State Dept. scandal

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News/Politics 7-9-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, an American has been arrested in the UK for calling homosexuality a sin. From FoxNews

“An American evangelist said he was arrested and interrogated about his Christian faith after he was caught on a London sidewalk preaching that homosexuality is a sin.

Tony Miano, a retired deputy sheriff and former chaplain with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept., was charged with “using homophobic speech that could cause people anxiety, distress, alarm or insult.””

“I talked about women addicted to romance novels, men addicted to pornography, people with lustful thoughts, heterosexual fornication and homosexuality,” Miano told Fox News. “When I mentioned that the Bible was clear that homosexuality is a sin, a lady walked by and she glared at me and hurled the f-bomb.”

Miano said the woman came back a short time later and began to videotape his sidewalk sermon. Then, she called the police.”

Don’t think this isn’t coming here soon.

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Another scandalous development in the ongoing State Dept. sex scandals. From TheDailyCaller

“A State Department officer has been accused of selling visas for sex and  money in what may have been a massive human trafficking operation, The Daily  Caller has learned.

The State Department acknowledged last week that one of its officials is  the target of a probe over “allegations of improprieties relating to a Consular  Officer formerly assigned to Georgetown, Guyana” without providing further  details. Local media are also claiming the official, who was recently withdrawn  from normal duties pending completion of an official  investigation, associated with drug lords as part of his visa scam.

The scandal began when executives and tourists complained that their visa  applications were being held up, and local media began reporting that a visa  official was demanding bribes and sex in exchange for visas.”

This is in addition to another where an ambassador is alleged to have solicited underage prostitutes.

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This one isn’t shocking. Most of the media has been in the pro-abortion camp for a long time now. They certainly don’t want people seeing the truth about what a 20 week old baby in the womb looks like. Because it looks human, and exposes the lie that it isn’t yet. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Act goes against everything they’d like you to believe. From LifeSiteNews

“A national pro-life organization is outraged after three major American newspapers rejected a pro-life ad as “too controversial.”

The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and the LA Times refused to run an advertisement created by Heroic Media.

The ad features a hand holding a 20- to 24-week-old baby with the quote, “This child has no voice, which is why it depends on yours. Speak Up.”

Heroic Media Executive Director Joe Young said he was shocked and angered that the media outlets were willing to talk about the issue but were unwilling to show the reality of life at 20 weeks.”

Here’s the ad in question. You can click it for a larger version, or visit their website https://www.heroicmedia.org/20weeks

Heroic-Media-628x550

So what’s so “controversial” about it?

Nothing, except the truth.

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The White House and their mouthpiece did lots of squirming yesterday. They just can’t admit it was a coup in Egypt. Why? Well because if they do, they’ll be forced to follow US law and pull all aid to the country. From Politico

“The White House is taking its time to determine whether the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was a coup because of the potential fallout from calling it one, press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

“I’m being very clear with you … this is a complex and difficult issue with significant consequences,” Carney said during his daily briefing, the first since Egypt’s military ousted Morsi nearly a week ago. Calling the action a coup could cut off more than $1.5 billion in annual U.S. foreign aid for Egypt.

But the Obama administration is reluctant to cut off aid. “We think it would not be in the best interests of the United States” to change its aid program at this time, Carney said. Asked if that would mean the administration would be cutting off aid in the near-term, Carney repeated his response: “we think that would not be in our best interests.””

Oh please, since when are they ever concerned with following the law in this admin?

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Who’s up for a “Summer of Recovery II” update? From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Behind Wal-Mart, the second-largest employer in America is Kelly Services, a temporary work provider.

Friday’s disappointing jobs report showed that part-time jobs are at an all-time high, with 28 million Americans now working part-time. The report also showed another disturbing fact: There are now a record number of Americans with temporary jobs.

Approximately 2.7 million, in fact. And the trend has been growing.”

And from CNSNews

“The number of Americans receiving subsidized food  assistance from the federal government has risen to 101 million,  representing roughly a third of the U.S. population.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a total of 101,000,000 people currently participate in at least  one of the 15 food programs offered by the agency, at a cost of $114  billion in fiscal year 2012.

That means the number of Americans receiving food assistance has surpassed the number of full-time private sector workers in the U.S.”

The Recovery is a myth.

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by

News/Politics 7-8-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always.

Here’s a bunch to start you off.

