News/Politics

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News/Politics 3-15-13

What’s happening in the news today?

Open thread, so share with the group. 🙂

I guess we’ll start with the “Well it’s about time!” story.

From NBCNews

“A Libyan man has been detained in Libya for questioning in connection with last September’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi which left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, a federal official confirmed on Thursday.

The official said that while the United States is interested to find out what Faraj al-Shibli (also spelled Chalabi), 46, knows about the attack, it is not clear that he played a central role, or that his capture represents a major breakthrough in the case.”

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Then the “Why bother? You know you don’t have the votes” story.

From TheTelegraph

“President Barack Obama’s bid to renew a ban against military-style assault weapons narrowly won the backing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday and headed to the full Senate, where it appears certain to fail.

On a party line vote of 10-8, the Democratic-led panel approved a bill to renew a ban similar to one that expired in 2004. The measure would also limit high-capacity ammunition clips to 10 bullets.”

“But most Senate Republicans and a number of Democrats from rural states oppose it, arguing it would violate the constitutional right to bear arms. Many fear that backing the legislation could cost them re-election.”

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Followed by the “Now you’re getting warm, keep digging” story.

From TheWashingtonPost

“A federal grand jury in Miami is investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), examining his role in advocating for the business interests of a wealthy donor and friend, according to three people aware of the probe.

Menendez has intervened in matters affecting the financial interests of Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, seeking to apply pressure on the Dominican government to honor a contract with Melgen’s port security company, documents and interviews show. Also, Menendez’s office has acknowledged he interceded with federal health-care officials after they said that Melgen had overbilled the U.S. government for care at his clinic.”

“As part of the grand jury investigation, the three people said, federal agents have questioned witnesses about the interactions between Menendez and Melgen, who contributed $700,000 last year to Menendez and other Senate Democrats. The grand jury has also issued subpoenas for Melgen’s business and financial records, according to two people briefed on the probe who, like the others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.”

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And I’ll end with the “Oh, him again” 🙄 story.

From TheBlaze

“Atheist activists are taking legal action against the U.S. Treasury. Their target? Currency.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a church-state separatist group, put out a press release on Tuesday announcing that the organization was joining 19 other plaintiffs in challenging “In God We Trust” on federal currency.

The challenge, being made in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, was filed on Feb. 1 — and a familiar face in the battle over the First Amendment will be leading the charge.

Well-known atheist activist Michael Newdow, who has fought incessantly to have U.S. courts rule that recitations of the “Pledge of Allegiance” in public schools are unconstitutional (the utterance includes the words ”Under God”), will be representing the group.”

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News/Politics 3-14-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

There’s a lot to choose from today.

I guess we’ll start with the new Pope.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Pope Francis is first Catholic pontiff from the  Americas; he is known as a humble intellectual.

As Argentine cardinal, he clashed with President  Cristina Fernandez over her liberal policies.

Pope Francis is the first ever from the Americas, an austere Jesuit intellectual  who modernized Argentina’s conservative Catholic church.”

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Next we have a not at all shocking update on ObamaCare.

From TheTaxProfBlog

“Following up on Tuesday’s post, House Holds Hearing Today on The Tax-Related Provisions in the President’s Health Care Law: Tax Foundation, Obamacare Tax Increases Will Impact Us All:

The Joint Committee on Taxation recently released a 96 page report on the tax provisions associated with Affordable Care Act. The report  describes the 21 tax increases included in Obamacare, totaling $1.058  trillion – a steep increase from initial assessment. The summer 2012  estimate is nearly twice the $569 billion estimate produced at the time  of the passage of the law in March 2010. …

More from CNSNews

“The nation’s big health insurers say they expect premiums — or the cost for insurance coverage — to rise from 20 to 100 percent for millions of people due to changes that will occur when key provisions of the Affordable Care Act roll out in January 2014.

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc., one of the nation’s largest insurers, calls the price hikes “premium rate shock.”

“We’ve done all the math, we’ve shared it with all the regulators, we’ve shared it with all the people in Washington that need to see it, and I think it’s a big concern,” Bertolini said during the company’s annual meeting with investors in December.”

Nothing is as advertised. Not surprising, after all, nothing is free.

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Well we finally get a look at the Democrat’s budget proposal. As expected, lot’s of tax increases. As well as a 62% increase in govt. spending over the next decade. Also not surprising. Tax and spend is their solution to everything.

From TheWeeklyStandard

“Senator Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Budget Committee, finally released a budget today. Year over year, in this proposed budget, spending jumps dramatically.

For instance, from this year’s budget to next year’s proposed budget, spending would increase by $162 billion. This year, the federal government will spend $3.599 trillion; under Murray’s budget, the federal government would be on track to spend even more.

Over the next decade, spending under Murray’s budget would increase by 62 percent.”

From 3.6 trillion this year to over 5.7 trillion in 2023.

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Someone should tell Captain Obvious here that the suit needs to be back by 5, or he has to pay for another day’s rental.

From CNSNews

“The “Arab spring” has benefited Islamists rather than  democracy advocates, while political transitions and unrest in the  region have provided opportunities for terrorists to mount attacks  against U.S. interests, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper  told lawmakers Tuesday.

Delivering the intelligence community’s  annual report on threats facing the United   States, Clapper gave what  amounted to a downbeat assessment of the upheavals that many initially  viewed as a promising movement towards greater democracy in a region  dominated by long-ruling autocrats.

“Islamist actors have been  the chief electoral beneficiaries of the political openings, and  Islamist parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco will likely solidify  their influence in the coming year,” he told the Senate Select Committee  on Intelligence in a written statement.”

Wow, such brilliance. Like everyone didn’t already know this. And yes, this is exactly what many of us told these clowns would happen. It was never Democracy.

