Saturday, June 15, 2013

Antonovich: Illegal Aliens Cost County $54 Mil. Monthly

06/15/2013

Michael D. Antonovich
[Supervisor Antonovich] - With an additional $54 million in welfare payments issued in April to illegal alien parents for their native-born children, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services projects that more than $650 million in welfare benefits will be distributed to illegal alien parents in 2013, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said Friday.

The $54 million spent in the month of April alone, consists of nearly $20 million in CalWORKs (welfare) and $35 million in food stamps — representing 20% of all CalWORKs and food stamp issuances in the County. At this rate, the projected annual cost is approximately $650 million.

“When you add the $550 million for public safety and nearly $500 million for healthcare, the total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers exceeds $1.6 billion dollars a year,” said Antonovich. “These costs do not even include the hundreds of millions of dollars spent annually for education.”

source

On PRISM, partisanship and propaganda

06/15/2013

Addressing many of the issues arising from last week's NSA stories

"What we learned in there is significantly more than what is out in the media today. . . . I can't speak to what we learned in there, and I don't know if there are other leaks, if there's more information somewhere, if somebody else is going to step up, but I will tell you that I believe it's the tip of the iceberg . . . . I think it's just broader than most people even realize, and I think that's, in one way, what astounded most of us, too..."


FULL STORY +  UPDATED  + UPDATE II + UPDATE III

awesome! New Controversial First-of-Its-Kind Ammo Claims to Offer ‘Peaceful and Natural Deterrent to Radical Islam’

06/15/2013

New “Jihawg” ammunition claims to offer gun owners a “peaceful and natural deterrent” to the growing threat of radical Islam.

How? By putting pork in its ammo to make it “unclean” for radical Islamists.

FULL STORY>>

Lib Rag: Nation Should Welcome Darkening Demographic

06/15/2013

Norman Rockwell is dead. So is his America.

If you find that declaration sad, or possibly slanderous, you probably have fond memories of “the way we were” during a supposedly kinder and gentler time before the civil rights movement, women’s lib and cellphones. If you don’t shed tears over that America, you may have grown up as I did — oppressed by the strictures of a social and political system that didn’t show much respect to those who were not white male Christians...

WAIT, THERE"S MORE>>>

Blue Dogs to Obama: ‘Time to Approve Keystone Has Come’

06/15/2013

Blue Dog Democrats are asking President Obama to quit stalling and approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Members of the fiscally conservative coalition sent a letter to Obama on Wednesday saying “the time to approve the Keystone XL project has come.”

READ MORE

Democratic Congressman: 'Not Fair' To Subject Congress To Obamacare Just Like Everyone Else

06/15/2013

When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) was being debated, proponents were accused of saddling Americans with inferior and expensive health care while keeping generous coverage for themselves at taxpayer expense. To rebut that allegation and build confidence in the bill, a provision was added mandating that members of Congress – and their staff members – get there coverage through the new exchange system the bill set up. Now that the time to sign up for exchange coverage is nearing, a Democratic member, Rep. John Larson (D., Conn.), is saying that “this is simply not fair” – as key staff members head for the exits to avoid Obamacare.

FULL STORY

Scapegoat Update: IRS official Holly Paz reportedly fired

06/15/2013

Embattled IRS official Holly Paz is believed to have been fired from the scandal-ridden agency, indicating that the growing IRS scandal could end up implicating more IRS agents than previously thought.

FULL STORY AT THE DAILY CALLER

Deputies escort dismissed George Zimmerman juror from courthouse

06/15/2013

Jerry Counelis, 55, eliminated from jury pool after defense finds 2012 Facebook post

FULL STORY

Syria Militants Massacre Christian Village Population

Police detain reporters, stop them from photographing alleged NSA facility where Snowden worked

Dems New "Yes Man" Rubio: Legalize Illegal Immigrants So They Can Fund Border Security

06/15/2013

On Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said one reason illegal immigrants must be legalized as soon as possible is so they can help fund border security measures by paying taxes and fines.

KEEP READING>>

Graffiti artist Shepard Fairey's Trayvon Martin message slips into the courthouse

06/15/2013

SANFORD, Fla. -

Graffiti artist Shepard Fairey’s message was heard loud and clear in the silence of a Sanford, Fla. courtroom during the search of an impartial jury for the George Zimmerman trial.

On the first day of jury duty, a Seminole County teen wore one of Fairey’s trendy black caps with the “OBEY” logo known worldwide. When it was his turn to be questioned in the courtroom Thursday, the recent high-school graduate wore an "OBEY" tank top.

“I can’t help but see that you have something written on your shirt,” said defense attorney Don West, who looked puzzled in a navy blue jacket and tangerine orange tie.

Attorneys’ job during the pre-trial publicity part of the questioning is to peel away the layers of the potential jurors’ opinions and insights. They are also trained to look at what potential jurors convey in subtle ways.

“Did you choose the shirt, because of any particular message it conveys?”

“No … It’s just a clothing company,” said the boy identified as potential juror E75 to protect his identity.

“Oh! That’s the brand?” Zimmerman smiled and some in the courtroom chuckled.

It was more than just a brand. After Trayvon Martin died Feb. 26, 2012, Fairey -- whose portrait of President Barack Obama is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. – painted a portrait of Trayvon that went viral on the web.

"I have followed Trayvon's case closely and I think any compassionate human being can relate to Trayvon as a brother or son,” Fairey said in a statement. Adding he wanted “to see a thorough investigation into the killing of an unarmed person.”

Fairey is a regular during Art Basel in Miami Beach and has left his iconic red, black and white collages on Miami’s Wynwood Walls, the artsy Wynwood Kitchen & Bar and has murals in cities all over the world.

Fairey “has always applied many of the principles of classic propaganda,” said Miami spray-paint artist Claudio Picasso, also known as CP1. “Often times he appropriates old propaganda images and mixes them in representations of pop icons.”

Time’s Ebony Magazine published Fairey’s Trayvon portrait on its May magazine cover in 2012 and the portrait was all over Instagram and was seen in protests around the country through the summer. Fairey’s work has also been seen during Occupy Wall Street protests.

Fairey is a self-proclaimed student of "the teachings of political propaganda," Picasso said.

Fairey said he wanted “to emphasize Trayvon's humanity as well as the public outcry for a just investigation into his death.”

source: local10.com

Media Fail: Smith & Wesson Stock, Sales Soar

06/15/2013

Gun maker Smith & Wesson hit a revenue record during their last fiscal year, which ended April 30. Preliminary numbers show that sales were up 43% over the previous year and hit $580 million. CNN Money reports that, "Earnings were a record $1.22 a share, up from 40 cents a share in the prior fiscal year."

KEEP READING

Jeb Bush: U.S. economy needs immigrants because they’re ‘more fertile’

06/15/2013

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) argued Wednesday that the United States should pass immigration reform because the U.S. economy needs the labor of young immigrants, and immigrants are “more fertile.”

FULL STORY

FLASHBACK: Obama Administration Silent After Egyptian Constitution Restores Slavery

Slaves in Africa – in the early 20th century.
06/15/2013

By: Jim Hoft
12/1/2012 12:31 PM

It’s no secret that Egyptian slavery is as old as the pyramids.
 It’s also common knowledge that Barack Obama’s ancestors owned slaves.