First up, who’s in charge of the FISA court? John Roberts. From OutsideTheBeltway.com

“When it comes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which isn’t so much a Court unto itself as it is a rotating group of Federal Judges appointed to hear warrant requests and other matter designated as appropriate for secret proceedings under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, there’s nobody more powerful than Chief Justice John Roberts:

The 11 FISA judges, chosen from throughout the federal bench for seven-year terms, are all appointed by the chief justice. In fact, every FISA judge currently serving was appointed by Roberts, who will continue making such appointments until he retires or dies. FISA judges don’t need confirmation — by Congress or anyone else.

No other part of U.S. law works this way. The chief justice can’t choose the judges who rule on health law, or preside over labor cases, or decide software patents. But when it comes to surveillance, the composition of the bench is entirely in his hands, and, as a result, so is the extent to which the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation can spy on citizens.”

Which brings us to the next question, who watches the watchers? From PJMedia

“Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times has a shocking scoop on some of the secret decisions made by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that would indicate that there has been a fundamental shift in the government’s attitude toward 4th Amendment protections for American citizens.

A secret body of law has been built since 2010 that gives the government vast powers — all perfectly legal — to snoop on American citizens as long as the surveillance is connected to terrorism or some other national security issue.

The rulings, some nearly 100 pages long, reveal that the court has taken on a much more expansive role by regularly assessing broad constitutional questions and establishing important judicial precedents, with almost no public scrutiny, according to current and former officials familiar with the court’s classified decisions.”

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File this one under “Things that make you go Hmmmmm…….”  From ForeignPolicy.com

“The offices of a Dallas law firm representing a high-profile State Department whistleblower were broken into last weekend. Burglars stole three computers and broke into the firm’s file cabinets. But silver bars, video equipment and other valuables were left untouched, according to local Fox affiliate KDFW, which aired security camera footage of the suspected burglars entering and leaving the offices around the time of the incident.

The firm Schulman & Mathias represents Aurelia Fedenisn, a former investigator at the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General. In recent weeks, she raised a slew of explosive allegations against the department and its contractors ranging from illicit drug use, soliciting sexual favors from minors and prostitutes and sexual harassment.

“It’s a crazy, strange and suspicious situation,” attorney Cary Schulman told The Cable. “It’s clear to me that it was somebody looking for information and not money. My most high-profile case right now is the Aurelia Fedenisn case, and I can’t think of any other case where someone would go to these great lengths to get our information.”

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Looks like the Employer regulations for ObamaCare that were put off now have company. Anti-fraud measures have now been put off too. Hey, just like Obama did with his campaign donations, removed anti-fraud protections.

But hey, what could possibly go wrong, right? 🙄  From TheWashingtonExaminer

“One of the biggest administrative hurdles facing Obamacare was the ambitious plan to verify the income and insurance status of applicants for federal health coverage subsidies. In theory, on Oct. 1 of this year, a prospective beneficiary of Obamacare was supposed to be able to visit a website like Orbitz, enter basic information, and wait as multiple state and federal government databases communicated with one another to confirm in real time the applicant’s income level, and then display the level of subsidy to which the applicant was entitled, if any. It was a level of technological sophistication unlike anything ever attempted by the government. Now, with less than three months to go before Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges are set to begin enrolling applicants, Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services is throwing up its hands. Just as it did with the employer mandate, the administration has announced it would delay the implementation of these anti-fraud procedures due to the administrative difficulty.”

“In a regulation released Friday and flagged by Washington Post reporters Sarah Kliff and Sandhya Somashekhar, the administration will now rely on self-reported data. You read that correctly. A man who earns $50,000 per year and gets insurance through his employer could log on to the new government website and say he earns $20,000 and gets no insurance through his employer, and the government would not even attempt to confirm that the information is accurate before forking over generous taxpayer subsidies. It’s a recipe for rampant fraud, which is already widespread in Medicare and Medicaid.

According to the rule as reported by Kliff and Somashekhar, “The exchange may accept the applicant’s attestation regarding enrollment in eligible employer-sponsored plan . . . without further verification” and “the Exchange may accept the attestation of projected annual household income without further verification.””

Gotta love the Friday news dump. 😉

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Since we’re on the subject of debacles from the Obama admin…….  From TheLATimes

“A high-powered rifle lost in the ATF’s Fast and Furious controversy was used to kill a Mexican police chief in the state of Jalisco earlier this year, according to internal Department of Justice records, suggesting that weapons from the failed gun-tracking operation have now made it into the hands of violent drug cartels deep inside Mexico.