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I like this one, but liberals sure won’t. So yeah, Double Bonus!  🙂

Once again, Texas shows how it’s done.

From TheAmericanStatesman

“The Senate Education Committee this morning approved a bill to ban Planned Parenthood from providing sex education materials or instruction in public schools in a 6-2 vote, after little discussion.”

“Public school districts that opt to provide sex education must make all course materials available for public review and allow parents to exempt children from any portion of the course without penalty.”

“Supporters of the bill accused Planned Parenthood of placing an improper emphasis on sexual freedom and abortion rights that is inappropriate for school-age children. Opponents accused Paxton of attempting to place unneeded restrictions on local instruction that would force some school districts to drop sex education despite high rates of teen pregnancy.”

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by

News/Politics 3-13-13

What’s interesting out there today?

How about the Dueling Budgets? I guess it’s only fair to start with the Senate proposal, since it’s the first in 5 years. Slackers. And not surprisingly, it calls for a trillion dollar tax increase. Oh wait, I’m sorry, the new term is “increased revenues”. My bad. 🙄

From Politico

“Sen. Patty Murray’s new budget plan calls for raising tax revenues by nearly $1 trillion while  cutting spending by roughly the same amount over the next decade, according to  people familiar with the proposal.

The Budget Committee chairwoman briefed fellow Democratic senators over the  new proposal in a closed-door lunch Tuesday that President Barack Obama also  attended. Committee deliberations will begin Wednesday, and the panel expects to  vote on the plan Thursday before floor debate next week.”

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The House plan, from Ryan, is nothing to get real excited about either. But at least it won’t increase taxes. Allegedly.

From TheWallStJournal

“America’s national debt is over $16 trillion. Yet Washington can’t figure out how to cut $85 billion—or just 2% of the federal budget—without resorting to arbitrary, across-the-board cuts. Clearly, the budget process is broken. In four of the past five years, the president has missed his budget deadline. Senate Democrats haven’t passed a budget in over 1,400 days. By refusing to tackle the drivers of the nation’s debt—or simply to write a budget—Washington lurches from crisis to crisis.

House Republicans have a plan to change course. On Tuesday, we’re introducing a budget that balances in 10 years—without raising taxes. How do we do it? We stop spending money the government doesn’t have. Historically, Americans have paid a little less than one-fifth of their income in taxes to the federal government each year. But the government has spent more.”

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Meanwhile the White House finds time for more important things.  Who needs budgets anyway, when you can have “increased revenues”? I guess that’s how they plan on paying for increased entitlements.

From TheWashingtonExaminer

“President Obama policy aides attacked a Republican bill that would block the Department of Health and Human Services from waiving the work requirements associated with the 1996 welfare reform bill, even as the White House continued to deny that it had authorized such waivers.

“With respect to the provision in H.R. 890 to limit State flexibility to strengthen the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, the Administration notes that this flexibility was requested by Governors on both sides of the aisle to allow States to test new, more effective ways to place more people on a path to self-sufficiency,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a policy statement today. “The Administration is disappointed that the bill includes this unnecessary bar to innovative welfare-to-work strategies.”

Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., introduced the bill. “Nothing in current law prohibits a State from strengthening its work requirements and moving more individuals from welfare to work,” Camp said during a hearing last week.  “Instead, a waiver would only be needed to weaken the work requirements, as the Administration wishes to do, pure and simple.”

And paying for yet another needless Czar and his staff.

From JudicialWatch

“Keeping with his race-based ideology, President Obama has named the nation’s first African American education czar to focus on improving the academic performance of black students and countering the discrimination that persists in public schools around the country.

The official title is Executive Director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and the task is to reduce “racial isolation and resegregation of elementary and secondary schools.” Despite decades-old desegregation laws, “substantial obstacles” to equal educational opportunities still remain in America’s public school system, according to the president. Therefore the academic performance of black students has for decades lagged behind whites and other ethnic minorities.”

“So last summer the commander-in-chief issued an executive order to create a special White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. The goal is to tackle a rampant crisis of perpetually low academic performance and high dropout rates among black students. African Americans lack equal access to highly effective teachers and principals, safe schools and challenging college-preparatory classes and they disproportionately experience school discipline and referrals to special education, according to the executive order.

President Obama also threw this often-cited statistic into his race-based educational excellence executive order: “African American males also experience disparate rates of incarceration.” Presumably, his new initiative will bring the numbers down. The effort includes the creation of a new President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans and a special “working group” consisting of senior officials from the departments of Justice, Education, Labor and White House Domestic Policy Council.”

I’m so glad we finally have a post-racial President. 🙄

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And Sharyl Attkisson asks a good question over at CBS.

“Six months later, where are the Benghazi survivors?”

“Today marks six months since the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya in which four Americans were killed, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Some watchdog groups, members of the media and Republican members of Congress are asking: Where are the more than two dozen U.S. personnel who survived the attack but haven’t been seen nor heard from in public since? There were also an undisclosed number of witnesses at the U.S. compounds in Tripoli but they also have not spoken publicly.

In a recent press report, Secretary of State John Kerry said he visited one survivor at “Bethesda hospital,” and referred to him a “remarkably courageous person who is doing very, very well.” Kerry added, “I’ve called his wife and talked to her.” But the identities, condition and testimony of the survivors and witnesses have been closely held from the public.

Republicans demanded more information about Benghazi in recent weeks before they would agree to allow Obama Administration nominees to move forward in the Senate. A source familiar with material turned over to the Senate Intelligence Committee by the Obama Administration in response tells CBS News that long sought-after FBI transcripts of some survivors were included but had been “blacked out” or redacted. Three Senate Republicans including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., say they want the survivors to be made available for interviews about what happened the night of the attacks.”

I guess the answer is “What difference does it make?”