So it’s really no surprise that he helped usher in a radical Egpytian regime that is restoring slavery.
According to the AP Egypt’s new constitution has dropped its ban on slavery:

Omissions of certain articles, such as bans on slavery or promises to adhere to international rights treaties, were equally worrying to critics of the new draft, who pulled out from the panel before the vote.

The Obama administration declined to criticize Egypt’s constitution despite its slavery clause.

source: Human Events

Betrayal: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer pushes through Obama's Medicaid expansion

06/15/2013

TUCSON — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer won a battle with state lawmakers this week, defying most other conservatives in her party to get a key component of President Obama’s Medicaid expansion through the Legislature.

FULL STORY

State Department to Spend $450,000 Protecting Transgenders - Overseas

06/15/2013

The State Department through its Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) is planning to spend $450,000 in taxpayer dollars “to support programs that increase protection of transgender persons who face acute forms of violence and harassment.”

READ MORE AT CNS NEWS

Northern Wisconsin: Protests over proposed iron mine raises concerns of 'eco-terrorism'

06/15/2013

Two separate protests this week over a proposed iron mine in northern Wisconsin are changing the complexion of the massive project as debate over mining shifts from a legislative fight to boots-on-the-ground activism that a mine spokesman called "eco-terrorism.'"

FULL STORY

Six Million African Muslims Convert to Christianity Each Year

06/15/2013


This translation of a televised conversation reveals a rare glimpse into the outlook of Muslim scholars who are concerned about Christianity’s growth. The invited guest is Sheikh Ahmad Al Katani; the president of The Companions Lighthouse for the Science of Islamic Law in Libya, which is an institution specializing in graduating imams and Islamic preachers.

Katani starts off describing the overall problem:

KEEP READING

Friday, June 14, 2013

Latino radio stations connect immigrant communities

June 14, 2013

Axel Contreras, left, works the controls while Lulu Hartman and Ted Hess provide bilingual immigration advice during the weekly Punto Legal radio show.
by Andrew Cullen
By Nelson Harvey

"Si, buenas tardes?" Miriam Ceja chirped into the microphone at La Nueva Mix's studio in Glenwood Springs, Colo. It was 5 p.m., "prime drive time," on a Wednesday evening in late March. La Nueva Mix is primarily a music station, playing Norteño ballads and other Latin American tunes. But since its debut six years ago, program director Axel Contreras has also introduced talk shows on health, real estate and dealing with police encounters. By far the most popular, though, is Punto Legal, a weekly immigration law call-in. Ceja, an assistant at the law firm Hess and Schubert, is one of the show's translators. Her boss, immigration attorney Ted Hess, who says he doesn't speak "a lick of Spanish," scribbled notes as she spoke.

"I've been working without a Social Security card," said the anonymous caller, who sounded like a young man. "Will I still be able to take advantage of immigration reform?"

"As long as you haven't committed a major felony, you should still be able to benefit from any reforms," Hess replied. There was a pause.

"So, uh, can I go back to working with my fake documents?"

"I can't legally advise you to do that," said Hess, covering his microphone as he and Ceja stifled laughter.

The next 50 minutes were typical: For every call answered, two more blinking lights materialized on the switchboard. A woman whose sister was ripped off by someone she paid to "fix" her immigration papers wondered whether she could report the crime and qualify for a so-called "U Visa," granting immunity from deportation. A man waiting on a green card learned about the federal government's 20-year application backlog. Hess reassured a woman who'd been caught driving without a license and was afraid to show up for her court date, believing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would deport her. The demand for free legal advice seemed endless.

Latino stations are nearly as old as radio itself. In the U.S., their success was initially built on immigrants' nostalgia for the music of home, says Angie Balderas, vice president of sales for the Hispanic media company Adelante Media Group. Increasingly, though, Latino stations have come to resemble public service organizations. Radio is cheap, accessible and omnipresent in the native countries of many immigrants. "It's the first line of information for many immigrants," says Balderas. Shows like Punto Legal abound and have real value for non-English speakers struggling to navigate the Byzantine complexity of the U.S. immigration system. Programs about health, finance and real estate are also popular, says Luis Manuel Botello at the Washington, D.C.-based International Center for Journalists. "A lot of these immigrants don't have health insurance, so the media becomes their source for information about health issues (instead of doctors). And personal finance is relatively new for many immigrants, because in their countries the economies are not really based on credit."

Conteras, a Guatemalan who came to the U.S. illegally 20 years ago and is now a legal resident, hopes that the news and information he airs help immigrants integrate into American society. "Our station is just a bridge for the Latino community," he says. Its approach has attracted a broad listenership: According to streaming data from La Nueva Mix's parent company, the station routinely out-performs the company's English language holdings. In April, for instance, La Nueva Mix's website had more than 28,000 hits, while KSPN, a popular local rock station, had just over 3,000.

Frequently, there's a political tone to Latino stations' programming. Ramon Ramirez, a board member of western Oregon's KPCN, is also the president of the Northwest Tree Planters and Farm Workers United labor union. KPCN serves the migrant farmworkers who harvest Oregon's cherries, strawberries and blueberries, and Ramirez says the station is sometimes used to orchestrate protests and strikes. "There was a grower here that banned their employees from listening to the station while they were working, because we used it as an organizing tool," he says. In times of crisis, Contreras converts La Nueva Mix into a sort of emergency warning system. In 2011, for instance, during the "Strawberry Days" carnival down the street from the station, federal immigration agents conducted a raid, disrupting the festivities and arresting several suspected undocumented immigrants. Immediately, Contreras took to the airwaves and urged people to avoid the carnival. "I've never seen it as empty as it was that day," he recalls.

Officially, La Nueva Mix remains a commercial radio station. Advertisers include McDonalds, tax accountants, car dealers, fortune-tellers and money transfer services. In practice, though, Contreras cultivates a community radio sensibility, even when selling ads, often turning down offers from companies that might prey on vulnerable listeners -- by claiming to fix immigration papers, for instance, or promising fake Caribbean vacations in exchange for "service fees" and personal information. "A lot of people couldn't afford to lose that money," Contreras explains.

For advertisers he approves, access to the station's audience can pay handsomely. Ted Hess says he gets the vast majority of his business through Punto Legal. In fact, the show is so successful that he recently replicated it on the Greeley, Colo.-based station Tigre FM. He also opened a new law office in Greeley, noting that many Latinos are moving to the area to work for northern Colorado's ubiquitous gas companies, slaughterhouses and farms. "You'll see this trend in any emerging market," says Balderas, of Adelante Media Group. "I wouldn't be surprised if you soon saw part-time Spanish radio stations in North Dakota because of the oil boom there."

Reached by phone at the new Greeley office in late April, Hess said he'd just closed his first show on Tigre FM with his signature tagline: "Don't fight with your spouse, don't let ICE into your house, and DON'T go back to Mexico."

source

Eyeball licking for love causing health issues

June 14, 2013

"My boyfriend started licking my eyeballs years ago and I just loved it,"

FULL STORY>>

FOIA: 201 IRS employees work full-time on union business

June 14, 2013

In a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Americans for Limited Government, the Internal Revenue Service revealed this month that 201 of its employees work full-time on union activities.

Keep Reading>>

US claims of Assad’s chemical weapons are lies – Pushkov

June 14, 2013

A senior Russian MP holds that the recent White House statement of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government is as false as the notorious reports about Iraqi WMDs.

