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News/Politics 3-27-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Tone Deaf? Or good old-fashioned denial?

From TheHill  “Senate Democratic leaders on Wednesday said the media is exaggerating public concern about ObamaCare and insisted they aren’t worried the law will cost them their majority.

Democratic leaders said voters care more about middle-class issues like raising the minimum wage, addressing college affordability, achieving paycheck parity between men and women and rebuilding infrastructure.

They expressed their frustration with reporters after a lengthy presentation on their “Fair Shot for Everyone” agenda was followed up by a salvo of questions on the implementation of ObamaCare.”

“This agenda is what the American people want to hear. You folks all want to ask about ObamaCare but the American people, most of them, are not directly affected by ObamaCare. They want to hear what we’re going to do for them,” Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking Democratic leader, told reporters.”

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2. The myth that Obama is the Deporter in Chief has been proven false.

From Breitbart  “Fully 98 percent of individuals deported from the United States in 2013 were either criminals, apprehended while illegally crossing the border, or had been previously deported, according to a new analysis from Senate Budget Committee ranking member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

The three-page document, labeled a “Critical Alert” by the senator’s office, found three executive actions by President Barack Obama providing amnesty to groups of illegal aliens meant that virtually no one who did not meet other criteria beyond simply being in the country illegal was deported.

“The evidence reveals that the Administration has carried out a dramatic nullification of federal law,” Sessions said in a statement to Breitbart News. “Under the guise of setting ‘priorities’, the Administration has determined that almost anyone in the world who can enter the United States is free to illegally live, work and claim benefits here as long as they are not caught committing a felony or other serious crime.”

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More here from NationalReview  “A little-known Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directive from 2012 has dramatically altered the enforcement of immigration laws by shielding most illegal immigrants without separate criminal convictions from deportation.

Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reviewed by the office of Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), indicate that the “DHS has blocked the enforcement of immigration law for the overwhelming majority of violations — and is planning to widen that amnesty even further.”

A DHS directive from December 21, 2012, decreed that ICE agents could act against illegal immigrants only in limited circumstances — mainly if an illegal immigrant was previously charged with a serious crime or was physically caught crossing the border.

The effect, according to Sessions’s office, has been that many habitual immigration violators and the vast majority of illegal immigrants in the United States face no threat of deportation. “The Administration’s priorities,” Session’s writes, “have therefore provided an executive amnesty not only to the great majority of the 12 million living her illegally today . . . but to those who will violate immigration law tomorrow. It is an open invitation for a future immigrant to overstay a visa, or enter the U.S. illegally, knowing that they will be immune from enforcement as long as they avoid being convicted of a felony or other serious crime once here.”

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3. On a related note……

Using liberal logic, 78% of America must be racists. There’s just no other answer. 🙄

From Rasmussen  “A federal judge last week upheld the right of states to require proof of citizenship before allowing someone to register to vote. Voters continue to overwhelmingly support such a requirement.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 78% of Likely U.S. Voters believe everyone should be required to prove his or her citizenship before being allowed to register to vote. That’s up from 71% a year ago. Just 19% oppose that requirement. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Twenty-nine percent (29%) believe laws that require proof of citizenship before allowing voter registration discriminate against such voters. But more than twice as many (61%) say such laws do not discriminate, up three points from 58% who felt that way in March of last year. Ten percent (10%) are undecided.”

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4. Golf clap.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has labeled several Washington, D.C.-based family organizations as “hate groups” for favoring traditional marriage, has been dumped as a “resource” on the FBI‘s Hate Crime Web page, a significant rejection of the influential legal group.

The Web page scrubbing, which also included eliminating the Anti-Defamation League, was not announced and came in the last month after 15 family groups pressed Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director James Comey to stop endorsing a group — SPLC — that inspired a recent case of domestic terrorism at the Family Research Council.

“We commend the FBI for removing website links to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that not only dispenses erroneous data but has been linked to domestic terrorism in federal court. We hope this means the FBI leadership will avoid any kind of partnership with the SPLC,” Tony Perkins, FRC President, told Secrets.

“The Southern Poverty Law Center’s mission to push anti-Christian propaganda is inconsistent with the mission of both the military and the FBI, which is to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States,” he added.”

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5. I have to question how smart a move this is. You usually don’t end successful programs like this until you have an adequate replacement.

From TheFreeBeacon  “President Barack Obama is seeking to abolish two highly successful missile programs that experts say have helped the U.S. Navy maintain military superiority for the past several decades.

