, exemptions, and credits Congress put in the tax code. But Congress did not index for inflation the income threshold over which families qualify for this extra tax. So now Congress must annually “patch” the AMT by raising the threshold to correct this mistake. Even with the patch, the AMT still ends up falling on almost 4 million taxpayers; Congress initially intended for it to hit only a few hundred.
The top 10 percent of earners in the United States already pay more than 70 percent of federal income taxes. To move forward in this debate, those who argue that we just need to “tax the rich” will have to get real. We can’t close the budget deficit by taxing the rich. Even though Buffett also claims…
4. Buffett says we need to raise taxes to bring in more revenue for the government.
Fact: The problem is government spending, not government revenue.
Buffett says, “Our government’s goal should be to bring in revenues of 18.5 percent of [gross domestic product] and spend about 21 percent of G.D.P.”
Revenues are lower now today than normal, not because of tax rates, but because of the slow-growing economy. As the economy recovers, so will revenues. And they will continue to grow as the economy thrives. Why? Because more people are investing, saving, working, and enjoying higher wages. The nifty little benefit for the government of a strong, growing economy is that people pay more in taxes.
But on to spending. The White House already estimates that federal spending will be 23.1 percent of GDP this year—well above Buffett’s target. But, unlike taxes—which will return to the historical levels Buffett aims for, spending will continue to spiral ever upwards. In 25 years, spending will be 35.7 percent of GDP. In 2025, the big three entitlements will gobble up a full 18.5 percent of GDP—the entire amount of revenue that Buffett would like to raise.
In Buffett’s world, then, after funding entitlements, that leaves only 2.5 percent of GDP for everything else (assuming that interest rates don’t go through the roof). The fact is that ever-growing entitlements have put spending on a trajectory toward a European-level implosion. If they are not reined in, taxes on everyone will have to rise perpetually just to keep pace.
While Warren Buffett is right about many things, he is wrong about tax hikes. Which leads us to the real questions: Why are we even talking about tax hikes? Where are the spending cuts?

https://blog.heritage.org/2012/11/27/morning-bell-4-reasons-warren-buffett-is-wrong-on-tax-hikes/

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Study: Porn Stars More Religious, Have Higher Self-Esteem Than Other Women

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Porn Queen Jenna Jameson

Study: Porn Stars More Religious, Have Higher Self-Esteem Than Other Women
November 26, 2012 12:53 PM

HOUSTON (CBS Houston) — Stop thinking that all porn actresses are “damaged goods.”

A new study finds that female porn stars are more religious and have a higher self-esteem than other women.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Sex Research, concluded that these women do not fit the “damaged goods hypothesis.”

“In terms of psychological characteristics, porn actresses had higher levels of self-esteem, positive feelings, social support, sexual satisfaction, and spirituality compared to the matched group,” the study titled “Pornography Actresses: An Assessment of the Damaged Goods Hypothesis” concluded.

https://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/11/26/study-porn-actresses-more-religious-have-higher-self-esteem-than-other-women/

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Analysis: Utilities tackle communication breakdown

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Analysis: Utilities tackle communication breakdown
MONDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2012, 11:04 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER, JULIET FLETCHER AND MELISSA HAYES
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

When the Federal Emergency Management Agency needed to reach North Jersey residents left in the cold and dark by superstorm Sandy, it printed fliers and sent agents into the streets to distribute them. In Ridgewood, elected officials also printed sheets of paper to give residents, telling them where to find ice and other necessities they needed to get through an extended power outage.

New Jersey’s utility companies, however, communicated with out-of-power customers through email and online social media. They also held regular briefings with reporters where company officials stressed how tough their jobs were and how many employees they had out in the field working long hours to make repairs.

That message didn’t reach many customers who had no Internet, no radio and no way of charging their smart phones because their homes were flooded or their power was still out. And, in the estimation of several crisis management experts, it probably didn’t resonate much with customers who had power but wanted to hear less about how hard the task was and more about how close, realistically, it was to being completed.

The challenge of restoring power was hard enough after Sandy, New Jersey’s most damaging storm ever, and, amid the frustration, it’s hard to imagine how North Jersey’s power companies — the Public Service Electric and Gas Co., Jersey Central Power & Light and Orange & Rockland Utilities — weren’t destined for a public-relations drubbing.