Read The Rest>>

Chinese Paper: Snowden Could Be Useful to China

June 14, 2013

A popular Communist Party-backed newspaper urged China's leadership to milk a former U.S. contractor for more information rather than send him home, saying his revelations about secret American surveillance programs concern China's national interest.

FULL STORY>>

Syria: Twitter pic of dead teen Barcelona fan goes viral

June 14, 2013


The photo of a Syrian child wearing the jersey of FC Barcelona has gone viral on social media, stirring widespread outrage online at the brutality of the Syrian regime’s army.

When Ahmad Othman, 14, was killed on May 2, his photo was published by #Tweet4SyrianChild, a Twitter campaign that highlights the suffering of Syrian children.

The photo soon went viral after the Spanish daily newspaper Sport, close the FC Barcelona, republished the picture. Thousands of Barcelona fans then began sharing and commenting on Othman’s photo.

Othman was killed along with his family after Bashar al-Assad's forces shelled the town of al-Baydah near Banyas last month.

Othman’s relatives said he used to wear Barcelona’s jersey every day and never missed a match by the Spanish club, his relatives said, according to Syrian opposition media. He even dreamed of becoming a famous footballer like Lionel Messi, one Facebook page belonging to the opposition said.

source

WHO: New Virus Has Pandemic Potential

June 14, 2013

The World Health Organization is asking health workers around the world to be on alert for symptoms of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

Monday's warning came as WHO officials ended a six-day investigation in Saudi Arabia, where 40 of the 55 cases of the respiratory disease have occurred. Sixty percent of those people with known infections died.

The United Nations agency is concerned that the MERS virus might spread among pilgrims expected to visit holy sites in Saudi Arabia next month during Ramadan, or the millions more expected in October for the annual Hajj to Mecca.

Officials are also worried that guest workers in the kingdom could carry the virus home to other countries, possibly causing a global pandemic.

Travelers have carried the virus to Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Infected people have also been found in Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

source: voa

Bachmann, Gohmert, & Steve King Appeal Directly To Glenn Beck And Audience: "We're Losing Badly..."

June 14, 2013




6/13/13 - With immigration reform still going through Congress, a number of conservative Republicans are not happy with how their party has jumped on the bandwagon to fight for a bill that concedes the argument to the Democrats. Michele Bachmann, Louie Gohmert, and Steve King made a joint appearance Thursday on Glenn Beck's show to lobby him and his audience directly to stand up against a bill that they say is only getting bipartisan support because of how progressivism is spreading throughout the Republican party like a disease.

Bachmann insisted that they will be able to "kill" the bill, while King explained how people are getting selective information on immigration reform that only touts the positives of passing it. He said they will be holding a press conference next week, admitting that "we can't get the right debate inside of Congress." Bachmann described the event as a "Lincoln-Douglas debate" to tackle the issue, pointing out that the American people "pushed back hard" the last time Congress tried to take up this issue.

Bachmann added that a lot of people (singling out Beck's viewers in particular) don't know what's going on, and admitted the conservative wing of the GOP is "losing badly." She made an appeal to Beck's viewers to flood their congressperson's office with phone calls telling them that they want any immigration bill to make border security priority number one.

Gohmert pushed back against the idea that they are "hurting our party politically," citing polls showing Americans having a growing distrust in government. Beck pledged that he is behind their efforts, touting that he has a "very active audience" who will send a message to Congress before the bill is voted on.

Source: YouTube

Fourth Amendment Rally Planned For Fourth of July

June 14, 2013

Though there won't be loaded rifle-toting protesters traipsing around the National Mall on the Fourth of July anymore, it does looks like there will be a different group of Bill of Rights upholders protesting on Independence Day.

In response to Edward Snowden's massive intelligence leak, supporters of Fourth Amendment rights are banding together to organize massive rallies across the country.

The rally, dubbed 'Restore the Fourth,' will be held in major cities across the country on July 4th, including Washington, D.C. Though a time and location for the D.C. rally hasn't been confirmed yet, the event is being planned through Reddit. More information will come soon.

According the the national group's Facebook page, leaders are "a non-partisan group of concerned citizens dedicated to restoring our Fourth Amendment rights." This response comes after National Security Agency contractor Snowden claimed responsibility for leaking details of the agency's surveillance program, revealing the government's possibly unlawful surveillance practices that challenge the right to privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment.

"We come from all across the political spectrum," the Restore the Fourth's Facebook page says, "but what we all have in common is this: The right to be secure in our persons against unlawful search and seizures is a basic human right; a right that has been violated severely by our current government."

source: DCist

Rand Paul's Message To Evangelicals: "There is a war on Christianity"

June 14, 2013

Senator Rand Paul, who is seriously considering running for President of the United States, told a conservative Christian audience today that, "There is a war on Christianity" being waged by "liberal elites' and "worldwide as well.

Read his remarks below, delivered at today's Faith and Freedom Coalition luncheon in DC. The organization's big "Road to Majority" event starts today and runs through Saturday. Jeb Bush, sarah Palin, Ted Cruz and many others are speaking in the next couple days.

Rand Paul has been actively courting the conservative Christian community for months. He took a trip to Israel which was organized by influential evangelical organizer David Lane and has been speaking to Christian audiences in key GOP Primary states. He will speak to hundreds of Iowa pastors next month in Des Moines. The Brody File also knows of plenty of private events he has done within the Christian community.

Rand Paul has quite a bit going for him if he makes a run. His libertarian views give him distinct crossover appeal but, in addition as a committed pro-life believer in Jesus Christ he can court evangelicals in a a way that doesn't look like pandering. Plus, he's super smart which not only gives the Tea Party more credibility as a movement but allows Paul to get a serious look from the shark-infested waters filled with mainstream media members. He should NOT be underestimated.

READ: Senator Rand Paul's Remarks

Could Syria ignite World War 3? That's the terrifying question as the hatred between two Muslim ideologies sucks in the world's superpowers

June 14, 2013

Syrian conflict could engulf region in struggle between Sunni and Shia

Already claimed 93,000 lives and made 1.6million people refugees


UK, France and U.S. taken different side to China and Russia



READ THE REST>>

Thousands Of Firms Trade Confidential Data With The US Government In Exchange For Classified Intelligence

June 14, 2013

The rabbit hole just got deeper. A whole lot deeper.

On Sunday we predicated that "there's one reason why the administration, James Clapper and the NSA should just keep their mouths shut as the PRISM-gate fallout escalates: with every incremental attempt to refute some previously unknown facet of the US Big Brother state, a new piece of previously unleaked information from the same intelligence organization now scrambling for damage control, emerges and exposes the brand new narrative as yet another lie, forcing even more lies, more retribution against sources, more journalist persecution and so on."

Full Story at Zero Hedge>>

Left-Wing D.C. Political Firm Extends its Influence in Montana Democratic Politics

June 14, 2013

An ongoing Media Trackers investigation into the D.C.-based, left-wing political firm Hilltop Public Solutions continues to yield evidence of that organization’s influence in Montana politics and the Montana Democratic Party.

The firm is currently the subject of a Montana Office of Political Practices complaint which alleges that the group illegally coordinated expenditures on behalf of Gov. Steve Bullock's election campaign, using funds provided by left-wing dark money groups and Political Action Committees.

READ THE ENTIRE STORY>>

New bills in USSR/NYC aim to regulate 3D printed guns

June 14, 2013

Two bills in New York City aim to regulate 3D firearms.