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by

News/Politics 3-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Let’s start with one that’s not really surprising to me. The message resonates.

From PJMedia

“This past Sunday the television industry felt the ground shake when the first installment of the History Channel’s five-part miniseries, The Bible, drew a whopping 14.3 million viewers.  To put that in perspective, those are higher ratings than American Idol drew on Fox in the same week.  Higher ratings than the premiere of Celebrity Apprentice on NBC.  And it officially made The Bible the number one scripted cable broadcast of the year.

The news was apparently so astonishing it prompted Business Week to investigate exactly how the basic cable network pulled it off and inspired Time magazine’s resident T.V. critic, James Poniewozik, to ponder whether The Bible’s success will lead to further mainstream forays into religious-themed entertainment.

What’s more astonishing, given how often pro-faith productions put up massive numbers, is that major media outlets still feel the need to run shocked headlines about it.”

I expect the same “phenomenon” when this week’s ratings are released as well.

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Here’s one as a follow up to Chas’ link yesterday about making it illegal to feed the homeless. I can’t help but think some of this is to limit churches and their outreaches, and to force the homeless to rely on govt. for “charity” like this. I’m also sure many support it because they think it’ll get the homeless outta town.

From Reason.com

“Sometimes Elijah would bring hot food back to the table, not just for himself but also to share with me and with the one or two homeless men who spent much of the day (and, I suspect, the night) on park benches near where he set up shop.

I mention Elijah’s selflessness and generosity toward me and these two men for this startling reason: While Elijah’s act of sharing food with me would be legal virtually anywhere in this country, his decision to feed the homeless men who ate with us could be illegal in many cities today. The reason for this dramatic discrepancy boils down to this fact alone: I slept with a roof over my head, but the others slept under the stars.

Such illogic has led cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and Houston to ban residents from sharing food with the homeless and less fortunate. I called such laws “unconstitutional, discriminatory, and wrongheaded” in a column I wrote over the summer. They remain so.

But since I wrote that widely read column in June, I’ve noticed a welcome pattern emerging. These unjust laws are under attack.”

Good, they should be.

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Here’s one I believe DrivesGuy has linked to before. It seems it’s finally getting some “mainstream” coverage. So is it govt. preparing for the worst case scenario? Or is it a backdoor gun restriction attempt. There’s an ammo shortage nowadays. If the govt. buys it up, you can’t.

From Forbes

“The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice.  It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.  As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month.  Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years.  In America.

Add to this perplexing outré purchase of ammo, DHS now is showing off its acquisition of heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation.  As observed by “paramilblogger” Ken Jorgustin last September.”

“Spending money this way is beyond absurd well into perverse.  According to the AP story a DHS spokesperson justifies this acquisition to “help the government get a low price for a big purchase.” Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center:  “The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.””

So that’s 100 years worth of ammo.

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Here’s another that’s a good followup to the Harvard Anti-Semitic story from last week. It’s OK for some leftys when Jews are the recipients. But if you dare mention any facts against Islam, you’re a racist bigot.

From PJMedia

“Every year, college campuses across the country hold a festival of hatred aimed at Jews and the Jewish state. Israeli Apartheid Week has become notorious for the targeted harassment of Jewish students, support for Hamas, and even physical violence.

This year the David Horowitz Freedom Center responded to Israeli Apartheid Week with Islamic Apartheid Week. Unlike Israeli Apartheid Week, which is based on a lie, Islamic Apartheid Week addresses the sexism, homophobia, and religious bigotry threatening minorities in the Muslim world.

To promote Islamic Apartheid Week, the Freedom Center attempted to place an advertisement in 40 college papers.”

“Yet instead of listening to their stories, the campus culture of political correctness drowned out their voices. Further, they felt the need to apologize for allowing our ad to run, for allowing their stories to be told.”

Let’s face it, some on the left will never stop being apologists for the barbarism when it’s motivated by Islam.

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The leftists and their enabling of this behavior is just as obvious at the UN, where the worst human rights violators hold sway on the Human Rights Council. Here’s an educational piece on the matter, from Prager University.

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by

News/Politics 3-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread.

Here’s a few to start off.

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But…but…. the Sequester…..  They had to cancel those tours it was so bad.

Or was it all just a fraud?

From NationalReview

“We are now firmly ensconced in the brutal Age of the Sequester, and things in America are grave. The federal government, we learned on Wednesday, is so strapped for cash that the president has been forced to cut off the People’s access to the home he’s borrowing from them. He didn’t want to have to do this, naturally — “particularly during the popular spring touring season.” But then Congress just had to go and acquiesce in measures that the president himself had suggested and signed into law. How beastly! We axed 2.6 percent from a $44.8 trillion budget, and now the president can’t even afford the $18,000 per week necessary to retain the seven staff members who facilitate citizens’ enjoying self-guided tours around the White House.

The executive mansion is not in that much trouble, of course. It’s certainly not in sufficiently dire straits for Air Force One ($181,757 per hour) to be grounded, or to see the executive chef ($100,000 per year) furloughed, or to cut back on the hours of the three full-time White House calligraphers ($277,050 per year for the trio), or to limit the invaluable work of the chief of staff to the president’s dog ($102,000 per year), or to trim his ridiculous motorcade ($2.2 million). If Ellen DeGeneres wants another dancercize session or Spain holds another clothing sale, the first family will be there before you can say “citizen executive.” Fear ye not, serfs: Austerity may be the word of the week, but the president is by no means in any danger of being forced to live like the president of a republic instead of like a king.”