But, in Sandy’s wake, a significant question has arisen about whether, apart from their performance in restoring power, the three companies, to one degree or another, made life harder on themselves and more frustrating for their customers by failing to communicate as effectively as they could have.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/Analysis_Utilities_tackle_communication_breakdown.html

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Watch What Warren Buffett Does, Not What He Says

waren buffett theridgewoodblog.net

Watch What Warren Buffett Does, Not What He Says
4:16 PM, NOV 26, 2012
BY ADAM J. WHITE

Warren Buffett is by now no stranger to the national debate over federal tax policy. In 2009, he penned a New York Times op-ed calling for “truly major changes in both taxes and outlays.” Two years later, he returned to the Times with a widely publicized call for large tax increases on the “super-rich,” noting that his own effective federal tax rate (17 percent) was far less than his employees’ rates (ranging from 33 to 41 percent). President Obama liked the idea so much, he called for Congress to pass “the Buffett Rule” in his 2012 state of the union address.

Given that long, well-publicized history, there isn’t much news to be found in Buffett’s latest Times op-ed this morning, calling once again for a minimum tax on millionaires. Except that Buffett opens this one with a rifle shot at Grover Norquist specifically, and supply-side economics generally:

Suppose that an investor you admire and trust comes to you with an investment idea. “This is a good one,” he says enthusiastically. “I’m in it, and I think you should be, too.”

Would your reply possibly be this? “Well, it all depends on what my tax rate will be on the gain you’re saying we’re going to make. If the taxes are too high, I would rather leave the money in my savings account, earning a quarter of 1 percent.” Only in Grover Norquist’s imagination does such a response exist.

https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/watch-what-warren-buffett-does-not-what-he-says_664022.html

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Drug Bust in Ridgewood Municipal Court

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Drug Bust in Ridgewood Municipal Court
November 27,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, On November 15, 2012 at 4:30 PM officer John Chuck and officer Jeffrey Casson were conducting security screening at the entrance to Ridgewood Municipal Court.

A male party handed over a back pack to officer Chuck and while checking the back pack he smelled an odor of marijuana. He located a ziplock bag that contained Marijuana, Cocaine, Numerous prescription pills and drug paraphernalia.

The accused Randolph Hillenberg 37 of Ridgewood was arrested and charged with possession of Prescription Drugs without a prescription, Possession of Cocaine, and Possession of drug paraphernalia

The accused was released after his first appearance pending Superior Court Action.A borough man was arrested earlier this month after he allegedly brought drugs with him for an appearance in municipal court.

Hillenberg was released after an initial appearance in municipal court, and is awaiting possible action by the Bergen County Superior Court.

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COLLEGE LAUNCHES RESEARCH INSTITUTE DEVOTED TO POT

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COLLEGE LAUNCHES RESEARCH INSTITUTE DEVOTED TO POT
Nov. 26 3:30 PM EST

ARCATA, Calif. (AP) — A public university located in one of California’s prime pot-growing regions has formed an academic institute devoted to marijuana.

The Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research at Humboldt State University plans to sponsor scholarly lectures and coordinate research among 11 faculty members from fields such as economics, geography, politics, psychology and sociology.

The Times-Standard of Eureka reports (https://bit.ly/V5H8zy) that one professor is studying recent campaigns to legalize marijuana, while another is investigating the environmental effects of pot cultivation.

“If anyone is going to have a marijuana institute, it really should be Humboldt State,” economist Erick Eschker, the institute’s co-chair, told the newspaper. Eschker is studying the connection between marijuana production and employment in the county.

The institute is probably the first dedicated to examining marijuana through the lens of multiple disciplines, according to sociologist Josh Meisel, who is leading the enterprise with Eschker. Humboldt faculty started discussing the idea in 2010 when California was preparing to vote on a bitterly contested ballot proposition that would have treated marijuana like alcohol.

https://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/college-launches-research-institute-devoted-pot

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Fiscal Cliff: Mortgage Interest Deduction, Once a Sacred Cow, Is Under Scrutiny

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Fiscal Cliff: Mortgage Interest Deduction, Once a Sacred Cow, Is Under Scrutiny
BY PETER EAVIS

A tax break that has long been untouchable could soon be in for some serious scrutiny.