The New York Daily News reports that New York City Council member Lewis Fidler plans to introduce a bill that would regulate 3D printed guns.

The bill specifies that it's illegal to make 3D printed weapons without a gunsmith license, that the guns must be registered with police within 72 hours and each weapon must have a serial number.

Fidler stressed the importance of regulation - "If left unregulated, these would be weapons without histories — potentially no identifying marks or sales histories. We wouldn't even know these weapons exist, until they were fired," Fidler said.

FULL STORY

Caught on video: abortionist tells woman 24-week-old fetus ‘doesn’t even look like a baby yet’

June 14, 2013

ARLINGTON, VA, June 13, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The latest undercover video from the pro-life organization Live Action shows a host of abortion doctors nationwide equivocating about fetal development and the humanity of the unborn child, and then describing in graphic detail the late-term abortion procedure that would end these children’s lives.

READ THE REST

FBI hasn’t contacted a single tea party group in IRS probe, groups say

June 14, 2013

There is no evidence that the FBI has contacted a single tea party group in its criminal investigation of the Internal Revenue Service, according to the groups the IRS abused.

Continue to Article>>

Obama gun-runners 'got away with it'

Jun 14, 2013


Critics say intimidation keeps shops, others, from complaining about lack of progress

A congressional committee chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., may have moved on to other Obama administration scandals, but Arizonans still want answers to the Fast and Furious gun-running project that sent thousands of weapons to drug lords in Mexico.

Will they get them?


FULL STORY>>

In the Spirit of That Infamous Phrase Muttered By Nancy Pelosi, "We Need To Pass the Bill So we Can See What's Inside of it"..

June 14, 2013

Introducing: "The Next Big Ignoramus"

Rubio: We need to legalize immigrants so they can pay for border security


READ THE FULL STORY>>



Obama Family Africa Trip Most Expensive In HISTORY… Estimated Cost $60 to $100 Million

June 14, 2013

Not only is this the most expensive trip in presidential history (mentioned at the :40 second marker of below video), but also note that the video discusses all the cargo planes (accompanying Obama) as well as an interesting detail in which military jets will be doing a fly-over 24/7. Typically military jets are available and only fly-over when needed. But Obama wants 24/7 fly-over coverage.

Too bad that Obama didn’t feel the same sense of urgency when our SEALs and American Ambassador needed security in Benghazi.

Read The Rest or Watch the Video>>

Obama Supports Al Qaeda

June 14, 2013


U.S.: Syria used chemical weapons, crossing "red line".

Not the al Qaeda cell otherwise known to low information Americans as Syrian Rebels

The Obama administration has concluded that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons against the rebels seeking to overthrow him and, in a major policy shift, President Obama has decided to supply military support to the rebels, the White House announced Thursday.

"The president has made a decision about providing more support to the opposition that will involve providing direct support to the [Supreme Military Council]. That includes military support," Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes told reporters.


Listen: White House conference call with reporters>>

or

Read The Rest>>





Why Hasn't IRS Director Lois Lerner Been Fired?

June 14, 2013

Amidst the firestorm of scandals swirling around the Obama administration, the IRS’ coordinated targeting of conservative groups has perhaps been the most frightening. The use of the IRS–arguably one of the most apolitical branches of government–as a strategic political weapon is a betrayal of Americans’ trust in the most basic functions of government.

Article Continues...

Rep. Elijah Cummings clarifies: IRS case not 'solved'

June 14, 2013

Rep. Elijah Cummings is backing away from his assertion that the investigation into the IRS scandal is “solved” and says he still wants to work with Republicans on the probe.

Read The Rest>>

In the House too, the fix may well be in

June 14, 2013

Paul Ryan tells a Washington audience assembled by the National Association of Manufacturers that “earned legalization is an issue I think the House can and will deal with.” In other words, as CNBC’s John Harwood tweeted, “Paul Ryan tells me House will pass immigration ‘path to citizenship.’ Despite flak on right, ‘House can/will deal with earned legalization.’”

Read The Entire Article>>

Rubio: ‘I’m done’ if immigration bill includes gay couple amendment

June 14, 2013

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, a co-author and key proponent of the Senate immigration bill, said he will revoke his support if an amendment is added that allows gay Americans to petition for same-sex spouses living abroad to secure a green card.

Keep Reading>>

SCOTUS Rules Lab-Created Genes Can Be Patented, Natural Genes Can't

June 14, 2013

Nobody can claim a patent on genes naturally found in human DNA, but you can patent them if you created them in a lab, the Supreme Court ruled today.

READ THE FULL STORY>>

The Cincinnati lie

June 14, 2013

The IRS hadn’t spoken four sentences about its targeting of conservative groups before it blamed “our line people in Cincinnati.”

Those were the words of Lois Lerner on May 10, when she acknowledged the misconduct in an answer to a question planted at an American Bar Association conference. In a phone session with reporters later that day, she famously admitted that she is not good at math. It turns out that she is not good at geography, either.

Read The Rest>>

After gun bill’s defeat, it’s Democrats, not Republicans, paying the political price

June 14, 2013

When Congress in April defeated an effort to strengthen the national background-check system for gun sales, it was mostly on the strength of Republican opposition. Less than two months later, proponents of stricter gun laws have decided that a small number of Democrats will make more productive targets.

Go To Article>>

Yet another arrest-ridden liberal protest gets the atta-boy from national press

June 14, 2013

I mentioned yesterday the ongoing liberal protests in North Carolina dubbed “Moral Mondays.” Protesters are self-consciously modeling their efforts on Wisconsin’s, which as I noted, doesn’t necessarily bode well for them. But it does give us a chance to witness, once again, the breathtaking double standard in media coverage for protests populated by liberals vs. protests populated by conservatives.

KEEP READING>>

Obama Tells Keystone Foes He Will Unveil Climate Measures

June 14, 2013

With his administration under pressure from environmentalists to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project, President Barack Obama plans to unveil a package of separate actions next month focused on curbing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

At closed-door fundraisers held over the past few weeks, the president has been telling Democratic party donors that he will unveil new climate proposals in July, according to people who have attended the events or been briefed.

Continue to Article>>

Our Disappearing President

June 13, 2013

ExcerptAt press time, even former vice president Dick Cheney was planning to strip off his waders and put down his fly rod in order to explain and support the surveillance in an appearance on Fox News Sunday. Virtually every public official with detailed knowledge of these programs has spent time over the past two weeks touting their reported successes and arguing for their continuation.
But not Barack Obama.

Read the Rest>>


Source: TWS - Jun 24, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 39 • By STEPHEN F. HAYES

How Yahoo Fought PRISM — And Lost

June 14, 2013

Yahoo, one of the companies named as part of the NSA's PRISM data collection program, didn't go quietly, according to a New York Times scoop posted late Thursday. The company was behind a 2008 court challenge to fight a court order requiring the company to give them data without a warrant, which they lost. That, according to the Times, ushered the company into PRISM.

READ MORE

Class action suit filed against record label's ownership of 'Happy Birthday'

June 14, 2013

Good Morning to You Productions has filed the lawsuit aimed at striking down Warner/Chappell Music’s copyright claim to the iconic century-old birthday song. Other parties include those over the past four years who have had to pay to use the song on stage, TV or in film.