“The current annual cost of the White House — just in household expenses, not the policy operations for which it exists — is $1.4 billion: Annually, presidential vacations cost $20 million (the low estimate for one presidential vacation to Hawaii is $4 million, but the true cost is probably five times that); the first family’s yearly health-care costs are $7 million; more than $6 million is spent on the White House grounds each year. Transporting the president cost $346 million last year. But as Michelle Obama might say, America is basically a downright mean sort of place, so the tours will just have to go. One hopes at least that the calligraphers were recruited to sign the docents’ pink slips.”

Yeah, pretty much.

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Catholic Bishops are claiming that the new Violence Against Women Act undermines religious liberty.

From CNSNews

“The new act expands its coverage beyond women to homosexuals,  bisexuals and transgenders, and includes language refering to “sexual  orientation” and “gender identity.”

“These two classifications are unnecessary to establish the just  protections due to all persons,” the bishops said in their statement.  “They undermine the meaning and importance of sexual difference. They  are unjustly exploited for purposes of marriage redefinition, and  marriage is the only institution that unites a man and a woman with each  other and with any children born from their union.”

The bishops also objected to the fact that the new act does not  include conscience protections for organizations providing care to  victims of human trafficking. Because of this, they say, the law  undermines religious liberty.”

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The Ninth Circuit get’s one right, but only partially.

From CNetNews

“U.S. customs officials must have a reasonable justification before snatching your laptop at the border and scanning through all your files for incriminating data, a federal appeals court ruled today.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Homeland Security’s border agents must have “reasonable suspicion” before they can legally conduct a forensics examination of laptops, mobile phones, camera memory cards, and so on.

Today’s opinion (PDF) is a limited — but hardly complete — rejection of the Obama administration’s claim that any American entering the country may have his or her electronic files minutely examined for evidence of criminal activity. Homeland Security has said the electronic border searches could detect terrorists, drug smugglers, and people violating “copyright or trademark laws.””

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This one is just wrong. She’s an old woman for cryin’ out loud.

From News7WSVN

“A South Florida woman claims a security guard forced her to exit the  Metrorail last month for refusing to stop singing religious hymns.

The incident involving 82-year-old Emma Anderson and the guard occurred Feb.  20 at the Brickell Metrorail station, was caught on cell phone video. The  footage shows the guard approaching Anderson, who was singing loudly on a corner  seat and tapping her thigh with a rolled-up piece of paper to keep time with the  music.

The guard asked Anderson several times to stop singing before grabbing her  cart and escorting her off the train. “You’re getting off here, let’s go,” the  guard is heard telling Anderson, who was heading to the Brownsville station.”

And the poor woman fell while being tossed. Yes, there’s video.

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This last one? HYPOCRISY ALERT!!!

Especially considering how he and his wife have spoken out against these sort of weapons. I guess he just means WE shouldn’t have them, but it’s fine for our ruling class elites, like them.

From Breitbart

“Mark E. Kelly, gun-control proponent and husband to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, recently purchased an AR-15 (an “assault weapon,” he called it)—which he now says he intended as an illustration of the need for more stringent gun laws.

Kelly reportedly bought the AR-15 and a 1911-style semi-automatic pistol at a gun store in Tucson, Arizona.”

“Kelly and Giffords founded their own advocacy group to restrict gun rights, Americans for Responsible Solutions, in January. On its website, ARS wrote: “High capacity magazines are a deadly factor in gun violence.” A 30-round magazine is considered a high-capacity magazine.”

And then, like most weasels, he makes up a story days later to cover it up. Says he only bought it to turn over to the Tucson PD. Sure, ‘cuz people do that all the time. 🙄

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by

News/Politics 3-9-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, you decide.

Here’s a few to start off with.

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Another day, more govt. incompetence, as well as waste, fraud, and abuse.

First we go to NASA. Chinese hackers aren’t the only intruders into our govt’s secrets.

From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Officials at NASA’s Langley Research Center permitted a contractor to hire a Chinese national affiliated with an organization designated by U.S. national security agencies as an “entity of concern,” and then allowed the individual access to classified information, according to Rep. Frank Wolf.

The as-yet unidentified individual was permitted to take that information back home to China, according to Wolf, the Virginia Republican who is chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA.

Wolf said during a Capitol Hill news conference today that “at least several dozen other Chinese nationals,” are employed at Langley, and he charged that they are employed in a manner to “circumvent” congressional bans on Chinese involvement at NASA facilities.”

Meanwhile, the TSA has embarrassed itself again. Funny too, for once they didn’t thoroughly grope someone, and this time they actually should have. They were probably too busy with old ladies and handicapped people.

From TheNYPost

“An undercover TSA inspector with an improvised explosive device stuffed in his pants got past two security screenings at Newark Airport — including a pat-down — and was cleared to get on board a commercial flight, sources told The Post yesterday.

The breach took place Feb. 25, when the Transportation Security Administration’s special operations team — the agency’s version of internal affairs — staged a mock intrusion at the airport.

“This episode once again demonstrates how Newark Airport is the Ground Zero of TSA failures,” a source said.”

And govt. employed tax delinquents have increased 11.5%. These are the 2011 numbers, the most current available.

From Bloomberg

“The number of tax-delinquent federal workers and retirees increased by 11.5 percent in 2011, according to Internal Revenue Service data.

The delinquency rate rose to 3.2 percent from 2.9 percent the previous year. The 311,566 delinquent taxpayers owe a total of $3.5 billion in federal taxes, according to the IRS data released today.”

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Our govt.  loves to say they support the troops. Their treatment of vets says otherwise. They deserve better. And they deserve a country that honors the commitments and benefits promised to them. First the news of the Tri-Care changes coming to military retirees and their families October 1st.

From TheMilitaryAuthorityBlog

““If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” That was the promise Barack Obama made in 2009, selling his health reform plan that became the Affordable Care Act.

It turns out that’s not even true for federal TRICARE beneficiaries.

