tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51686676593563591312024-03-13T22:55:20.884-04:00Political News & ViewsUndistracted, undeterred, relentlessFreedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.comBlogger34620125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-76776874196095526982015-02-24T06:24:00.000-05:002015-02-24T06:24:05.117-05:00Why Does This City Councilman Have $8 Million Campaign Fund With No Opponent? The Man Running Things in Chicago, Mafia Linked Alderman Ed Burke<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<h1 class="title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Chicago Aldermen: Top Campaign War Chests</h1>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By John Dodge</strong></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CHICAGO (CBS)</strong> — To get into this exclusive club, a worthy candidate needs about $300,000 in seed money.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Welcome to the Chicago Alderman Campaign Contribution Society, led by the unquestioned power broker on the council, Ed. Burke of the 14th Ward.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Burke, who is running unopposed in Tuesday’s election, has $8,038,953 in campaign cash on hand, <a href="http://www.aldertrack.com/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #266ec4; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">according to an analysis by Aldertrak.</a></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
One of the reasons Burke is so well-heeled is that he rarely has to spend any of it.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
In the four elections since 2003, Burke has only had token opposition once. That was in 2007, when he still won with 90 percent of the vote. He was first elected to City Council in 1969.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Alderman Brendan Reilly of the 42nd Ward is a distant second, but still cracks seven figures, with an impressive $1,178,045.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Reilly is also running unopposed on Tuesday, but still raised $141,550 in the latest reporting cycle.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Only four other alderman raised more in the latest quarter than Reilly–Walter Burnett, Danny Solis, John Arena and John Pope. All four are in contested elections.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Rounding out the Top 10:</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Walter Burnett, 27nd Ward, $518,045</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Ray Suarez, 31st Ward, $470,751</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Michelle Smith, 43rd Ward, $439,588</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Tom Tunney, 44nd Ward, $423,809</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Danny Solis, 25th Ward, $349,645</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
John Pope, 10th Ward, $344,929</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Michelle Harris, 8th Ward, $327,325</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Patrick O’Connor, 40th Ward, $296,209</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The “poorest” incumbent alderman is Natashia Holmes, of the 7th Ward, with $12,609 cash on hand. At least two other opponents have raised more, but Holmes enjoys the endorsement of Rahm Emanuel.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Last week, Holmes received support in the form of $9,595 for “political communications,” from Emanuel’s political action committee, Chicago Forward.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
That is in addition to the $27,000 Chicago Forward sent in early February and late January for similar services, provided by AMS Communications, Ind. Donations from political action committees cannot be sent directly to a candidate.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The nature of the “communication” is not clear in the reports, but AMS Communications, is a small San Francisco-based publishing company.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.aldertrack.com/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #266ec4; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Aldertrak started as a side project in 2007 by Jimm Dispensa.</a> The site aggregates political data from a variety of sources. Deeper analysis and data are available for a $10 subscription.</div>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/02/23/chicago-aldermen-top-campaign-war-chests/" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>hat tip: steve barton</i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-9189871584397047782015-02-24T06:16:00.002-05:002015-02-24T06:16:28.246-05:00The Russian Bear Moves In Next Door<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>TMH</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans', 'helvetica neue', helvetica, arial, georgia; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<center style="color: #777777;">
<img border="0" src="http://www.noisyroom.net/blog/russianbomber.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 97.5%; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;" /></center>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Guess who’s meeting with our new BFF, Cuba</a>? Russia. Moscow’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu had an intimate and cozy meeting with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua week before last. As they caught up with their fellow comrades on all the latest commie happenings… Russia agreed to provide military training and increase military visits and exercises. The Russians are not just probing next door anymore, they’ve moved in.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">They signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. Gee, that didn’t seem to make the news. You know why? Because our inept leaders say there is nothing to worry about. That all countries have the right to form alliances with whomever they want. Screw the Monroe Doctrine, which Kerry has already pronounced dead. It’s party time in Latin America!</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. In November, Shoygu announced that Russian strategic nuclear bombers would conduct long-range training flights over the Gulf of Mexico. Please note, these are <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">nuclear capable</em> bombers.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">From <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Washington Free Beacon</a>:</span></div>
<blockquote style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: georgia, arial; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; quotes: ''; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">In November, Shoygu announced that Russian strategic nuclear bombers would conduct long-range training flights over the Gulf of Mexico. “In the current situation we have to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.”</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Marine Corps. Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, confirmed the likelihood of future Russian bomber flights during testimony earlier this month before the House Armed Services Committee.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">“Moscow has made significant progress in modernizing its nuclear and conventional forces, improving its training and joint operational proficiency, modernizing its military doctrine to integrate new methods of warfare and developing long range precision strike capabilities,” Stewart said.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Stewart said Russian military forces, including Tu-95 bombers, conducted “record numbers” of out of area air and naval deployments.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">“We expect this to continue this year to include greater activity in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas,” he said.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Amidst the poo-pooing from Washington and Central Command that there is nothing to worry about, I enjoyed what Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), a member of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee, said:</span></div>