FULL STORY

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Internet anonymity is the height of chic

06/13/2013



In this age of information overload, internet exhibitionism and NSA snooping, is it possible to make yourself unGoogleable? And does it earn you added credibility, as fashion designer Phoebe Philo and bands such as !!! suggest?

LEARN HOW TO BECOME GOOGLEPROOF>>


How To Get Out Of PRISM and Avoid NSA Spying

06/13/2013

Admittedly, most people don’t seem to give a toss about PRISM one way or the other. But you should, and not just because certain groups claim that the NSA’s spying could be unconstitutional – there are lots of reasons why the alleged complicity of US tech firms could be bad for America, and no one wants to live in an Orwellian Dystopia, which is what could happen if we never take a stand.

So with this in mind, is there any way to avoid the all-encompassing dragnet that the NSA has admitted to running?

You bet there is, and today we’re about to reveal how. Now bear in mind that avoiding PRISM means avoiding those services which allegedly collaborate with the NSA, so it’s going to be a major pain in the beginning – and yet, it’s definitely possible to do. Think of it as a steep learning curve; you can live without Google, Microsoft, Skype et al., but it’ll take some motivation on your part to stick to the plan.

LEARN HOW>>

Thanks to Obama's "No Consequence" Government Programs, White Americans losing majority in under-5 age group, Census says

06/13/2013

WASHINGTON – For the first time, America's racial and ethnic minorities now make up about half of the under-5 age group, the government said Thursday. It's a historic shift that shows how young people are at the forefront of sweeping changes by race and class.

The new census estimates, a snapshot of the U.S. population as of July 2012, comes a year after the Census Bureau reported that whites had fallen to a minority among babies. Fueled by immigration and high rates of birth, particularly among Hispanics, racial and ethnic minorities are now growing more rapidly in numbers than whites.

READ THE ENTIRE STORY>>

Inside the Beltway WARNING: Unifying conservatives by 2014

06/13/2013

Organizers behind the bodacious “Road to Majority” conference are determined to wrangle conservatives onto the same page as the 2014 midterm elections loom. The event, virtually ignored so far by the mainstream press, begins Thursday at a hotel just three blocks from the White House.

Article continues>>

322 IRS visits to White House

06/13/2013

WASHINGTON – The explosion of intelligence-gathering scandals is giving the left time to get its story straight, at least, on the IRS scandal.

FULL STORY>>

UW dean’s list student arrested in child rape investigation

06/13/2013

Seattle — Omar Abdelbadie, a 22-year-old neurobiology major and member of the dean's list, was arrested by Seattle police Monday night for investigation of raping a 12-year-old girl at his apartment near campus Sunday.

Continue to Article>>

Big Brother Update: NSA boss tells lawmakers the gov't wants even more data, 'dozens' of attacks thwarted

06/13/2013

National Security Agency chief Gen. Keith Alexander may be under fire for collecting millions of Americans' phone records and Internet data. But the nation's top electronic spy told a Congressional panel Wednesday that he wants the feds to slurp up even more information - and distribute it more widely throughout the government.

FULL STORY

NJ town OKs boardwalk ban on saggy pants

06/13/2013

WILDWOOD, N.J. (AP) -- Hindsight will soon be punishable by a $25 fine in this Jersey Shore resort.

READ MORE

NC protests split on Bible's message to help poor

06/13/2013

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Over the last two months, hundreds of protesters have walked out of North Carolina's capitol in handcuffs to show their opposition to policies by the GOP-controlled Legislature.

FULL STORY

EXCLUSIVE: Stop-and-frisk lawsuit may lead to federal monitor for NYPD

06/13/2013

Attorney General Eric Holder's office has filed a brief seeking a federal NYPD monitor in the event the court finds the stop-and-frisk policy unconstitutional.

FULL STORY

World less peaceful than five years ago (Since Obama came to power)

06/13/2013

WASHINGTON - The world - especially the Greater Middle East - has become less peaceful than it was five years ago, according to the 2013 edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) released here Tuesday by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

KEEP READING>>

Next generation radicals in Indonesia

06/13/2013

JAKARTA - Driven by strong exports and buoyant domestic markets, Indonesia is projected to be among the world's top 10 economies by 2025. While the future looks bright for Southeast Asia's largest economy, a growing tide of religious intolerance threatens to undermine those gains. Where officials have in the past attributed religious violence and terrorism to foreign influenced groups, now the threats to stability are more clearly homegrown.

FULL STORY

Singapore's low tax rate an incentive for foreigners

06/13/2013

In recent times, Singapore has emerged as a preferred destination among companies as well as foreigners looking to work in Asia.

READ MORE

Scottish Law May Require Social Workers To Be Assigned to All Children

06/13/2013

The Scottish Parliament is considering a controversial bill that would assign a social worker to every child born in the country in order to “promote, support or safeguard the well-being of the child or young person.”

FULL STORY


Obama's Snooping Excludes Mosques, Missed Boston Bombers

06/13/2013

Homeland Insecurity: The White House assures that tracking our every phone call and keystroke is to stop terrorists, and yet it won't snoop in mosques, where the terrorists are.

KEEP READING>>

‘Sesame Street’ to teach kids about when Mommy goes to prison

06/13/2013

It’s brought to you by the letter P — for prison.

PBS’s “Sesame Street” is moving from ABCs and counting numbers to offering its young viewers a bigger lesson in life: how to cope when Mommy or Daddy lands behind bars.

READ MORE

SHOCKING:

06/13/2013

The latest State Department scandal, involving a possible cover-up of sexual misconduct by an ambassador and security officials, was only newsworthy enough to merit one full report each on ABC and NBC's morning and evening newscasts before the two networks moved on. NBC led Tuesday's Today with the "damaging documents" concerning the "possibly illegal...behavior", but ignored it the following morning. NBC Nightly News hasn't even touched the story yet.



Read The Rest at the Source: NewsBusters

Squandering Rand Paul, Cruz, Lee, Scott

06/13/2013





Source: Glenn Beck

WARNING: GOP leaders court social conservatives

06/13/2013

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The fight for the soul of the Republican Party intensifies this week as Republican leaders gather in Washington to court religious conservatives.

READ THE REST>>

'The Republic is at stake'

06/13/2013

WASHINGTON — Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has two dire warnings for America in an exclusive interview with WND.

LINK to Article>>

Transgender suspects can demand Boston cops use adopted names under new policies

06/13/2013

Direct Link>>

Communist Wing Of The Democratic Party Unveil Bill To Block Congressional Pay If Debt Ceiling Isn’t Raised

June 13, 2013

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced legislation Wednesday to withhold pay for members of Congress if the government fails to raise the debt ceiling in time.

Modeled on the GOP's "no budget, no pay" legislation, the funds would be placed into an escrow account and paid to members in full once the debt limit is increased.

Announcing their legislation in the Capitol, Boxer and McDermott took turns excoriating Republicans for threatening not to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats offer ideological concessions such as spending cuts in return.

"Republicans seem to want to hurt America first, by leaving our people unpaid and going ahead and paying China first," Boxer said, referring to GOP legislation to prioritize payments to creditors and Social Security recipients first if the debt limit is broached. "What country to these guys represent anyway?"

She went on to rip into the GOP for "deadbeat behavior" and their "unpatriotic plan."

McDermott said if Americans are forced to take a hit over debt ceiling shenigans, "Why should congressmen get to play by another set of rules?"