Luis Lucio Rosales Astorga, the police chief in the city of Hostotipaquillo, was shot to death Jan. 29 when gunmen intercepted his patrol car and opened fire. Also killed was one of his bodyguards. His wife and a second bodyguard were wounded”

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Continuing with the debacle theme…… From TheHill

“Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed  Morsi a coup d’etat and pressed the Obama administration to suspend aid to the  country on Sunday.

“It was a coup and it was the second time in two and a half years that we  have seen the military step in,” McCain said on CBS’s “Face the  Nation.”

“Reluctantly I believe that we have to suspend aid until such time as there is a  new constitution and a free and fair election,” McCain added.”

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And lastly, does Zimmerman walk? We should know by the end of the week. From ABCNews

“Analysis: George Zimmerman Probably Won’t Be Convicted of Murder or Manslaughter — Here’s Why”

“I drew a legal conclusion on “Good Morning America” Saturday that would have surprised the Dan Abrams who covered the George Zimmerman case leading up to, and shortly after, his arrest.

Now that the prosecution’s case against Zimmerman is in, as a legal matter, I just don’t see how a jury convicts him of second degree murder or even manslaughter in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.”

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by

News/Politics 6-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Here’s more info on one of the newer scandals to hit the Obama admin. This reflects poorly on Mrs. Clinton big time. This is all under her leadership, or lack of. Our govt. is out of control. Especially self-control. From TheNYPost

“A State Department whistleblower has accused high-ranking staff of a massive coverup — including keeping a lid on findings that members of then-Secretary Hillary Clinton’s security detail and the Belgian ambassador solicited prostitutes.

A chief investigator for the agency’s inspector general wrote a memo outlining eight cases that were derailed by senior officials, including one instance of interference by Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.”

“Among the bombshell findings: * A DS agent was called off a case against US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman over claims that he solicited prostitutes, including minors.”

“* At least seven agents in Clinton’s security detail hired prostitutes while traveling with her in various countries, including Russia and Colombia.”

Investigator say the hiring of prostitutes by Clinton’s security detail was “endemic”.

And if the interference came from her CoS, it came from her.

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Next up, did the HHS Secretary violate the Anti-Lobbying Act? From TheAmericanSpectator

“Ever wonder what Kathleen Sebelius does when she isn’t sentencing children to death, shaking down health care providers, or violating campaign finance laws? Well, it seems she spends her spare time, and a lot of taxpayer money, dabbling in illegal lobbying. The Anti-Lobbying Act forbids federal bureaucrats from using money appropriated by Congress to influence “an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose… any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation.” Sebelius evidently didn’t get the memo.

Specifically, it looks like Madam Commissar and her HHS minions have been using federal money to lobby state and local officials to “favor, adopt or oppose” countless initiatives involving everything from local zoning rules to ordinances concerning tobacco use to the imposition of new taxes on soft drinks. The cash they are thus spreading around comes from an obscure Obamacare trove called the “Prevention and Public Health Fund,” which provides Sebelius with what amounts to $12.5 billion in pin money.”

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And in the middle of the IRS scandal they are about to begin enforcing ObamaCare, and deciding who gets the religious conscience exemptions from ObamaCare. Let the targeting begin! Again. From TheWeeklyStandard , via LifeSiteNews

“On August 1, the one-year “safe harbor” for religious charities objecting to provisions of Obamacare will end. Starting then, these nonprofit employers will be forced to violate their religious beliefs or pay large fines. In charge of collecting the fines will be our recently newsworthy friends at the Internal Revenue Service.”

“As details of the IRS scandal continue to emerge, it’s evident that religious values were indeed scrutinized by bureaucrats. A growing number of religious groups and charities are coming forward to report delays in their applications for tax-exempt status, including the Catholics United Education Fund, Christian Voices for Life, and Focus on the Family affiliate Family Talk Action. Others, like Samaritan’s Purse, underwent audits or other IRS scrutiny that seemed out of left field. One targeted group, the Coalition for Life of Iowa, was asked by the IRS about the content of its prayers.

What’s more, Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS’s division on tax-exempt organizations who was placed on administrative leave last month after declining to testify before a House committee, was rewarded with that job after a history of harassing religious people in a previous position as head of enforcement at the Federal Election Commission from 1986 to 2001.