The Tomahawk missile program—known as “the world’s most advanced cruise missile”—is set to be cut by $128 million under Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposal and completely eliminated by fiscal year 2016, according to budget documents released by the Navy.

In addition to the monetary cuts to the program, the number of actual Tomahawk missiles acquired by the United States would drop significantly—from 196 last year to just 100 in 2015. The number will then drop to zero in 2016.

The Navy will also be forced to cancel its acquisition of the well-regarded and highly effective Hellfire missiles in 2015, according to Obama’s proposal. The proposed elimination of these missile programs came as a shock to lawmakers and military experts, who warned ending cutting these missiles would significantly erode America’s ability to deter enemy forces.”

A replacement system won’t be battle ready for at least 10 years. This will weaken the Navy, and our enemies know it.

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6. Here’s some good news.

From ABCNews  “A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that Kansas can strip two Planned Parenthood clinics of federal family planning money while the organization moves forward with its legal challenge of a state law it says is retaliation for its advocacy of abortion rights.

Kansas is among several conservative states that have sought in recent years to strip Planned Parenthood of funding. At issue in Tuesday’s ruling is money distributed to states under Title X, a federally financed family planning program. The Title X money targets low-income individuals seeking reproductive services such as birth control, pregnancy testing, cancer screenings and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. It cannot be used for abortions.

U.S. District Court J. Thomas Marten blocked enforcement of the state law in 2011, ruling that it unconstitutionally was intended to punish Planned Parenthood for advocating for abortion rights and would likely be overturned. He ordered Kansas to continue funding Planned Parenthood until the case was resolved. He also found the state law violates the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, saying states cannot impose additional requirements for entities to qualify for federal programs.

A divided panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturned Marten’s rulings, saying Kansas can halt the funding. Tuesday’s decision is not a final ruling on the merits of the case itself, and the appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. Given the split 2-1 ruling and the issues at stake in the litigation, it is also likely that the panel’s decision could be appealed to the full court for a rehearing.”

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7. They have to ruin everything.

From TheBlaze  “In a stunning ruling that could revolutionize college sports, a federal agency said Wednesday that football players at Northwestern University can create the nation’s first union of college athletes.

“The decision by a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board answered the question at the very heart of the debate of the unionization bid: The football players who receive full scholarships to the Big Ten school, the agency found, do qualify as employees under federal law and therefore can legally unionize.

“Based on the entire record in this case, I find that the Employer’s football players who receive scholarships fall squarely within (the) broad definition of ‘employee,” Peter Sung Ohr, the NLRB regional director, said in his 24-page decision.”

Yep.

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26 thoughts on “News/Politics 3-27-14”

  11. Good followup story and analysis of the WV issue:

    http://www.religionnews.com/2014/03/27/analysis-world-visions-gay-marriage-flip-flop-reflects-evangelical-angst-culture-shifts/

    “Nearly half of of practicing Protestants under 40 today support changing laws to enable more freedoms for the LGBTQ community, while just one-third of their parents’ and grandparents’ generation feel the same,” writes Barna Research. … “World Vision has been extremely broad in terms of church relations, but they have an evangelical base,” said David Neff, retired editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. “They were trying to figure out how to keep that broad base as things are changing. It was clearly a poorly timed misstep.”

    ….. ‘World Vision may have gone back to the status quo, but the larger issue of how religious institutions will handle a growing acceptance of same-sex marriage will not go away. If anything, this is just the beginning.’

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  12. Thanks for the post, Donna J.

    Thanks also for the good posts you made the other night (after my bedtime) about actual Christians who are deceived on this issue, resulting in church conflict. I don’t know any of our church members (in Texas) who think homosexuality is acceptable, but I know our time is coming.

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  14. 2. Many Mexican-American voters on the left are debating whether to stay home and not vote based on Obama’s deportation record. If Republicans can convince them he’s not the Deporter in Chief, they might change their minds and come out an vote. Nice of the Republicans to work for Obama.

    5. Somehow doubt this will weaken the US Navy and embolden their enemies — the US fleet is a giant among lilliputians. Not much danger of them being overrun. The US weakness is on the ground not in the air or on the water.

    7. As Ricky pointed out college athletics are a plantation economy and would like to think most people would support unionization here. If only to break down the sham of amateurism that the colleges hide behind.