If you live more than 40 miles from a military installation, chances are you are no longer welcome with TRICARE Prime. Pentagon officials have announced that most of these retired and surviving widow(ers) will be booted from TRICARE Prime as of October 1.”

More from ArmyTimes

Now we find out the Army is eliminating tuition assistance as well.

From Stripes.com

“The Army announced Friday it is suspending its tuition assistance program for soldiers newly enrolling in classes due to sequestration and other budgetary pressures.

“This suspension is necessary given the significant budget execution challenges caused by the combined effects of a possible year-long continuing resolution and sequestration,” Paul Prince, an army personnel spokesman at the Pentagon, wrote in an email to Stars and Stripes. “The Army understands the impacts of this action and will re-evaluate should the budgetary situation improve.”

The Army’s announcement follows a similar move by the Marine Corps.”

But probably the lowest of all, the disrespect from our elected officials, ‘cuz you know, they might have PTSD or something. I cannot express my displeasure with this woman strongly enough.

From RealClearPolitics

“SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN: If I understand this, this adds an exemption of retired military. As I understand our bill, no issue has arose in this regard during the 10 years the expired ban was in effect and what we did in the other bill was exempt possession by the United States or a department or agency of the United States. So that included active military.

The problem with expanding this is that, you know, with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it’s not clear how the seller or transferrer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that an individual was a member, or a veteran, and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this.

So, you know, I would be happy to sit down with you again and see if we could work something out but I think we have to– if you’re going to do this, find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally don’t have access to this kind of weapon.”

And in other military news, the Air Force has scrubbed their drone numbers.

From TheAirForceTimes

“As scrutiny and debate over the use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) by the American military increased last month, the Air Force reversed a policy of sharing the number of airstrikes launched from RPAs in Afghanistan and quietly scrubbed those statistics from previous releases kept on their website.”

“The Air Force maintained that policy for the statistics reports for November, December and January. But the February numbers, released March 7, contained empty space where the box of RPA statistics had previously been.”

“Additionally, monthly reports hosted on the Air Force website have had the RPA data removed — and recently.”

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by

News/Politics 3-8-13

What’s interesting out there today?

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First an UPDATE to a story from yesterday. Senators Paul and Cruz, who also spoke during the filibuster, have introduced legislation to limit drone strikes against American citizens.

The civil war between conservatives and moderate/liberals in the Republican party will continue. They’re ignoring the leadership and doing what they believe to be right. Meanwhile, the old guard led by McCain and Graham whine about grandstanding by Paul (while grandstanding themselves), and how wonderful dinner with Obama was.

From CruzSenate.Gov

“U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) today introduced legislation to prohibit drone killings of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they do not represent an imminent threat.

“Our Constitution restrains government power,” Cruz said. “The federal government may not use drones to kill U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they do not represent an imminent threat. The Commander in Chief does, of course, have the power to protect Americans from imminent attack, and nothing in this legislation interferes with that power.”

Key bill text:   The Federal Government may not use a drone to kill a citizen of the United States who is located in the United States. The prohibition under this subsection shall not apply to an individual who poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to another individual. Nothing in this section shall be construed to suggest that the Constitution would otherwise allow the killing of a citizen of the United States in the United States without due process of law.”

Some on the left are coming out in agreement with Paul’s way of thinking as well. Plus a video of tone deaf McCain, if you want to watch it.

From HotAir

“Erika already touched on this but watch the vid too to see one of the more memorably tone-deaf performances in modern political history. Whatever your feelings about Paul’s position on drones, there’s no denying the truth of what Philip Klein says here:

A lot of the outpouring of conservative support for Paul’s filibuster on Obama’s drone policy went beyond the libertarian and anti-interventionist blocs of the movement who were also deeply troubled by Bush era counter-terrorism policies. Even those conservatives who may not agree with all of Paul’s views on presidential war powers were supportive if for no other reason than they relished seeing a conservative win a messaging war with Obama. It was impossible to dismiss this as just a right-wing Tea Party attack, because a lot of liberals agree with the substance of Paul’s criticism. This filibuster had to get under Obama’s skin. As much as anything else, he was elected on a promise to turn the page on the Bush era and conduct the war against terrorism with greater concern for civil liberties. Watching Paul’s filibuster last night, I couldn’t help but think that this is how Obama imagines himself –  a principled crusader for justice. When Bush and Cheney were running the show, whatever could be said about them, at least they were consistent in supporting broad presidential powers in the realm of national security. But it’s hard to look back at the pre-2009 Obama and see him as anything other than an arrogant hypocrite now — somebody who thinks a muscular executive branch is okay so long as he’s running it.”

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Here’s another Update to one of yesterday’s stories. The White House has pulled the planned International Woman of Courage Award for the anti-Semitic/anti-American remarks made by Samira Ibrahim.

From TheHuffingtonPost

“The Obama administration is postponing an award for an Egyptian activist who rallied worldwide attention against forced “virginity tests” on female protesters because of anti-American and anti-Semitic comments discovered on her Twitter account.

The State Department announced earlier this week that Samira Ibrahim would be among 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage award presented by Secretary of State John Kerry and first lady Michelle Obama on Friday.

But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday the U.S. would hold off on awarding Ibrahim while officials investigate the tweets, which include support for attacks against U.S. diplomatic installations and praise for a terrorist assault against Israeli citizens in Bulgaria.”

Meanwhile, she doubles down. From TheWeeklyStandard

“Finally, Ibrahim herself has spoken, writing in Arabic on her Twitter page. Egyptian democracy activist Mina Rezkalla provides the translation: “I refuse to apologize to the Zionist lobby in America regarding my previous anti-Zionist statements under pressure from American government therefore they withdrew the award.”