TPM

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Mike Zullo gives the LATEST BREAKING News on Obama BC - 6/12/2013

June 12, 2013



source: YouTube

FEMA denies aid to Texas town where fertilizer plant exploded

June 12, 2013

The remains of a fertilizer plant burn after an explosion at the plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas early April 18, 2013. The deadly explosion ripped through the fertilizer plant late on Wednesday, injuring more than 100 people, leveling dozens of homes and damaging other buildings including a school and nursing home, authorities said. (Reuters)
HOUSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is refusing to provide money to help rebuild the small Texas town where a deadly fertilizer plant explosion leveled numerous homes and a school, and killed 15 people.

According to a letter obtained by The Associated Press, FEMA said it reviewed the state's appeal to help West but decided that the explosion "is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration."

The blast killed 10 first responders and brought national attention to the agricultural community. President Barack Obama traveled to the area to attend a memorial service for the first responders and others who died trying to help.

The FEMA funds would have helped pay for public repairs such as roads, sewer lines, pipes and a school that were destroyed. It does not impact emergency funds FEMA has provided to individual residents.

West Mayor Tommy Muska said the rural community of 2,800 people estimated the cost of those repairs at about $57 million, including $40 million to rebuild a school that was destroyed when the West Fertilizer Co. blew up in April.

"We don't have the money to go out and borrow the money. We don't have the means to pay that note back," Muska said. "There's got to be some public assistance."

FEMA did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The letter, dated June 10, is addressed to Texas Gov. Rick Perry and signed by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

The West Fertilizer Co. blew up after the plant caught fire. The cause of the fire remains unclear -- and a criminal investigation is still open -- but investigators say the heat of the fire destabilized tons of a potentially explosive fertilizer stored at the plant, leading to the massive blast that leveled chunks of the town. The incident highlighted how loosely regulated some chemicals are, including the ammonium nitrate that blew up, and has some critics saying the government needs to tighten its oversight of such plants.

The blast emitted a wave of energy so strong it registered as a small earthquake, knocked down people blocks away, blew out windows, left a massive 93-foot crater and curved walls of homes and buildings.

Marty Crawford, superintendent of West schools, said officials had requested the FEMA aid to help pay for structural damage. An intermediate school near the plant was destroyed, as were parts of the high school and middle school. The district expects to get tens of millions of dollars in insurance money to help pay for the repairs, but needs the FEMA funds to get the job done, he said.

Crawford believes the state could continue to push FEMA to reverse its decision, though it appears the chance of getting federal assistance is low.

"Now we're not out of appeals, but in baseball terms, we're probably facing a two-strike count and fouling a bunch of pitches off," Crawford said in a phone interview. "As long as you've got another strike to fight with, we can hold onto hope."

Source: Fox News

‘Arrest Obama When He Visits’: Read the So-Called ‘Obama Docket’ That Calls for Prosecution of the President

June 12, 2013

The Muslim Lawyers Association (MLA) in Johannesburg has submitted a 600-plus page document to the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecution calling for the arrest and prosecution of President Barack Obama when he visits South Africa later this month.

FULL STORY

Teacher unions undermine classroom achievement

June 12, 2013

Unions such as Education Minnesota represent the greatest barrier to improving teacher quality.

FULL STORY>>

Companies Sued For Trying To Avoid Hiring Convicts

June 12, 2013

In 1963, the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King said it was his hope that black Americans would no longer be judged on their color of their skin, but on the content of their character.

Fifty years later, the Obama administration's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says King got it wrong.

The EEOC launched two lawsuits against private companies this week over their use of criminal background checks, claiming that in rejecting applicants with proven criminal records, they somehow discriminated against minorities under a disparate impact clause in their guidelines.

Aside from the inherent and insulting racism in that presumption — suggesting that black applicants have crime in their DNA because statistics show more have criminal records — the measure puts employers, in this case Dollar General Stores and BMW Manufacturing, in an impossible position.

On one hand, they may be sued if they don't hire criminals to satisfy the EEOC.

On the other hand, if they do hire criminals, they could be sued later by customers and shareholders when employees of whatever race do their jobs under the influence of drugs, get violent with co-workers or customers, embezzle money, or steal from the company.

Those things will hurt profits, but only if EEOC gets its way.

Equally troubling, this underscores the White House's increasingly aggressive interference in hiring and firing decisions by private employers — a power businesses need to keep a first-rate workforce in an increasingly competitive world.

During this serious economic slump, businesses have focused on hiring the most productive, highest-character employees possible — whatever their race.

These lawsuits aren't the work of a regulatory agency that follows the rule of law. It's the work of an activist panel that follows the rule of lawsuit.

The EEOC's only power is to issue "guidelines" and then subjectively determine if those guidelines have been followed to its liking. That includes an employer's "business necessity" to not hire people with certain records for certain jobs.

Both Dollar General and BMW, it should be noted, said they did follow EEOC guidelines as they were written as recently as 2012.

But in the case of Dollar General, the EEOC claims the company did 344,000 background checks on applicants and employees, 25% of whom were black. Of the 26,700 rejected for criminal records, 31% were black — a 6-percentage-point difference.

In the case of BMW Manufacturing in South Carolina, 645 employees were screened for criminal records. Some 55% of those were African-American, but they made up 80% of the rejections for criminal records.

Yes, there's a disparity.

But is that racism, or does it reflect the very real different social circumstances for two groups? If the latter, why should companies bear the cost for correcting social inequalities?

More troubling is why these companies were targeted at all.

According to the campaign finance website followthemoney.org, Dollar General and its employees gave 75.52% of their campaign donations to Republicans from 2003 to 2012, just 24.25% to Democrats.

BMW Manufacturing in the same period gave 56.4% of its campaign donations to Republicans and 43.6% of its donations to Democrats.

If the government's spurious raid on Gibson Guitar is any guide, political targeting — not equal opportunity — may be behind these lawsuits. If so, it will have a damping effect on hiring across the private sector.

If a company can be singled out for not hiring convicts and if the EEOC can decide who companies must hire, businesses may cover themselves by hiring a few convicts just so they aren't sued by a politically motivated EEOC.

To excel, businesses must hire the best people they can. It's an axiom taught on the first day of business school.

But the EEOC, using the racist card, is forcing employers to hire some of the worst possible people — regardless of race.

It's yet another thing holding back U.S. businesses — and jobs.

Source: IBD

Transgender student suit goes to Maine high court

June 12, 2013

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Maine's highest court heard arguments Wednesday over whether transgender students can use the bathroom of their choice, and the girl at the heart of the case said she hoped justices would recognize the right of children to attend school without being "bullied" by peers or administrators.

FULL STORY>>

Assessing Competency for Concealed-Weapons Permits — The Physician's Role

June 12, 2013

Interview with Dr. Adam Goldstein on assessment of competency for concealed-weapons permits and physicians' roles in reducing gun violence. 

Go to the Article>>

“Metadata” Can Tell the Government More About You Than the Content of Your Phonecalls

June 12, 2013

The government has sought to “reassure” us that it is only tracking “metadata” such as the time and place of the calls, and not the actual content of the calls.

But technology experts say that “metadata” can be more revealing than the content of your actual phone calls.

For example, the ACLU notes:   Continue to Article>>

Trayvon Martin justice group member tries to get onto George Zimmerman jury

June 12, 2013

Jerry Counelis gave long, rambling answers about his impartiality when asked basic questions by attorneys. When Circuit Judge Debra Nelson asked the panelist hopeful if he posted something to the Facebook page of pro-Martin group Coffee Party Progressives, he said ‘yes.’

