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News/Politics 3-26-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Hillary has been hit with a racketeering lawsuit.

From TheHill  “The conservative group Freedom Watch has filed a racketeering lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that accuses her of failing to produce documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The civil suit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, argues that Clinton used her private emails to sell access to other officials in return for donations to the Clinton Foundation.

It alleges that, during her tenure, Clinton withheld documents requested under FOIA regarding State Department waivers given to businesses or individuals doing business with Iran, possibly undermining U.S.-imposed sanctions. 

The complaint, which lists Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation as defendants, alleges the Clintons sold access to other U.S. government officials in return for donations to their organization, which they concealed, allegedly, by using a private computer server for her emails operated from their home in Chappaqua, New York. “

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2. The IG says a member of the Clinton family and their favorite flunkie were shown favoritism. This is the same scam Harry Reid is involved with.

From NationalReview  “A senior Department of Homeland Security official “created an appearance of favoritism and special access” by intervening on behalf of a company run by Hillary Clinton’s brother, a finding that contradicts the official’s testimony during his Senate confirmation hearing.

The issue pertained to the EB-5 program, which provides visas to immigrants who invest in the United States.

“In three matters pending before USCIS, Mr. Mayorkas, now deputy secretary of DHS, communicated with stakeholders on substantive issues outside of the normal adjudicatory process, and intervened with the career USCIS staff in ways that benefited the stakeholders,” the DHS inspector general reports. “Regardless of Mr. Mayorkas’ motives, his intervention in these matters created significant resentment in USCIS. This resentment was not isolated to career staff adjudicating within the EB-5 program, but extended to senior managers and attorneys responsible for the broader USCIS mission and programs.

The report “specifically focused on allegations of special treatment afforded to a Las Vegas casino project championed by Sen. Harry Reid, then the Senate majority leader, and an electric car enterprise led by Terry McAuliffe, who is now Virginia governor, and involving Anthony Rodham, the brother of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” according to ABC.”

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3. Saudi Arabia is getting more involved in Yemen.

From Al-arabiya  “Saudi Arabia waged early Thursday “Operation Decisive Storm” against the Houthi coup in Yemen and in support of legitimate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

A Saudi air campaign was launched overnight which has already resulted in the elimination of several Houthi leaders.

Yemen air space is currently under full control of the Saudi Royal Air Force.

As the operation continues, a coalition of all GCC countries, barring Oman, is taking part in the campaign, including Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia has deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.”

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4. And yet Obama is begging them for a deal….

From Yahoo/Reuters ” Iran is failing to address suspicions it may have worked on designing an atomic bomb, according to the latest report by a U.N. watchdog, potentially complicating efforts by world powers to reach a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had still not provided information it was due to produce more than two months ago to help advance a long-running IAEA inquiry into suspected nuclear weapons research.

The confidential document was issued to IAEA member states less than three weeks before the Nov. 24 deadline by which Iran and six global powers are seeking to end a decade-old standoff over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities.

“Iran has not provided any explanations that enable the agency to clarify the outstanding practical measures,” it said.

The IAEA was referring to two steps that Iran had agreed to carry out by late August, by providing information concerning allegations of explosives tests and other activity that could be used to develop nuclear bombs.”

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5. Planned Parenthood continues to receive millions from taxpayers.

From LifeNews  “Two years ago, pro-life members of Congress sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a comprehensive report on which abortion advocacy groups Americans were forced to fund with their tax dollars. Today the government watchdog (GAO) released the requested report which details funding for six abortion advocacy groups over a three year period (2010-2012).

The six organizations researched were Planned Parenthood, Population Council, International Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Advocates for Youth and Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

The report found the Planned Parenthood abortion corporation and its affiliates received $344.5 million in federal funds and another $1.2 billion in funding from Medicaid (which includes a combination of federal and state funds) for a total of $1.5 billion over three years from federal programs. The abortion fiant receives $1.2 billion from Medicaid, $201 million from the Title X family planning program $40.6 million from Title XX Social Services block grants and $25.9 million from the Title V Maternal and Child health Services block grant.”

“On average, Planned Parenthood receives approximately $500 million a year in taxpayer funds. The report found that the six organizations spent $481 million in federal funding from Fiscal Years 2010 to 2012.”

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6. I figured this would be a bigger story. It is a fire bombing at an abortion clinic after all. But then I read it, and now I understand why the MSM is ignoring it. Turns out a pro-abortion fanatic was trying to firebomb pro-lifers, so crickets is what you hear from the mainstream press. And she wasn’t just some nut off the street either.

From WeaselZippers  “A woman is facing charges after police say she threw a Molotov cocktail at anti-abortion protesters who were standing outside of Planned Parenthood. Melanie Toney, 52, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to the affidavit, the incident happened around 6:25 p.m. on Monday at the Planned Parenthood building on East Ben White Boulevard.”

