August 24, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-24-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up today, the Obama admin refuses to do anything about those responsible for Benghazi. Even when begged by the team he sent to investigate and track the attackers.

From FoxNews “Two weeks after the Obama administration announced charges against suspects in the Benghazi attack, a large portion of the U.S. team that hunted the suspects and trained Libyans to help capture or kill them is leaving Libya permanently.

Special operators in the region tell Fox News that while Benghazi targets have been identified for months, officials in Washington could “never pull the trigger.” In fact, one source insists that much of the information on Benghazi suspects had been passed along to the White House after being vetted by the Department of Defense and the State Department — and at least one recommendation for direct action on a Benghazi suspect was given to President Obama as recently as Aug. 7.”

“We put American special operations in harm’s way to develop a picture of these suspects and to seek justice and instead of acting, we stalled. We just let it slip and pass us by and now it’s going to be much more difficult,” one source said, citing 1,200 prisoners escaping two weeks ago. “It’s already blowing up. Daily assassinations, bi-weekly prison escapes, we waited way too long.”

The special operators are starting to get frustrated at the lack of action, and Fox News has been told by multiple sources that one special forces leader “literally yelled” at former Libyan Chief of Mission William Roebuck “and told him, ‘so you’re willing to let these guys get away with murder?'” The outburst was “met with crickets,” the sources said.”

Just pathetic.

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A military jury has convicted the Ft. Hood terrorist on all counts.

From TheAP ” military jury on Friday convicted Maj. Nidal Hasan in the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, making the Army psychiatrist eligible for the death penalty in the shocking assault against American troops by one of their own on home soil.

There was never any doubt that Hasan was the gunman. He acknowledged to the jury that he was the one who pulled the trigger on fellow soldiers as they prepared to deploy overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan. And he barely defended himself during a three-week trial.

The unanimous decision on all 13 counts of premeditated murder made Hasan eligible for execution in the sentencing phase that begins Monday.”

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The DA in Christopher Lane’s murder investigation has decided it was not a hate crime. Can’t say I agree.

From NBCNews “Three juveniles allegedly involved with the Aug. 16 shooting death of Australian college athlete Christopher Lane will not be charged with a hate crime, the Duncan, Okla., district attorney said Friday.

“At this point, the evidence does not support the theory that Christopher Lane was targeted based upon his race or nationality,” said District Attorney Jason Hicks. “The evidence is insufficient to establish that race was the primary motive in the murder of Christopher Lane.”

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Both sides in the Paula Deen fiasco have agreed to drop the suit. It will be interesting to see if those who fired her will now do the right thing.

From MSNTV “Lawyers signed a deal Friday to drop a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against celebrity cook Paula Deen, who was dumped by the Food Network and other business partners after she said under oath that she had used racial slurs in the past.

A document filed in U.S. District Court in Savannah said both sides agreed to drop the lawsuit “without any award of costs or fees to any party.” No other details of the agreement were released. The judge in the case had not signed an order to finalize the dismissal.”

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And these last two go together. The liberal posters over at Buzzfeed are up in arms over an anti-abortion/Planned Parenthood piece they ran. Buzzfeed is defending themselves by saying it was on a community post, not an official one from them. Some liberal commenters are talking of wanting such talk censored. Liberals don’t like the truth about abortion being exposed. You decide for yourself. Does this need censoring?

From BuzzFeed “8 Outrageous Things Planned Parenthood Was Caught Doing

The nation’s largest abortion provider has been caught doing some incredibly offensive, appalling, and illegal things. Find out what they’ve been covering up…”

It then goes on to present it’s case, with the help of the work done by LiveAction.org. You’ll recognize some of them, we’ve covered them here. Like I said, they don’t like truth coming out.

From Observer.com “BuzzFeed came under fire today after the viral site ran a post slamming Planned Parenthood.

“8 Outrageous Things Planned Parenthood Was Caught Doing,” submitted by a community contributor, the anti-abortion group PersonhoodUSA, has unsurprisingly not been a hit with BuzzFeed’s core readership.

BuzzFeed editor in chief Ben Smith said that the site is still figuring out aspects of opening up BuzzFeed’s platform to community contributors. “We’ve been adjusting the labeling, and we’re in the process of figuring out where and whether we should draw lines about what’s appropriate on what we conceived as an open platform, like Facebook and Twitter. It’s an interesting, and complicated, question but we’re inclined to leave the platform as open as possible,” Mr. Smith told us in an email.”

Censorship isn’t necessary. Allowing differing opinions let’s folks decide for themselves. What do they have to fear? If it’s no true, rebut it.

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August 23, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-23-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, so what have you got?

UPDATE!

Maj. Nadal Hasan has been found guilty on all counts in the Ft. Hood shooting trial.

Can’t find a link yet, but I’ll get it up when one’s available.

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First up, a scathing rebuke for the Obama admin and DoJ.

From JudicialWatch “That kind of whipping from a federal judge has got to hurt though it’s unlikely to deter the administration from spending more taxpayer dollars to file frivolous lawsuits against employers who use the checks to screen job applicants. Judicial Watch wrote about this a few weeks ago when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the nation’s workplace discrimination laws, sued two large companies that screen criminal background records claiming that the checks disproportionately exclude blacks from hire.

That violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, according to the Obama administration, which has pushed hard to deter companies from using criminal background checks to screen job applicants. Of interesting note is that the EEOC conducts criminal background checks as a condition of employment and credit background checks for most of its positions. For some reason, it’s not discriminatory against minorities when the agency does it.”

