Illegal Immigration

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News/Politics 6-26-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. The FBI is rounding up ISIS sympathizers. 

From BloombergView  “The FBI has been rounding up more potential “lone wolf” terrorists, Congressional leaders and the Justice Department say, in response to the perception of a mounting threat of domestic attacks inspired by the Islamic State.

Since the thwarted attack on a “Draw Muhammad” conference in Garland, Texas, on May 3, the Justice Department has announced the arrests of 10 individuals it says were inspired by and supporting the Islamic State. The lawmakers say there have been more arrests that have not yet been announced.

They say the FBI has shifted its approach toward arrests rather than keeping suspects under surveillance, and is also targeting individuals thought to be planning attacks in the U.S., unlike the bureau’s past focus on volunteers preparing to join ISIS’s fight abroad.

“Lately, we have seen an uptick in the number of arrests of ISIL followers who were planning violent acts in our homeland,” said John Carlin, the assistant attorney general for national security. “ISIL, differing from some other foreign terrorist organizations, has demonstrated that they see value in mobilizing sympathizers anywhere in the world.”

The spate of arrests comes in response to what Congressional leaders and the Justice Department say is a mounting threat that radicalized Americans will attempt low-tech, lone wolf attacks in the near future. Lawmakers see the changes as necessary because the Islamic State uses social media so effectively to radicalize Americans and because the group is getting better at using encryption to shield its communications with new recruits.  

The shift has downsides. An emphasis on arrests rather than surveillance limits intelligence gathering. Arresting suspected recruits before they’ve acted makes prosecuting them more difficult. It could also violate the First Amendment right to free expression, if terrorist sympathizers are treated as terrorist supporters.“

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2. The Confederate flag has an unlikely ally, the former head of the N.C. NAACP. 

From WYHH  “Hours after “Black Lives Matter” was spray-painted on monument for “North Carolina’s Civil War Governor,” H.K. Edgerton stood with a Confederate flag, telling those passing by why he wanted it to continue to fly.”

“Edgerton, one of few African-American members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, was outside the monument waving the Confederate flag soon after the graffiti was removed.

He said the graffiti artist protested incorrectly.

“I’m not going to blame it on a Yankee because I’ve seen some southern folk around here that are real questionable too that don’t know anything about who they are and their families and the honorable people in the southland of America, red, yellow, black, white and brown,” Edgerton said.

He said the Confederate flag needs to continue to wave.”

More here from WISTV

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3. Words mean nothing anymore. 

From TheNYTimes  “The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that President Obama’s health care law allows the federal government to provide nationwide tax subsidies to help poor and middle-class people buy health insurance, a sweeping vindication that endorsed the larger purpose of Mr. Obama’s signature legislative achievement.

The 6-to-3 ruling means that it is all but certain that the Affordable Care Act will survive after Mr. Obama leaves office in 2017. For the second time in three years, the law survived an encounter with the Supreme Court. But the court’s tone was different this time. The first decision, in 2012, was fractured and grudging, while Thursday’s ruling was more assertive.”

“In dissent on Thursday, Justice Antonin Scalia called the majority’s reasoning “quite absurd” and “interpretive jiggery-pokery.”

He announced his dissent from the bench, a sign of bitter disagreement. His summary was laced with notes of incredulity and sarcasm, sometimes drawing amused murmurs in the courtroom as he described the “interpretive somersaults” he said the majority had performed to reach the decision.

“We really should start calling this law Scotus-care,” Justice Scalia said, to laughter from the audience.”

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4. It. Just. Keeps. Getting. Worse. 

From TheDailyBeast  “Infidelity. Sexual fetishes. Drug abuse. Crushing debt. They’re the most intimate secrets of U.S. government workers. And now they’re in the hands of foreign hackers.

It was already being described as the worst hack of the U.S. government in history. And it just got much worse.

A senior U.S. official has confirmed that foreign hackers compromised the intimate personal details of an untold number of government workers. Likely included in the hackers’ haul: information about workers’ sexual partners, drug and alcohol abuse, debts, gambling compulsions, marital troubles, and any criminal activity.

Those details, which are now presumed to be in the hands of Chinese spies, are found in the so-called “adjudication information” that U.S. investigators compile on government employees and contractors who are applying for security clearances. The exposure suggests that the massive computer breach at the Office of Personnel Management is more significant and potentially damaging to national security than officials have previously said.

Three former U.S. intelligence officials told The Daily Beast that the adjudication information would effectively provide dossiers on current and former government employees, as well as contractors. It gives foreign intelligence agencies a roadmap for finding people with access to the government’s most highly classified secrets.”

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5. Anyone shocked?

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Homeland Security will begin releasing more illegal immigrant families from detention, Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Wednesday as he bowed to political pressure from activists and members of Congress who’d called the conditions inhumane for families.

Despite offering amenities for the illegal immigrants ranging from flat-screen televisions in every suite, classrooms and ball fields at their disposal and 24-hour access to snacks and sodas, Mr. Johnson said he’s concluded things are still too harsh in the three facilities designed to hold families.