<blockquote style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: georgia, arial; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; quotes: ''; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">The Russian bear is out of hibernation from Damascus, to Donetsk, and from Pyongyang to Peru.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Putin and his coterie of ‘former’ communists smell weakness. Their window to expand Russian influence is now and they are acting with great vigor and with nearly zero resistance from America and the West. Russian military expansion into Latin America is simply one more manifestation of their resolve and American inaction.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Glad he shares my viewpoint and this is what I have been saying for a long time now. The Russians are doubling and tripling down. Their latest move next door gives them immediate “Red Dawn” capability. Gee, if I were a Marxist President aligned with a country which I pretended was an enemy, but which in reality shared my hidden agenda… I might do something like facilitate across my borders a first wave invading force, just like Islamo-fascists do. I might encourage following that with terrorist groups and then a full blown invasion force, just as you have seen happen in the Middle East. Do you think it is a coincidence they are all taking plays from the same book here?</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua all belong to the 11-member Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, known as ALBA, a leftist alliance set up by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004 as an anti-US grouping of states. Almost, if not all, countries in Latin America are led by dictators and one flavor of communism or another. Instead of trying to stem the anti-freedom shift of our neighbors as the Monroe Doctrine dictated, we instead, especially recently, have gone the “non-aggression” route which screams of weakness and opens the door to terrorism, communism, violence and severe aggression. Our biggest enemies have now moved into virtually every country to our south… those enemies are Iran, Russia and China – the new axis of evil. It won’t be long before Putin himself visits these countries to solidify his hold and sway over them. It’s a ticking bomb.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Obama keeps ranting on about how the sanctions are really hurting Russia economically. Maybe, maybe not so much. Even if they are, I hardly think Putin cares. He’s throwing every dime they have into their military buildup, while Obama guts ours. Putin doesn’t mind starving his own people if need be. After all, it is for the Motherland. With Russia continuing their out in the open warlike attacks on the Ukraine, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11425393/Russian-tensions-could-escalate-into-all-out-war-says-Gen-Adrian-Bradshaw.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NATO and Europe</a> are getting very nervous indeed. In fact, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-house-of-lords-criticises-eu-and-britain-for-sleepwalking-into-crisis-as-moscow-and-nato-remain-on-diplomatic-collision-course-10058141.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Germany and France</a> are crawling into bed with Russia. With the US no longer a global player, these countries will align themselves with a strong man and that would be Russia. We’re no longer the heavy-hitting force of yore; instead we’re “flexible” about power grabs by Putin and friends.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">We have crickets coming from the Obama Administration on Russian military encroachment in the western hemisphere. Russian Tu-95 Bear H bomber flights have increased sharply near US coasts in recent months, with one recent air defense zone incursion simulating a practice nuclear cruise missile strike on the United States from northeastern Canada. Doesn’t that just send a thrill down your spine? British jets on Thursday intercepted Russian bombers flying along the coast near Cornwall, in southwest England. So, Russia is testing the defenses of their biggest enemies and, I’m sad to say, finding them easy to breach.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Nicaragua</span></strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Shoygu inked an agreement that will simplify procedures for Russian warships to make port calls. A second accord was reached that will increase military training in Russia for Nicaraguan military personnel. Never one to miss a chance at military build up, Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista President Daniel Ortega announced last year that he plans to do just that with his armed forces with Moscow’s assistance. Russia has also promised to supply naval gunboats to Nicaragua beginning in 2016.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Venezuela</span></strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Venezuela is a also being gifted with a plethora of Russian weapons, including an estimated $12 billion in arms. Those arms would include Su-30 jets, Mi-17, Mi-26 and Mi-35 helicopters, T-72 tanks, Smerch multiple launch rocket launchers, S-300 anti-aircraft missiles and artillery. In return, they have agreed to increased visits by Russian warships and Caracas will hold joint military exercises with the Russians. Joint Russian-Venezuelan air defense training is also on the menu. Russian air force aircraft may make use of Venezuelan bases in the future.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Cuba</span></strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Cuba’s Dictator, Raul Castro, noted that military relations continued to “develop constructively.” Cuba is hosting port visits by Russian naval vessels, including the intelligence-gathering ship Victor Leonov, which made a port call in Havana in January — which coincided with the Obama’s diplomatic initiative to seek normalized relations with the regime – in Obama’s eyes, we are all communists now. Cuba will also be sending their people to Russia for intense training in military and intelligence. US defense officials said the Leonov was anchored some 25 miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, two weeks ago where it is suspected of conducting surveillance on our nuclear missile submarines based at nearby Kings Bay, Georgia.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Once again, John Bolton sees the true threat when so many others don’t:</span></div>
<blockquote style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: georgia, arial; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; quotes: ''; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton said the Russians appear to be filling a power vacuum in the region by the lack of focus from the Obama administration.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">“Russia’s perception of American weakness under Obama has fueled their new adventurism in this hemisphere,” Bolton said. “Since I see no chance of Obama waking up to the potential threat, I am very worried about the situation a new president will face in January 2017.”</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Which is certainly on purpose by Obama. He’s looking to tie our hands long after he’s gone and sabotage any effort to recover from his destructive moves on the American front.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">So, while Russian President <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/putin-says-russias-military-strength-unmatchable-interfax-162632082.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vladimir Putin says</a> other countries should not have the illusion that they can attain military superiority over Russia, they seem to have little to worry about from the US, who is busy becoming obsolete.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Russia is knocking on our door and I doubt that they will take no for an answer. The Russian bear has moved in next door and is setting up military house. Can war be far behind since Obama has laid out the welcome mat to our enemies? And what, pray tell, would that war look like?</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<center style="color: #777777;">
<img border="0" src="http://www.noisyroom.net/blog/reddawn022215.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 97.5%; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;" /></center>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/Z4TBBc" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-9789275855401561602015-02-24T06:13:00.001-05:002015-02-24T06:13:21.406-05:00Media Accepting Obama’s Spin on the Economy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Roger Aronoff</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f6f6ee; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"></span><br />
<div class="post_img" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="" src="http://www.aim.org/wp-content/themes/liberal-media-bias/timthumb.php?src=http://www.aim.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/obama-economy-unemployment-truth-labor.jpg&w=580&zc=1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f6f6ee; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
With as many lies and distortions that proceed from this<a href="http://www.aim.org/aim-column/no-major-scandal-in-obama-administration/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">scandal-plagued administration</a>, one might think that mainstream reporters would turn a skeptical eye toward another one of President Obama’s carefully crafted narratives. Each narrative is designed to push “progressive” policies or to cover up administration mismanagement. But our corrupt media reflexively cheer whenever the leftist agendas for amnesty, Obamacare, climate change, and economic regulation are mentioned. Add to the list of official narratives the hyped state of the economy, the successes of which cannot fail to be championed because they reflect on the viability of the current President’s policies.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
