News/Politics 8-13-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up today, a Benghazi update. Looks like gun running is the reason for the attacks after all, and what they’ve been trying to hide all along. Breitbart and DC’s WMAL provide the details.

Via WeaselZippers  “Atty For Benghazi Whistleblower: 400 U.S. Surface-To-Air Missiles Were Stolen In Benghazi”

“Is this part of the threat that closed the embassies, the fear that our own weapons would be used against us? Joe Di Genova, who was a federal prosecutor, also notes that the President mentioned the sealed indictment to make it appear as though he was doing something, but violated a court order to reveal the sealed indictment.”

“On August 12, Joe DiGenova, attorney for one of the Benghazi whistleblowers, told Washington D.C.’s WMAL that one of the reasons people have remained tight-lipped about Benghazi is because 400 U.S. missiles were “diverted to Libya” and ended up being stolen and falling into “the hands of some very ugly people.”

The interview with the attorney is interesting to say the least.

Now what role do you suppose these weapons played in the recent warnings?

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The N.C. Gov. has signed an extensive new Voter ID law.

From TheWaPo  “North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) on Monday signed into law one of the nation’s most wide-ranging Voter ID laws.

The move is likely to touch off a major court battle over voting rights, and the Justice Department is weighing a challenge to the new law, which is the first to pass since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act. “

“The measure requires voters to present government-issued photo identification at the polls and shortens the early voting period from 17 to 10 days. It will also end pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-old voters who will be 18 on Election Day and eliminates same-day voter registration.

Democrats and minority groups have been fighting against the changes, arguing that they represent an effort to suppress the minority vote and the youth vote, along with reducing Democrats’ advantage in early voting. They point out that there is little documented evidence of voter fraud.”

Wow. The Race Card. Didn’t see that comin’……  🙄

As Politico points out, a war is coming now that the old act has finally fallen.

From Politico State lawmakers from around the country crowded into a packed room Monday at  the meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures to learn more about  the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down the Voting  Rights Act as activists gear up for a new battle over the ballot box.

The panelists that led at the NCSCL gathering in Atlanta said there’s so much  interest in possible voting changes that more chairs had to be brought in for  the larger-than-expected crowd that topped 100.”

The high court’s ruling in June means that parts or all of 15 states can now  pass laws and make changes to elections without needing pre-approval from the  Justice Department – and a handful of them began to act immediately. The Justice  Department has moved to stop Texas from going forward and put it back under  preclearance, and a similar lawsuit has been filed by a separate group against a  small town in southern Alabama.

In the meantime, changes to voting procedures could be small and localized –  which may make them even more dangerous, according to activists.”

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This next one is great if you’re an illegal immigrant. But you still can’t visit the White House. As you can see, they have other funding priorities.

From FoxNews  “A sudden influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico requesting asylum is  overwhelming immigration agents in San Diego, forcing agencies to rent hotel  rooms for some undocumented families and release others to cities around the  U.S.

Documents obtained exclusively by Fox News show Immigration and Customs  Enforcement has been paying for hotel rooms for dozens of recently arrived  families to relieve overcrowding inside the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, Calif.,  processing centers. Some ICE employees are working overtime and others have been  asked to volunteer to work weekend shifts. “Duties include intake, placements,  transports and release of family groups and unaccompanied minors,” according to  a memo obtained by Fox News. 

The surge has raised suspicions about what is driving the influx, amid  claims that illegal immigrants have learned they can attempt to get asylum by  using a few key words — namely, by claiming they have a “credible fear” of drug  cartels. 

“This clearly has to have been orchestrated by somebody,” said former U.S.  Attorney for Southern California Peter Nunez. “It’s beyond belief that dozens or  hundreds or thousands of people would simultaneously decide that they should go  to the U.S. and make this claim.””

Cough (Liberals) Cough (Dems and RINO’s) Cough (Obama) Cough……

Take your pick. Lot’s of suspects to choose from. Pretty much anyone in our govt is a potential suspect. 🙄

But all sarcasm aside, this will cause legitimate requests to be questioned as well. That’s not right. Unintended consequences are never considered.

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Here’s some more of your tax dollars at work.

From Reason  “Labor activists using tactics adopted from the Occupy Wall Street movement are crashing restaurants across the nation in an effort to raise wages for workers – and they’re getting taxpayer money to fund the effort.

Using a combination of federal grants and grants from left-leaning organizations, the Restaurant Opportunity Center, or ROC, is technically a charitable nonprofit and not a union. But their pro-worker messages, anti-employer protests and self-proclaimed goal of organizing service sector employees for the purposes of negotiating higher wages make ROC look and sound much like a labor union.