He said illegal immigrant parents and children who claim they fear for their lives back home will now have the chance to post a “reasonable and realistic” bond that will earn them the right to be released into the U.S., with the hope that they eventually return for their deportation hearings.”

“It’s a major reversal for Mr. Johnson, who just a year ago pointed to detaining families as one of the key steps he was taking to push back against the surge of illegal immigrant children and families from Central America.

It also comes as new data shows those released from detention almost never show up for their court hearings or to be deported, meaning that any of those families later deemed deportable will likely be difficult to round up.”

90+% aren’t showing up for their hearings now, and they do nothing about it. 

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by

News/Politics 5-28-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. Obama is attempting to expand federal control of America’s waterways. 

From TheWashingtonTimes  “President Obama’s administration on Wednesday claimed dominion over all of America’s streams, creeks, rills, ditches, brooks, rivulets, burns, tributaries, criks, wetlands — perhaps even puddles — in a sweeping move to assert unilateral federal authority.

The Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, says it has the authority to control all waterways within the United States — and will exercise that authority.

“We’re finalizing a clean water rule to protect the streams and the wetlands that one in three Americans rely on for drinking water. And we’re doing that without creating any new permitting requirements and maintaining all previous exemptions and exclusions,” EPA head Gina McCarthy told reporters Wednesday.”

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2. I must admit, I found this a little surprising. But don’t think for a minute this is the end of it. 

From Breitbart  “The Obama administration revealed today that it will not take the fight over executive immigration amnesty to the Supreme Court, essentially admitting defeat in its fight to lift a court-ordered stay placed by a Texas judge.

Obama’s executive actions still have to be settled in court, but yesterday’s decision prevented the administration from moving forward in its efforts to sign up illegal immigrants for the amnesty programs.

“The department believes the best way to achieve this goal is to focus on the ongoing appeal on the merits of the preliminary injunction itself,” said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for the Justice Department to the New York Times. “Although the department continues to disagree with the Fifth Circuit’s refusal to stay the district court’s preliminary injunction, the department has determined that it will not seek a stay from the Supreme Court.””

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3. I’m sure muslim countries will welcome him with open arms, if they even have the guts to send him to any. 

Plus, a terminology update. I is for Intersex, whatever that is. 

From CNSNews  “Randy Berry, the State Department’s first envoy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, said on Tuesday he is leaving on a 15-country, five-week trip to encourage foreign governments to include protection for homosexuals in their constitutions.

Speaking at the United States Institution of Peace in Washington, D.C., ahead of a panel of gay rights activists from around the world, Berry said gay rights and human rights are “issues we hold very, very dear.”  Civil conflict around the globe that leads to constitutional change offers a “unique opportunity” to advance those rights, he added.

“Constitutional change has provided a unique opportunity for groups to mobilize for their members’ rights and for recognition,” Berry said.

He did not say which countries he will be visiting.”

Gee, I wonder why? 🙄

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4. Ever wonder why convenience store clerks discriminate against schizophrenic LGTBI’s? Me neither. Yet our govt is wasting tax dollars to find out.

Also from CNSNews  “The National Institutes of Health through its National Institute of Mental Health has awarded $52,293 in taxpayer funding to the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to study how to reduce discrimination of lesbian, gay and transgender people with schizophrenia by members of the community they are in frequent contact with, like the “convenience store clerk.”

“Inquiry will extend from individuals with schizophrenia to include family members and service providers of participants as well as community members with whom they are in frequent contact (e.g., convenience store clerk),” the grant, titled “Defining Community for LGBT People with Schizophrenia,” stated.

“Sexual and gender minority individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) are amongst the most marginalized individuals in North American society,” the grant stated. “They face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that compound the effects of having a major mental illness, hampering recovery and frustrating efforts to meaningfully participate in our communities.”

“Our work will lay the groundwork for our developing a better understanding about how we can reduce that discrimination in community contexts and develop interventions to facilitate community participation among sexual and gender minority individuals with severe mental illness,” it stated.”

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5. What does the Liberty Bell have to do with LGTBI’s? Nothing, but that’s not what they’re teaching the children.

This is disgusting on so many levels……..

From Conservativebyte  “My neighbor was telling me about how his daughter took her kids to see the Liberty Bell and how they had redone the history signs there. It is now all about civil rights with the founding of our country barely touched upon. I’ve been trying to find a news story about this and am not seeing anything.

I did find the Nation Park Service website basically endorsing the LBGT movement. While their curriculum is nothing but a list of modern civil rights lessons.

You mean to tell me that the founding of our nation isn’t an exciting enough story that you have to ignore it and try to somehow connect civil rights? This sad rewriting of our national history is wrong and should not be ignored. We have let liberals take over teaching our children and our society.”

Sounds crazy, right? But a check of the National Park Service curriculum materials shows the author is correct. 

From NationalParkService  “Overview

Students will learn the connection between the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the GLBT Civil Rights Movement.

Objective(s)

There is something very wrong with the leadership of this country. 

