What’s interesting in the news today?
Republicans in Congress are beginning a probe into the Obama admin’s shutdown related nonsense.
From FoxNews “Republican lawmakers plan to investigate mounting reports that federal officials are kicking families out of their homes and shuttering private businesses because they sit on federal parkland — describing the spectacle as an over-the-top response to the partial government shutdown.
“We are receiving a lot of reports” of businesses being shut down, said Mallory Micetich, spokeswoman for Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee.
She confirmed the committee is investigating these reports, as part of a widening probe into the National Park Service’s response to the partial government suspension.”
“”Many of these non-federally funded sites exist throughout the United States and operate with no staff or resources from the National Park Service,” a statement from Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee said. “This is yet another example of the Obama administration attempting to make the government shutdown as painful as possible and forcing closures of private and nonprofit operators that did not happen during previous government shutdowns.”
That’s because they weren’t orchestrated by a vindictive President using Chicago style politics
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But as with most things, the President exempts his friends and supporters. That’s why illegal rights activist are using the Mall today when it’s closed to the commoners. And like with ObamaCare, his friends and associates get waivers.
From TheWashingtonExaminer “The Obama administration quietly changed its furlough guidance Friday to allow government employees who are also union representatives to return to work and receive a regular paycheck during the government shutdown.
On the fifth day of the government shutdown the House unanimously passed a bill approving back pay for 800,000 furloughed federal workers, a rare moment of bipartisan unity, even as House Republicans and Democrats continued their bitter budget standoff.
The vast majority of those workers do not serve as union representatives and will not receive a pay check as long as the government remains shuttered. But the Office of Personnel Management Friday opened the door for some of their co-workers, those who serve as union representatives, to return to work and get their regular paycheck.”
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Gee, I wonder if this guy gets Obama’s “excepted/essential” status too?
From JudicialWatch “A prominent Muslim advisor at the Obama Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has close ties to a convicted Hamas fundraiser and other radical Islamist causes, including a nonprofit that proclaims sharia is the only legitimate law according to Islam.
Incredibly, this Homeland Security advisor, Mohamed Elibiary, has regular access to classified information and is a prime mover behind two of the Obama administration’s most dangerous policies; normalizing relations with domestic and foreign Islamist groups (including the Muslim Brotherhood) and arduous enforcement restrictions of laws related to material support for terrorism.
While this may seem incomprehensible to many, it’s all documented in a disturbing report published this week by the Center for Security Policy, a Washington D.C. think tank dedicated to promoting national security. The 33-page document is actually based on a lengthy, five-part interview with Elibiary, an influential member of Obama’s Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Elibiary admits he’s a longtime friend of a self-described Islamist (Shukri Abu Baker) convicted in 2008 of financing the terrorist organization Hamas through his U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity, the Holy Land Foundation. Elibiary reveals that he donated to the Holy Land Foundation monthly until it was shut down by the U.S. government and he defends Baker, depicting his prosecution as a case of political persecution.”
He’s behind the Obama admin’s embrace of the Brotherhood as well.
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The ATF and Obama admin are trying to block the publication of a book on the Fast and Furious gun walking scandal.
From TheWashingtonTimes “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is blocking the main whistleblower in the Fast and Furious case from publishing a book, claiming his retelling of the Mexico “gun-walking” scandal will hurt morale inside the embattled law enforcement agency, according to documents obtained by The Washington Times.
ATF’s dispute with Special Agent John Dodson is setting up a First Amendment showdown that is poised to bring together liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and conservatives in Congress who have championed Mr. Dodson’s protection as a whistleblower.
The ACLU is slated to become involved in the case Monday, informing ATF it is representing Mr. Dodson and filing a formal protest to the decision to reject his request to publish the already written book, sources told The Times, speaking only on the condition of anonymity.”
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Uh-oh, sounds like someone’s getting a trip to the woodshed. Good.
From WeaselZippers “Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova: SCOTUS Aware DOJ Advising Universities To Disregard Their Ruling On Race Based Admissions, Preparing To “Slap Them Down”
“Joe DiGenova is a Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He spoke on WMAL this morning, noting that the DOJ actually advised universities in writing to ignore the SCOTUS ruling on race based admissions. The ruling determined that you could not use race as the primary factor in determining admission. Yet, the DOJ letter advises the universities that they could carry on as they had been doing.”
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Wandering Views 
For several years I have thought that I would trust the Chinese to run our budget more than I trust Congress. Maybe I will get my wish.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101091268
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That is why I refer to Homeland Security as Homeland Insecurity.
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Tom Coburn and Ted Cruz are my favorite Senators since Jesse Helms. Coburn is doing a great job of spreading the news about the waste in the Social Security Disablity program.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/diability-system-broken-tom-coburn/2013/10/07/id/529560
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Thoughts?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/october/preston-sprinkle-manly-christian-pacifist.html
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Be careful Ricky. Tom Colburn is an Okie. 😆
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You know you are doing something wrong when the magazine of Anglo-Saxon capitalism speaks out against you —
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21587211-land-free-starting-look-ungovernable-enough-enough-no-way-run-country
And it appears the money tap might be turned off for the Republican party
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/longtime-gop-donors-unnerved-by-shutdown-strategy/2013/10/05/a95b3dac-2d04-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html?wprss=rss_politics
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Drivesguy, I also really like your other Senator. Hurrah for Oklahoma!
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Donna J, The book looks interesting. I would withhold judgment until I read it. I have some concerns about the description of how he treated Old Testament passages.
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