“In a scathing 34-page opinion published this week, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Titus lambasted the administration’s expert data, writing that it was “laughable”; “based on unreliable data”; “rife with analytical error”; containing “a plethora of errors and analytical fallacies” and a “mind-boggling number of errors”; “completely unreliable”; “so full of material flaws that any evidence of disparate impact derived from an analysis of its contents must necessarily be disregarded”; “distorted”; “both over and under inclusive”; “cherry-picked”; “worthless”; and “an egregious example of scientific dishonesty.”

There are simply no facts to support a theory of disparate impact, the judge writes, further stating: “By bringing actions of this nature, the EEOC has placed many employers in the “Hobson’s choice” of ignoring criminal history and credit background, thus exposing themselves to potential liability for criminal and fraudulent acts committed by employees, on the one hand, or incurring the wrath of the EEOC for having utilized information deemed fundamental by most employers.”

Ouch.

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Next up, the Manning case gets even worse.

From Today “Bradley Manning, the Army private sentenced to military prison for leaking classified documents, revealed he intends to live out the remainder of his life as a woman.

“I am Chelsea Manning. I am female,” the Army private wrote in a statement read on TODAY Thursday. “Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition.”

““I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility),” Manning continued in the statement. “I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.”

“Coombs said he is “hoping” that Fort Leavenworth “would do the right thing” and provide hormone therapy for Manning. “If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure they are forced to do so.”

So publications like HuffPo are happy to play along with his delusions by calling him Chelsea. And he has other supporters too.

From HuffPo “The military policy against providing hormone therapy to prisoners like Chelsea Manning raises “serious constitutional concerns,” an American Civil Liberties Union official said Thursday.

Chelsea Manning, who used to be known as Bradley Manning, announced Thursday she wants to live her life as a woman. But under military policy, it may be impossible for her to begin making the transition from behind bars as she serves a sentence in relation to her disclosures to WikiLeaks.

“The Army does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery for gender identity disorder,” Kimberly Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Fort Leavenworth, Kan., military prison where Manning is expected to serve her sentence, told NBC News.”

“”In response to Chelsea Manning’s disclosure that she is female, has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and will be seeking hormone therapy as a part of her transition during her incarceration, public statements by military officials that the Army does not provide hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria raise serious constitutional concerns,” Chase Strangio, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project, said in a statement.”

Constitutional issues? Give me a break. 🙄

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The Obama admin wants the govt. to rate colleges and define what’s a good school and what isn’t.

From CNSNews “Speaking at the University of Buffalo, President Barack Obama today unveiled an ambitious new plan for the federal government to create a national rating system that will define what a good college is and financially reward or punish colleges depending on how they rank in the government’s system.

He said he intends to have the rating system in placed by the fall of 2015 and intends to work with Congress to enact legislation linking federal aid to colleges to the rating system.

As outlined by Obama, this rating system would look at essentially materialistic and financial characteristics of a college as opposed to intellectual and moral ones.”

How about you mind your own business Mr. President? I can’t help but think you have more pressing matters to attend to, like doing your actual job.

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And we’ll finish with this one. Social justice, left leaning Christian style.

From Breitbart “The NAACP of North Carolina has created a handbook for clergy to enable them to use Bible verses to promote what has been called “Christian Socialism.”

The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP is a “lead organizer of the Moral Monday rallies,” and Rev. William Barber, who is reportedly an “organizer and frequent keynote speaker,” has often used the handbook to denounce Republicans in North Carolina’s legislature for “trying to move the state backwards” by supporting issues like Voter ID laws, which North Carolina’s governor recently signed into law.

Their rallying slogan is, “Forward together, not one step back” and the tax-exempt organization advocates a brand of “Christian Socialism.” The handbook suggests using a Bible verse that offers “an alternative paradigm for interpersonal and communal engagement that can serve as a critical rejoinder to the policies of our state government.”

As Pete Kaliner of WWNC pointed out, the handbook also advocates strong central government for socialist policies while criticizing the North Carolina GOP for one-party rule:”

Sounds like a great idea….. 🙄

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August 22, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-22-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

These first two shoot more holes in the meme from the Obama admin and Dems that there is no evidence to suggest that ObamaCare is causing employers to cut hours. It goes with the increased cost for insurance, and some who are losing what they currently have.

It’s also why about 75% of new jobs were part-time. This is not helping the economy to recover. Quite the opposite.

From HuffPo/Reuters “U.S. businesses are hiring at a robust rate. The only problem is that three out of four of the nearly 1 million hires this year are part-time and many of the jobs are low-paid.

Faltering economic growth at home and abroad and concern that President Barack Obama’s signature health care law will drive up business costs are behind the wariness about taking on full-time staff, executives at staffing and payroll firms say.

Employers say part-timers offer them flexibility. If the economy picks up, they can quickly offer full-time work. If orders dry up, they know costs are under control. It also helps them to curb costs they might face under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

And there’s also a new study out on the issue of ObamaCare’s effects on coverage.

From CNBC “Mid- and large-sized companies overwhelmingly expect health-care costs to increase under Obamacare—and most are eyeing possible changes to their health insurance offerings because of a looming excise tax for pricier plans under the health-care reform law, a new survey of employers finds.

In fact, 40 percent of 420 companies surveyed by Towers Watson said they will be changing their insurance plans’ designs in 2014 in light of the coming excise tax as well as to control employee-related health costs.

And nearly 60 percent of the companies view private health insurance exchanges as a possible way to control their health-care and administrative costs by shifting the work of insuring their workers off to those exchanges in the future.

But most of those companies—which collectively employ 8.7 million people—don’t have firm near-term plans to do so.”

Yet.

