Ferguson

by

News/Politics 5-20-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. Are atheists their own worst enemies? Sure looks like it. It turns out when you get people thinking about death, their no hope for an afterlife approach isn’t really appealing. And their so-called values don’t have any foundation that people can relate to. 

From LiveScience  “Atheists consistently rank among the lowest of the low in the court of American public opinion. Now, research suggests one reason why: Thinking about atheists reminds people of death.

In fact, prompting people to think about atheism triggered death-related thoughts just as strongly as, well, directly prompting people to think about death, a new study finds. These death thoughts help trigger a subconscious dislike of atheists, said study leader Corey Cook, a social psychologist at the University of Washington, Tacoma. Not only do thoughts of death put people in a negative frame of mind, Cook told Live Science, but they also prompt people to hold more tightly onto their own values.

“There’s a little circular thing going on where encountering atheism will make people grasp their values closer and then become more negative because atheists are perceived as not having values,” Cook said.”

______________________________________

2. Another secret email.

From TheNYPost  “A second secret email address used by Hillary Rodham Clinton while she was secretary of state was revealed Monday.

The email address, published by The New York Times, was used in exchanges between Clinton and longtime adviser Sydney Blumenthal, and is from the same private email server that was uncovered earlier this year.

“Fyi. The idea of using private security experts to arm the opposition should be considered,” Clinton wrote Blumenthal from the ­email address HRod17@clintonemail.com.

The two were discussing strategies to help the opposition rebels oust Moammar Khadafy in Libya as that country descended into chaos in 2011.

Clinton’s office insisted just two months ago that the only private email address used by the former secretary of state during her tenure was hdr22@clintonemail.com.”

______________________________________

3. So now we have proof that the Ferguson protest and others weren’t really grass-roots at all. Just more paid agitation from Soros and company. 

From WeaselZippers  “More Proof Of Paid Protesters: Ad Asking For Protesters To Travel To Protest, List Of Payouts To #Ferguson Protest Organizers”

“MORE and OBS, two groups funded by George Soros, advertised money available for people willing to travel to protest.”

“After protesters protested not getting their checks from MORE on May 14th, MORE allegedly distributed the following list as to who was paid to protest in Ferguson and elsewhere, to show where the money had been going.”

“You can see money paid out to Lisa Fithian, $1,127.75 for ‘visit expenses’.

For those who do not know, Lisa Fithian is an infamous leftist organizer. She organized at Occupy, but has been used as a training organizer for many years before that. She spent time in Ferguson in 2014 training people to ‘simulate chaos’.”

A real President and AG would be coming down hard on these people for the damage their agitation and “chaos” caused. But we have a President and AG that agree with them, so they’ll ignore their jobs yet again.

_______________________________________

by

News/Politics 2-19-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Countering extremists, by inviting extremists?

From Breitbart  “As the White House Countering Violent Extremism Summit is entering its second day, the names of some of the participants are leaking out and raising concerns. This is especially true of the Boston delegation – one among those from three cities that the Obama Administration has labelled a pilot for how religious leaders can work with law enforcement to counter violent threats.

One Boston Muslim leader taking part in the summit, Nicole Mossalam, has been dishonest about her controversial mosque blocking congregants from giving police information during their investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing. Another Muslim leader from Boston invited to the White House summit designed a lawsuit to stop the Boston media from reporting what it knows about the radical nature of the largest Islamic center in New England. In addition, this man, Nabeel Khudairi, persecuted moderate Muslim members of his own mosque after they tried to warn New Englanders about Islamic extremists in their midst.

As we expected and warned, the Islamic Society of Boston’s (ISB) Cambridge mosque – the radical Muslim Brotherhood front group attended by the Boston Marathon bombers – was invited to join the summit and is represented there by its executive director, Nichole Mossalam. A few days ago, in Breitbart News and the Washington Times, we reported how over the past decade, 12 of the ISB’s worshippers have either been killed, imprisoned, or declared fugitives due to their involvement in terrorist activity. In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Ms. Mossalam told media outlets that the ISB urged members to contact law enforcement “immediately after the bombings in case they knew of anyone who might have been involved.”

In reality, the ISB sent out the first email about the bombings to its members a full seven days after the Marathon was blown up, urging them not to talk to the FBI without first contacting the ACLU and the ISB. The ISB wrote: “We have been informed that the FBI may be starting to question some of the community members about the two suspects. Insha’Allah we want to help as much as we can, but of course not put ourselves at risk either. Seeking representation does not imply any guilt on your part but is simply a way of protecting your own rights.””

_____________________________________

2. Libya as a gateway to Europe.

From TheTelegraph  “Islamic State militants are planning a takeover of Libya as a “gateway” to wage war across the whole of southern Europe, letters written by the group’s supporters have revealed.

The jihadists hope to flood the north African state with militiamen from Syria and Iraq, who will then sail across the Mediterranean posing as migrants on people trafficking vessels, according to plans seen by Quilliam, the British anti-extremist group.

The fighters would then run amok in southern European cities and also try to attack maritime shipping.