A member of a pro-Travyon Martin group was unmasked Wednesday as he tried to get on the Florida jury in George Zimmerman’s trial for shooting the unarmed teen.

A white male potential juror identified on his Facebook page as Jerry Counelis gave long, rambling answers about his impartiality when asked basic questions by attorneys.

READ THE FULL STORY>>

Journalist Behind NSA Story Calls Out Flip-Flopping Liberal Media Now ‘Cheerleaders’ for Domestic Spying

June 12, 2013

Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who broke the recent stories about massive NSA spying, isn’t taking kindly to a number of liberal media types who appear suddenly and oddly sympathetic to our collective lack of privacy.

READ MORE

Parents intimidated by unions after kids ‘brainwashed’

June 12, 2013

La Ronde in Montreal, Que.
MICHEL DESBIENS/QMI Agency files
Imagine your 16-year-old kid gets a student job at an amusement park for the summer and goes for so-called “training” last weekend.

He returns in the evening and informs you he had to swear allegiance to the local branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

He also shows you the oath that reads like this: “I solemnly swear and declare that I will support and obey the Status and Rules of the Union and those of the CUPE … I recognize as a union member that if I do not keep my solemn promise, I could be sanctioned.”

The union also gives your son a book written by a former local union leader who was sentenced to six months in jail for starting a riot and smashing down the doors of city hall in 1993.

This is not simply a horror tale to give you shivers in the summer but the sad reality some parents faced last Sunday night in Montreal.

The name of the amusement park is La Ronde and the former union leader is Jean Lapierre.

How should these parents react? Call the union to make a complaint, or denounce such goings-on in the media?

They didn’t do anything because they were too scared their kids would lose their jobs.

They felt the threat and the terror of the super powerful unions.

If a private company had sent the same kids to a church basement, without the parents’ consent, and asked them to swear allegiance to the Vatican, everyone would be thoroughly and rightly outraged.

Why should it be any different when it comes to unions?

Brainwashing a 16-year-old kid is unacceptable, no matter what ideology you are intoxicating him or her with.

There is good reason we cannot vote before the age of 18 in Canada; we do not tolerate the indoctrination of minors.

For some odd reason, many now find it normal and even banal when this is done by a union. Well, it’s absolutely not normal or acceptable.

A union should be devoted to the sole interests of its members, not the other way around.

If there has to be an oath, it should be the union leaders who swear allegiance to their members.

A motion was tabled Wednesday in the National Assembly in Quebec City to denounce this oath by MNA Gerard Deltell.

Unfortunately, it didn’t pass because Parti Quebecois MNAs, strong union allies, refused to join in.

This is the same PQ which, by the way, opposed the oath to the Queen for ages, making a mockery of the act every four years during the swearing ceremony. What a double standard!

Does the PQ consider the unions bigger and more important than the state itself? That union leaders are more sovereign than the Queen herself? With such follies being tolerated in today’s society, it is nothing less than our democracy, our respect for minors, and our freedom of association that are threatened.

Source: Toronto Sun

Edward Snowden: Hero or traitor?

June 12, 2013

On the Right, at least, the battle lines are clearly drawn between those who worship the concept of “The State” over the natural rights of man, and those who believe that the individual has some intrinsic value. The State-worshipers will tell you that Snowden violated secrecy laws, so off with his head! Meanwhile, the other side worries about how all-powerful the State has become.

One is reminded of the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany. At least seven of the valiant members of the group were executed by the Gestapo, for the horrific crime of speaking out against the government.

READ: White Rose survivor Jurgen Wittenstein described what it was like to live in Hitler’s Germany

Reid Blocks Senate Vote on Border Security Amendment to Immigration Bill

June 12, 2013

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blocked a vote on the border security amendment to the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill offered by Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

FULL STORY

Breaking: Obama Threatens Veto of Religious Protection for Military

June 12, 2013

Breitbart News reported last week that Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) passed an amendment in the House Armed Services Committee protecting religious speech of service members in the military. President Barack Obama has now threatened to veto the bill if it passes the full House and Senate.

Keep Reading>>

Weakened By Obama’s Union Coddling, Cooper Tires Is Sold To The Indians

June 12, 2013


Cooper tires is becoming another victim of President Obama’s much too cozy relationship with the union machine. Cooper Tires was bought by an Indian company.

After President Obama sent a thank you to the Steelworkers Union and slapped an absolutely brain-dead punitive tariff of tires coming from China, a few things happened:

FULL STORY

The Government As A Jealous Girlfriend

June 12, 2013

Now I actually found this fairly amusing. This administration has definitely opened itself up to mockery even though the subject matter itself is in fact far from funny. But on the other hand, you almost have to laugh to keep oneself from sinking into a chronic depression or catatonic state as the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave’ is now evidently completely dominated and governed by people who think nothing of building multi-billion dollar facilities devoted to spying on American citizens and tracking and recording every word on the internet and every thought expressed in email.

I do not buy for one second that such things are merely designed and devoted to rooting out Akmed the unruly Pashtun in the back wilds of Pakistan. That may be the excuse, but that may very quickly not be the reality if the powers-that-be decide they’d rather turn their sights on you or me. Such a vast and powerful all-knowing, all-seeing intelligence gathering ‘entity’ in the wrong hands, whether now or later, would indeed be the death knell for the Republic and constitutional liberty as we know it. Can you see such an intelligence weapon being turned on American gun owners if a few folks get a bit trigger happy somewhere along the way? Such scenarios are not that far-fetched and likely more fact than fiction.

TokenLibertarianGirl is awesome and in her kinda nerdy way does a great job making the case that certain things are simply not the government’s business. Even if the government having “it” is supposedly for your “own good.” In our culture, becoming the wide-spread focus of mockery and derision can be far more devastating and emasculating than thousands of “serious” analytical articles and editorials. But when you combine both, it makes it even worse. At the moment the Obama administration has been nothing but a clown car loaded with scandals, petty tyrannies, and revelations and getting hammered from every direction. It will be very interesting to see how this all works out.

And, by the way, nobody let our little youtube sensation know that I actually do have a Star Wars action figure collection. I don’t think that’s any of her business or Obama’s for that matter. Do you? Shhh…. let’s just keep that between you and me… and our friends at the NSA.

Hey Obama, can you hear me now? (: And, if it’s not too much to ask, don’t drone me bro!



Source: Dave the Sage @ Flopping Aces

BET ‘News’ Special Has Already Convicted Zimmerman

June 12, 2013

Excerpt: The BET coverage of the issue was biased in favor of the young African-American teen and claimed that the shooting was racially motivated, that Trayvon was suspected of wrongdoing and subsequently shot simply because of this race. The programming continuously showed coverage of Trayvon’s parents and their national campaign to proclaim their son’s complete innocence in the court of public opinion...

Full Story at NewsBusters

How banning 3 useful word undermines immigration reform

June 12, 2013

On April 2, 2013, the Associated Press announced amendments to its style book, effectively banning the use of the word “illegal” to describe a person as in “an illegal immigrant.” This announcement was followed by similar pronouncements from other news sources, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Denver Post.