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We’re all aware of the numerous pitfalls, delays, and missed deadlines that have plagued ObamaCare. Looks like Dodd-Frank has the same problem with missed deadlines. The Obama admin isn’t real punctual with anything.

From NationalReview “A Congressional Research Service report this week revealed that the Obama administration has missed precisely 50 percent of its deadlines in implementing Obamacare — and with the Dodd-Frank financial-reform law, they’re doing even worse. More than half of the law’s 279 deadlines so far — 61.6 percent — have been missed by July 15, according to a new report.

The law firm DavisPolk has been publishing reports on Dodd-Frank’s progress for a while now, and they explain “the pace of rulemaking has been remarkably consistent over the past three years” — but it’s been consistently far behind the pace actually set by the law. Since the deadlines are dispersed, some months have been particularly rough — April 2011 saw regulators hit a serious cold streak, missing 26 deadlines that month. Dodd-Frank requires a variety of federal agencies — the SEC, the Fed, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, etc. — to actually write the new financial-market rules that Congress merely outlined in the 2010 law.

Three years after the law was passed, not even half of the law’s rules have been finalized.”

🙄

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Next up, an interesting read, which is surprising considering it’s from Rolling Stone. I don’t agree with some of their ideas for solutions, but it’s a good read.

With a CONTENT WARNING!!! for some language.

From RollingStone “Obama had already set himself up as a great champion of student rights by taking on banks and greedy lenders like Sallie Mae. Three years earlier, he’d scored what at the time looked like a major victory over the Republicans with a transformative plan to revamp the student-loan industry. The 2010 bill mostly eliminated private banks and lenders from the federal student-loan business. Henceforth, the government would lend college money directly to students, with no middlemen taking a cut. The president insisted the plan would eliminate waste and promised to pass the savings along to students in the form of more college and university loans, including $36 billion in new Pell grants over 10 years for low-income students. Republican senator and former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander bashed the move as “another Washington takeover.”

The thing is, none of it – not last month’s deal, not Obama’s 2010 reforms – mattered that much. No doubt, seeing rates double permanently would genuinely have sucked for many students, so it was nice to avoid that. And yes, it was theoretically beneficial when Obama took banks and middlemen out of the federal student-loan game. But the dirty secret of American higher education is that student-loan interest rates are almost irrelevant. It’s not the cost of the loan that’s the problem, it’s the principal – the appallingly high tuition costs that have been soaring at two to three times the rate of inflation, an irrational upward trajectory eerily reminiscent of skyrocketing housing prices in the years before 2008.”

“Next up is the government itself. While it’s not commonly discussed on the Hill, the government actually stands to make an enormous profit on the president’s new federal student-loan system, an estimated $184 billion over 10 years, a boondoggle paid for by hyperinflated tuition costs and fueled by a government-sponsored predatory-lending program that makes even the most ruthless private credit-card company seem like a “Save the Panda” charity. Why is this happening? The answer lies in a sociopathic marriage of private-sector greed and government force that will make you shake your head in wonder at the way modern America sucks blood out of its young.”

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Last night Ichiro Suzuki singled to left for his 4,000th career hit. Although some came professionally in Japan, it’s an impressive accomplishment from a guy who’s been fun to watch for his entire career.

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August 21, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-21-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always. 🙂

First up, more on the targeting of Christians in Egypt, and how the Obama admin should deal with it.

From NationalReview “Even the military rule is better than Muslim Brotherhood rule because the Muslim Brotherhood is against humanity itself,” says Thabet. That the most secular, liberal-minded Egyptians prefer a military dictatorship to the Muslim Brotherhood is telling, though it must be added that they hope it is temporary.

The military has been slow to respond to civilians’ desperate pleas for help. Even before this week’s violence, the Egyptian government was unable — or, perhaps more accurate, unwilling — to take basic steps to protect Egypt’s Christians or their churches, which are a particular target of the Muslim Brotherhood’s attacks. Still, Copts have no question which is the lesser of two evils.

They also have a strong sense of betrayal by the West and America. Having struck a blow for freedom at considerable personal cost and in the face of significant odds, the millions of Egyptians who took part in the June 30 Revolution are confounded by the Western reaction. “I don’t know why the American media did this. It is terrible,” said Thabet. One liberal American missionary who has lived in Egypt for several decades was irate in an e-mail message. “Christians here are getting hit hard. . . . I am thoroughly [upset] at the hypocrisy of the EU and the U.S. What whores we have running the world. I can only say worse things about western news coverage in general.”

And more from NR here as well.

From NationalReview “Not One More Plane, Not One More Tank, Not One More Dollar, Until Egypt’s Christians are Protected”

“As churches burn, as nuns are paraded through the streets by the Muslim Brotherhood, and as Christians across Egypt fear for their lives in the face of the jihadist onslaught, American policy can and should get very simple, very fast: Not one scintilla of aid until the Egyptian military demonstrates — by deeds, not just words — that it is committed to stopping this wave of persecution in its tracks, protecting the most basic human rights of its Christian citizens, and utterly defeating the Muslim Brotherhood. The crisis could escalate quickly to Balkan- or Syrian-level brutality and religious cleansing, but the Egyptian military — well-stocked with equipment we purchased, made, and keep in good repair — is capable of ending the onslaught against Christians.”

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Further proof that the Obama admin is using former ACORN employees to help with ObamaCare.

From TheDailyMail “A liberal organization tapped Monday to manage a new federal government-sponsored video contest aimed at encouraging young Americans to embrace Obamacare is run by ACORN’s former top lobbyist, MailOnline can reveal.”

“Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, who was among the most vocal Republicans during the 2010 battle over ACORN’s federal funding, told MailOnline that the White House is risking a public backlash with its choice of partnerships.