The document is written by an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) propagandist who is believed to be an important online recruiter for the terror in Libya, where security has collapsed in the wake of the revolution that unseated Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.”

_____________________________________

3. ISIS is expanding it’s reach. And it looks like they’ve joined with Boko Haram as well.

From TheGatewayPundit  “ISIS forces have joined with Boko Haram in Libya and are moving on the Tunisian border.
ANSA Italiano reported, via Religion of Peace:

Libyan premier Abdallah Al Thani told Tunisian radio Express FM that Isis and Boko Haram members have joined or are about to join terrorist groups in Libya and added that the latter are getting close to the border with Tunisia.

With regard to the Egyptian military intervention, Al Thani said that the aerial bombardments against Isis positions in Libya were carried out with the approval of the Libyan government and that the United Nations Security Council refused to arm the Libyan state in its fight against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Tunisia has deployed military units along its border with Libya both on the ground and at sea and the army has been reinforced with units from the national guard and customs, in order to defend the country from “possible threats to its territorial integrity” and “prevent any attempt of infiltration by terrorists” said ministry of defense spokesman, colonel Belhassen Oueslati.”

_____________________________________

4. Now that Obama’s amnesty plan has been blocked activists are making threats.

From NationalReview  “Illinois Democratic congressman Luis Guiterrez cautioned Republicans against celebrating a federal judge’s decision to halt the White House’s unilateral push for illegal alien amnesty, predicting unprecedented “militancy” in the immigrant community against the injunction.

The long-time advocate for illegal immigration angrily denounced the Texas judge’s decision that the Obama administration’s overstepped its executive authority. But Gutierrez also took aim at those who supported the judicial ruling.

“The Republican party is making a critical mistake,” he said. “The militancy that will be activated throughout the immigrant community — in terms of voter registration, voter participation, voter anger at the Republican party as a party in the United States — I think you’re going to see it in an unprecedented manner.””

_____________________________________

5. Yet another good reason to stop it.

From Breitbart  “An estimated 5,000 aliens were either arrested for committing crimes or absconded over a three year period while they were participating in a supervision program that allowed them to be released from detention and into U.S. communities, the latest publicly available data shows.

In an audit released earlier this month, John Roth, the inspector general (IG) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), revealed that a total of 2,010 aliens were arrested for committing crimes while they were participating in a supervised release program in 2010 (576), 2011 (729), and 2012 (705).

Furthermore, the DHS watchdog found that a total of 2,760 aliens absconded while they were enrolled in the same scheme over the same period — 2010 (927),  2011 (982), and 2012 (851).”

_____________________________________

6. This is govt. stupidity at it’s worst.

From TheWashingtonPost  “New federal rules that make it harder to get narcotic painkillers are taking an unexpected toll on thousands of veterans who depend on these prescription drugs to treat a wide variety of ailments, such as missing limbs and post-traumatic stress.

The restrictions, adopted last summer by the Drug Enforcement Administration to curb a national epidemic of opioid abuse, are for the first time, in effect, forcing veterans to return to the doctor every month to renew their medication, although many were already struggling to get appointments at overburdened VA health facilities. And even if patients can get appointments, the new rules pose an additional hardship for many who live a good distance from the health centers.

Although the tighter regulation applies to everyone on opioid painkillers, it’s hitting veterans especially hard because so many are being treated for horrific injuries sustained during the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and have become dependent on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ beleaguered health-care system for medical care.”

_____________________________________

7. Obama must be spending too much time with Sharpton. Now his DoJ is getting in on the shakedown business.

From CNN  “The Justice Department is preparing to bring a lawsuit against the Ferguson, Missouri, police department over a pattern of racially discriminatory tactics used by officers, if the police department does not agree to make changes on its own, sources tell CNN.

Attorney General Eric Holder said this week he expects to announce the results of the department’s investigation of the shooting death of Michael Brown and a broader probe of the Ferguson Police Department before he leaves office in the coming weeks.”

_____________________________________

by

News/Politics 1-22-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. So I guess Obama and Sharpton will now hold a joint press conference to apologize to the Ferguson PD, Officer Wilson, and the rest of the country for their unnecessary race-baiting, right?

From TheNYTimes  “Justice Department lawyers will recommend that no civil rights charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo., after an F.B.I. investigation found no evidence to support charges, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his civil rights chief, Vanita Gupta, will have the final say on whether the Justice Department will close the case against the officer, Darren Wilson. But it would be unusual for them to overrule the prosecutors on the case, who are still working on a legal memo explaining their recommendation.

A decision by the Justice Department would bring an end to the politically charged investigation of Mr. Wilson in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Missouri authorities concluded their investigation into Mr. Brown’s death in November and also recommended against charges.”

“But a broader Justice Department civil rights investigation into allegations of discriminatory traffic stops and excessive force by the Ferguson Police Department remains open. That investigation could lead to significant changes at the department, which is overwhelmingly white despite serving a city that is mostly black.”

So they have no evidence, but they’ll keep doing what they do. Which is to attack police and divide the country.