Yet President Obama’s claims about how his administration’s efforts have boosted the economy, or that the economy is actually improving, are based on <a href="http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-economic-shell-game/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">cherry-picked data</a>.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“At this moment when our economy is growing and creating jobs, we’ve got to work twice as hard, especially in Washington, to build on our momentum,” claimed President Obama in his recent economic report,<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/19/obama-economic-report-of-the-president/23640353/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">according to</a> The New York Times. He continued, “And I will not let politics or partisanship roll back the progress we’ve achieved on so many fronts.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
Back in January, the labor force participation rate was the lowest since 1978. It has since <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/labor-force-participation-increases-unemployment-rate-ticks-0" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">increased by a mere 0.2%</a>. And while hiring may be up, wages remain stagnant.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
What type of progress, exactly, is the President citing? His entitlement and regulatory policies, such as Obamacare and <a href="http://www.aim.org/aim-column/greenhouse-gas-lunacy/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">proposed EPA regulations</a>, shackle American economic ingenuity with an ever-increasing burden.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed,” wrote Gallup President Jim Clifton in, “<a href="http://www.gallup.com/opinion/chairman/181469/big-lie-unemployment.aspx" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment</a>.” “Trust me, the vast majority of them aren’t throwing parties to toast ‘falling’ unemployment.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“Our concern with our analysts is that [the unemployment statistic is] very, very misleading because what America really wants are full-time jobs. … The percent of full-time jobs in this country, to the population, is the worst it’s been in thirty years,” Clifton <a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000352013" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">said</a> on CNBC. He connected this to the middle class crisis.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
Mortimer Zuckerman, of The Wall Street Journal has argued that the President’s signature health care legislation depresses full-time hiring. “Many employers cut workers’ hours to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to provide health insurance to anyone working 30 hours a week or more,” <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/mortimer-zuckerman-the-full-time-scandal-of-part-time-america-1405291652" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">wrote</a> Zuckerman last July. “The unintended consequence of President Obama’s ‘signature legislation?’ Fewer full-time workers.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
But President Obama, his administration, and the media are on a full-blown public relations campaign to promote “middle class economics,” with more government as the answer.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“In a letter to Congress with the report, Mr. Obama called on lawmakers to approve his economic agenda of expanded tax breaks for the middle class and increased spending on initiatives such as early childhood education,” <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/19/white-house-says-economy-improving-wages-stagnant/?page=1" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reported</a> The Washington Times. “The president also wants to raise several hundred billion dollars through tax increases on mostly wealthier families.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“The [recent economic] report…also contained a fair dollop of wishful thinking—or what some might call the administration’s own ‘dynamic scoring,’” <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/02/20/white-house-isnt-shy-about-its-own-dynamic-scoring/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">observed</a> Neil King Jr. for The Wall Street Journal.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
President Obama has tied his favorite policies to theoretical economic gains which may, or may not occur. “So various measures to provide free preschool or expand the Earned Income Tax Credit would bring more adults into the workforce, thus expanding the tax base,” writes King. “A revamped immigration system would in turn lure more foreign-born workers to counteract what the president’s report calls ‘the effects of an aging native-born population.’”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“Although annual budget deficits have fallen from the trillion-dollar-plus levels early in Mr. Obama’s presidency, the national debt has continued to soar and topped $18 trillion late last year,” notes The Washington Times.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
With the current controversy over comments by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani questioning whether or not President Obama loves this country, we are reminded of President Obama’s <a href="http://weaselzippers.us/214785-flashbck-obama-attacked-george-w-bush-for-being-unpatriotic/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">comments</a>when criticizing then-President George W. Bush for running up $4 trillion of new debt during his eight years in office. Obama said it was “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic.” President Obama has so far added over $8 trillion in new debt, and he still has two more years in office. So how would he rate himself?</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
Both The <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/19/the-u-s-economy-according-to-the-white-house-in-10-charts/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wall Street Journal</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/business/economy/obamas-economic-report-focuses-on-income-inequality.html" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Times</a> ran articles which summarized the economic report without questioning its assumptions, effectively offering the administration additional platforms from which to spout its economic spin.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
I reported last November that President Obama unsuccessfully attempted to sell the “<a href="http://www.aim.org/aim-column/selling-the-illusion-of-economic-success-to-salvage-elections/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">illusion of economic success</a>” to the public in order to “salvage what most polls indicate is about to be a dismal election for Democrats.” This effort continued with the President’s State of the Union, where he <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/20/remarks-president-state-union-address-january-20-2015" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">argued</a> that “we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
Obama’s tired rhetoric of hope and change resonated with the media back in January, and it still does. Meanwhile, many in America struggle to put bread on the table.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
“Not only have the ‘benefits’ of the Obama recovery not been ‘fully shared,’ but many Americans are still worse off today than when Obama became president,” <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/conncarroll/2015/02/19/white-house-admits-obama-recovery-has-made-inequality-worse-n1959569" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reports</a> Townhall. The 2013 median family income, “the most recent year available,” is more than $2,000 less than what it was in 2009 when Obama became President, it reports.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
The media are doing their part to validate Obama’s claims about the economy. It is all about their political agenda and double standard.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<strong>“</strong>Among Democrats, there are divisions over the degree to which Hillary Rodham Clinton, considered their leading contender, should praise the recovery and run on Mr. Obama’s stewardship of the economy,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/us/politics/economic-recovery-under-obama-creates-quandaries-for-2016-race.html" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">wrote</a> Jonathan Martin for The New York Times on February 22. “And Republicans—assessing falling unemployment and soaring job creation under a president with still-mediocre approval ratings—are grasping for the right way to frame their 2016 campaign message.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;">
