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News/Politics 3-19-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, so feel free to chime in. 🙂

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Officials in Florida are still piecing together a plot to attack an Orlando college campus.

From NBCNews

“A former student found dead in a University of Central Florida dorm room along with makeshift explosives and weapons was planning an attack on the school’s Orlando campus, the university police chief said on Monday.

The man’s body was found at about 1 a.m. at the Tower 1 residence hall, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.

A fire alarm had gone off less than an hour earlier, and as campus police responded, a 911 call came in reporting a man with a gun, police said. When police went to investigate, they discovered the man’s body as well as a .45 caliber handgun, a .22 caliber tactical weapon and four homemade explosive devices. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition were also found, police said.”

Other info on the planned attack was found in the dorm room.

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I have a feeling this is making several people in the Obama admin nervous, including Hillary.

From TheSmokingGun

“Armed with confidential memos to Hillary Clinton that were stolen from the e-mail account of a former White House aide, a hacker has distributed some of the documents to a wide array of congressional aides, political figures, and journalists worldwide.

In a series of weekend e-mail blasts, the hacker known as “Guccifer” disseminated four recent memos to Clinton from Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidant of the former Secretary of State.”

“Most of the e-mail recipients were sent four separate memos that were e-mailed to Clinton by Blumenthal during the past five months. Each memo dealt with assorted developments in Libya, including the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi. One memo marked “Confidential” was sent to Clinton on September 12.”

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Well, what are they waiting for? Let’s get to it.

From TheHill

“Republican lawmakers are threatening to subpoena U.S. survivors of the  terrorist attack in Benghazi.

Exasperated GOP members say unless they get more answers from the White  House, they will call on the survivors to testify before Congress, and might  hold up President Obama’s nomination to replace the U.S. ambassador who was  killed on Sept. 11, 2012 in Libya.

The recent revelation that U.S. survivors are recuperating at Walter Reed  Hospital has sparked GOP demands that the White House provide Congress with  access to them. It has also breathed new life into the controversy that was  highlighted repeatedly during the 2012 presidential campaign.”

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Oh for cryin’ out loud…….  🙄

Via TheDailyMail

“Sunday evening’s episode of the History Channel’s hit series ‘The Bible’ threw up an awkward coincidence when viewers noticed that Satan bore a remarkable resemblance to President Obama.

Twitter exploded into life during the airing of the latest edition of the Mark Burnett-produced series with most noting the striking similarities between the 44th President and the devil played by actor Mehdi Ouzaani.”

“The miniseries’ popularity is somewhat of a mystery. For one, the drama wasn’t a hit with television critics, receiving a mediocre score of 44 on the Metacritic site.”

A mystery? Really?  🙄

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And here’s an interesting read, although not really news to conservatives. It’s probably shocking to liberals though, since it refutes their pathetic “Uncle Tom” meme.

From Reason.com

“In Django Unchained, director Quentin Tarantino’s bloody ode to the spaghetti western set in the pre−Civil War American South, Samuel L. Jackson portrays the despicable character of Stephen, the head house slave on a hellish Mississippi plantation. Reviewing the film for The Boston Globe, critic Wesley Morris struggled to convey the villainy of Stephen’s character, turning to a present-day comparison for help. “The movie is too modern for what Jackson is doing to be limited to 1858,” Morris wrote. “He’s conjuring the house Negro, yes, but playing him as though he were Clarence Thomas.”

It was not the first time a liberal writer had taken a cheap shot at the conservative Supreme Court justice. New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse once described Justice Antonin Scalia as Thomas’ “apparent mentor,” yet we now know that Thomas has been the one quietly influencing Scalia’s jurisprudence. But the comparison to the slave power system was particularly contemptible, especially because no Supreme Court justice since Thurgood Marshall has written more frequently or powerfully about American racism than Thomas.”

“Many of his critics may be too ignorant to know it, but Thomas’writings are steeped in African-American history and grapple repeatedly with the long shadow cast by slavery and Jim Crow. He may not be a modern liberal, but there is no question that Clarence Thomas is part of a civil rights tradition that started with Frederick Douglass.”

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News/Politics 3-18-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always.

Here’s some to start things off.

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A growing number of states (28) are telling the Senate and Obama admin “No thank you” on the idea of new federal gun laws.

From CNSNews

“On March 12 and 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed both Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-NY) “Fix Gun Checks Act,” which would criminalize all private firearm sales and Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) “Assault Weapons Ban.”

These bills have a long way to go before they become law – if they ever do – but states across the nation are introducing their own legislation to preemptively defeat any new federal gun laws.

In Ohio, two senators have introduced SB36, which would prohibit firearms seizures, registration and bans in their state.

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A riot at the University of Dayton?

From DaytonDailyNews

“University of Dayton administrators will meet this week to evaluate a riot involving more than 1,000 people causing police from 10 jurisdictions to respond to the student campus housing area also known as the UD ghetto early Sunday morning.