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by

News/Politics 5-27-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. Hillary’s Jedi mind trick. These are not the emails you’re looking for………

Which means they are. 

From TheDailyCaller  “Sidney Blumenthal emailed Hillary Clinton at least two intelligence reports about Libya which were not included in the trove of 296 emails released by the State Department on Friday.

Clinton has claimed that in December she turned over all official government emails she sent or received from her personal account while in office. In turn, the agency has claimed it turned all Clinton emails related to Libya or Benghazi over to the House Select Committee investigating the Benghazi attack.

But a screenshot of Blumenthal’s email inbox, which the Romanian hacker Guccifer published in March 2013, shows two reports about Libya emailed to Clinton which were not released in Friday’s batch.”

“The State Department release — which was published on the agency’s Freedom of Information Act portal — does not include those two reports. It does, however, include some 20 other intelligence reports Blumenthal sent Clinton about Libya and Benghazi between March 2, 2011. and Dec. 18, 2012.

The discrepancy suggests that the system that Clinton and the State Department have in place to account for her emails failed in some regard. It also raises questions over whether other emails are unaccounted for.”

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2. This is why activities like this should be illegal for current office holders/appointees. Even if it’s all legit, it now appears questionable. 

From InternationalBusinessTimes  “Even by the standards of arms deals between the United States and Saudi Arabia, this one was enormous. A consortium of American defense contractors led by Boeing would deliver $29 billion worth of advanced fighter jets to the United States’ oil-rich ally in the Middle East.”

“But now, in late 2011, Hillary Clinton’s State Department was formally clearing the sale, asserting that it was in the national interest. At a press conference in Washington to announce the department’s approval, an assistant secretary of state, Andrew Shapiro, declared that the deal had been “a top priority” for Clinton personally. Shapiro, a longtime aide to Clinton since her Senate days, added that the “U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army have excellent relationships in Saudi Arabia.”

These were not the only relationships bridging leaders of the two nations. In the years before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed at least $10 million to the Clinton Foundation, the philanthropic enterprise she has overseen with her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Just two months before the deal was finalized, Boeing — the defense contractor that manufactures one of the fighter jets the Saudis were especially keen to acquire, the F-15 — contributed$900,000 to the Clinton Foundation, according to a company press release.

The Saudi deal was one of dozens of arms sales approved by Hillary Clinton’s State Department that placed weapons in the hands of governments that had also donated money to the Clinton family philanthropic empire, an International Business Times investigation has found.

Under Clinton’s leadership, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments have given money to the Clinton Foundation, according to an IBTimes analysis of State Department and foundation data. That figure — derived from the three full fiscal years of Clinton’s term as Secretary of State (from October 2010 to September 2012) — represented nearly double the value of American arms sales made to the those countries and approved by the State Department during the same period of President George W. Bush’s second term.

The Clinton-led State Department also authorized $151 billion of separate Pentagon-brokered deals for 16 of the countries that donated to the Clinton Foundation, resulting in a 143 percent increase incompleted sales to those nations over the same time frame during the Bush administration. These extra sales were part of a broad increase in American military exports that accompanied Obama’s arrival in the White House.”

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3. Sure Barry, it’s the 3 judges in 2 courts who are “misinterpreting” the law. It couldn’t possibly be the “constitutional scholar” who always seems to be wrong. 🙄

From Breitbart  “The White House reacted to the news that the Fifth Circuit court of appeals denied an appeal from the Obama administration to lift a stay on his executive amnesty plan, accusing two judges in the decision of interpreting the law incorrectly.

“Today, two judges of the Fifth Circuit chose to misinterpret the facts and the law in denying the government’s request for a stay,” White House spokesperson Brandi Hoffine said in a statement to Breitbart News.

The court ruled against Obama administrations appeal with a 2-1 vote.

In response Hoffine cited the dissent from Judge Stephen Higginson, who was appointed by President Obama.”

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More here from Reuters/MSN  “The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday in favor of 26 states challenging President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, potentially paving the way for a Supreme Court decision on the issue.

Two judges on the three-judge panel ruled that the executive action, which would grant an estimated 4.7 million undocumented immigrants relief from deportation, should remain on hold while the government appeals its blocking.

The immigration order was first put on hold by Texas Judge Andrew Hanen in February after the states, all led by Republican governors, alleged that taking in migrants would be overly burdensome.

“The President’s attempt to bypass the will of the American people was successfully checked again today,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a news release.”

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4. Cowards, every last one of them.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The United Nations said Tuesday that Boko Haram is responsible for an “alarming spike” of suicide bombings in Nigeria that have been carried about by women and children.

Girls between the ages of 7 and 17 years have been used for three-quarters of all such attacks in the region since 2014, the U.N. children’s agency reported. There have been 27 suicide bombings in the region over five months, compared to 26 in all of 2014.

“Children are not instigating these suicide attacks; they are used intentionally by adults in the most horrific way. They are first and foremost victims — not perpetrators,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF representative in Nigeria.

UNICEF estimates that 743,000 have been displaced over the past six years because of Boko Haram’s campaign of terror.”