This would seem to settle the question as to whether or not her page had been “stolen.” Now all that’s left is for the State Department to demand that Ibrahim reimburse American taxpayers for her trip to the United States.”

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And while we’re on the subject of anti-Semites, it’s off to Harvard for the next one.

From IsraelNationalNews

“In Harvard University’s latest attempt to promote the delegitimization of the state of Israel, Jewish students in freshman and upper class dormitories received mock eviction notices in light of “Israel Apartheid Week”, which is currently being organized on college and university campuses worldwide.

The campaign, organized by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, distributed notices at the beginning of March which read, “We regret to inform you that your suite is scheduled for demolition in the next three days”, a reference to the group’s views regarding Israel’s treatment of the Arab population.

The Anti Defamation League (ADL) expressed outrage over the prestigious university’s latest attempts to daunt Jewish students and demonize the state of Israel saying, “This tactic is designed to silence and intimidate pro-Israel advocates at Harvard and campuses around the country.”

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Hugo Chavez’s supporters are convinced foul play was involved. The implications are that the US was responsible. And like any good lefty, Chavez said we should blame George Bush. 🙄

From TheWashingtonPost

“Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been fighting cancer for two years when he died this afternoon at age 58, but some Venezuelans — including new President Nicolas Maduro — are convinced foul play is to blame.

Maduro promised on state television that a “scientific commission” would look into Chavez’s death and the possibility that his “historical enemies” had somehow induced his disease, reported El Diario. On social media and in several news outs, that “historical enemy” was interpreted as the United States.”

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This is just disturbing. This is yet another indictment against the public school system. Throwing money at it has solved nothing. But that will be what they say they need to fix it.

From NYCBSLocal

“Nearly 80 percent of New York City high school graduates need to relearn basic skills before they can enter the City University’s community college system.”

“When they graduated from city high schools, students in a special remedial program at the Borough of Manhattan Community College couldn’t make the grade.

They had to re-learn basic skills — reading, writing and math — first before they could begin college courses.”

“In sheer numbers it means that nearly 11,000 kids who got diplomas from city high schools needed remedial courses to re-learn the basics.”

And that’s just one major city, and it’s not the only one.

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And this one I’m putting up because all too often we hear rich people, mostly liberals, talking about the rich paying more. The problem is, they never volunteer more of their money to help out. Well this one is, and no, he’s not a liberal. Warren Buffet could learn a lot from this guy. And unlike Warren, I bet this guy doesn’t own millions in back taxes either.

From HotAir

“The White House’s transparently petty decision to inflict sequester’s pain on America’s middle-schoolers (as if those years aren’t tough enough) revealed its sequestration doomsaying as silly and its post-doomsaying behavior as spiteful. In a rare good PR turn for Republicans, what was meant to make them look like heartless meanies has held the White House up for ridicule for its utter unwillingness to prioritize. Upon hearing the estimates that the White House’s cancellation of tours might save the administration $18,000-$72,000 a week, Fox News anchor Eric Bolling— I’m sure they’re fans at the White House— decided to come to the aid of The Children.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, anchor Eric Bolling announced that he will offer to personally pay the costs to keep the tours at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue open for a week.

During Thursday evening’s episode of “The Five,” Bolling elaborated. “I will absolutely write the check if they open the doors next week.”

“I’ll make you a deal Mr. President…Let these families take their White House tours next week and I’ll cover the added expenses. Word is it will cost around $74,000.”

by

News/Politics 3-7-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

As always, Open Thread.

Here’s a few to start.

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Senator Rand Paul ended his filibuster of the Brennan nomination after almost 13 hours. That’s the first old-fashioned one I’ve seen since I started paying attention to politics. I watched an hour or so off and on and the Senator made some excellent points. The Senator stood up for his beliefs, and I give him credit for that. So a tip of the hat to the good Senator from Kentucky. And just a quick question. Where did all the Jose Padilla supportin’ lefties go? Isn’t this just the sort of thing (only worse) that they railed against during the Bush presidency? I guess like the rest of the anti-war crowd, they’ve changed their tune. You would think that this extreme was something we could all agree on, regardless of leanings. But no.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“After years in the shadows, the administration’s secret drone program burst  into very public view Wednesday with lawmakers grilling the attorney general  over legal justification for targeted killings and Sen. Rand Paul launching an old-style one-man  filibuster to demand answers from President Obama.

The Kentucky Republican held the floor for almost 13 hours, effectively blocking a vote on the nomination of John O.  Brennan, whom Mr. Obama has tapped to be CIA director. He said he would relent only if the administration publicly vowed not  to target Americans on U.S. soil.”

““This is a long, drawn-out day, but it’s to try to get some answers,” Mr. Paul said after he crossed the eight-hour mark late Wednesday evening. “It’s to try to shame the president into doing the right thing.””

Sorry Senator, but you can’t shame the shameless.

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The drone issue is not going away. And it shouldn’t.

Senator Cruz pressed AG Holder on whether Pres. Obama’s plan is constitutional. The AG had little choice but to admit that it’s not.

From HotAir

“A must-see via Mediaite, not just because this is the right question to ask after Holder’s letter on drone policy yesterday but because it fell to Cruz, the new bete noire of the left, rather than a Democrat to press the civil-libertarian case. Simple question: Is it a violation of due process to fire a missile at a guy on American soil if he’s not engaged at the moment in carrying out a terrorist attack? He might be a member of Al Qaeda; he might be planning an attack; but if he’s strolling down Main Street in some American town, is there any constitutional justification to toss a Hellfire at him rather than send the cops in to pick him up? Watch Holder’s reaction. Cruz has to browbeat him for three minutes to get him to shift from saying it wouldn’t be “appropriate” — which implies that the government might have the power to do it but would refuse to exercise that power for prudential reasons — to finally saying that, constitutionally, it doesn’t have that power. That’s an important admission; unless I missed something, it’s the first time anyone at the top has acknowledged a legal limit to drone strikes under certain circumstances. Here’s hoping we don’t have to point back to it someday.”