______________________________________

2. So is this Boxer’s going away present to herself and family? And remember folks, she’s on the Ethics Committee.

From CapitolCityProject  “Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cali.), who recently announced her plans to retire from the Senate after 2016, appeared to use her position as a high-ranking public official to financially benefit close family members — including her son and husband to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2008 — through her campaign committee and leadership PAC.

Boxer, who is currently serving her fourth and final term as a California senator and serves as the chairwoman on the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, paid out over $300,000 combined to her son’s company and husband’s law firm over the span of the 2008, 2010, and 2012 election cycles.

On top of setting up contracts and paying her son’s and husband’s firms, Sen. Boxer also reimbursed herself through her leadership PAC for expenses totaling tens of thousands of dollars, according to reports.

Boxer’s campaign committee, Friends of Barbara Boxer, reimbursed the senator a total of $35,657 during the 2010 election cycle for travel expenses. That same year Boxer’s leadership PAC, PAC for a Change, reimbursed her $500 for a venue rental used to host a fundraiser. In 2012, her campaign committee reimbursed the senator $3,389 for travel expenses and meals.”

______________________________________

3. The House Immigration plan is a joke. Spends 10 billion, deports no illegals, and reduces the border fences.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Critics including Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions are slamming a House GOP border security plan set for debate Wednesday, claiming it will spend $10 billion on new equipment and border security tricks, but not send one single illegal home.

Sessions, the influential Center for Immigration Studies, and the head of the association of former Border Control agents all slammed the H.R. 399 being marked up in the House Homeland Security Committee today as unfocused on the No. 1 issue: U.S. sanctuary to illegals.

The bill, however, is geared to handling the tight security of the actual border, not how illegal immigrants are handled once they cross in. Several related pieces of immigration reform legislation are expected to be addressed by the House.

“As long as sanctuary cities, welfare, education, and jobs and principally lack of enforcement and enabling by the federal government, are made available to the undocumented alien, we will not be able to secure the physical border,” said Zack Taylor, chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers.”

____________________________

More from TheDailyCaller  “The new border bills drafted by Republican leaders require the actual removal of at least 66 miles of weak border fencing between laborers in Mexico and employers in the United States.

The border bills also only require for the construction of 27 miles of effective double-layer fencing along the 2,000-mile border.

 “It is a remarkable that the direction of our progress is going backwards, from a goal of building 700 miles of double-layer border fencing [in 2006] to only 27 miles [in 2015],” said a Hill staffer who opposes the leaders’ bills.”

______________________________________

4. How long until this happens here?

From LifeSiteNews  “Richard Page, a 68-year-old British Justice of the Peace and evangelical Christian, has been condemned by the country’s highest legal authorities, suspended, and subjected to a day-long re-education session to rid him of the dangerous belief that a child would be better off being adopted by a family with a mother and a father than by a same-sex couple.

Page sat on a family court tribunal last summer to consider a social worker’s recommendation that a foster child be adopted by a gay couple. “I raised some questions in private with the other judges, including that I thought that because a baby comes from a man and a woman it made me think the child would be better off with a father and a mother than with single-sex parents. The other judges didn’t agree at all,” he told LifeSiteNews.

Worse, the other judges complained. A review committee concurred, suspended him from the bench and recommended he be kicked off the lowest rung of the judiciary (but which handles 90 percent of all criminal crime, plus youth and family cases).

“They said I had a closed mind because of my Christian beliefs,” he said. “They said I could not put my Christian beliefs above the rights of single-sex couples. They said I had to open my mind. But I think when you order someone to open their mind, then you are the one with a closed mind.”

In the end, the Lord Chancellor, cabinet minister Chris Grayling, and the Chief Justice John Thomas, decided to issue a reprimand and a day-long re-education order. “Mr. Page, while sitting in Family Court,” it stated in part, “was found to have been influenced by his religious beliefs and not by evidence.” The pair rated his behavior “a serious misconduct” and added, “Mr. Page should have recused himself from the matter.””

Re-education? How commie like. 🙄

______________________________________

5. When it does come, I bet I know which states will lead the way…..

From Time  “Two California lawmakers backed by the family of a woman who drew national attention by choosing to end her life after an aggressive and debilitating cancer diagnosis are set to introduce a new right-to-die bill on Wednesday.

The End of Life Option Act would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medications to terminally ill patients with six months or less to live, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Two state senators are pushing the bill with the support of Brittany Maynard’s family.

Maynard was living in the San Francisco Bay Area when she and her husband moved to Portland, Ore., to take advantage of the state’s Death With Dignity law, in a widely publicized story that the bill’s authors say could be a tipping point in support for medically assisted suicide. Oregon, Washington and Vermont have such laws, but attempts to pass similar legislation in California have failed before.”

All the “progressive” ones of course.

______________________________________

by

News/Politics 12-1-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

It was a slow news weekend, but here’s a few.

1. Obama’s immigration overreach dooms tax cut bill.

From Politico  “How could a major tax deal brokered by the top Senate Democrat die so quickly at the hands of a Democratic president?

Immigration politics and Democratic infighting came together to doom the $400 billion deal even before it had made it into print. The brinkmanship threatens to disrupt the lives of millions of taxpayers who rely on the mishmash of expired provisions the plan was trying to revive.