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by

News/Politics 5-8-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. You know this is coming. 

From TheFederalist  “While most commentators are still focused upon marriage and federal versus state power, the actual questions before the United States Supreme Court on its gay marriage decision show consequences that were once dismissed as alarmist now seem prescient.

In the oral arguments for Obergefell v. Hodges last week, counsel told Justice Alito that if the court found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, then religious institutions’ tax-exempt status is “certainly going to be an issue.” I concur with this reaction from Michael Greve:

[I]f the tax exemption jazz becomes ‘an issue,’ it’s decided the minute gay marriage becomes the constitutional baseline. Because everyone knows that. Because the LBGT folks already have those complaints and briefs in their drawers, to be filed (almost ‘certainly’) on July 1. And because DoJ and the IRS and OCR, in their last remaining eighteen months in office, are in a hurry to roll over to their constituencies and to hammer the hold-outs, in meticulous observance of the law. A hallmark of this administration. Or maybe they’ll hand out waivers. ‘I don’t deny that’ says ‘dare me. It’s not going to hurt me in this case, and I’ll plant a flag for the next cases.’

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2. The Faustian Bargain Between Church and State

From TheAtlantic  “It was Pulpit Freedom Sunday in early October, when preachers who’ve signed up to trespass into electoral politics go well beyond the limits their churches have agreed upon when accepting tax-exempt status. Organized by the conservative movement Alliance Defending Freedom, they praise or condemn candidates. They urge parishioners to avoid this politician or that one; Barack Obama was a regular target, even in a few black churches such as Hope Christian, because of his support for gay marriage and abortion rights. Occasionally, favored politicians are even invited to a service to be anointed by the minister’s endorsement.

Some pastors tread nervously onto this forbidden ground, because they don’t want to lose their churches’ tax exemptions. But others zealously hope for just that. They are trying to provoke the Internal Revenue Service into an adverse ruling so they can challenge the constitutionality of the law, which they believe violates the First Amendment. For many years, the IRS has refrained from taking the bait, and citizen complaints against churches’s electioneering have disappeared into the agency’s bureaucratic abyss.”

“The ban on electioneering by tax-exempt charities may seem high-minded, but it was enacted for crass political reasons. It may be a principle of good government to protect taxpayers from subsidizing candidates’ supporters, but the prohibition was added to the law to protect one candidate, Lyndon B. Johnson, who faced extreme right-wing opposition in his reelection bid for the Senate. On July 2, 1954, he rose on the Senate floor to propose amending section 501(c)(3), which already restricted lobbying. Now he asked that the ban be extended to political campaigning. “The whole thing was over in a matter of minutes,” writes the sociologist James D. Davidson. “There was no discussion, and the amendment was passed on voice vote.”

“Without the tax exemption, his center is hobbled. Donations can still be received, but the donors won’t get tax deductions. The organization would have to pay taxes on its income. But the larger result will not be silence, he promises. “The thing about a political movement is that people who are in it for the long haul like me do the best to adhere to the rules and regulations,” he said. “The government can’t take away our right to free speech by denying us a forum … If they say we can’t assemble under this umbrella, then we’re going to assemble under another. They’re not going to stop the true believers.””

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3. The assassin’s veto. 

From HotAir  “New York Daily News columnist Harry Siegel may not be a fan of Pamela Geller, but he’s much less a fan of those rushing to condemn her for her speech rather than lay blame at the feet of terrorists seeking to silence her. Having lived through the last round of Mohammed cartoon publications, Siegel blasts the media elite for missing the real threat while stroking their own egos by prioritizing their sneering at Geller over the threat to freedom of speech. In doing so, they are embracing the assassin’s veto, Siegel warns — after indulging in a short bout of sneering himself:

But the assassin’s veto, as historian Timothy Garton Ash termed “the use of violence to impose your taboos,” is pointed at her neck. The nastiness of her words, about “the savages” trying to impose Sharia law here, is no longer the issue.

The threat to Geller’s life for speaking is.

Yet many among the literati, who typically fancy themselves truth tellers and idol smashers, spent the last week competing to disdain the obvious and explain why the murdered Charlie Hebdo cartoonists weren’t worthy recipients of an award from a group dedicated to “defend(ing) writers endangered because of their work.”

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4. Here we go again…..

From TheGuardian  “Only a couple of hundred yards away, cars rushed along the Anzalduas international bridge, gateway to one of several legitimate ports of entry in the area.

But spring and summer are peak seasons for crossings by other means. A couple of minutes earlier a border patrol van drove under the bridge along a bone-jangling rutted single-track path, carrying 13 women and children from Guatemala and Honduras who had turned themselves in to border patrol agents.

“Every day we’re getting more women and children than the day before,” said Cabrera, 41, a local border patrol union representative. He estimated that 60% of those apprehended are turning themselves in.”

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by

News/Politics 12-12-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Well maybe we don’t have a deal……

From RollCall  “Unsure whether they have the votes to pass a trillion-dollar federal spending package, House GOP leaders on Thursday afternoon delayed a final vote on the “cromnibus.”