Some see their tactics as a deliberate attempt to skirt the nation’s labor laws. Only unions elected by a majority of a workplace can negotiate with employers on workers’ behalf, though ROC seems to be doing so in the absence of any election.”

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Here’s an update on the Paula Dean lawsuit.

From MSN  “A federal judge Monday threw out race discrimination  claims by a former Savannah restaurant manager whose lawsuit against Paula Deen has already cost the celebrity cook a  valuable chunk of her culinary empire.

Lisa Jackson sued Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, last year saying she  suffered from sexual harassment and racially offensive talk and employment  practices that were unfair to black workers during her five years as a manager  of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House. Deen is co-owner of the restaurant,  which is primarily run by her brother.”

“But claims of race discrimination by Jackson, who is white, were gutted in  the 20-page opinion by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. The judge  agreed with lawyers for Deen and Hiers that Jackson has no standing to sue her  former employers for what she claims was poor treatment of black workers,  regardless of her claims that she was offended and placed under additional  stress.

Jackson, at best, “is an accidental victim of the alleged racial  discrimination,” Moore said in his ruling. “There are no allegations that  defendant Hiers’s racially offensive comments were either directed toward  plaintiff or made with the intent to harass her.”

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And the rodeo clown with the Obama mask has been banned from the MO. State Fair.

From Yahoo  “The Missouri State Fair on Monday imposed a lifetime ban on a rodeo clown whose depiction of President Barack Obama getting charged by a bull was widely criticized by Democratic and Republican officials alike.

The rodeo clown won’t be allowed to participate or perform at the fair again. Fair officials say they’re also reviewing whether to take any action against the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association, the contractor responsible for Saturday’s event.”

“The fair said in a written statement announcing the clown’s ban that he had engaged in an “unconscionable stunt” that was “inappropriate and not in keeping with the Fair’s standards.” The fair’s press release did not identify the clown.”

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News/Politics 7-26-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

We’ve got a bunch today.

First up, from TheWashingtonPost  “By a margin of 56 to 27 percent, more Americans say they’d prefer to impose limits on abortions after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy rather than the 24-week mark established under current law, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.”

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Next up, Holder begins his attempt to get around the recent Voting Rights decision from the Supreme Court. Why does he always speak to border-line racist groups about alleged racism from others?

From RedAlertPolitics  “In response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision that states are innocent of institutional racism until proven guilty, Attorney General Eric Holder is arguing that Texas’ “history of pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities” should make its voting laws subject to the Department of Justice’s oversight indefinitely.

While speaking before the National Urban League in Philadelphia on Thursday, Holder said his agency would ask a federal judge to require Texas to submit all its voting laws to the DOJ for review before they can be legally enacted because the state has a supposed history of discrimination and racism.”

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Meanwhile the Obama admin plays dumb in order to keep the money flowing to Egypt. Coup? What coup? 🙄

From TheHuffingtonPost  “The Obama administration told lawmakers Thursday that it won’t declare Egypt’s government overthrow a coup, U.S. officials and lawmakers said, allowing the United States to continue providing $1.5 billion in annual military and economic aid to the Arab world’s most populous country.”

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Next we have another victim of ObamaCare.

From RedAlertPolitics  “For almost 20 years Bob Westbrook has been a Cici’s Pizza franchise owner, selling “fresh taste at a great price.” But thanks to Obamacare’s not-so-great-employer mandate, Westbrook is forced to sell his buffet-style restaurants instead of pizza.

Even though Westbrook says his Texas stores were the top three performing CiCi’s Pizza franchises, he wasn’t making enough dough… er, money to provide health insurance to all 96 of his full-time employees, much less afford the penalty — which would cost him $78,000 more than what he says he made at his restaurants in 2011.”

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Here’s a new development in the NSA snooping.

From Cnet  “The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users’ stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.”

“If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.”

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Meanwhile, we now know what it costs to buy an Ambassadorship. About a half a million.

From Bloomberg  “At least 26 of Obama’s current and nominated ambassadors were major Democratic campaign contributors, giving a total of at least $13.6 million to him, the Democratic Party, and congressional candidates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“When he talked about toughening up lobbying rules, the sense was that this is a president really committed to international engagement,” said Dan Kurtzer, a 29-year veteran of the foreign service and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. “Instead, we so devalue diplomacy that we assume anyone can walk off the street and do it.”

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And last, we have The Black Death. 😯

From NBCLosAngelos  “A squirrel infected with plague bacteria prompted the closure of popular campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest on Wednesday, according to Los Angeles County health officials.”

That’s not cool.

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