Interviews with the key players showed that the two tax-writing panels in the Senate and House had for weeks been making solid progress toward a final tax package that looked like it would include the breaks for low- and middle-income people sought by the president.”

“The immigration executive order soured the GOP on the tax cuts for the working poor and middle class sought by Democrats. Republicans worried undocumented immigrants targeted by the order would begin claiming the credits in droves. They found a friend in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who reluctantly agreed to drop his party’s demands to extend expiring parts of the earned income tax credit and its companion, the child tax credit.”

“The president, with liberal Democratic backing on the Hill, issued the veto threat and the plan imploded, making the tax deal the first major collateral damage of the White House’s immigration action.”

_______________________________________

2. A bomb plot financed by govt issued EBT cards?

From StLouisPostDispatch  “Two men indicted last week on federal weapons charges allegedly had plans to bomb the Gateway Arch — and to kill St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch and Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson — the Post-Dispatch has learned.

Sources close to the investigation were uncertain whether the men had the capability to carry out the plans, although the two allegedly did buy what they thought was a pipe bomb in an undercover law enforcement sting.

The men wanted to acquire two more bombs, the sources said, but could not afford to do it until one suspect’s girlfriend’s Electronic Benefit Transfer card was replenished.”

_______________________________________

3. Witness intimidation and lying in the Ferguson case.

From Breitbart  “Obama was wrong, at least in the case of Darren Wilson. In viewing thousands of pages of FBI interviews and grand jury testimony, it becomes eminently clear that many members of the local community did make up the story about Michael Brown being executed by Wilson – and pressured others to lie to police or keep silent.

According to the St. Louis County Police Investigative Report, the mob mentality took root almost immediately after the shooting. By the time detectives arrived at the scene of the incident, there was “a large crowd of bystanders and a large uniformed police presence at the scene when detectives arrived.” That crowd included both Brown’s mother and his stepfather, according to witness testimony. The police report states, “Many individuals were clearly upset and were expressing their frustration, by at times yelling obscenities and threats, and attempting to encroach on the crime scene itself.”

It got worse:

As the scene investigation continued, there were several large groups of hostile individuals around the perimeter of the crime scene. The investigation of the scene was interrupted several times by death threats directed toward police officers and gunshots being fired by an unknown persons around the crime scene.

According to the police report, a bevy of witnesses described intimidation from the local community, as well as falsification of testimony. One witness initially told police she didn’t want to “get involved for fear of retaliation.” She said, “I don’t know these people. I have to live here.”

Another female witness told police, “I don’t know nothin’.” An adult male near the scene “commented to detectives as they walked by that he witnessed the incident and the officer was ‘in the right’ and ‘did what he had to do.’ He added the statements being made by bystanders in the complex were inaccurate. The detectives momentarily stopped to speak with the male who was clearly uncomfortable speaking with detectives. The male indicated he was not making any further comments or identifying himself.”

_______________________________________

by

News/Politics 11-26-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

I’m starting my weekend early, so Open Thread. 🙂

Here’s a couple to start things off.

1. Since the grand jury refused to indict Officer Wilson many are calling on the feds to step in and charge him with federal violations. Only one problem with that. They can’t really make a case against him, although I doubt that stops them if the DoJ and Obama decide to push on anyway.

From TheWashingtonPost a little over a month ago–  “Justice Department investigators have all but concluded they do not have a strong enough case to bring civil rights charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., law enforcement officials said.

When racial tension boiled over in Ferguson after the Aug. 9 shooting, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. traveled to the St. Louis suburb to meet with city leaders and protest organizers in an effort to bring calm. He assured them that the federal government would open a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. But that investigation now seems unlikely to result in any charges.

“The evidence at this point does not support civil rights charges against Officer Wilson,” said one person briefed on the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

Justice Department officials are loath to acknowledge publicly that their case cannot now meet the high legal threshold for a successful civil rights prosecution. The timing is sensitive: Tensions are high in greater St. Louis as people await the results of a grand jury’s review of the case.”

_______________________________________

2. I told you about this guy last week. What was unknown at the time was just how close a relationship he had with the Obama White House.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “A prominent gay rights activist charged last week with sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy is a strong supporter of President Obama who has visited the White House more than a half-dozen times in the past two years, visitor logs show.

Terrence P. Bean, 66, who raised more than a half-million dollars for Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, last visited the White House on May 30 when he met with the president, first lady Michelle Obama and political adviser David Simas.”

“White House visitor logs show that Mr. Bean, co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group, also has visited the White House on at least six other occasions since June 2012. On one visit in 2013, Mr. Bean brought along Kiah Lawson, described in news reports as his ex-boyfriend, who is also charged with sexually assaulting the juvenile.

The White House had no comment on whether the president still considers Mr. Bean an ally. Some observers have credited Mr. Bean for helping to sway Mr. Obama into supporting same-sex marriage two years ago.

“He has the president’s ear,” former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts once said of Mr. Bean.”