Martin, like so many other reporters, operates under the premise that the economy has actually recovered. But to the extent it has, there may be other factors at work besides Obama’s initiatives. How much credit for the nation’s economic growth belongs to the Republican-led states, such as Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and especially <a href="http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2015/jan/22/rick-perry/rick-perry-says-texas-gained-million-jobs-while-re/" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Texas</a>; states which are doing far better at adding jobs and balancing their budgets than the federal government? And how much is attributable to the powerful capitalist economy in this country, which chugs along despite the burdensome taxation, regulatory and bureaucratic demands that have been imposed on it by this administration?</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/s8CLPL" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-49438234978287623332015-02-24T05:59:00.000-05:002015-02-24T05:59:02.244-05:00IRONY: Pennsylvania AG says judge should be taken off her leak case<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<figure class="entry-media" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; background-color: #eaeaea; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="kane_kathleen_01142015" class="attachment-large wp-post-image" height="360" src="https://mgtvwhtm.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/kane_kathleen_01142015.jpg?w=640" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 1.2000000476837158%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.2000000476837158%; max-width: 98%;" width="640" /></figure><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Lawyers for Pennsylvania’s attorney general say the judge who supervised a grand jury that’s recommended charges against her should be removed from any future proceedings in the matter.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s legal team argued in a filing with the state Supreme Court on Monday that Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter has demonstrated personal animosity toward her.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The latest filing comes about a week after Carpenter defended the legality of his appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that secret grand jury material was leaked to a Philadelphia newspaper last year.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The grand jury recommended charges against Kane that include perjury.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Kane’s lawyers accuse the special prosecutor of an unlawful assumption of executive power, and say Carpenter didn’t have the power to appoint him. Kane hasn’t been charged.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</em></div>
<div class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled" id="jp-post-flair" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; padding-top: 0.5em;">
<br /><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;">
</div>
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/93s3M5" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-15147409280113520652015-02-24T05:55:00.000-05:002015-02-24T05:55:33.247-05:00Mr. Irrelevant: Keith Olbermann, After THON: “PSU Students Are Pitiful”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 21px;"></span><br />
<header class="post-header cf" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 21px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="featured" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #606569; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Screen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-8.41.18-PM.png" itemprop="image" rel="prettyPhoto" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #19232d; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Keith Olbermann, After THON: “PSU Students Are Pitiful”"><img alt="Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 8.41.18 PM" class="attachment-main-slider wp-post-image no-display appear" height="336" src="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/702x336xScreen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-8.41.18-PM-702x336.png.pagespeed.ic.VcKmCMdYLQ.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Keith Olbermann, After THON: “PSU Students Are Pitiful”" width="702" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #19232d; font-size: large;"><br /></span></header><div class="post-meta" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(217, 217, 217); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(217, 217, 217); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #a6a6a6; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 21px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="posted-by" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BY <span class="reviewer" itemprop="author" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://onwardstate.com/author/tim-gilbert/" rel="author" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #19232d; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Tim Gilbert">TIM GILBERT</a></span> </span></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #606569; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Welp. <a href="http://onwardstate.com/2015/01/20/an-open-letter-to-keith-olbermann/" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Keith Olbermann is back at it.</a></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Except this time, he’ll be more hard-pressed to find support from his <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://deadspin.com/keith-olbermann-dropkicks-ncaa-and-penn-state-through-f-1680052607" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">blind followers</a></strong>. Apparently lacking the attention he so desperately needs, his latest cry for validation used THON and its $13 million total for the kids as a springboard into calling Penn State students “pitiful.”</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Olbermann’s rant began when a user tweeted “We Are!” his way, followed by a link to the Collegian’s coverage of THON 2015’s total. Olbermann’s response:</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 11.20.44 PM" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-197806 no-display appear" height="264" src="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/534x264xScreen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-11.20.44-PM.png.pagespeed.ic.3ZBNTJVVVD.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="534" /></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Hm. That’s not exactly a good look, especially when his colleague <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://onwardstate.com/2015/02/21/espns-john-buccigross-comes-to-thon/" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">visited THON</a></strong> over the weekend, <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://onwardstate.com/2015/02/21/thon-qa-with-espns-john-buccigross/" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">lavished it with praise</a></strong>, and left so impressed that he deemed <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://onwardstate.com/2015/02/23/dotd-buccigross-gives-thon-trademark-bucci-star-on-sportscenter/" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Penn State students his stars of the week on Sportscenter.</a> </strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Olbermann, apparently realizing that he shouldn’t troll students for helping the countless families affected by pediatric cancer, tried to explain away his low blow in that nonsensical way that he’s mastered when it comes to Penn State.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 11.20.40 PM" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-197807 no-display appear" height="319" src="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/525x319xScreen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-11.20.40-PM.png.pagespeed.ic.K_wfOhtOUf.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="525" /></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Given the link he was tweeted, that’s a little tough to buy. Indeed, this path was too much of a strawman, even for Olbermann. So, he changed course, using some deception and typos tweeted his way to somehow validate that a Penn State degree is worthless.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 11.20.05 PM" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-197808 no-display appear" height="580" src="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/505x580xScreen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-11.20.05-PM-505x580.png.pagespeed.ic.2M6Zl3U9_F.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="505" /></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 11.20.25 PM" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-197809 no-display appear" height="436" src="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/524x436xScreen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-11.20.25-PM.png.pagespeed.ic.AD3QgoYJlq.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="524" /></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 11.20.32 PM" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-197810 no-display appear" height="224" src="http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/523x224xScreen-Shot-2015-02-23-at-11.20.32-PM.png.pagespeed.ic.ltEV4tbVSa.png" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="523" /></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