Many home buyers deduct their mortgage interest when assessing their tax bill, a perk that has helped bolster the income of millions of families — and the broader housing market.

But as President Obama and Congress try to hash out a deal to reduce the budget deficit, the mortgage interest deduction will likely be part of the discussion.

Limits on a broad array of deductions could emerge in any budget deal. It is likely that any caps would be structured to aim at high-income households, and would diminish or end the mortgage tax break for many of those taxpayers.

https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/mortgage-interest-deduction-once-a-sacred-cow-is-seen-as-vulnerable/?hp

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Actor Denis Leary at Bookends this Wednesday

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Actor Denis Leary at Bookends this Wednesday

Denis Leary ,Wednesday, November 28th @7:00pm
Actor from the hit show: Rescue Me, Denis Leary, will sign his new book: Denis Leary’s Merry F*ing Christmas  Books available Oct. 30th We Take Phone Orders if you can’t make the event.

Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.

While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.

Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726

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Spend the Christmas Season at Bethlehem Lutheran in Ridgewood

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Spend the Christmas Season at Bethlehem Lutheran in Ridgewood

Ridgewood NJ, The members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church invite everyone to spend the Christmas season at Bethlehem. Please join us for any of the services listed below in our sanctuary located at 155 Linwood Ave. in Ridgewood, NJ. We will be celebrating the blessed birth of Christ and the love of family and friends. What better place than Bethlehem to spend the Christmas season!

Our Advent mid-week worship series is entitled “Interviews with Isaiah”. Have you ever
wondered what the prophet Isaiah would say to us today? In INTERVIEWS WITH ISAIAH,
a special, fresh and innovative series of worship services for Advent, you will find out! In
each service the character of Isaiah will address the congregation and explain the meaning
and background behind his most well-known prophecies about the coming of Christ. These
interactive services involve both words and images that help us to learn more about our Savior as
we anticipate during Advent the celebration of his birth at Christmas.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5TH – 7:30 P.M.
In THE LIGHT, Isaiah reveals insights about Christ, who came to lighten our dark world of sin
with his love. (Isaiah 2:1-5)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH – 7:30 P.M.
The gifts of THE SPIRIT that Isaiah tells us about are better than any earthly gifts we might
receive. (Isaiah 11:1-10)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19TH – 7:30 P.M.
As we travel on THE JOURNEY of Advent, Isaiah assures us that we will be blessed and
strengthened by our Lord. (Isaiah 35:1-10)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23RD – 9:30 A.M.
We will be renewed in THE WAIT, Isaiah explains, which we experience as we prepare for
Christ. (Isaiah 64:1-9)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30TH – 9:30 A.M.
Isaiah helps us welcome with joy THE CHILD who is born to save us and lead us. (Isaiah 7:10-
17)

Each service will feature a dramatic dialog between our Pastor, Andy Nelson, and “Isaiah!”

Bethlehem Lutheran Church invites you and your family to join us for Christmas worship. Our
Sunday School will present their Christmas program on Sunday, December 16th at 9:30 a.m. On
Christmas Eve–Monday, December 24th we will host Happy Birthday Baby Jesus at 4:00 p.m.
for pre-school children in our parlor. Bethlehem’s Christmas services include a Christmas
Eve Family candlelight worship service at 6:00 p.m. as well as a Christmas candlelight service
of festival worship at 8:00 p.m. On Christmas Day–Tuesday, December 25th we will hold a
communion worship service at 9:30 a.m. On Sunday, December 23rd & 30th – we will have
one worship service at 9:30 a.m. We end the year with New Year’s Eve worship on Monday
December 31st – 5:30 p.m.

We truly hope to see you and wish everyone a joyous Christmas season and a beautiful finish for
2012. The members of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ridgewood want you to
know that God has a plan for you and he loves you. Our faith is in Christ. Our guide is in the
Bible. Our love is for all. Come celebrate with us. For our regular worship schedule, we offer 2
Sunday services: Contemporary Praise Service at 8:45am and Traditional Worship at 11am with
Sunday School and Bible Class at 10am. Please join us at 155 Linwood Avenue, Ridgewood.