Now the President could have ended the filibuster by acknowledging what the AG did, and agreeing to support legislation banning such uses. He chose not to accept the Senator’s offer. In fact, he’s not even acknowledged it. He was busy having dinner with Republican “leaders” and RINO’s.

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Well call this one “Message Fail”.

From ABCNews

“For all the dire warnings, most Americans welcome a five percent cut in overall federal spending this year. But the defense budget is another matter.

The public by nearly 2-1, 61-33 percent, supports cutting the overall budget along the lines of the sequester that took effect last Friday. But by nearly an identical margin, Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll oppose an eight percent across-the-board cut in military spending.

See PDF with full results, charts and tables here.

Why it’s almost like they support the Republican ideas, and not President, or something.

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This one is just pathetic, but not surprising.

From TheWeeklyStandard

“On Friday March 8, Michelle Obama will join John Kerry at a special ceremony at the State Department to present ten women the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award. The award, says the press release, is given to “women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk.”

“Five of these awards are being given to women from Muslim-majority countries, underscoring the unique plight of women in those countries. The only problem is that one of the women to be recognized is an anti-Semite and supports the 9/11 attacks on the United States.”

“Ibrahim holds other repellent views as well. As a mob was attacking the United States embassy in Cairo on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, pulling down the American flag and raising the flag of Al Qaeda, Ibrahim wrote on twitter: “Today is the anniversary of 9/11. May every year come with America burning.” Possibly fearing the consequences of her tweet, she deleted it a couple of hours later, but not before a screen shot was saved by an Egyptian activist.”

She claims her Twitter account was stolen. 

Sure. Let me guess, it musta been the Jews. 🙄

But don’t worry, it’s not like radical muslims have undo influence in this admin or anything. Now move along, nothing to see here.

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A disturbing new trend for cash strapped people struggling to make it in this economy.

From PhiladelphiaCBSLocal

“A new national study shows that too many of us are cashing out 401(k) accounts to pay bills. If that retirement account is calling your name, a financial expert advises you to stop listening.”

“When the bills pile up and money is tight, many people turn to their 401(k) accounts to help ease the bind.

Downingtown, Pa. CPA Jacquelyn Basso says it’s not a good idea to raid your retirement; you’re getting money now that you’ll need to live on when you’re older.”

Unfortunately they need it to live now.

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by

News/Politics 3-6-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

We’ve got lot’s to choose from today.

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UPDATE

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is pulling a good ol’ fashioned fillibuster. He’s holding up the cloture vote for CIA nominee Brennan until he gets answers on the Obama drone program. He plans to keep it up until he can’t speak any more. Other Republicans are joining in. You can watch live at CSPAN 2 at the link below.

http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2/

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Since I pointed out the allegations against Senator Menendez, it’s only fair to point out this one too. This one alleges the prostitute has recanted her story.

From TheWashingtonPost

“An escort who appeared on a video claiming that Sen. Robert Menendez  (D-N.J.) paid her for sex has told Dominican authorities that she was instead paid to make up the claims and has never met or seen the senator, according to court documents and two people briefed on her claim.

The woman said a local lawyer had approached her and a fellow escort and asked them to help frame Menendez and a top donor, Salomon Melgen, according to affidavits obtained by The Washington Post.”

“Daily Caller Editor Tucker Carlson did not reply to phone calls and e-mails requesting comment.”

Now I included that last line for a reason. The Daily Caller says the Post story is inaccurate. The Post has the wrong prostitute. They also point out a discrepancy with the last line there from the Post.

From TheDailyCaller

“The Washington Post mistook one prostitute for another Monday in a report that  initially seemed to debunk a November 2012 Daily Caller exposé of New  Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.”

“While the Post said it had an affidavit from a woman in the Dominican Republic  admitting she fabricated claims Menendez paid her for sex, that woman was not  one of the two prostitutes TheDC interviewed for a Nov. 1 report.”

Politico  get’s in on the act, as referee.

“ORIGINAL STORY: The Washington Post and the Daily Caller remain at odds over whether or not WaPo reporter Carol Leonnig reached out to TheDC for comment prior to reporting about the outlet’s involvement in a story pertaining to Dominican prostitutes and Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez.

The Daily Caller has now provided POLITICO with what it says is the first email Leonnig sent to Daily Caller editor Tucker Carlson on Monday night. According to the email as it was provided by TheDC, Leonnig sent her first email to Carlson at 5:35 p.m., more than half an hour after the Post posted its original story online. Her email — again, as provided by TheDC — includes an introduction and a link to the already-live story.”

“UPDATE (1:07 p.m.): The Washington Post’s Carol Leonnig did not report that she had reached out to The Daily Caller for comment in her initial report. She later updated her story after reaching out to Carlson, noting that Carlson did not return requests for comment. But updated versions of the story did not — and, so far, do not — mention that the story was updated.

UPDATE (2:38 p.m.): The Daily Caller now points out that the Post has changed its story — again, without noting that the post has been updated — so that it no longer claims definitively that the Dominican prostitute who recanted her allegation against Sen. Menendez was the same one who appeared in a video posted by The Daily Caller. The Washington Post has yet to comment on why it does not note updates to its story.”

Hmmmm…….

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We also have some new developments in the Trayvon Martin case. You probably won’t hear much about this though. Doesn’t fit the meme.

From TheOrlandoSentinel

“Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend, the state’s most important witness in the George Zimmerman murder case, was caught in a lie Tuesday.

It was not the first piece of misinformation tied to her, but it was the most damaging to date and left prosecutors in a very awkward position.