They did so with mere hours to go until the government is set to run out of funding, and just before the House was scheduled to vote.

GOP leaders called a recess to floor proceedings, with a GOP leadership aide confirming “no conference meeting [is] planned at this time.” The aide said “leadership teams are still talking to their respective members,” and noted, “We still plan to vote this afternoon.”

It’s not clear, however, what they will be voting on.

If Republicans can’t surmount the impasse, they could decide to proceed with swiftly moving a short-term continuing resolution through the chamber, which the Senate could also pass before 11:59 p.m., when current funding expires.”

So will Elizabeth Warren now call herself a “hostage taker” or an “economic terrorist” like she did to Republicans during the last shutdown, or is that only when Republicans do it?

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2. Now about Boehner’s prior spending deals….

From CNSNews  “The federal debt has increased by $3.8 trillion in the 3.8 years that have passed since House Speaker John Boehner cut his first spending deal with Senate Democrats and President Obama.

That works out to $32,938.38 for every household in the United States—including those taking federal welfare benefits—and $42,783.20 for every full-time year-round private-sector worker in the United States.

In fact, the $42,783.20 that the federal government has borrowed per full-time year-round private-sector worker since Boehner cut his first federal spending deal exceeds the $41,916 that according to the Census Bureau was median annual earnings of full-time year-round private-sector wage and salary workers in 2013.”

That should answer Bob’s question from yesterday about per taxpayer costs.

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3. Here’s a “phony scandal” update. All evidence continues to point to White House involvement.

From Forbes  “Sadly, the 18 month investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups isn’t over, and it may be worse than anyone thought. A federal judge has broken loose more emails that the DOJ had surely hoped would never surface. The picture it reveals isn’t pretty. The documents prove that Lois Lerner met with DOJ’s Election Crimes Division a month before the 2010 elections.

It has to be embarrassing to the DOJ, which may not be the most impartial one to be investigating the IRS. In fact, the DOJ withheld over 800 pages of Lerner documents citing “taxpayer privacy” and “deliberative privilege.” Yet these internal DOJ documents show Ms. Lerner was talking to DOJ officials about prosecuting tax-exempt entities (yes, criminally!) two years before the IRS conceded there was inappropriate targeting.

Ms. Lerner met with top officials from the DOJ’s Election Crimes Branch in October of 2010. Although Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the DOJ (Judicial Watch v. Department of Justice, No. 14-cv-01239), the DOJ coughed up dirt only on court order. Even then, the DOJ handed over only two pages of heavily redacted emails.”

“What’s more, the DOJ withheld 832 pages in their entirety. They revealed that Mr. Obama’s DOJ called an October 8, 2010 meeting with the IRS “concerning 501(c)(4) issues.” 

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4. 70% of respondents want Congress to keep digging.

From FoxNews  “Call it a “kumbaya” question, as majorities of Democrats (60 percent), independents (75 percent) and Republicans (78 percent) support lawmakers continuing to dig. 

The new poll also asked why the White House is refusing to release thousands of pages of documents related to the IRS targeting.  By nearly three-to-one people think it’s because the administration wants to keep its role in the scandal secret (63 percent) rather than to keep taxpayer information confidential (22 percent). 

Even Democrats are more likely to say the Obama White House is withholding documents to hide its involvement (45 percent) rather than to protect taxpayers (35 percent).  Another 20 percent is unsure.”

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5. Yet another backdoor to citizenship for illegal immigrants?

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “President Obama’s recently unveiled immigration scheme creates a new path for illegal immigrants and those who overstay their visas to become legal citizens nearly instantly, according to Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

Taking to the Senate floor Thursday to reveal the backdoor he said Obama is opening to millions more illegals beyond the parents of children here legally, the Republican said, “This is the danger of unilateral executive action.””

“It would also provide a way for those here illegally to be waived into America without any punishment.

Lee said that the Obama plan would provide “advance parole” to illegals, putting them on the fast track to a green card and citizenship. That status has been difficult to get in the past.

Now, however, he said that the president plans to ease the 3-10 year waiting period for those who leave then try to reenter legally by granting provisional waivers for entry. What’s more, in some cases illegals will be allowed to stay in the United States while waiting for those provisional waivers.”

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by

News/Politics 11-21-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. 12 minutes. That’s all I could take. It was laugh out loud funny at times, although unintentionally, but sad too, that the President could lie about so much in such a short time.

From Reuters  “President Barack Obama imposed the most sweeping immigration reform in a generation on Thursday, easing the threat of deportation for some 4.7 million undocumented immigrants and setting up a clash with Republicans who vow to fight his moves.

In a White House speech, Obama rejected Republican arguments that his decision to bypass Congress and take executive action was tantamount to amnesty for illegal immigrants.

It was his biggest use of executive actions in a year in which they have become his signature way of working around congressional gridlock.”

“With 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, Obama’s plan would let some 4.4 million who are parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents remain in the country temporarily, without the threat of deportation.”

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2. An upside down Pinocchio.