‘The fact that the Obama administration is putting a senior staffer of the now defunct and notoriously corrupt ACORN in charge of giving away cash to bribe young Americans into accepting Obamacare is cause for grave concern,’ Gosar said.”

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Let me guess… “Unexpectedly” 🙄

From HotAir “How did Barack Obama’s Magical Economy Tour do in convincing Americans to stay the course on Obamanomics? Not only did it fail to impress voters, it didn’t do much for employers, either. According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, joblessness rose in 28 states while only falling in eight — the worst showing since January:

Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states in July and fewer states added jobs, echoing national data that show the job market may have lost some momentum.

The Labor Department says unemployment rates increased in 28 states. They were unchanged in 14 and fell in eight states — the fewest to show a decline since January.

Hiring increased in 32 states in July compared with June, the fewest in three months. Seventeen states reported job losses. California, Georgia and Florida reported the largest job gains, while New Jersey and Nevada lost the most.”

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August 20, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-20-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Further evidence against the Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt.

From CNSNews “In the four days since security forces cleared two sit-in camps by supporters of Egypt’s ousted president, Islamists have attacked dozens of Coptic churches along with homes and businesses owned by the Christian minority. The campaign of intimidation appears to be a warning to Christians outside Cairo to stand down from political activism.

Christians have long suffered from discrimination and violence in Muslim majority Egypt, where they make up 10 percent of the population of 90 million. Attacks increased after the Islamists rose to power in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that drove Hosni Mubarak from power, emboldening extremists. But Christians have come further under fire since President Mohammed Morsi was ousted on July 3, sparking a wave of Islamist anger led by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Nearly 40 churches have been looted and torched, while 23 others have been attacked and heavily damaged since Wednesday, when chaos erupted after Egypt’s military-backed interim administration moved in to clear two camps packed with protesters calling for Morsi’s reinstatement, killing scores of protesters and sparking deadly clashes nationwide.”

Meanwhile the Obama State Dept. is speaking out about the poor treatment and deaths….. of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners.

The treatment of the Christian minorities? Yep, those are crickets you hear.

From TheStar/Reuters “The U.S. State Department voiced deep concern on Monday about the deaths of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners while in custody in Egypt, terming them “suspicious,” and made clear that it does not believe the Islamist group should be banned.

“We are … deeply troubled by the suspicious deaths of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners in a purported prison escape attempt near Cairo,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, referring to 37 supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi who died in disputed circumstances on Sunday.”

Leave it to the Obama admin to speak up for the terrorists, but not their victims.

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And John Kerry has cleared the only ones ever punished for the Benghazi debacle. I know, “What difference does it make?” right?

From TheDailyBeast “Secretary of State John Kerry has determined that the four State Department officials placed on administrative leave by Hillary Clinton after the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi do not deserve any formal disciplinary action and has asked them to come back to work at the State Department starting Tuesday.”

“Last December, Clinton’s staff told four mid-level officials to clean out their desks and hand in their badges after the release of the report of its own internal investigation into the Benghazi attack, compiled by the Administrative Review Board led by former State Department official Tom Pickering and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Ret. Adm. Mike Mullen. Those four officials have been in legal and professional limbo, not fired but unable to return to their jobs, for eight months… until today.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Raymond Maxwell, the only official from the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs bureau to lose his job over the Benghazi attack, told The Daily Beast Monday he received a memo from the State Department’s human resources department informing him his administrative leave status has been lifted and he should report for duty Tuesday morning.

“No explanation, no briefing, just come back to work. So I will go in tomorrow,” Maxwell said.”

Since the employees filed grievances, the Obama admin took this route rather than have those employees speaking out on the matter. That might make things uncomfortable when it comes time for Hillary to run for President. So this ensures they won’t have unflattering details leaking out later.

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Laws? Pffftt… That’s for you little people.

From TheChicagoTribune “The mandate that employers provide insurance next year or pay a penalty, as the law requires? Delayed for at least a year.

The law’s dictate that people applying for federal subsidies to buy insurance provide proof that they’re eligible for the government aid? Scaled back.

Sharp limits on Americans’ out-of-pocket costs for health care? Suspended for a year.

Providing members of Congress and more than 10,000 staff members with federal health care subsidies that the law does not allow? Done, via a deal brokered by President Barack Obama.”

He must do all this by Presidential decree, because he can’t risk admitting it’s faults and letting the legislature fix it. They might change other things too.

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This one? No comment. After all, it really does speak for itself.

From TheWashingtonExaminer “Federal welfare benefits pay more than minimum wage jobs in 35 states, according to a new report from the Cato Institute.

Hawaii provides the most benefits, or $49,175 a year. The District of Columbia provides the second highest welfare benefits in the country, providing $43,099 a year.

Cato’s calculations were based upon how much a mother with two children would receive from the seven most widely used welfare programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Medicaid; Women, Infants and Children Program; Emergency Food Assistance Program; housing assistance and utilities assistance.

In 12 states and D.C., the amount she would receive from those programs exceeds what she could earn working full-time at a $15-an-hour job, according to Cato.”

For those interested, or for a look at how your state did, the Cato Institute study is here.

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And here’s the last one from me today.

This would be funny, if they weren’t totally serious about this. Since they are serious, it’s sad. And clueless.

Sure it’ll stop legally carrying gun owners from coming in and spending their money, but who here thinks it’ll work for criminals? Yeah, me neither. 🙄

From CNSNews “Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, a Democrat, is inviting local merchants to voluntarily post “Gun Free Zone” signs in their businesses, letting customers who have guns know they should shop elsewhere.