_______________________________________

by

News/Politics 11-25-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Well the grand jury in Ferguson has delivered a decision to not charge Officer Wilson. The reaction to it is as many feared.

From TheWashingtonPost  “A grand jury on Monday declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager, resolving a secretive, months-long legal saga and reigniting powerful frustrations about America’s policing of African Americans.

The decision means that Wilson, 28, will face no state charges for the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. It also set off a show of fury on streets near where Brown was shot, a reflection of emotions that register in this riven city as either out of control or justifiable.

At least two police cars and a half-dozen buildings were set aflame. Not far from Christmas lights in downtown Ferguson that read “Seasons Greetings,” police fired tear-gas canisters to contain the crowds. People looted liquor and convenience stores, a response that ran counter to the peace that Missouri authorities, President Obama and Brown’s family had requested.”

Fox had on the President’s speech following the decision. As he called for calm, the split screen showed protesters trying to overturn a police car while fires burned in the background and tear gas clouds floated over the protesters. They obviously chose to ignore the President.

______________________________________

2. Just in time for the holiday. They hope we’re not paying attention.

From TheDailyCaller  “While Americans are focused on what delicious foods they’re going to eat for Thanksgiving, the White House is focused on releasing its massive regulatory agenda — marking the fifth time the Obama administration has released its regulatory road map on the eve of a major holiday.

The federal Unified Agenda is the Obama administration’s regulatory road map, and it lays out thousands of regulations being finalized in the coming months. Under President Barack Obama, there has been a tradition of releasing the agenda late on Friday — and right before a major holiday.

“It’s become an unfortunate tradition of this administration and others to drop these regulatory agendas late on a Friday and right before a holiday,” Matt Shudtz, executive director of the Center for Progressive Reform, told The Hill newspaper.

The White House’s regulatory agenda for spring 2014 was released on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend, when millions of people set out on weekend getaways or family vacations.”

3,415 new regulations to be exact.

______________________________________

3. About that new Benghazi report….

Security team members on the ground that night disagree forcefully. Basically the report says no one is at fault and nobody did anything wrong and there was no cover-up.

More here from PJMedia  

______________________________________

4. How Obama is still making things worse.

From TheNYPost  “The short bios in The Post and other places featuring immigrants who are in the United State illegally were fascinating. I was struck by their courage to leave their homelands, their pluck at navigating a new culture and their patience in waiting for America’s official welcome mat.

Something else struck me, too. Not a single one expressed remorse for jumping the fence or overstaying visas. The law was simply a nuisance, an unfair barrier to their right to live in America, and they felt no qualms about violating it.

Some of these immigrants, including one woman who sneaked in from Mexico 18 years ago, even complained that presidential ­amnesty doesn’t include free health care. “It isn’t fair,” Graciela Flores whined.

What luck — she and the other 5 million who benefit have found their soul mate in Barack Obama. He’s not into obeying laws, either. And he is endlessly entitled to whatever he wants, whenever he wants it.

Oh, sure, he has twice taken an oath to “faithfully execute” the ­nation’s laws, and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” But he’s not serious about oaths, either. As America has learned, his word is not his bond.”

______________________________________

by

News/Politics 11-19-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. A better question is why hasn’t the White House done the same?

From CNSNews  “A State Department spokesman said Monday the administration was seeking clarity from the United Arab Emirates over its decision to list two American Muslim groups as terrorist organizations.

Spokesman Jeff Rathke seemed unaware that one of the two groups, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has long been engaged in outreach programs with the U.S. government.

He said the administration was “seeking to gain more information on why” the UAE had included include CAIR and the Muslim American Society (MAS) on the list. Others among the more than 80 groups listed ranged from the Muslim Brotherhood to al-Qaeda affiliates and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL).

CAIR and MAS have expressed shock at the move, with MAS saying it would look to the U.S. government to help.”

Which they will because they call them advisers instead of what they are.

______________________________________

2. Here’s yet another example of Obama’s clueless foreign policy.

From TheFreeBeacon  “Last month in Juba, the capital of the relatively new nation of South Sudan, a small motorcade carrying the U.S. ambassador got entangled with a larger convoy ferrying a senior government official. Frustrated with the delay, a soldier in the South Sudanese convoy got out of his truck, fired two shots into the bulletproof glass of one of the embassy vehicles, and rejoined his own motorcade, which drove away.

So it goes in Juba. Since last December, when an coup allegedly perpetrated against the country’s Dinka president by his Nuer vice president led to Dinka troops going house-to-house in Juba, murdering men, women and children and trucking their bodies out to the bush, a civil war has been underway. The fighting calmed through much of the middle of 2014, but the dry season has arrived. Traditionally in South Sudan, negotiating is for the wet season, and fighting renews at its conclusion.

To get a sense of scale, consider that researchers at the International Crisis Group estimate that at least 50,000 men, women, and children have died in the hostilities thus far. That’s the minimum estimate. To get the flavor of the nightmarish, madcap nature of the conflict, take a look at this report from VICE News, where the correspondent accompanies government (Dinka) troops to the front lines as they mount an amateurish offensive against the Nuer rebels, who promptly rout them.”