From TheWashingtonPost  “Politicians generally hate to say they have changed their minds about something. With President Obama poised to take executive action to address immigration, perhaps as early as this week, he was challenged by a reporter to explain why he believed he could take this action now, after years of saying his hands were tied. The president responded with a Pinocchio-laden straw man, saying that the questions had a distinct focus: “their interest was in me, through executive action, duplicating the legislation that was stalled in Congress.”

“The president has certainly been consistent on this issue—until he saw that the path through Congress was blocked. It’s clear from the interviews that the president was not being asked about executive orders that would have provided comprehensive immigration reform, but about specific actions that ended deportations of a subset of illegal immigrants—precisely the type of action he will shortly unveil.

Previously he said that was not possible, using evocative language that he is not a “king” or “the emperor.” Apparently he’s changed his mind. The president earns an upside-down Pinocchio for his flip-flop.”

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3. Just a reminder……

From HotAir  “Liberals in the media (but I repeat myself) have been having great fun mocking the idea that various Republicans may seek a legal remedy in response to tonight’s executive amnesty announcement. It’s all political theater, they say. These are just conservatives thinking of running for President themselves and posturing for the base. But as we move forward, it’s probably worth taking a moment to wipe the chalkboard clean and get back to basics.

According to the Constitution, upon taking office the President will swear an oath, and it shall include the phrase, to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Inside that document, in Article II, it directs that the President, shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. The President took that oath, and as a noted constitutional scholar and professor, I feel safe in assuming that he is familiar with that directive.”

“Here’s another section of that pesky Constitution thing again, this time from Article I. The Congress shall have the power:

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Only Congress is vested with the power to make new laws or amend or repeal existing ones. The President has no such authority. And I find it difficult to see how any court could look at this proposed power grab and find it to be within the powers described in the Constitution. In fact, the order to stand down would be precisely the opposite of taking care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

He’s failed at least one of his most basic duties, and now grabs power from the legislature which isn’t his to take.

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4. Now about those ObamaCare numbers….

From Bloomberg  “The Obama administration said it erroneously calculated the number of people with health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, incorrectly adding 380,000 dental subscribers to raise the total above 7 million.

The accurate number with full health-care plans is 6.7 million as of Oct. 15, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed today, saying the U.S. won’t include dental plans in future reports.

“The mistake we made is unacceptable,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said on her verified Twitter account. “I will be communicating that clearly throughout the department.”

The error was brought to light by Republican investigators for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, using data they obtained from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”

Just an honest mistake I’m sure…. 🙄

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5. Here’s some more of that Obama “smart diplomacy” at work.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The Pentagon is under fire for making a ransom payment to an Afghan earlier this year as part of a failed bid to win the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, according to U.S. officials.

Sgt. Bergdahl was released in May after nearly five years in captivity as part of a controversial exchange for five terrorists held at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The ransom payment was first disclosed by Rep. Duncan Hunter in a Nov. 5 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Mr. Hunter stated in the letter that Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) made the payment covertly as part of a release deal. But the money was stolen by the Afghan intermediary claiming to represent the Haqqani terrorist network.”

““Given the significance of this matter, as well as the fact that Pentagon officials have denied that a payment was even considered — and you also said you were unaware of any such attempt — I ask you to immediately inquire with JSOC to determine the specific order of events,” said Mr. Hunter, California Republican and member of the House Armed Services Committee.”

And of course, more lies exposed.

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6. Another major Democrat donor bites the dust. Maybe Harry Reid should worry less about the Koch Bros. and spend some time cleaning up his own house.

From TruthRevolt  “A national “power player” for the Democratic party and the gay rights movement was arrested Wednesday on charges of sex abuse of a minor.

Terry Bean, a Portland-based fundraiser for Democratic causes, is being charged with sex abuse and two counts of sodomy involving a 15-year-old boy. Bean’s attorney claims that his client is the victim of an “extortion ring” and expressed full confidence that his name would be cleared.

The Willamette Week reports that law enforcement sources say Bean, 66, will be charged with two counts of sodomy in the third degree (a felony) and sex abuse in the third degree (a misdemeanor). The arrest followed a six-month investigation concerning a concealed video camera over Bean’s bed that accuser Kiah Lawson says was used to illegally film him and at least half a dozen other men “in a state of nudity engaged in intimate acts with [Bean].”

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News/Politics 11-20-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

I’m a little behind on the news today, so mostly this is an Open Thread, but here’s a few that caught my eye.

1. Tonight the President will announce his amnesty plan for illegals. Funny thing though, other than the news channels, none of the networks are broadcasting it. That seems odd. One network that will air it is Univision, the Spanish language network.

Gee, I wonder why? 🙄

I guess they want to make sure their target audience hears the news, the folks against it…. not so much.

From TheWashingtonPost  “President Obama’s announcement Thursday night of his plans to overhaul the nation’s immigration system is scheduled to happen at an opportune time — at least if the White House is hoping to reach a captive audience of Hispanic television viewers.”