“We are here to support businesses that do not wish to have guns on their premises” McGinn said in a press release issued by Washington CeaseFire, which is partnering with the mayor for the campaign. “The police department regularly enforces trespass laws when a visitor to a business violates that business’s rules.”

“We will continue to do so, and I thank these businesses for standing up for the safety of their customers,” McGinn said.”

Why not just paint a “Please Rob Me, I’m Unarmed” sign out front?

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August 19, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-19-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, Egypt’s Coptic Church has thrown their support to the military. Not surprising considering the Muslim Brotherhood is burning their churches and homes, and killing them.

From AlArabiya “Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic Church announced on Friday its support for the military and security forces in their fight against what it called “groups of armed violence.”

“The Egyptian Coptic Church is following the unfortunate developments on the ground of our country Egypt and emphasizes its strong stance with the Egyptian police, armed forces and other organizations of the Egyptian people in the face of groups of armed violence and black terrorism,” the church said in a statement.

“While we appreciate the sincere and friendly position that understands the nature of the developments, we strongly deplore the media fallacies that are prevalent in Western countries,” the statement added.

The Coptic Church called on the West to “read objectively the facts of events, and not give international and political cover to these terrorist and bloody groups.”

Don’t hold your breath. They can’t do that. They have an amateur President and his “Smart Diplomacy” to defend.

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This one here, file under “Message Fail.” For Obama, Dems, and the media.

From WeaselZippers “This study was completed in June, yet was virtually ignored by the media. Perhaps because it didn’t fit the talking points?

In short: 1. most gun deaths are suicides, not criminal violence. 2. there were anywhere between 500,000 to 3 million defensive uses of guns, per year. 3. both accidental deaths and mass shootings have declined, both accounting for very small fraction of gun related deaths. 4. Most criminals gain their guns from family, friends or illegal means, and so outside the “controls” envisioned by the gun control gang. 5. High gun related homicides in Illinois, California, New Jersey, Washington D.C. skew the figures; these are areas where there are some of most restrictive gun laws.

Thus, the study tends to show that most of the gun control talk, is just that, talk, without much reality in actually addressing gun crime, and tends to support most of the things that gun rights advocates have repeatedly said.”

Doh! 😯

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Next up, the Obama admin is withholding documents on ObamaCare. Shocking, I know. 🙄

From FoxNews “The House Oversight Committee slammed the Treasury Department on Thursday for withholding documents related to the committee’s investigation of the administration’s expansion of subsidies in the ObamaCare exchanges.

Committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Health Care Subcommittee chairman James Lankford, R-Penn., threatened in their letter to use legal force against the department if it does not turn over the documents by Aug. 29.

The committee has been investigating for over a year the administration’s decision to expand subsidies to the federally run health insurance exchanges mandated by ObamaCare. The 2010 law creates subsidies for insurance purchased on state-created exchanges, but it is unclear if the law permits the federal government to extend these subsidies to the federally run exchanges.”

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This one? Bush’s fault I’m sure. 🙂

From CNSNews ” The Congressional Budget Office last week released updated historical budget data for the federal government, reporting a deficit of $1.087 trillion in fiscal 2012.

2012 marked the fourth straight year—and the only four years in the history of the nation–when the federal government’s deficit topped $1 trillion.

Last year’s $1.087 trillion deficit was even greater in inflation-adjusted dollars than the peak World War II deficit of fiscal 1943—which was $54.554 billion in 1943 dollars and $723.8714 billion in 2012 dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics online inflation calculator. The deficit has also remained at a higher percentage of GDP over the last four years than at any time since the conclusion of World War II (which ended during fiscal 1946, which began in June 1945).”

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And we’ll finish with this one today. Don’t support ObamaCare? You’re probably a “Phony Christian.” But don’t worry, if it’s anything like a “Phony Scandal”, it means a real one, so you’re fine. I think.

From TheBlaze “MSNBC host Ed Schultz unleashed Saturday on Christians who oppose President Obama’s landmark healthcare law, branding them as “phony Christians” and saying the repeal of the law would certainly result in the death of innocent children.

Schultz, who hosts ‘The Ed Show” on weekends, said the new healthcare law “is the most moral thing this country has ever done” and hammered those who disagree.

“This is good for America and I won’t let them lie,” Schultz said. “They’re phony Christians. Phony Christians when they say that they are Christian but then they want to take away from their next door neighbor. They don’t want to be their brother’s keeper.”

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August 17, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-17-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, you decide.

Here’s a few from me to start things off.

First up, Egypt.

From FoxNews “The Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country’s violent demonstrations since the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power last month.

Defense minister Col. Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi intends to fix the damage to Coptic churches at Rabaa Adaweya and Nahda squares, according to a report by the Mid-East Christian News.

Dozens of churches were attacked and burned in riots after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities to demand the end of what they call military rule, following the removal of Morsi on July 3. Many of Morsi’s supporters have voiced criticism at Egypt’s Christian minority for largely supporting the military’s decision to oust him from office.

“The Egyptian defense minister ordered the engineering department of the armed forces to swiftly repair all the affected churches, in recognition of the historical and national role played by our Coptic brothers,” read a statement that aired on Egyptian television.”

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Next up, It’s Alive! and yes, that means they’re violating the federal ban.

From JudicialWatch “A spinoff of the scandal-ridden community organizer group ACORN received more than $200,000 in federal housing grants despite a ban on money going to ACORN affiliates, watchdog organization Judicial Watch announced Thursday.

ACORN, which officially folded in 2009 after a string of scandals, rebranded into more than 100 spinoff groups, including Affordable Housing Centers of America — also now defunct — and Mission of Peace, an affordable housing nonprofit.