“UPDATE (Nick):

Drew reported above on the molotov cocktail thrown at a pro-life prayer group outside a Planned Parenthood in Austin, Texas. While local media has been pretty straight up on the issue, MSM is underway to try to obscure the intent of the woman who threw a molotov cocktail outside of a Planned Parenthood in Austin, Texas, many reporting it simply as an attack at a Planned Parenthood, leaving the impression it is an anti-abortion protester.

Of course, that fact that it apparently was thrown into the middle of the prayer group might give you a clue.”

“Melanie Toney, a registered nurse, testified in Austin on July 8, 2013 also providing written testimony on Senate Bill #1 trying to defeat abortion restrictions.”

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17 thoughts on “News/Politics 3-26-15”

  4. Tweet from Politico: Bowe Bergdahl describes brutal treatment in Taliban hands (w/link)

    I don’t doubt it, but didn’t he voluntarily set out to hook up with them?? What did he expect?

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  5. Donna (or anyone else who might choose to reply) – Do we really know that he did (set out to hook up with them, that is), or is it speculation? I’m genuinely asking, not “challenging” you.

    One Facebook friend is quite skeptical over the fact that his side of the story hasn’t been told yet. I think she thinks that maybe he’s being railroaded. Another friend is so convinced of Bergdahl’s guilt that she thinks Obama should be tried for treason for the deal releasing the terrorists in exchange for Bergdahl.

    I’ve only read dribs & drabs, so I don’t know what to think yet. (Although, one thing I read did seem to point pretty strongly to his being a deserter.)

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  6. The only thing we know for certain at this point is that he abandoned his post and went toward the enemy.
    He may have been trying to negotiate for all we know.

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  7. I’m not certain, but I believe that came from his soldier-mates who said he told them that — or was inquiring about how to find the Taliban. ?

    He was/is a very confused person, obviously, but bottom line is he didn’t have to get captured … 😦

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  8. Well, I can’t find it so I may be wrong — My memory is that it came from extensive interviews with his fellow soldiers. But maybe not. So I retract that.

    What Bergdahl did do, however, is leave his post and cause others subsequently to be killed as they searched for him.

    I’m having a hard time feeling a lot of sympathy.

    The Taliban & Co. are just not nice people, we all know that. That he would leave his post and walk away is mind-boggling — and I suppose I think he probably shouldn’t have been surprised at being badly treated.

    If he had second thoughts about the war, he should have spoken up to his superior and been willing to be jailed until they could decide how to handle his case through the proper channels.

    He put everyone in danger by doing what he did, including, of course, himself.

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  10. I’m a staunch supporter of our country’s conscientious objector status provision, by the way. If I were a young person and the draft were still on, it’s probably the route I’d take. It’s an option that I think many Christians might gravitate toward (remember, you can still serve your country, domestically or overseas with the troops, just not in an armed position that would put you in a position to kill another).

    But to sign up for the military like Bergdahl did — and then to change your mind and NOT be up front about it and willing to take the natural consequences as part of a legal process, but instead walking away and putting your fellow soldiers in harm’s way as a direct result, is a big ethics violation on a whole lot of levels.

    Really, I’d hoped the story was going to play out differently. His parents are part of the same denomination I’m a member of. I withheld judgement pretty much until this week’s announcement of charges being filed (although hearing his fellow soldiers speak out several months ago gave me serious pause about him).

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  11. Karen,

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/02/we-lost-soldiers-in-the-hunt-for-bergdahl-a-guy-who-walked-off-in-the-dead-of-night.html

    “It was June 30, 2009, and I was in the city of Sharana, the capitol of Paktika province in Afghanistan. As I stepped out of a decrepit office building into a perfect sunny day, a member of my team started talking into his radio. “Say that again,” he said. “There’s an American soldier missing?”

    There was. His name was Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, the only prisoner of war in the Afghan theater of operations. His release from Taliban custody on May 31 marks the end of a nearly five-year-old story for the soldiers of his unit, the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. I served in the same battalion in Afghanistan and participated in the attempts to retrieve him throughout the summer of 2009. After we redeployed, every member of my brigade combat team received an order that we were not allowed to discuss what happened to Bergdahl for fear of endangering him. He is safe, and now it is time to speak the truth.

    And that the truth is: Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down.”

    “The Daily Beast’s Christopher Dickey later wrote that “[w]hether Bergdahl…just walked away from his base or was lagging behind on a patrol at the time of his capture remains an open and fiercely debated question.” Not to me and the members of my unit. Make no mistake: Bergdahl did not “lag behind on a patrol,” as was cited in news reports at the time. There was no patrol that night. Bergdahl was relieved from guard duty, and instead of going to sleep, he fled the outpost on foot. He deserted. I’ve talked to members of Bergdahl’s platoon—including the last Americans to see him before his capture. I’ve reviewed the relevant documents. That’s what happened.”

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  13. Thanks for the added info.

    It had been a while since I’d read anything on him, & wanted to be sure there was actual evidence or witnesses to his desertion before forming an opinion. Sounds like there sure are.

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  16. Actually, what would make me soften toward Bergdahl would be a genuine expression of sorrow and repentance — an admission that what he did was wrong. He may reach that point, none of us knows yet.

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