After more than two decades without a major St. Patrick’s Day incident, the university had a violent “disturbance” that left broken beer bottles and 11 damaged cars, including a police cruiser, on Kiefaber Street, according to a university official.

“We would describe what happened as a disturbance, said Andy Booher, a lieutenant with the Dayton Police Department. “It was quickly contained because of the response by University police and other jurisdictions.””

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And here’s a fun read on some Democrats who are starting to point out the obvious. Alternate title, “Obama is Bush II”

From ZeroHedge

“Even Democratic Party Loyalists Starting to Wake Up to the Fact that Obama Is As Bad As Bush … Or Worse”

It’s loaded with fun facts and lots of links, like these…..

“Glenn Greenwald notes that even Democratic party loyalists are getting fed up with Obama’s Bush-like actions:”

“Indeed, more and more Democrats are waking up the fact that Obama is doing a lot of the same stuff Bush did.”

“Income inequality has increased more under Obama than under Bush.”

“Obama has prosecuted fewer financial crimes than President Reagan, Clinton or either of the Bush presidents.”

“Obama has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all other presidents combined.”

And there’s lot’s more. They’re a little late to the party though.

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So in closing, an old one, yet still fitting………..   “Same As It Ever Was” From PolitiZoid

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News/Politics 3-16-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

There’s all kinds of stuff to choose from today.

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The Muslim Brotherhood is now cracking down on women’s rights.

From Reuters

“The Islamist movement that backs President Mohamed Mursi gave 10 reasons why Muslim countries should “reject and condemn” the declaration, which the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women is racing to negotiate a consensus deal on by Friday.”

“Egypt has joined Iran, Russia and the Vatican – dubbed an “unholy alliance” by some diplomats – in threatening to derail the women’s rights declaration by objecting to language on sexual, reproductive and gay rights.

The Muslim Brotherhood said the declaration would give “wives full rights to file legal complaints against husbands accusing them of rape or sexual harassment, obliging competent authorities to deal husbands punishments similar to those prescribed for raping or sexually harassing a stranger.”

Liberals are finally starting to wake up to what it is they backed under the guise of Democracy. Buyer’s remorse.

From TheNYTimes

““A woman needs to be confined within a framework that is controlled by the man of the house,” Osama Yehia Abu Salama, a Brotherhood family expert, said of the group’s general approach, speaking in a recent seminar for women training to become marriage counselors. Even if a wife were beaten by her husband, he advised, “Show her how she had a role in what happened to her.”

“If he is to blame,” Mr. Abu Salama added, “she shares 30 percent or 40 percent of the fault.”

Now, with a leader of the Brotherhood’s political arm in Egypt’s presidential palace and its members dominating Parliament, some deeply patriarchal views the organization has long taught its members are spilling into public view. The Brotherhood’s strident statements are reinforcing fears among many Egyptian liberals about the potential consequences of the group’s rise to power and creating new awkwardness for President Mohamed Morsi as he presents himself as a new kind of moderate, Western-friendly Islamist.”

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Meanwhile in Libya, Coptic Christians are being tortured into converting to Islam.

From AsiaNews.it

“Libyan Salafis are responsible for torture, attempts to forcibly convert and desecration of Christian imagery. This is according to  44 of the 48 Egyptian Coptic vendors on their return home. “They forced us to pronounce the al-shahaadatayn – said one of them – the proclamation of the Islamic faith and spit on images of Pope Shenouda III.” So far, the Egyptian government has not reacted to the episode that involved its citizens nor charges of religious discrimination. However, the relatives of the victims are demanding justice and accuse the Islamist government of protecting the Libyan Salafists.

Arrested in mid-February in the Benghazi market, accused of publicizing religious images and illegal immigration, the Coptic Orthodox were held for several days in a jail guarded by Salafi armed guards. They were released after several days of negotiations between the Egyptian and the Libyan governments accused on several occasions of failing to protect foreign nationals in its territory. Currently four Christians are still detained in Libya for further investigation.

The case has also sparked outrage among the population of Benghazi, which in October revolted against the Salafi militias accused of having organized the attack on the U.S. consulate in which the US Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed.”

And the govt. we’re propping up ignores it. Just like those responsible for the Ambassador’s murder.

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Here’s an interesting read on the new Pope, and the liberal disappointment over the choice. Mild Content Warning! Liberals can be quite crass.

From NationalReview

“I may be a Reformed Protestant, but I still care a great deal about the new pope. He is, after all, only the world’s most prominent advocate for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Christians everywhere should be grateful that the new pope is by all credible accounts a humble, devout man with a heart for the “least of these.” In fact, for millions of our more secular citizens, the Catholic Church is essentially a stand-in for all (orthodox) Christendom, and critiques of Catholics are often critiques of all Christianity.

I was reminded of this fact when I read Frances Kissling’s recent piece in The Nation – highlighted again today in response to the selection of the new pope. Kissling, some may recall, is the past president of a group called “Catholics for Choice.” Kissling contends that the new pope (no matter who he is) will change nothing, and nothing will ever change until, well, Catholics stop being Christian. Feast your eyes on this critique:

“As long as Catholics are expected to accept rigid, sexist and blatantly illogical doctrine, there can be no real change in the church. From the Vatican down to the local parish priest, the early narratives—stories, really—that sought to explain who we are, why we are here, and the meaning of life are still taught, despite the fact that they are even less credible explanations of who we are than they ever were.”