They had to publicly acknowledge that their star witness had lied under oath and had to answer questions about what they intend to do about it.”

OK, now I’ll ask the obvious. Was she coached to lie by Al Sharpton, like he did with Tawana Brawley? It seems to be similar in that one case fell apart when it went to court, and this one seems to be faring just as poorly. The truth comes out.

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Looks like Democrats have some explaining to do. They won’t of course, and the media is still on his side and will continue to carry his water so he doesn’t have to. But he should. Here’s further proof of what a fraud this whole Sequester thing has been. All of it orchestrated by the man who signed it into law.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“The Obama administration denied an appeal  for flexibility in lessening the sequester’s effects, with an email this week appearing to show officials in Washington that because they already had promised  the cuts would be devastating, they now have to follow through on that.”

“In the email sent Monday by Charles Brown,  an official with the Animal  and Plant Health Inspection Service office in Raleigh, N.C., Mr. Brown asked “if there was any latitude” in how to spread the sequester cuts  across the region to lessen the impacts on fish inspections.”

“He said he was discouraged by officials in Washington, who gave him this reply: “We have gone on record with a notification to Congress and whoever else that ‘APHIS would eliminate assistance to producers in 24 states in managing wildlife damage to the aquaculture industry, unless they provide funding to cover the costs.’ So it is our opinion that however you manage that reduction, you need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the  impact would be.””

““This email confirms what many Americans have suspected: The Obama administration is doing everything they can to make sure their worst  predictions come true and to maximize the pain of the Sequester cuts for  political gain,” said Rep. Tim Griffin, Arkansas Republican.”

And they paraded out a bunch of flunkies to lie as well.

From TheTelegraphUK

“Ms Napolitano said today that major airports were seeing lines “150 to 200 percent as long as we would normally expect” as result of the federal spending cuts that went into force on Friday.”

“However, when contacted by The Daily Telegraph, spokespeople for both O’Hare and LAX, as well as representatives from the travel industry, denied that airports had been hit by delays.”

“Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, was widely criticised last month for saying that teachers were already being laid off because of the cuts, a claim without evidence. The Washington Post‘s Fact Checker blog awarded the claim four Pinocchios – its highest rating for falsehood.”

It’s a disaster of their own making. Just like they intended.

And even with all of this out and exposed, they just double down on the lies and intentionally inflicted pain.

From TheHill

“Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said Monday night that the $85 billion in cuts to federal spending, known as the sequester, will disproportionately affect blacks and other minorities, in part because they are more likely to work  for the government.

“Sequestration will impact everyone, but it will have  a particularly harmful effect on communities of color who were hit first and  worst by the great recession, and have yet to significantly feel the effects of  the recovery,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Monday.”

“”Federal budget cuts under sequestration would quickly mean cuts to federal, state and local public-sector jobs, which disproportionately employ women and African-Americans.””

And it’s only disproportionate because of reverse discrimination and sexism, which the govt is fine with and enables thru affirmative action.

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by

News/Politics 3-5-13

What’s interesting out there today?

Open Thread, you pick.

Here’s a few to start off with.

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And remember folks, this is who our govt. is backing. We’re aiding them. Aid which they will use to further oppress people like these.

From FoxNews

“Libyan Islamists detained 48 Egyptian Christians in Benghazi last week,  torturing them and using acid to burn off tattoos of the cross, according to  family members.

The Christians, who are peddlers, were arrested by Islamist Salafists in  Benghazi, who said they had Christian icons at their marketplace stalls,  according to MideastChristianNews.  The men were later reportedly freed and await deportation, but their family  members back home told the Egyptian press they were abused while held, initially  on charges of proselytizing.

“When the residents of the village told me that he was imprisoned, I embraced  his sons and told them they would not see their father again,” Fardoos Salib,  the mother of Coptic farmer Atif Kamel, told Egyptian newspaper al-Watan.   “I prayed in the church, until God responded and he was released, as God  knows our conditions.””

Meanwhile, those responsible for the deaths of US citizens and an attack on a US Embassy sip drinks, walking free and unmolested.

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This one annoys me. I’d tell ’em to go pound sand, but probably in more colorful language. 😯

From Reuters

“A United Nations investigator called on the United States on Monday to publish its findings on the CIA’s Bush-era program of rendition and secret detention of terrorism suspects.

Ben Emmerson, U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, voiced concern that while President Barack Obama’s administration has rejected Central Intelligence Agency practices conducted under his predecessor George W. Bush, there have been no prosecutions.

“Despite this clear repudiation of the unlawful actions carried out by the Bush-era CIA, many of the facts remain classified, and no public official has so far been brought to justice in the United States,” Emmerson said in a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which he will address on Tuesday.”

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Sure, it’s satire now, but you just gave them an idea. I can hear it now, “It’s for the kids!”

(Sigh) 😦

From CafeHayek.com

“In a bold effort to improve the educational fortunes of students who perform at academic levels significantly below the average of their peers, Congress has mandated a minimum grade to be assigned to each student in each course taught at any school in the country.  Starting in September, it shall be unlawful for any teacher, professor, or instructor charged with assigning course grades to assign to any student a grade lower than C-.”

“Sponsors of the Fair Academic Standards Act decry the injustice that occurs each time a student earns a low grade, such as a D or an F.  ”It’s impossible for students with ‘D’s and ‘F’s on their transcripts to succeed as they deserve in life,” remarked Sen. Bernie Franken, an Independent from Elitia.  ”This law ensures that no American will ever again suffer that hardship.”

Opponents of the Act worry that the requirement of a minimum grade will prompt schools to refuse to enroll students whose academic preparation or skills aren’t yet sufficient to enable them actually to earn good grades.”

Admit it, it’s not really a stretch to think this could be is coming.

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