This oughta make for some <a href="http://news.psu.edu/story/330709/2014/10/20/arts-and-entertainment/penn-staters-craft-big-productive-presence-espn" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">awkward water cooler talk</strong> <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in Bristol.</strong></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
You can peruse the disgraceful rant on his <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter page</a></strong>, unless already he’s<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/onwardstate/status/558359635712028673" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">blocked you for disagreeing with his lunacy.</a> </strong>We’re still down for that podcast, Keith!</div>
<div class=" trc_related_container trc_spotlight_widget" id="taboola-below-article-thumbnails" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<a href="" name="fb_comments" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.4s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-in-out; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0c1e4c; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><div class="fb-comments fb_iframe_widget fb_iframe_widget_fluid" data-colorscheme="light" data-href="http://onwardstate.com/2015/02/23/keith-olbermann-after-thon-psu-students-are-pitiful/" data-num-posts="5" data-width="100%" fb-xfbml-state="rendered" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.857em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: 1094px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 701px;"></span></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/D1JszI" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-56765615275054256522015-02-24T05:48:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:48:27.857-05:00Unions throw millions at data firm accused of breaking election law<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_201857" style="background-color: #f9fcff; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.246094) 2px 2px 7px 2px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 650px;">
<a href="http://watchdog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/HaroldIckesAP.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="AP file photo" class="size-full wp-image-201857" height="302" src="http://watchdog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/HaroldIckesAP.jpg" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: all; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; border-bottom-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 4px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="650" /></a><div class="wp-caption-credit" style="height: auto; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: right;">
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 6.5pt; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
AP file photo</div>
</div>
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="color: black; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-top: 15px;">
BIG GUNS: Catalist founder Harold Ickes is a former deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and an adviser to the Ready for Hillary super PAC. Catalist founder Laura Quinn is a former deputy chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore. AFL-CIO Political Director Michael Podhorzer co-chairs Catalist’s board of managers. Karen White, NEA’s data and information technology director, and SEIU Executive Vice President Kirk Adams are both Catalist board members.</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
By Jason Hart | Watchdog.org</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Labor unions have paid Catalist, a consulting firm accused of illegal coordination with hundreds of Democratic campaigns, more than $10 million since 2007.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Conservative nonprofit Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust <a href="http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Catalist-Complaint.pdf" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">filed a Federal Election Commission complaint</a> against the company last week. The complaint alleges Catalist LLC, the Democratic National Committee and more than 300 Democrat campaigns have broken federal election law.</div>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_201801" style="background-color: #f9fcff; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.246094) 2px 2px 7px 2px; float: left; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 200px;">
<img alt="Photo credit: Twitter" class="size-full wp-image-201801" height="227" src="http://watchdog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/mike-podhorzer-afl-cio-twitter.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 4px; border-top-color: rgb(35, 31, 32); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="200" /><div class="wp-caption-credit" style="height: auto; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: right;">
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 6.5pt; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Photo credit: Twitter</div>
</div>
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="color: black; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-top: 15px;">
COORDINATED: AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer co-chairs Catalist’s board</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
A “progressive” data and technology vendor based in Washington, D.C., Catalist is backed by the National Education Association, Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO and its member unions — because of its ideological goals and its ties to the Democratic Party.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Catalist founder Harold Ickes <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/harold-ickes-priorities-usa-action-obama" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">is a former deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton</a> and <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/292229-ickes-longtime-clinton-supporter-advising-pro-hillary-super-pac" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">an adviser to the Ready for Hillary super PAC</a>. Catalist founder Laura Quinn is <a href="http://www.catalist.us/managers" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a former deputy chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore</a>.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The company is not shy about its political objectives. Catalist’s <a href="http://www.catalist.us/about" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">mission</a> is to “provide progressive organizations with the data and services needed to better identify, understand, and communicate with the people they need to persuade and mobilize.”</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
AFL-CIO Political Director Michael Podhorzer <a href="http://www.catalist.us/managers" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">co-chairs Catalist’s board of managers</a>. NEA Political Director Karen White and SEIU Executive Vice President Kirk Adams are Catalist board members.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
As <a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/complaint-extensive-campaign-finance-violations-by-clinton-tied-data-firm/" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Washington Free Beacon first reported</a>, Catalist may have frequently violated laws restricting coordination between political committees and outside groups.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
In addition to selling contact list access and related services to Democrat campaigns, Catalist and NGP VAN — another data firm named in the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust complaint — work with unions and other activist groups.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Catalist and its various clients share one goal: electing Democrats. SEIU bosses credited Catalist with President Obama’s election and other Democrat victories in 2008.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
“Catalist provided data services to SEIU and a substantial majority of the progressive and political communities in the 2008 election,” <a href="http://watchdog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/SEIU-catalist-report-2009-09.pdf" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a 2009 SEIU report</a>explained.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