In February, the Department of Housing and Urban Development transferred $201,222.07 from AHCOA to Mission of Peace “specifically to pay for the activities of former AHCOA affiliates,” according to a memo obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act request.”

“Because of the ban, the award to Mission of Peace appears to be a violation of federal law, according to Judicial Watch. MOP is one of numerous ACORN affiliates operating under new names, Judicial Watch spokeswoman Jill Farrell told the Washington Examiner.”

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And then another story of the Obama admin disobeying and disregarding federal law.

From NationalJournal “About 400,000 “Dreamers” have been allowed to stay in the United States in the year since the Obama administration began accepting applications for young illegal immigrants to defer deportation proceedings and receive work permits, according to data compiled by the Brookings Institution and released on the anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The numbers show that out of more than a half-million applicants for deferred action, more than three-quarters were accepted and just 1 percent denied. The applications were concentrated in states that already have large immigrant communities, such as California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and Florida. On the East Coast, the applications were from a more diverse set of countries while in the West, Midwest, and South the vast majority of applicants were from Mexico.”

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August 16, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-16-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, the turmoil in Egypt continues.

From TheNYTimes “Gathering Thursday morning around a mosque used as a morgue for hundreds killed the day before, many Islamists waited confidently for a surge of sympathetic support from the broader public. But it failed to materialize.”

“With their leaders jailed or silent, Islamists reeled in shock at the worst mass killing in Egypt’s modern history. By Thursday night, health officials had counted 638 dead and nearly 4,000 injured, but the final toll was expected to rise further.

A tense quiet settled over Cairo as the city braced for new protests by the supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, after Friday Prayer. The new government authorized the police to respond with lethal force if they felt endangered.”

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Next up, told ya. And this is on top of the $375,000 already handed to PP in DC. It’s now already over a million dollars, and it’ll be nationwide, and even more money before their done rewarding their favorite donors in the abortion industry. Not to mention all the money they’ll make when health coverage is forced to pay for abortions thru ObamaCare.

From TheDailyCaller “Three Planned Parenthood affiliates will be receiving a total of more than $655, 000 grants from the federal government to serve as Obamacare “navigators” to help people enroll in the health-care exchanges.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $67 million in grants to 105 “Navigator grant applicants” Thursday.

Iowa’s Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Montana’s Intermountain Planned Parenthood, Inc. DBA Planned Parenthood and New Hampshire’s Planned Parenthood of Northern New England are included in that list.”

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And remember when Obama assured us the NSA wasn’t spying on American citizens? Yeah, the good old days, like a month ago.

From TheWaPo “The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. e-mails and telephone calls.

The documents, provided earlier this summer to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, include a level of detail and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance. In one of the documents, agency personnel are instructed to remove details and substitute more generic language in reports to the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

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Now that the Obama admin has forced the DoD to embrace homosexuals in the military, the consequences for believers daring to oppose it are beginning. This will continue. They want to purge all resistance to their agenda.

From FoxNews “A 19-year veteran of the Air Force said he was relieved of his duties after he disagreed with his openly gay commander when she wanted to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.”

““I was relieved of my position because I don’t agree with my commander’s position on gay marriage,” Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk told Fox News. “We’ve been told that if you publicly say that homosexuality is wrong, you are in violation of Air Force policy.”

““Are we going to have a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy for Christians so we don’t get harassed for our beliefs?” attorney Hiram Sasser asked Fox News. “Here’s a guy who wants to have his religious liberty and serve in the military. He shouldn’t have to believe in gay marriage in order to serve.”

“In one of our first meetings, she was talking about her promotion and she mentioned something about a benediction,” Monk told Fox News. “She said she wanted a chaplain but objected to one particular chaplain that she called a bigot because he preached that homosexuality is a sin.”

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Meanwhile his hypocrisy on the whole gay marriage issue is being pointed out. And it’s about time someone pointed out the 800lb. Islamic gorilla in the room, and how it handles the issue. When will he get around to mentioning and condemning their horrible treatment of homosexuals?

From NationalReview “Forbidden,” he curtly pronounced. “Those involved in the act should be punished. In fact, sodomites should be killed in the worst manner possible.”

“Cynically mounting his high horse last week in the cozy confines of Jay Leno’s late-night TV comedy program — a venue popular with his ill-informed admirers, one where hypocrisy won’t be noticed, much less challenged — the president declaimed, “I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate or are harmful to them.”

This was his purported human-rights rationale for canceling a summit meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who in June signed an anti-gay law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.” Obama told Leno that “making sure people are treated fairly and justly” is a “precept that’s not unique to America” and “should apply everywhere.”

Does the president truly mean what he said? Or was he just pandering to dreamy millennials and the Hollywood glitterati, who are too uninformed or in the tank to mark the chasm between his righteous finger-wagging at Putin and his kowtowing to Islamic leaders? The answers depend on whether he finally condemns sharia’s oppressive and often brutal strictures against homosexuality, which are zealously enforced in most Muslim countries.”

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Here’s an update on the story from a month or so ago about Obama not knowing when to keep his mouth shut. His opining has affected the cases of 2 service members charged with sexual assault. His “undue command influence” has restricted the level of punishment they now face. Nice job Barry. 🙄

And shouldn’t a constitutional law professor have known this?

From USAToday “A military judge says two service members cannot be punitively discharged — even if found guilty — because of “unlawful command influence” reflected in comments by President Obama.

Citing court documents, Stars and Stripes reports that “Navy Judge Cmdr. Marcus Fulton ruled during pretrial hearings in two sexual assault cases — U.S. v. Johnson and U.S. v. Fuentes — that comments made by Obama as commander in chief would unduly influence any potential sentencing.”