And it goes downhill from there.

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Another piece on the intended, but unmentioned, costs in ObamaCare.

From TheWallStJournal

“Big government likes big providers. That’s why ObamaCare is gradually making the local doctor-owned medical practice a relic. In the not too distant future, most physicians will be hourly wage earners, likely employed by a hospital chain.

Why? Because when doctors practice in small offices, it is hard for Washington to regulate what they do. There are too many of them, and the government is too remote. It is far easier for federal agencies to regulate physicians if they work for big hospitals. So ObamaCare shifts money to favor the delivery of outpatient care through hospital-owned networks.

The irony is that in the name of lowering costs, ObamaCare will almost certainly make the practice of medicine more expensive. It turns out that when doctors become salaried hospital employees, their overall productivity falls.”

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Debt? What debt? Oh that. Sure it’s a big number, but it’s not a problem.

No really. Stop laughing, he’s serious. 😯

From CNSNews

“Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking member of  the House Judiciary Committee,  said on Thursday that the nation’s  current debt of $16.7 trillion is “not endangering” the country,  adding that “some debt is not a bad idea”  and that he and other congressional Democrats “don’t think  there’s a problem.”

Conyers and other liberal Democrats spoke at a Capitol Hill press  conference about their initiative to compel Congress to cancel the  across-the-board budget cuts (sequester) of  $1.2 trillion over 10 years, which actually are reductions in the rate of increase in federal spending and amount to $44 billion for this year.”

“Conyers said, “Let me let you understand, first of all, that the debt  is not endangering us a bit — not at all. Our economists say we’re in  debt but it’s not endangering everything. As a matter of fact, there are  economists that say some debt is not a bad idea at all.”

“So all those ideas about the ceiling falling, the walls caving in  because of that, you can sleep more comfortably in your bed at night  when you realize that we don’t think there’s a problem,” he said.”

I don’t know about you, but I feel better already. 🙄

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But don’t worry, it’s not all bad today. 🙂

From DetroitCBSLocal

” A federal judge has blocked the Obama administration from requiring Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan to provide mandatory contraception coverage to his employees under the federal health care law.”

“On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law against Monaghan and Domino’s Farms.”

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by

News/Politics 3-15-13

What’s happening in the news today?

Open thread, so share with the group. 🙂

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

From NBCNews

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

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

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

From TheTelegraph

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

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

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

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

From TheWashingtonPost

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

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

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

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

From TheBlaze

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

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

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

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

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News/Politics 3-14-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

There’s a lot to choose from today.

I guess we’ll start with the new Pope.

From TheWashingtonTimes

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

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

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

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

From TheTaxProfBlog

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

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

More from CNSNews

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

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

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

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

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

From TheWeeklyStandard

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

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

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

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

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

From CNSNews

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

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

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

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

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

Once again, Texas shows how it’s done.

From TheAmericanStatesman

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

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

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

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News/Politics 3-13-13

What’s interesting out there today?

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

From Politico

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

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

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

From TheWallStJournal

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

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

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

From TheWashingtonExaminer

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

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

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

And paying for yet another needless Czar and his staff.

From JudicialWatch

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

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

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

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

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

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And Sharyl Attkisson asks a good question over at CBS.

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

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

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

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

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

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News/Politics 3-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

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

From PJMedia

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

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

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

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

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

From Reason.com

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

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

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

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

Good, they should be.

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

From Forbes

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

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

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

So that’s 100 years worth of ammo.

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

From PJMedia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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by

News/Politics 3-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread.

Here’s a few to start off.

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

Or was it all just a fraud?

From NationalReview

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

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

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

Yeah, pretty much.

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

From CNSNews

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

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

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

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

From CNetNews

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

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

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

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

From News7WSVN

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

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

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

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

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This last one? HYPOCRISY ALERT!!!

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

From Breitbart

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

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

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

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

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by

News/Politics 3-9-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, you decide.

Here’s a few to start off with.

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

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

From TheWashingtonExaminer

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

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

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

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

From TheNYPost

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

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

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

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

From Bloomberg

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

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

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

From TheMilitaryAuthorityBlog

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

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

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

More from ArmyTimes

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

From Stripes.com

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

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

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

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

From RealClearPolitics

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

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

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

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

From TheAirForceTimes

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

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

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

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by

News/Politics 3-8-13

What’s interesting out there today?

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

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

From CruzSenate.Gov

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

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

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

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

From HotAir

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

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

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

From TheHuffingtonPost

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

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

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

Meanwhile, she doubles down. From TheWeeklyStandard

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

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

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

From IsraelNationalNews

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

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

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

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

From TheWashingtonPost

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

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

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

From NYCBSLocal

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

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

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

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

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

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

From HotAir

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

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

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

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