“Because Catalist users uploaded IDs from much of their voter contact work to the Catalist database, they were able to compile an increasingly more accurate picture of the American electorate,” the report continued.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The company has provided Democrat campaigns with “excessive, source-prohibitied, and unreported in-kind contributions,” has exchanged campaign and Democratic Party data “with soft money groups making independent expenditures” and is “established, financed, maintained and/or controlled” by the Democratic Party, FACT asserted in its FEC complaint.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
“This is a politically-motivated filing without merit,” Catalist spokeswoman Amy Weiss said in an email response to a Watchdog.org inquiry.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Materials from secretive leftist donor network Democracy Alliance <a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/democracy-alliance-state-spending-plans-revealed/" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">obtained by the Free Beacon</a> suggest DA sees for-profit data vendors as a way to skirt campaign finance law. DA and left-wing billionaire George Soros have been Catalist supporters since the company’s 2006 launch.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
“Mr. Soros and other alliance donors were early investors in Catalist, and many of the groups funded by the alliance now buy data from it,” The New York Times noted<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/us/politics/groups-mobilize-to-aid-democrats.html?ref=politics" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">in a 2013 story</a>.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Although NEA, SEIU and AFL-CIO are not named in the FEC complaint against Catalist, they and other unions have paid the firm $10,473,521 since 2007. Unions also are <a href="http://watchdog.org/183394/wealthy-progressive-groups/" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; color: rgb(0, 102, 204) !important; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">key donors to DA’s “Committee on States” project</a>.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Unions have paid Catalist more than $1 million each year since 2009. In 2012 alone, unions paid Catalist $1,753,497.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Based annual reports to the U.S. Department of Labor, these labor unions have made payments to Catalist:</div>
<ul style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AFL-CIO: $3,110,629</li>
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">NEA: $2,965,542</li>
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">SEIU: $1,954,600</li>
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">United Food & Commercial Workers: $1,083,500</li>
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Change to Win: $840,000</li>
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: $438,750</li>
<li style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.2s; -webkit-transition-property: background-color, border-top-color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">International Brotherhood of Teamsters: $80,500</li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Of the money reported, $590,000 from Change to Win and $188,500 from UFCW were reported as “Representational Activities.” In the 26 states without right-to-work laws, unions can take money for representational activities from nonmembers as a condition of employment.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Change to Win is a coalition led by SEIU, whose membership includes hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers. AFL-CIO’s largest affiliates are AFSCME and American Federation of Teachers, which are both public-sector unions.</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal normal 17px/1.6em serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
NEA, the largest labor union in the country, represents public school teachers and had nearly 3 million members as of Aug. 31.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/TqDmPk" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-80504366929234324522015-02-24T05:45:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:45:23.359-05:00Chickens Come Home to Roost… Jeremiah Wright’s Daughter Is Sent to Prison<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Jim Hoft</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_261387" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 310px;">
<img alt="Jeri Wright and Rev. Jeremiah Wright (photo from AP)" class="size-medium wp-image-261387" height="174" src="http://3-ps.googleusercontent.com/hk/9dO3E1tyAM9FEJoQjUgzLfLy1j/www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/300x174xJeri-Wright-300x174.jpeg.pagespeed.ic.cdFWZx8K2UtvKxI_r56i.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Jeri Wright and Rev. Jeremiah Wright<br />(photo from AP)</div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="font-weight: bold;">In September 2013,</strong> Jeri Wright, daughter of Reverend <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnlRrxXv-v8" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #006ebb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“God Damn America”</a> Wright, and 12 other Democrats <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/09/13-democrats-charged-with-embezzling-16-million-in-federal-grants-for-aids-charities-and-other-needy-programs-rev-wright-daughter-among-those-charged/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #006ebb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">were charged</a> with embezzling $16 million in Federal health grants that should have gone to AIDS charities and other programs for the poor and needy.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
More than one of the defendants <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/22212263-761/watchdogs-tally-in-illinois-grant-fraud-probe-so-far-13-charged-16m-embezzled.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #006ebb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">had direct ties</a> to President Barack Obama.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="font-weight: bold;">In March 2014</strong> Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s daughter Jeri was <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/03/chickens-come-home-to-roost-rev-jeremiah-wrights-daughter-convicted-on-11-counts-of-fraud/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #006ebb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">found guilty on eleven counts</a> that included money laundering and lying to federal agents.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
This week US District Judge Sue E. Myerscough sent Jeri Wright to prison.<br /><a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/389973/rev-jeremiah-wrights-daughter-heading-jail-alleged-theft-violates-bail" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #006ebb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Chicago Sun-Times</a> reported:</div>
<blockquote style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; quotes: '', ''; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Jeri L. Wright, the daughter of President Barack Obama’s former pastor, is headed to jail after a federal judge on Monday revoked a deal that allowed her to remain free as she awaits sentencing on a money-laundering conviction.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough ruled that there was probable cause to believe that Wright committed a theft while she was free on bail and ordered Wright detained by U.S. marshals in Springfield, according to Sharon Paul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in the Central District of Illinois.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Wright’s attorney, Victor P. Henderson, could not immediately be reached for comment.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/5hJVMQ" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-406044239688242572015-02-24T05:43:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:43:59.145-05:00FOOD NAZI UPDATE: White House Easter Egg Roll gets fit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div class="region region-above-title" style="margin-bottom: 20px;">
<div class="block block-views first odd" id="block-views-video-block">
<div class="view view-video view-id-video view-display-id-block view-dom-id-e029dac12ad0a270aad6b1d154fa5f7e">
<div class="view-content">
<div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-field-video" style="float: left; left: 50%; position: relative; z-index: 1;">
<div class="field-content" style="display: block; float: left; position: relative; right: 50%; z-index: 1;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="363" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ebQThbI5ySQ" style="display: block;" width="645"></iframe></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="block block-dfp last even" id="block-dfp-video-companion-645x363">