Having lost whatever reputation it had for politically neutral enforcement of the tax code, the IRS, come August 1, will nevertheless gain new authority to determine what constitutes religious activity and which religious employers are entitled to conscience rights under Obamacare. If the case for repealing this unjust intrusion on the free exercise of religion was always strong, in recent weeks it’s gotten stronger still.”

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Here’s the piece on the “Wacko Birds” I mentioned yesterday. The Birds aren’t popular with Dems or the Old Guard Establishment Republicans. Which is probably why I like them. From TheDailyCaller

“There is rebellion afoot in the United States Senate. A new breed of conservatives and libertarians are loosed, unconcerned with The New York Times, unfettered by back-bench rank and unintimidated by Washington politics.

Elected over the past three years, Republican Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz have had a meteoric impact in Washington, soaring to grassroots stardom, crashing into the Democratic majority and raining down on the old bulls  of the Republican Party.”

“Dubbed “Wacko Birds” by top Republican John McCain, these three wear the senior Arizona senator’s scorn as a badge of honor.”

“The Democrats and Republican leadership are  furious. And it isn’t simply because these young upstarts exist — it’s because they’re scoring real points. Using the difficult and arcane rules of the Senate  to their advantage, they have several victories under their belts that have  earned them the respect and support of the conservative grassroots. And despite the ire of both parties — and both parties’ well-connected allies in the press — the Wacko Birds continue undeterred.”

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Obama’s going with the Stand By Your Man act. For now at least. Just give it time, that may change. From CBSNews

“The White House on Tuesday came to the defense of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, after a senator blasted the intelligence official for failing to give “straight answers” on the government surveillance of Americans.”

Clapper has come under fire for the testimony he gave before the Senate Intelligence Committee in March, when Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked him, “Does the [National Security Agency] collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”

“Clapper responded unequivocally, “No, sir. Not wittingly. There are cases where they could, inadvertently perhaps, collect — but not wittingly.”

That contradicts the recent revelations about the NSA’s collection of all of Verizon’s U.S. phone records.”

More from YahooNews

“Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is really struggling to explain why he told Congress in March (see video above) that the National Security Agency does not intentionally collect any kind of data on millions of Americans. His latest take: It’s an unfair question, he said, like “When are you going to stop beating your wife?” And it seems to depend on the meaning of “collect.”

“I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying ‘no,'” Clapper told NBC News on Sunday.”

Least untruthful? What does that even mean? And did he just pull the ol’ Clinton “depends of what the meaning of is is ” too? 😯  🙄

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Here’s another example. It’s not Math, it’s Arithmetic. But I guess that depends on what the meaning of Math is. Or what the meaning of Arithmetic is too. Or isn’t. I’m confused, and he’s acting like Larry the cucumber.

Wait, what? I’m convinced they just make stuff up as they go along.

I think we need more Wacko Birds and way less of these Cuckoo Birds. 🙂

Oh, and if it doesn’t have a tail, it’s not a monkey. It’s an ape. That’s about all I’m sure of right now.

They’ve become cartoon characters.

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Oh, and the ACLU is suing them. From TheHuffingtonPost

And Lindsey Graham says the snooping went far deeper into Americans phone records than the Obama admin admits. From YahooNews

And anyone who still thinks this is the same thing Bush did should read this. Maybe it is the same. But the big difference is in the amount. If Bush was bad with the Patriot Act, then Obama is a 1000 times worse. That is a fact. From NBCNews

“The FBI has dramatically increased its use of a controversial provision of the Patriot Act to secretly obtain a vast store of business records of U.S. citizens under President Barack Obama, according to recent Justice Department reports to Congress. The bureau filed 212 requests for such data to a national security court last year – a 1,000-percent increase from the number of such requests four years earlier, the reports show.”

“Taken together, experts say, those revelations show the government has broadly interpreted the Patriot Act provision as enabling it to collect data not just on specific individuals, but on millions of Americans with no suspected terrorist connections. And it shows that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court  accepted that broad interpretation of the law.

“That they were using this (provision) to do mass collection of data is definitely the biggest surprise,” said Robert Chesney, a top national security lawyer at the University of Texas Law School. “Most people who followed this closely were not aware they were doing this.  We’ve gone from producing records for a particular investigation to the production of all records for a massive pre-collection database. It’s incredibly sweeping.”

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