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  15. ricky — As boomers age and seek cheap retirement properties, I think the trend of moving to Mexico will continue.

    donna — When Canada allowed for gay marriage about 10 years ago, pollsters discovered the demographic line to be roughly 35 years old. That is above this age the majority disapproved and below this age the majority approved. As the population ages, this line moves with them. World Vision may have changed its mind but i don’t think this is the end of the story.

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  16. HRW is correct in that the US is strong in the air and sea. We still need a respectable well trained land force. I would strengthen the Marines, if I were in charge.
    I’m talking about flexible, quick response force here.

    Like I said in 2008, you should have elected me President.
    I was more qualified than Obama then. Still am, unfortunately.

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  17. HRW, I think you are right about Mexico. I am going to be interested to see what the trend toward drug legalization in the US does to drug violence in Latin America. That violence is the main reason there aren’t already more Americans in Mexico. I found living conditions in Saltillo to be very similar to those in Fort Worth or Dallas in 1960. I could be very happy there.

    The NCAA case is very interesting. The NLRB ruled that the athletes are employees and their scholarships are their “pay”. I am going to be curious to see how long schools are allowed to use the tens of millions of dollars generated by their (predominantly black) male football and basketball players to fund all other (largely white) sports and stuff untold millions in their coffers. It would not surprise me if the schools wind up eventually negotiating with the union for small fixed salaries, better medical care, some money set aside for retirement, etc. The one thing the colleges don’t want is a free market where the best quarterbacks and running backs could be paid more than $1,000,000 a year by colleges or their rabid alums.

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  19. We really need to be aware of the cyber warfare threat. That may be happening, I don’t know.
    I read a book about that a couple of years ago. According to the author, we are the most susceptible to damage in cyber attack. We are ahead of the rest of the world in the technology, but others are capable and we are the most susceptible, therefore, in a more dangerous position. i.e. We are far ahead of N. Korea, but they can hurt us. We can’t hurt them. True also, to a lesser extent, for China.

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  20. Our Navy does have a weakness: Much of its power is tied up in the aircraft carriers and their battle groups. If the Russians, the Chinese or another nation develop a weapon to sink those carriers, our supremacy would be ended.

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  21. Chas, You are exactly right. Just as the Brits (and the US) used cryptography to locate and sink Germany’s U-Boat fleet, I am afraid another nation could make some of our most powerful and expensive weapons vulnerable by winning the cyber war.

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  22. HRW,

    “2. Many Mexican-American voters on the left are debating whether to stay home and not vote based on Obama’s deportation record. If Republicans can convince them he’s not the Deporter in Chief, they might change their minds and come out an vote. Nice of the Republicans to work for Obama.”

    They’ll fall in line like good Dem sheep after this summer’s amnesty push, as well as free ObamaCare. More on that tomorrow. In fact his hispanic outreach is getting ready to kick into a multi-front campaign.

    But the Reps will help him there too because the RINO faction will also support his amnesty push. It’s also why I think Paul Ryan can’t be trusted.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/03/26/on-immigration-the-gops-window-for-action-is-closing-fast/

    “

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  23. To tip your hand where weapons systems are concerned, especially the 2 best missile systems in the world, is poor military strategy. You don’t tell the world we’re gonna stop making something before a replacement is ready. You just told everyone that for a 5 year window what we have in stock is all we got. That’s just stupid.

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  24. The actual Mexicans I know are friendly people who are very hard working. I would hate to make them American citizens. It would ruin them. Most aren’t going to have the knowledge or skills to become part of the 47% that funds the whole country. Instead, they would likely become Democrats, drawing food stamps, faking injury to get Social Security Disability or drawing unemployment rather than looking for work.

    Let’s bring back the Bracero program. After all few Americans want to be bus boys, framers, maids or gardeners. I would let the workers bring their wives and families up, but children of foreigners born in the US should not be US citizens. I would even have special schools for the children of foreign workers. They wouldn’t have to learn English and I wouldn’t let the regular US schools try to turn them into perverts.

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  25. rickyweaver

    “After all few Americans want to be bus boys, framers, maids or gardeners.”

    All those jobs are done by local people until Mexicans/Central Americans move in. Have you been to the northern mid-West? Along I-80 or north of there?

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  26. Bob, My family once spent a day in a fancy suburb of a Northern city. My son commented that he hadn’t seen a Mexican all day. That night we ate at an Olive Garden. A waiter broke one of their huge bottles of wine. From the back, immediately came two Mexicans to clean up the mess.

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