“American policy towards South Sudan is a disaster—such that there is a policy at all. When decisions come, they come—as is the case in most conflicts where American diplomats and soldiers are involved today—from the very top, with policy micromanaged from the offices of Susan Rice and Samantha Power. In terms of meaningful action, the policy has involved the levying of travel and financial sanctions on mid-level commanders and suspected human rights abusers, who must have been devastated when word arrived at their swamp redoubts beside the upper Nile that they are no longer permitted to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition to sanctions, much hope has been invested in the ability of a regional coalition of neighboring states, organized as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development—IGAD, inauspiciously pronounced as Egad!—to broker a deal between the Dinka and the Nuer, the two tribal networks doing the fighting. IGAD includes among its members Uganda, which has troops in South Sudan backing the government-aligned Dinka, and Sudan, which is widely believed to be backing the rebel Nuers in an effort to act as a spoiler in its recently surrendered territory.”

______________________________________

3. How to stop Obama’s amnesty plan.

From Bloomberg  “There’s no evidence that any president, up to and including Barack Obama earlier in his tenure, ever thought that it would be proper to grant legal status to several million illegal immigrants unilaterally. Yet the president appears likely to do so very soon.

If that weren’t sufficiently outrageous as a constitutional matter, Obama’s stated rationale is worse. He is acting, he says, because Congress has not. It shouldn’t need to be explained that the refusal of Congress to pass legislation to the president’s liking isn’t a breakdown of the system that justifies an extraordinary presidential act.

The judgment that this diktat is improper doesn’t depend on the judgment that the policy Obama wants to impose is in itself wrong. I believe that the government should eventually grant legal status to most illegal immigrants — I’d even be happy to call it an “amnesty” — after it’s clear that immigration laws will be enforced at the border and the workplace going forward.”

“There could be a way out of this for Republicans. First, they should remember that in a democracy, even one that’s not working the way it should, argument and denunciation are never the same thing as “doing nothing.” Elected officials who disagree strongly with the president’s action should criticize it and try to make the president and his allies pay a political price for it.

But there may be more they can do. Why not try to pass a funding bill that pays for all of the operations of the federal government except for Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency in the Homeland Security Department that would carry out Obama’s order? They could then try to pass another bill that just funds that agency — but with a restriction saying no money can be used for the president’s amnesty.”

______________________________________

4. Who’s the man? Well Gruber was, but not so much now….

From TheFreeBeacon  “Former Obama administration official Steve Rattner said Jonathan Gruber was “the man” putting together Obamacare, contradicting President Obama’s statement that Gruber was merely “some advisor who never worked on our staff.”

“If you go back and look at the Washington Post or the New York Times or anything from that period, you will find Jonathan Gruber’s name all over it,” Rattner said. “Someone who’s a leading expert on health care, quoted by everybody, as someone who the White House was using.””

______________________________________

5. An “Innocence Project” that helps convict innocent men? Talk about false advertising.

From FoxNews  “Alstory Simon has always considered himself a forgiving person, but after being tricked into confessing to a double murder and spending 15 years in prison, he finds it hard to turn the other cheek.

In a case fraught with irony, Simon’s bitterness is directed at the Medill Innocence Project, an advocacy group dedicated to freeing innocent people. It was that group that he, and now prosecutors, accused of using threats, trickery and false promises to get a crack-addled Simon to say he killed two teens in a Chicago park in 1982. The confession of Simon led to his conviction and death sentence, but it also freed another man from death row and prompted Illinois to end capital punishment — ultimately sparing Simon himself from execution. “

“Members of the group, which was led by former Northwestern University Journalism Professor David Protess and included several students and a private investigator, confronted Simon in his home in 1999, telling him the mother of one of the victims had placed him with Porter at the scene and telling him they were working on a book about the murders.

“The Innocence Project had bum-rushed my house and accused me of murder,” recalled Simon, who was battling a drug problem at the time.

Simon denied any involvement in the murders, but the group persisted. Days later, it sent private investigator Paul Ciclino and another man to Simon’s home, with both flashing guns and Chicago Police Department badges. They urged Simon to confess if he wanted to avoid the death penalty, according to Simon.”

______________________________________

6. And here I thought we didn’t negotiate with terrorists?

From TheWashingtonPost  “Following weeks of intense negotiations, local police officials and Ferguson protesters have agreed to a dozen policies for how any future protests will be policed — but have yet to reach consensus over whether tear gas and riot gear will be used or whether the protesters will get advance notice of when the grand jury will announce its decision regarding Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson.

The negotiations have centered on 19 “Rules of Engagement” proposed by a coalition of 50 community and civil rights groups in an effort to avoid the violent clashes that brought worldwide attention to Ferguson after the shooting of a black teenager in August.

The list is largely a docket of best police practices, such as “the first priority shall be preservation of human life” and “excessive force and other forms of police misconduct will not be tolerated.” In general, protesters have agreed to peaceful demonstrations if police don’t interfere, while police have agreed to respect demonstrators’ right to assemble as long as there is no violence. ​

Negotiations on Tuesday continued to stall, however, over seven of the proposals, including the coalition’s request to give protesters 48 hours’ notice prior to the grand jury announcement.”