“Univision says it will postpone part of the awards show to air Obama’s speech, while the big four TV networks, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, currently have no plans to air the address.

Told about the scheduling coincidence by a pack of reporters, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) the second-ranking GOP senator, said, “Talk about a major pander.””

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2. In a not at all shocking development, DHS thinks there may be another surge of illegals at the border. I’d pretty much guarantee it after Obama announces more amnesty.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned Wednesday that the country could face another spike in illegal immigration as the U.S. economy picks up and as seasonal patterns change, though he said they have made major progress in combatting the surge of illegal immigrant children that wrong-footed his department earlier this year.

“We’re determined that we need to do more ourselves for border security,” Mr. Johnson said in a speech at the National Press Club sponsored by Democratic group NDN. “I’m concerned about the possibility of another rise in illegal migration.”

“This summer’s surge of illegal immigrant children and families from Central America exposed flaws in the current immigration enforcement system — particularly U.S. agencies’ inability to quickly deport many of them.”

Sure, it’ll be the booming economy causing it and not the promise of amnesty. Riiiight….. 🙄

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3. And here I thought liberals were all about the separation of church and state. Apparently that only applies when you won’t shill for their causes. Sadly it seems many churches are fine with being shills for the govt.

From TheDailyCaller  “Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley made national news last year when he fought to pass and signed a tax bill that levied a tax on Marylanders, businesses and churches for the amount of “impervious surface” they have on their property.

Roofs, driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots qualify for the “rainwater remediation fee” to “protect the Chesapeake Bay.”

Though the O’Malley administration calls it a “fee,” it is commonly called the “rain tax” throughout the state. It is wildly unpopular and the promise to fight to repeal the tax was a large factor in Maryland electing Republican Larry Hogan governor this month.

Now Prince George’s Country is offering a way for churches to avoid paying the tax, which is estimated to be an average of $744 per year for them — preach “green” to their parishioners.

So far 30 pastors have agreed to begin “‘green’ ministries to maintain the improvements at their churches, and to preach environmentally focused sermons to educate their congregations” to avoid being hit with the tax, The Washington Post reports.”

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News/Politics 11-17-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. The case against executive action amnesty, from President Obama’s own mouth.

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2. And yet…..

From CNSNews  “The Obama administration announced on Friday a plan to create a new refugee/parole program for children in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras whose parents are legal residents of the United States.

“This program will allow certain parents who are lawfully present in the United States to request access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for their children still in one of these three countries,” the State Department said in a news release. The department added that “[c]hildren who are found ineligible for refugee admission but still at risk of harm may be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis.”

The State Department said the new, in-country program is a “safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States.””

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3. His plans are definitely taking a toll on ICE workers.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Morale among officers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, already low, has reached a new bottom as illegal immigrants expecting amnesty from President Obama taunt and ridicule the overworked officers, according to a new report.

“Yes,” said one, “working for this agency is hell right now.”

That was the latest message to immigration policy critic Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies. She has charted the woes of the officers who carry out the president’s orders.

In a new paper, she wrote:

“The president’s gradual, calculated dismantling of our immigration system has caused morale to plummet in the agencies of the Department of Homeland Security. Career immigration officials have courageously objected in public, and sometimes resorted to lawsuits to draw attention to the administration’s subversion of the law. In denial about their principled objections to his scheme, now the president is hoping to stifle their voices by offering them a pay increase as part of this outrageous plan. His assumption that they are motivated by money shows just how little respect he has for the men and women who have devoted their careers to public service in immigration.”

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4. Is your state fudging the numbers?

From FoxNews  “America’s red ink runs much deeper than you think. 

Aside from the nearly $18 trillion national debt, many state governments are looking at future budgets that are trillions of dollars in the red. And they’ve hidden the numbers by dramatically under-reporting that debt, according to a new report by the think tank State Budget Solutions. 

The group looked at what are known as “unfunded liabilities” — or debt states will owe down the road. It found a number of states are fudging their numbers — big-time — using tricks like assuming their stock investments will soar. 

The book-cooking could mean bad news for public pensions and other programs that rely on these budgets. The report finds that, nationwide, states have unfunded liabilities of nearly $5 trillion, or $15,000 per American (even though the states allegedly low-ball that number at $2.7 trillion).”

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5. More overreach from more govt. agencies under Obama.

From TheNYTimes  “The federal government has significantly expanded undercover operations in recent years, with officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business people, welfare recipients, political protesters and even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show.

At the Supreme Court, small teams of undercover officers dress as students at large demonstrations outside the courthouse and join the protests to look for suspicious activity, according to officials familiar with the practice.

At the Internal Revenue Service, dozens of undercover agents chase suspected tax evaders worldwide, by posing as tax preparers, accountants drug dealers or yacht buyers and more, court records show.

At the Agriculture Department, more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud, officials said.

Undercover work, inherently invasive and sometimes dangerous, was once largely the domain of the F.B.I. and a few other law enforcement agencies at the federal level. But outside public view, changes in policies and tactics over the last decade have resulted in undercover teams run by agencies in virtually every corner of the federal government, according to officials, former agents and documents.”

