Blog Heap of Links for the day 25 August 2011

ACORN wants a cut of the huge international remittance business, valued worldwide at US$444 billion. So the organized crime syndicate is trying to shake down the financial services companies that handle those international money transfers. ... The real goal is to extort funds from deep-pocketed corporations. ACORN then uses the ill-gotten gains to fund its subversive political operations. ... America needs to know that ACORN is restructuring in time to help re-elect President Obama in 2012. Obama used to work for ACORN and represented the group in court as its lawyer. These radical leftists who use the brutal, in-your-face, pressure tactics of Saul Alinsky want to destroy America as we know it and will use any means to do it.

According to an article of the Greek newspaper "Eleftherotypia", under the scope of reforms in the Greek Family Law, the Shariah will be abolished for Greek Muslims.... [h/t Phineas at Sister Toldjah]

The 'top source' told the National Enquirer: 'It's disgusting. Michelle is taking advantage of her privileged position while the most hardworking Americans can barely afford a week or two off work. 'When it's all added up, she's spent more than $10million in taxpayers' money on her vacations.'

Obama HHS Spends Millions of Taxpayer Dollars on "Guerrilla Campaign" to Track Search Engine Web Traffic and Push Internet Search Engine Users to Government Website Promoting Obamacare; Propaganda Campaign Targets Key Obama Campaign Voter Demographics [h/t rdbrewer at Ace of Spades]

Following a design workshop and individual design consultations presented by Downtown Bartlesville Inc., of which 30 businesses and property owners attended, there has been a recent flurry of activity. The workshop focused on adding curb appeal to a downtown building by doing simple renovations. It showed how the removal of fake façade elements can reveal prominent architectural features, what the simple cleaning of dirt and grime from a building can reveal or what a new coat of paint can do to update the look.

Navy SEAL U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was among the 30 American troops killed August 6 when Taliban insurgents downed their Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. At his funeral in Iowa, his dog Hawkeye paid his last respects, walking up to the casket, lying down in front of it, and heaving a sigh.

After scrutinizing several of the natural gas articles produced by ProPublica, the Independent Institute uncovered several "errors and exaggerations" that cast the industry in very bad light. There is, for example, a 2002 study from the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission that could not find any evidence of groundwater contamination resulting from hydraulic fracturing contrary to what was reported in ProPublica. The commission surveyed agencies in 28 states. This effort spanned the entire history of hydraulic fracturing in those states. Another key player here is the Heinz Foundation, which has expanded the number grants devoted to studying the natural gas industry. Heinz is headed up by Teresa Heinz, wife of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) ... The slanted reporting and misinformation could come with a serious price tag

Whole Foods co-founder, John Mackey, makes a moral defense of business in The Morality of Capitalism, a new book from the Atlas Network and Students for Liberty. "...200 years ago, 85 percent of people on planet Earth lived on less than a dollar a day, 85 percent, we're down to 20 percent now."

Sarah Palin wrote a note titled On the Future of Libya: "We join the Libyan people in gratefulness as we hear of Col. Gaddafi's defeat. The fall of a tyrant and sponsor of terrorism is a great day for freedom-loving people around the world. But the path to democracy in Libya is not complete, and we must make wise choices to ensure that our national interests are protected...."