Why should a useful and descriptive word be banished? My Webster’s dictionary defines “illegal” as “not according to or authorized by law” and also “not sanctioned by official rules”. Black’s Law Dictionary, which is commonly used by lawyers and law students, actually defines an “illegal alien” as “An alien who enters a country at the wrong time or place, eludes an examination by officials, obtains entry by fraud, or enters into a sham marriage to evade immigration laws.”

I regard these actions to banish “illegal” as a concerted effort to blur the distinction between legal immigrants and illegal immigrants, as if their immigration status and U.S. immigration law shouldn’t matter at all. I see these actions as in direct support of the on-going effort to enact an amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, and to prevent the application of current U.S immigration law to them.

Perhaps encouraged by the successful banishment of the word “illegal”, immigration lawyer Careen Shannon says we should also stop using the word “alien” to describe foreigners because that term is now associated with extraterrestrial aliens in science fiction literature and movies. Like provincial Americans might actually think foreigners in the U.S. come from other planets?

“Alien” is another useful and descriptive word that we should not abandon in pursuit of political correctness. Black’s Law Dictionary defines “alien” as “A person who is not a citizen of a given country; a person not owing allegiance to a particular nation.”

The current immigration statute of the United States expressly defines “alien” as meaning “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.” The statute contains hundreds of references to “alien,” so banishing the term from our law would be a major undertaking. We can’t just substitute “non-citizen” for “alien” because there are non-citizen nationals of the United States, like the residents of American Samoa, who are neither citizens nor aliens.

Careen Shannon concludes, “Let’s just call them people.” Hey, if we’re all just people without distinctions, who needs immigration laws?

Finally, the supporters of amnesty for illegal aliens in the U.S., like U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio OF Florida, insist that we shouldn’t call his proposal “amnesty”, because, “Amnesty is the forgiveness of something.” His bill is instead “comprehensive immigration reform” and “a pathway to citizenship” for the illegal. Right.

The last time the U.S. enacted a big amnesty for illegal aliens in the U.S., in 1986, Senator Rubio was a teenager in high school. At that time, everyone including the sponsors called it what it was, an amnesty. Black’s Law Dictionary actually gives as an example for “amnesty”: “the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act provided amnesty for undocumented aliens already present in the country.”

Because the 1986 amnesty encouraged much greater illegal immigration to the U.S., causing the current demand for an even bigger amnesty, the current sponsors would prefer to somehow distinguish their proposal from the 1986 amnesty. But the current proposal is substantively indistinguishable from the 1986 amnesty, and certainly does provide “forgiveness of something.”

The proponents and supporters of amnesty and increased immigration to the U.S. are trying to prevent the use of common descriptive terms to describe the substance of their proposal. If the American people understand the substance of so-called “comprehensive immigration reform”, they will prevent their representatives in Congress from enacting it into law.

Source: Jan Ting @ Stillwater Gazette

MSNBC falsely identifies segregationist George Wallace as a Republican

June 12, 2013

According to MSNBC, former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who famously coined the phrase “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” is a Republican.

Mr. Wallace is greatly known for his notorious “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door,” when he physically blocked black students Vivian Malone and James Hood as they attempted to attend classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

He also ran for president four times — three times as a Democrat and once as an Independent.

The “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” occurred exactly 50 years ago today, and marking the anniversary, MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” showed a photo of the governor — identifiying him as “(R) Alabama,” National Review Online reported.

source: Washington Times

Maine advances genetically modified food labels

June 12, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine food retailers would have to put special labels on products that contain genetically modified ingredients, under a measure advanced by the House on Tuesday.

Maine residents have the right to know whether they're eating foods that have been genetically modified, which they say can lead to potential health risks, supporters of the bill say.

"I just like to know what I'm eating," said Rep. Dianne Russell, D-Portland. "Is a tomato a tomato? Is corn, corn? Right now we don't know the answer to that."

The bill, which has bipartisan support, was sent to the Senate.

Genetically modified food is grown from seeds specially engineered to resist pesticides or produce extra nutrients. The Maine Grocers Association, which opposes the measure, says genetically modified foods are safe and that labeling the products will be costly and burdensome for the farmers and grocers.

"Mandatory state labeling of products is unnecessary public policy, expensive for Maine farmers, processers and manufactures, grocers and retailers, and the state to implement and enforce," said Shelley Doak, the group's executive director, in an April hearing.

An amendment added Tuesday requires that five contiguous states, including Maine, pass similar laws before the state's law goes into effect.

Lawmakers say that requirement will give the law a better chance of success by allowing multiple states to share the costs of a possible legal challenge from the biotech industry while also sending a message to the U.S. government to enact a federal law.

Rep. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, said that because the federal government has failed to regulate genetically modified foods, it is up to the states to act.

"This bill would be a risk management strategy to uncertainty," he said. "It would allow the people of the country and the people of the state to decide if they want to continue to be lab rats in this experiment."

Similar legislation is being considered in other states, including Vermont. Connecticut recently passed a measure requiring the labeling of genetically modified food products, but only after neighboring states put similar laws in place.

But while Maine would be one of the first states to put such a law in place, lawmakers said the United States is actually far behind other countries when it comes to requiring such labels. Rep. Sharon Treat, D-Hallowell, said the 67 countries require the labeling.

"By taking this move, we are actually becoming part of the mainstream," Treat said.

Source: Business Week

Rep. Peter King Fearful His Role May Be Exposed: Wants Reporters Prosecuted for Publishing Classified Info

June 12, 2013

Classic: The look of fear in his eyes says it all..
Now that PRISM is out of the bag, politicians are calling for everyone involved to be prosecutors. After some have asked for Edward Snowden’s arrest, others are now demanding that reporters be prosecuted for publishing stories with leaked classified information.

Peter King, U.S. Representative, said in an interview for CNN that the recent NSA leaks pose a grave threat to national security and then took a swing at the reporters who brought the truth out to light, The Huffington Post reports.

“If they willingly knew that this was classified information, I think action should be taken, especially on something of this magnitude,” King said.

“I think of something of this magnitude, there is an obligation both moral but also legal, I believe, against a reporter disclosing something that would so severely compromise national security,” he said.

So let’s go over this again. The President, the NSA director and politicians are trying to downplay the magnitude of the PRISM program while also claiming that the leak poses a great threat for the United States.

However, instead of investigating exactly how PRISM could be allowed to gather private information on such a level, they choose to go after Edward Snowden and the reporters who told the world the truth.

source: softpedia

additional editing: mine

NSA Director to Be Held Accountable for Lying to the Congress

June 12, 2013


Over the past few days focus has shifted in the PRISM case from what the NSA was doing to what should be done to those involved.

And while some are possibly warranted points of view, such as chasing after Snowden and demanding answers from the NSA, it’s obvious that PRISM has now been turned into a political weapon as they're all trying to improve their own image as protectors of the people.

Politician after politician stepped on stage and took a stand over the past week.

Some say that they’re thankful for what the NSA has done, others have set on to put together a lawsuit against Obama and his administration, while others are demanding that the reporters involved be prosecuted for bringing out the truth.

Now, another senator wants to bring NSA director James Clapper into a public hearing where he should face the consequences of outright lying to the Congress.

Clapper has admitted to giving the “least untruthful” answer when asked if the Agency had any undergoing domestic surveillance operations.

“Public hearings are needed to address the recent disclosures and the American people have the right to expect straight answers from the intelligence leadership to the questions asked by their representatives,” senator Ron Wyden said.

source: softpedia