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Ridgewood Schools : April Break Revisions Announced

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Ridgewood Schools : April Break Revisions Announced

Ridgewood NJ, The BOE has approved a revised 2012-2013 School Calendar, as listed on Attachment B of the agenda (click to viewhttps://tinyurl.com/d98mw36 ). Due to inclement weather and school closings, two days of the April Break have been canceled.

Staff and students will report to school on Thursday, April 11, and Friday, April 12. Should additional make-up days be required, the remainder of April Recess will be canceled beginning with Wednesday, April 10 and working backward.

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THE BRITISH ARE COMING: JAMBOREE HOLDS A FINAL AUDITION:

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THE BRITISH ARE COMING: JAMBOREE HOLDS A FINAL AUDITION:

THE BRITISH ARE COMING: JAMBOREE HOLDS A FINAL AUDITION: It’s not too late – you can still sign up for Jamboree 2013! An audition will be held on Thursday, December 6 at 7 p.m. at the Ben Franklin Middle School Cafeteria.

Due to the storm, auditions took quite a hit. Please reach out to friends who may have considered participating….help make this the best year ever- filled with fun and friends! If you cannot make this final day, please contact Kris Linton at linton5@verizon.net. We look forward to seeing you all then!

For general information on Jamboree, visit www.rhsjamboree.org. E-mail questions to rhsjamboree2013@gmail.com. If you have updates/changes to your email address, or wish to be removed from our email list, please contact jamboree.enews@gmail.com.

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U.N. Seeks to Control Internet

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U.N. Seeks to Control Internet
November 26.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Next week the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union will meet in Dubai to discuss how to gain control of the Internet. Representatives of 193 nations will attend the nearly two week long meeting.

Many proposals have been put forth by authoritarian governments to censor the Internet and control its content. State bureaucrats are in effect looking to rewire the Internet disrupting the free flow of information.

“Next week the ITU holds a negotiating conference in Dubai, and past months have brought many leaks of proposals for a new treaty. U.S. congressional resolutions and much of the commentary, including in this column, have focused on proposals by authoritarian governments to censor the Internet. Just as objectionable are proposals that ignore how the Internet works, threatening its smooth and open operations,” reports the Wall Street Journal.(https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/un-seek-control-internet_664018.html )

“Having the Internet rewired by bureaucrats would be like handing a Stradivarius to a gorilla. The Internet is made up of 40,000 networks that interconnect among 425,000 global routes, cheaply and efficiently delivering messages and other digital content among more than two billion people around the world, with some 500,000 new users a day. …( https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/un-seek-control-internet_664018.html )

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The Democrat Embrace Of Fascism

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The Democrat Embrace Of Fascism
13.11.2012
By Jamie Wendland

Like most Americans, when I was a kid, I was under the impression that all repressive regimes were just like Nazi Germany as portrayed in old movies. All dissenters were either immediately imprisoned or publically shot in the back of the head, no secret is made of it, and everybody knew and lived in constant fear for their own lives. But, that really isn’t the case with fascist or repressive societies. It’s actually a subtle process that is done with popular public support and under the guise of complete legality, justification, democracy and to the greater good of the society.

It is, in other words, the road to fascism present day America is taking and it’s only being accelerated by a delusional love affair with President, Barack Obama.

While Democrats and Obama Loyalists ride their rainbows and unicorns in celebration of the re-election of the messiah, we on the left, are shaking our heads, wondering how Democrats could support four more years of failed Bush policy. On nearly every issue, there was no discernable difference between Obama or Romney, particularly on foreign policy and civil liberties, where the only significant difference boiled down to who would attack Iran first and whether or not the US military still uses bayonets.

Democrats therefore, are left grasping for straws for any liberal distinction, drawing attention to Obama’s alleged progressiveness, by pointing to gay marriage, possible legalization of marijuana, or contraceptives. Let’s be clear, gay marriage and legalization are inevitable regardless of who is president, as the trend of the larger society is already in that direction and Obama has nothing to do with it. It has been the states and the courts, not the president, taking the lead in case after case. So far as contraception, the issue is so completely silly, it barely merits any discussion.

That said, Mitt Romney would have actually been best for restoring ideological sanity and preserving the liberal agenda.

https://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/13-11-2012/122792-democrat_fascism-0/