______________________________________

by

News/Politics 11-13-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Looks like the President is once again going to ignore the will of the American people.

From FoxNews  “President Obama is planning to unveil a 10-part plan for overhauling U.S. immigration policy via executive action — including suspending deportations for millions — as early as next Friday, a source close to the White House told Fox News. 

The president’s plans were contained in a draft proposal from a U.S. government agency. The source said the plan could be announced as early as Nov. 21, though the date might slip a few days pending final White House approval. 

Obama was briefed at the White House by Homeland Security officials before leaving on his Asia-Pacific trip last week, Fox News has learned.”

“The plan calls for expanding deferred action for illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children — but also for the parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. The latter could allow upwards of 4.5 million illegal immigrant adults with U.S.-born children to stay, according to estimates.”

_____________________________________

2. Add another to the list of Democrat losses.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Dan Sullivan has defeated Democratic incumbent Mark Begich in the Alaska Senate race, the Associated Press reported late Tuesday evening.

The Republican challenger led by more than 8,000 votes with 100 percent of precincts reporting the day after last week’s midterm elections. The AP had been waiting on Alaska to begin counting more than 53,000 absentee, early-voting and questioned ballots.”

“But Alaska officials counted roughly 20,000 votes on Tuesday, and Sullivan’s lead remained at about 7,900 votes.”

_____________________________________

3. Oh look, ACORN is back (again) and instigating in Ferguson.

From AmericanThinker  “Ferguson’s Don’t Shoot Coalition members are supplemented by professional social activists, from in, and outside, Missouri.

Two such groups are profiled below – one that is a member of the coalition, and one from outside Missouri that saw the crisis in Ferguson as an opportunity to “accelerated the quest for social justice.”

“But Hands Up United has a vision that “means an end to state sponsored violence, including the excessive use of force by law enforcement. We are committed to an America that comes to terms with the trauma of its painful history and finds true reconciliation for it.  Mass incarceration and the criminalization of black and brown people must forever end, leaving in its place a culture that embraces our histories and stories.  This means an end to racial bias and white supremacy in all its forms.”

“MORE’s Form 990’s for 2010-2012 list annual gross revenues for those three years as $90,943, $127,308 and $333,896. On the 2012 Form 990, Jeffery Ordower is listed as the unpaid Executive Director and Secretary. A phone call to MORE confirms Ordower is still the group’s Executive Director.

On September 28, 2009, a 24thstate.com article, entitled “‘Show Me’ The ACORN CEO’s Rolodex,” identified Ordower as the Midwest Regional Director for ACORN, based in St Louis.”

_____________________________________

4. Why college isn’t for everyone.

“The funny thing is: Every time the federal government increases the amount of money that college students can borrow, college tuition goes up. But teaching isn’t a commodity like oil or wheat or steel whose actual value goes up and down due to market forces.

Standing in front of kids and twice a week and teaching them that America is responsible for everything bad that’s ever happened in the world—and anyone who has the audacity to disagree with a college professor is completely evil—pretty much costs the same year in and year out.”

_____________________________________

by

News/Politics 11-12-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. As the grand jury decision approaches, businesses and authorities are preparing for the worst.

From YahooNews  “Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said on Tuesday the National Guard would be on standby to respond to any violence after a grand jury decides whether or not to indict a white police officer for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson.

In addition to the National Guard, police officers from across the state could be called on to restore order if protests get out of hand, Nixon told a news conference.”

“”These measures are not being taken because we are convinced that violence will occur, but because we have a responsibility to prepare for any contingency,” he said.”

“Some businesses in Ferguson have boarded up windows and made plans for protecting themselves and their property if protests ignite into violence.”

_____________________________________________

2. Political donations prove liberal bias dominates American culture.

From CapitalCityProject  “Conservatives have long believed American culture is entrenched with a liberal bias, only to be scoffed at and called paranoid. However, three new charts dealing with political donations from academia, media, and Hollywood prove this to be the case.

Business Insider was provided a data set of federal campaign contributions dating all the way back to 1980, making the sample size considerable. The data set confirms that media, academia, and the entertainment industry are some of the most liberal professions in America. The findings were provided by CROWDPAC, a non-partisan analytics firm based out of California.

“In compiling all this data, and building these tools, we have the opportunity to shine some light on the political system and reveal some interesting insights and trends,” Crowdpac CEO Steve Hilton said of the findings. “For example, our real data conforms with the claims that have been circulated about the extremely liberal profile of the entertainment and media sectors.””

_____________________________________________

3. And Harry has the nerve to whine about the Koch brothers…..

From TheFreeBeacon  “The network of political and policy groups backed by the shadowy liberal donor club the Democracy Alliance was responsible for more than one of every three dollars spent by super PACs during the 2014 election cycle, public records show.

Members of the Democracy Alliance network that disclose political spending dropped more than $250 million on the midterms, according to data reported to the Federal Election Commission.

That included more than $180 million in expenditures by super PACs, more than a third of the $515 million spent by all such groups during the 2014 election cycle.