<div class="dfp-tag-wrapper" id="dfp-ad-video_companion_645x363-wrapper">
<div class="dfp-inner" id="dfp-ad-video_companion_645x363">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="clear" style="clear: both;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="clearer" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 16px;">The White House Easter Egg Roll is getting fit — Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” anti-childhood obesity initiative will be tied into this year’s annual event.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px;">
</div>
The theme for the April 6 egg-filled shindig is “#GimmeFive,” the White House announced Monday.<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px;">
The campaign launched as part of “Let’s Move!” to celebrate the initiative’s fifth anniversary. “I’m going to be challenging all of you to give me five things that you’re doing to lead a healthier life,” Michelle Obama explained in a promotional video.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px;">
The Roll will include five souvenir eggs: four bearing the signatures of President Obama and the first lady on the back, and a fifth dubbed the “Bo and Sunny” egg that also features the “paw prints” of the presidential pooches.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px;">
<a href="http://www.recreation.gov/" style="color: #000066; font-weight: bold; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">A lottery for free tickets</a> to the springtime tradition at the White House opened on Monday and closes at noon on Thursday.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/fWOm9G" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-51662788634463300482015-02-24T05:40:00.002-05:002015-02-24T05:40:17.393-05:00White House may not send a cabinet-level official to largest annual gathering of pro-Israel Americans - and the president won't go either <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul class="mol-bullets-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li class="" style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>Typically, a high-level administration official represents the U.S. at AIPAC</strong></li>
<li class="" style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><br /></strong></li>
<li class="" style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu set to make an in-person appearance - just before his country's elections - the White House may stay away</strong></li>
<li class="" style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><br /></strong></li>
<li class="" style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>The White House is avoiding Netanyahu during his visit to Washington as to not appear to be inappropriately endorsing his reelection campaign </strong></li>
<li class="" style="font-size: 9px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong><br /></strong></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="author-section byline-plain" style="font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
By <a class="author" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Francesca+Chambers+For+Dailymail.com" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">FRANCESCA CHAMBERS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM</a><a class="twitter-follow-author" href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=@fran_chambers&tw_p=followbutton" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="follow-author"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 9px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="">The White House confirmed on Monday that President Barack Obama doesn't plan to attend the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's conference next week, held annually in Washington, D.C., and that no cabinet-level U.S. official is currently scheduled to make an appearance.</span><span class="mol-style-bold"></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class=""><br /></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The 'largest gathering of America's pro-Israel community,' according to the confab's organizations, AIPAC draws a crowd of roughly 14,000 attendees, many of whom are of Jewish heritage.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The last time Obama showed up at the conference was in 2012 as he stared down reelection. Typically, a high-level administration official represents the U.S. at the mass gathering.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
But this year, supporters of Israel, a close ally of the U.S., may not receive that courtesy from the administration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to make an in-person appearance. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="mol-img" style="font-size: 9px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative;">
<img alt="President Barack Obama doesn't plan to attend AIPAC's policy conference next week, his spokesman confirmed today, and admitted the White House hasn't decided whether to send a cabinet-level official at all" class="blkBorder img-share" height="423" id="i-df8a69bac4ece9c5" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/02/23/2603673200000578-2965881-image-a-2_1424729489459.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-1" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.398438); background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; bottom: 11px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; display: table; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; height: 36px; line-height: 34px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; right: 10px; text-align: left;">
<div class="mobile-gallery-icon" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/furniture/mobile/icon_camera_90x68.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 10px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 27px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table-cell; float: none; height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 7px; vertical-align: middle; width: 24px;">
</div>
<span style="display: table-cell; float: none; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 2px; vertical-align: middle;">+2</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">President Barack Obama doesn't plan to attend AIPAC's policy conference next week, his spokesman confirmed today, and admitted the White House hasn't decided whether to send a cabinet-level official at all</span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"></span></div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="mol-img" style="font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative;">
<img alt="The president and his administration may snub the largest annual gathering of pro-Israel Americans in order to avoid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center right, who is pictured here on Monday with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, center left. Netanyahu is up for reelection in a few weeks, and Obama is actively keep his distance until then" class="blkBorder img-share" height="423" id="i-50c7d9cfd19e305e" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/02/23/2601BEED00000578-2965881-image-a-1_1424729480726.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.398438); background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; bottom: 11px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; display: table; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; height: 36px; line-height: 34px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; right: 10px; text-align: left;">
<div class="mobile-gallery-icon" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/furniture/mobile/icon_camera_90x68.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 10px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 27px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table-cell; float: none; height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 7px; vertical-align: middle; width: 24px;">
</div>
<span style="display: table-cell; float: none; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 2px; vertical-align: middle;">+2</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The president and his administration may snub the largest annual gathering of pro-Israel Americans in order to avoid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center right, who is pictured here on Monday with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, center left. Netanyahu is up for reelection in a few weeks, and Obama is actively keep his distance until then</b></span></div>