Attorneys for the defendants cited these May 7 comments by Obama on sexual assault in the military:”

“”The judge’s pretrial ruling means that if either defendant is found guilty, whether by a jury or a military judge, they cannot receive a bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. Sailors found guilty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 120, which covers several sexual crimes including assault and rape, generally receive punitive discharges.”

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This one? I knew it. And they said I was crazy. 🙂

From TheAtlanticWire “Newly declassified documents, obtained by George Washington University’s National Security Archive, appear to for the first time acknowledge the existence of Area 51. Hundreds of pages describe the genesis of the Nevada site that was home to the government’s spy plane program for decades. The documents do not, however, mention aliens.”

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And lastly, cat fight! 🙄

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August 15, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-15-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The fight for control of Egypt continues to be a bloody affair.

From TheWallStJournal “Egypt’s military regime, aided by snipers and bulldozers, swept the streets of Islamist protesters—setting off a day of violence that left more than 278 people dead, the government fractured and ties with its international partners in tatters.

Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers stormed police stations, burned down churches and battled with government supporters in several neighborhoods, after police sweeps left scores of protesters dead at two Cairo squares. The raid ended more than a month of sit-ins by thousands of Brotherhood supporters—sometimes joined by families, and daring the government to disperse them—who demanded the reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.”

“Egypt’s interim president declared a monthlong, national state of emergency—raising Egyptians’ fears of extended conflict, further crackdowns and the prospect that the military regime they struggled to overthrow in 2011 was reasserting control.

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Once again the Obama admin finds a way to repay campaign contributions from Planned Parenthood. And this is just in DC. There’ll be plenty more for the abortion leader in other cities and states. Which will of course enable the contributions to pro-abortion politicians to continue. A vicious cycle indeed. Just like they planned it.

From TheWashingtonExaminer “Washington, D.C.’s health insurance exchange has awarded a $375,000 grant to abortion provider Planned Parenthood to help enroll participants in Obamacare, the exchange announced on Tuesday.

As part of its effort to boost enrollment in the exchange created by President Obama’s health care law, the D.C. Health Benefit Exchange doled out $6.4 million to 35 DC-based groups. Those groups include local churches as well as health care and community organizations.

One of the largest awards went to Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington D.C.”

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Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife have been sentenced. Seems light to me, and why on earth are they rewarding his criminal behavior by not making him repay the 3/4 of a million dollars he embezzled?

From WGNTV “A federal judge sentenced former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. to 30 months, or 2-and-a-half years, in prison for misuse of campaign funds.

His wife, former Chicago alderman Sandi Jackson, was sentenced to 12 months for tax fraud. Judge Amy Berman Jackson also ordered her to pay $22,000 in restitution, which is the amount she spent from her campaign as alderman.”

“The judge also ruled that Jackson does not have to pay restitution to his former campaign because it is now defunct.”

“In February, the 48-year-old pleaded guilty to using $750,000 of his campaign money for personal expenses—in many cases, on extravagant items such as a Rolex watch and Michael Jackson memorabilia. He resigned from Congress in November after 17 years in office.”

So 2 and a half years, out in half that for good behavior, and you make 3/4 of a mil on the deal. Who says crime doesn’t pay?

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The persecution of George Zimmerman and his family continues. This is completely politically motivated, and once again, the prosecution is caught lying. If you only look at one link today, check out this one, and how the prosecution misrepresents the facts.

From PJMedia “The affidavit for the perjury charge, written and submitted by special prosecutor investigator T.C. O’Steen, is — like the affidavit submitted for the murder charge — devoid of probable cause.

In fact, it does not establish a single specific statement made by Shellie Zimmerman and explain why that specific statement was false, why it was material, how it was a matter of objective fact, or why Shellie believed it to be false as she uttered it.

Of all of the elements of the offense that must be established and proved, the state established only that Shellie was under oath and testified in a judicial proceeding.

Not only does the affidavit fail to fulfill the elements of the offense, by omission it actually lies to and misleads the court. In this case, there is no doubt that Judge Lester was biased against George, but it is most likely that the affidavit was approved because judges are generally not used to dealing with prosecutors willing to lie to them. Receiving an affidavit for a felony charge, they tend to rubber stamp it, not considering that a prosecutor, an officer of the court, would mislead them. In this case, that’s exactly what happened.”

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The pandering to homosexuals in the military by the Obama admin continues. The irony here is the claim that “they just want the same rights and treatment as everyone else” while they’re getting special rights others don’t have.

From CNSNews “The U.S. Defense Department announced on Wednesday that it will make “spousal and family benefits” available no later than Sept. 3, 2013, regardless of sexual orientation, for all service members who can provide a valid marriage certificate.

And what about same-sex military couples who live in a state where same-sex marriage is not allowed? No problem.

“We recognize that same-sex military couples who are not stationed in a jurisdiction that permits same-sex marriage would have to travel to another jurisdiction to marry. That is why the department will implement policies to allow military personnel in such a relationship non-chargeable leave for the purpose of travelling to a jurisdiction where such a marriage may occur,” the DOD news release said.”

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And remember folks, there’s no evidence that shows workers hours are being cut because of ObamaCare. The White House said so.

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August 14, 2013 by the real Aj

News/Politics 8-14-13

What’s interesting out there today?

Open thread, so feel free to share with the group. 🙂

First up, this guy just keep shooting more and more holes in the Obama admins “workplace violence” story.

From TheNYTimes “One year after he waged a deadly shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base here in November 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan told a panel of military mental health experts that he wished he had been killed during the attack because it would have meant God had chosen him for martyrdom.”