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News/Politics 11-14-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. You say veered left. I say returned to his comfort zone.

From TheHill  “President Obama has taken significant steps to the left since his party’s devastating losses in the midterm elections.

In a surprise, he announced a major deal on climate change with China during a trip to Beijing Tuesday. That followed another unanticipated move — a Monday statement pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to adopt new net neutrality rules for the Internet. 

The moves are helping to rally a dispirited Democratic base while re-establishing Obama’s political leadership after he was sidelined during the midterms.”

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2. The Army continues to purge middle management.

From TheNYTimes  “For all the insecurities of war, Capt. Elder Saintjuste always figured the one thing he could count on from the Army was job security.

A Haitian immigrant who enlisted as a teenager, he deployed three times to Iraq, missing so many birthdays and Christmases that he sometimes felt he barely knew his four children. He hid symptoms of post-traumatic stress so he could stay in the Army, because he loved his job and believed that after 20 years he could retire with a captain’s pension.

Then this summer, on the day Captain Saintjuste reached his 20 years, the Army told him that as part of the postwar downsizing of the force he would have to retire. And adding insult to injury, he would have to retire as a sergeant, earning $1,200 less per month, because he had not been a captain long enough to receive a captain’s pension.”

“The cuts have largely come through attrition and reductions in recruiting, and have, so far, mostly affected low-ranking enlisted soldiers who have served only a few years. But this summer, the cuts fell on officers as well, 1,188 captains and 550 majors, many who were clearly intending on making a career of the military. More are expected to lose their jobs next year.

And for reasons the Army has not explained, the largest group of officers being pushed out — nearly one in five — began as enlisted soldiers.”

They’re also the ones who make the best officers in my opinion. They seem to connect with their troops in a way that officers never in the enlisted ranks don’t, at least in my experiences.

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3. I hope he’s successful. But given the PC stupidity running wild in the military now, you never know.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “The Army is moving to discharge a decorated combat pilot who intervened to stop two lesbian officers from showing what he considered inappropriate affection on the dance floor during a full-dress formal ball at Fort Drum, New York, in 2012.

Lt. Col. Christopher Downey, who was once assigned to the White House and completed tours in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, ended up being convicted administratively of assaulting a soldier trying to videotape the kissing and grabbing. Col. Downey’s attorney, Richard Thompson, says his client merely pushed down the camera to prevent photos and video that could end up on social media. Mr. Thompson said Col. Downey’s commanding officer also convicted him of violating the directive that ended the ban on gays openly serving in the military.

Col. Downey won early battle with the Army last year. A special three-officer “show cause” board reviewed the punishment and unanimously ruled that the evidence showed he did not violate Army rules.

“The allegation of conduct unbecoming an officer … is not supported by the preponderance of the evidence,” the board wrote. “The findings do not warrant separation.””

“Yet Col. Downey still faces separation by an Army forced-retirement board that began meeting this week.”

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4. Huh. Yet the President keeps insisting illegals are not eligible for ObamaCare. 🙄 Yet another lie.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Immigrants and their U.S.-born children make up more than 40 percent of new Medicaid recipients at a cost of $4.6 billion, according to an analysis of government data.

The Center for Immigration Studies, a low-immigration advocacy group, released a report early Thursday that found both legal and illegal immigrants and their minor children made up 42 percent of Medicaid growth from 2011 to last year.

Part of the increased enrollment came as a result of the new healthcare law’s expansion of Medicaid to impoverished and low-income adults.”

““The high rate and significant growth in Medicaid associated with immigrants is mainly the result of a legal immigration system that admits large numbers of immigrants with relatively low-levels of education, many of whom end up poor and uninsured,” the report says. “This fact, coupled with the extensive supports we provide to low-income residents, unavoidably creates very significant costs for taxpayers.””

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5. Wow. Abuse your power for personal gain much Governor? 🙄

From HotAir  “Lame duck season is often seen as a boring, slow time for punditry, but there are lots of fun stories which crop up if you know where to look. For one thing, this is the season when Governors frequently take on the prickly problem of whether or not to issue rafts of pardons and sentence commutations before they head out the door. One of the first such stories to emerge comes out of Arkansas, where Governor Mike Beebe is packing his bags, being term limited out of office. But before he goes, he may have one special gift… for his own son.

Outgoing Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday he plans to pardon his son’s felony marijuana conviction, arguing he deserves the same second chance as hundreds of other nonviolent offenders.

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the two-term Democratic governor would pardon Kyle Beebe, 34, who was convicted in 2003 of felony marijuana possession with intent to deliver. DeCample said the governor planned to formally announce his intent to pardon his son in early December.

Bebee doesn’t look like he has any (realistic) national aspirations at this point, so he probably doesn’t have to worry too much about this. Further, this is one of those non-violent pot related crimes which are under scrutiny at a national level. (Though to be fair, this was an intent to deal bust, not just some kid with a couple of joints in his glove box.)”

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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.”

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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.”

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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.”

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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.”

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