The groups’ extensive involvement in Democrats’ political efforts undercuts common media characterizations of the Democracy Alliance, which generally present the array of groups it supports as less involved in electioneering than those of similar collaborative donor networks on the right.

Such reports frequently downplay the scale of the Democracy Alliance network, commonly reported as consisting of fewer than two dozen organizations.”

_____________________________________________

 4. This is getting out of hand. They’re abusing these laws for profit. Since when is law enforcement a for profit business?

From MSN.com  “The seminars offered police officers some useful tips on seizing property from suspected criminals. Don’t bother with jewelry (too hard to dispose of) and computers (“everybody’s got one already”), the experts counseled. Do go after flat screen TVs, cash and cars. Especially nice cars.

In one seminar, captured on video in September, Harry S. Connelly Jr., the city attorney of Las Cruces, N.M., called them “little goodies.” And then Mr. Connelly described how officers in his jurisdiction could not wait to seize one man’s “exotic vehicle” outside a local bar.

“A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new,” he explained. “Just so beautiful, I mean, the cops were undercover and they were just like ‘Ahhhh.’ And he gets out and he’s just reeking of alcohol. And it’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness, we can hardly wait.’ ”

Mr. Connelly was talking about a practice known as civil asset forfeiture, which allows the government, without ever securing a conviction or even filing a criminal charge, to seize property suspected of having ties to crime. The practice, expanded during the war on drugs in the 1980s, has become a staple of law enforcement agencies because it helps finance their work. It is difficult to tell how much has been seized by state and local law enforcement, but under a Justice Department program, the value of assets seized has ballooned to $4.3 billion in the 2012 fiscal year from $407 million in 2001. Much of that money is shared with local police forces.

The practice of civil forfeiture has come under fire in recent months, amid a spate of negative press reports and growing outrage among civil rights advocates, libertarians and members of Congress who have raised serious questions about the fairness of the practice, which critics say runs roughshod over due process rights. In one oft-cited case, a Philadelphia couple’s home was seized after their son made $40 worth of drug sales on the porch. Despite that opposition, many cities and states are moving to expand civil seizures of cars and other assets. The seminars, some of which were captured on video, raise a curtain on how law enforcement officials view the practice.”

They view it as a cash cow.

Is it just me, or does this DoJ seem to be run like an organized crime outfit?

_____________________________________________

5. Why is it OK to be racist if you’re supposedly doing it to fight racism? Isn’t it bad all the time?

From TheDailyCaller  “Minneapolis Public Schools are implementing a new policy aimed at eliminating the gap between the races when it comes to suspensions. Nothing will change for white students, they will still be suspended at the discretion of each school’s principal. But for minority students, specifically black, Hispanic and Native American students, the Minneapolis Schools Superintendent’s office will personally review each case.

This new policy is part of an agreement with U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announced last week after an investigation into why minority students made up such a high percentage suspended students in the past.

Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson told NPR, “I and all of my staff will start to review all non-violent suspensions of students of color, especially black boys, to understand why they’re being suspended so we can help intervene with teachers, student leaders and help give them the targeted support they need for these students.”

In a press release announcing the new policy, which begins Monday, Johnson’s office said, “Moving forward, every suspension of a black or brown student will be reviewed by the superintendent’s leadership team. The school district aims to more deeply understand the circumstances of suspensions with the goal of providing greater supports to the school, student or family in need. This team could choose to bring in additional resources for the student, family and school.””

The DoJ is doing this nationwide. Look for more to come.

_____________________________________________

6. This isn’t surprising, and neither is the reaction to it within this “community.”

CONTENT WARNING!!! for adult subject matter.

From TheFederalist  “Our culture seems pretty much “to each his own” when it comes to elective bodily mutilation and the regret thereof. And there’s a lot of regret out there. According to a British poll, a whopping 65 percent of those who’ve had various cosmetic surgeries regret it. People who regret their tattoos, plastic surgery, or more extreme body modifications (here’s a sad Buzzfeed pictorial on the effects of ear gauges) can read up on the Internet and find an open array of remedies. Plastic surgeons make money both puttin’ it in and takin’ it out.

Hollywood stars can speak openly about misgivings over their boob jobs and whatnot. Regarding her lip enhancement surgery, Courtney Love said: “I just want the mouth God gave me back.”

But the difference between Love and the guy with phantom &%#@$ syndrome is that the guy isn’t allowed to talk about his regret. Not openly. The transgender lobby actively polices and suppresses discussion of sex-change regret, and claims it’s rare (no more than “5 percent.”) However, if you do decide to “de-transition” to once again identify with the sex in your DNA, talking about it will get you targeted by trans activists. So it’s a challenge to understand the scope of regret for sex change surgery. It’s out there, but…”

“Finch went on to sue the Australian gender identity clinic at Melbourne’s Monash Medical Center for misdiagnosis. He also was involved in starting an outreach to others called “Gender Menders.” The reaction from the transgender community was fast, furious, and abusive, particularly in the Susans.org discussion forum as described in Sheila Jeffrey’s book, “Gender Hurts.”

_____________________________________________