(And yet the coward selected targets he knew were unarmed)

“Major Hasan, 42, an American-born Muslim of Palestinian descent whose long-delayed court-martial began last week in a Fort Hood courtroom, said in the documents and in previous statements in and out of court that he carried out the attack to wage jihad for what he has called the illegal and immoral wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the documents, he described in blunt and unapologetic terms how he killed soldiers as he stepped into a medical processing building on Nov. 5, 2009. He said he wore earplugs to muffle the sound of his semiautomatic weapon, and shot into areas that had the “greatest density of soldiers.” In the end, 13 people were dead.

“I don’t think what I did was wrong because it was for the greater cause of helping my Muslim brothers,” he told the military panel.”

Call it what it is. Islamic terrorism. And give the victims their benefits.

You can come up with your own theory as to why the Obama admin continues to ignore the obvious. I already have one, and again, it’s because of the influence muslim groups hold with this administration.

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Pro-Morsi demonstrators are now protesting in DC as well.

From TheInvestigativeProject “A rally Saturday in Washington supporting deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, the second in a month sponsored by a group calling itself Egyptian-Americans for Democracy and Human Rights (EADHR), along with its press conference on Friday, makes it harder for some leading American Islamists to deny their connection with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“The pro-Morsi demonstrators who packed Freedom Plaza just a block from the White House repeated many of the same chants that have been common in Muslim Brotherhood protests in Egypt since Morsi’s fall.”

“The demonstrators and protest organizers hope to get the Obama administration to follow Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in calling Morsi’s ouster a “coup.” Thus far, Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama administration have declined to do so, saying that the military intervened to keep Egypt from devolving into chaos.”

He’ll cave. Just watch.

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And remember folks, Al-Qeada is defeated and on the run. Or they just changed their name or something.

From TheWaPo “A rebranded version of Iraq’s al-Qaeda affiliate is surging onto the front lines of the war in neighboring Syria, expanding into territory seized by other rebel groups and carving out the kind of sanctuaries that the U.S. military spent more than a decade fighting to prevent in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the four months since the Iraqi al-Qaeda group changed its name to reflect its growing ambitions, it has forcefully asserted its presence in some of the towns and villages captured from Syrian government forces. It has been bolstered by an influx of thousands of foreign fighters from the region and beyond.

The group, now known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, is by no means the largest of the loosely aligned rebel organizations battling to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and it is concentrated mostly in the northern and eastern provinces of the country. But with its radical ideology and tactics such as kidnappings and beheadings, the group has stamped its identity on the communities in which it is present, including, crucially, areas surrounding the main border crossings with Turkey.”

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Once again Eric Holder is caught playing fast and loose with the facts.

From HotAir “Bloomberg News caught the Department of Justice in a particularly noteworthy Friday-night news dump over the weekend. The Obama administration, stung by accusations from the Left that it hadn’t gone after fraudulent mortgages and the lenders that helped fuel the bubble, claimed that a year-long initiative run by the Mortgage Fraud Working Group in the DoJ had charged 530 people who had victimized 73,000 people. When Bloomberg’s reporters began digging into the claim, the DoJ stonewalled — and then finally admitted it cooked the books themselves:

The Justice Department made a long-overdue disclosure late Friday: Last year when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder boasted about the successes that a high-profile task force racked up pursuing mortgage fraud, the numbers he trumpeted were grossly overstated.

We’re not talking small differences here. Originally the Justice Department said 530 people were charged criminally as part of a year-long initiative by the multi-agency Mortgage Fraud Working Group. It now says the actual figure was 107 — or 80 percent less. Holder originally said the defendants had victimized more than 73,000 American homeowners. That number was revised to 17,185, while estimates of homeowner losses associated with the frauds dropped to $95 million from $1 billion.

Hey, they only inflated those claims by 80% and 9o% — or looking at it from the other direction, 500% and 900%. Shouldn’t they get a chance to round up to the nearest 1000%? If you’re wondering what prompted this sudden outbreak of honesty, Bloomberg explains that two of its reporters had figured out the fraud:

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Here’s an update from one of yesterdays stories. We may now know the culprits. Now all we need to know is who put them up to it.

From TheDailyCaller “A new rush through the U.S. border has been triggered by an outspoken progressive group that is exploiting new asylum regulations to demand American citizenship for 1.7 million illegals previously deported to Mexico, according to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Border officials have told advocates and TV stations that hundreds of people are using the group’s innovative legal tactic to get approval from the border patrol for a temporary legal stay in the country.

The National Immigrant Youth Alliance triggered the rush by sending a group of illegals back to Mexico. The illegals then successfully used the asylum claim to win a temporary stay in the United States. The members, dubbed the “Dream 9,” walked up to the U.S. border and asked for asylum, based on the claim that they’re afraid of Mexico’s drug-cartels.

The group’s tactic works because new regulations allow immigrants to ask that a judge, rather than a border patrol officer, decide their asylum claim. Instead of jailing the prospective immigrants until their courtroom date, border officials are releasing many into the United States.”

Where many will disappear and ignore their court date.

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And just further proof that the sequester meme from Obama and Dems was way overstated.

From GovExec.com “When sequestration was about to kick in, the Obama administration began a nearly across-the-board campaign to discuss the devastating impact the automatic cuts would have on agency operations.

At the center of these warnings stood employee furloughs: mandatory unpaid leave to help each department meet the lower budget caps that took effect March 1. Furloughs, combined with hiring freezes, would disrupt the proper functioning of government, agency chiefs said, as fewer employees working fewer hours could not accomplish the same amount as a fully staffed workforce.