<div class="imageCaption" style="font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The president is refusing to meet with Netanyahu during his visit so that he does not appear to be endorsing the Israeli leader less than two weeks before his country heads to the polls.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, two previous representatives sent by the administration, have scheduled foreign travel for next week.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Biden will be in Uruguay and Guatemala, the White House has said. Kerry will also be out of the country, the State Department said last week, but wouldn't say where he will go or why.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
That will keep Biden away from Washington when Netanyahu addresses Congress, as well - the original purpose of his travel to the U.S.</div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
House Speaker John Boehner secretly invited the Israeli PM to appear before Congress this month. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
After announcing the overture, Boehner, a Republican, obliged however to a request from Netanyahu to move the rare, joint session of the upper and lower chambers of the legislative branch to March 3 so that he could attend AIPAC's policy conference. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
It also had the effect of putting the speech closer to Israel's election day. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The change of plans has put the White House in the awkward position of having to decide whether it will snub the conference in order to avoid an encounter with Netanyahu.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
'We are still in discussions with AIPAC about what sort of administration representation they'll have at the meeting,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told Daily Mail Online on Monday, adding that 1600 Pennsylvania is 'still evaluating the invitation.' </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The Associated Press first reported that the White House may skip this year's confab on Friday after an AIPAC official told the news agency that the administration had not yet responded to its invitation.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The administration may dispatch Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the event, though, AP said. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has also been suggested to head the administration's delegation.</div>
<span><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/oeY42j" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-39788404929650023552015-02-24T05:31:00.002-05:002015-02-24T05:31:43.970-05:00OBAMA THANKS REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS FOR CAVING TO OBAMACARE MEDICAID EXPANSION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div class="featured-container" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img alt="AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais" class="attachment-isc-bbn-full wp-post-image" height="480" src="http://media.breitbart.com/media/2015/02/obama_hug_health_care_AP-640x480.jpg" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 640px;" width="640" /><div class="attribution" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094); background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais</div>
</div>
<div class="byline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="by-author" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="by" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by</span> <a class="byauthor" href="http://www.breitbart.com/author/charlie-spiering/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-right-style: dotted; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 7px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">CHARLIE SPIERING</a></span><span class="bydate" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-right-style: dotted; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 7px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">23 Feb 2015</span><a class="bycount" data-disqus-identifier="811119 /?p=811119" href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/02/23/obama-thanks-republican-governors-for-caving-to-obamacare-medicaid-expansion/#disqus_thread" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 3px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 3px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 3px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-left-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px 3px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font: normal normal bold 10px/normal Georgia, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1em; min-width: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">332</a></div>
<div class="entry-content" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="ndn_embedContainer ndn-widget-embed-1 ndn_embed ndn-widget-embed-4 ndn_widget_VideoPlayer-Default ndn_embedded" data-config-distributor-id="90085" data-config-legacy-embed-url="http://embed.newsinc.com/Single/iframe.html?WID=24222&VID=28626287&freewheel=90085&sitesection=breitbart_nws_pol_sty_vmppap&height=405&width=640" id="ndn-video-player-1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 405px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 640px;">
<div class="ndn_playerContainer ndn_videoPlayer akamai-flash akamai-player ndn_videoPlayer_largeView ndn_videoPlayer_view1198 ndn_videoPlayer_view1022 ndn_videoPlayer_view999 ndn_videoPlayer_view849 ndn_videoPlayer_view784 ndn_videoPlayer_view766 ndn_videoPlayer_view702" data-version="AMP Premier - NDN v1.7.0002" id="ndn-widget-embed-4-player" style="-webkit-user-select: none; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgb(33, 33, 33) 0px, rgb(9, 9, 9) 100%); background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-width: 0px; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 405px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 640px;">
<div style="border-bottom-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div class="akamai-video akamai-layer" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 405px; left: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; text-align: left; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 640px;">
<object class="video" data="http://launch.newsinc.com/69/js/lib/amp.premier/AkamaiPremierPlayer-static.swf" height="100%" id="flashObject1424772773202" name="flashObject1424772773202" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></object></div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-left-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px 0px; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Speaking to governors at the White House, President Obama pointedly praised Republican governors that caved to his Obamacare plan of expanding Medicaid.</h2>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I want to thank all the governors, Democrats and Republicans, supporters and some opponents of the ACA who have expanded Medicaid to millions of people over the past two years,” he said. “I think that there’s recognition that it makes sense, and it’s bigger than politics.”</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Although some Republican governors continue to resist Medicaid expansion in conservative states, more moderate Republican governors such as <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/12/12/iowas-gop-governor-expands-medicaid-program-thursday/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Iowa Governor Terry Branstad</a>, <a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/09/michigan_gov_rick_snyder_signs_6.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michigan’s Rick Snyder</a>, New Jersey’s <a href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/02/christie_budget_details.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chris Christie,</a> New Mexico’s <a href="http://www.daily-times.com/four_corners-news/ci_24160381/nm-gov-susana-martinez-bucks-republican-tide-and" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Susana Martinez</a>, Indiana’s <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/pence-caves-expands-obamacare/article/2559318" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: dotted; outline-width: thin; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mike Pence,</a> and Ohio’s Gov. <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/11/16/gov_john_kasich_explains_why_he_expanded_medicaid_in_ohio.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">John Kasich</a> have <a href="http://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/resources/primers/medicaidmap" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0088bb; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">dropped their opposition</a> to the idea.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Obama specifically quoted Ohio Governor John Kasich, who sold the idea in his state arguing that the Medicaid expansion “saves lives, no question about it.”</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Obama pressured Republican governors who are still resisting the expansion to consider it.</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“If you’re state isn’t one of the 28 that’s already expanded Medicaid, I’d urge you to consider it, because our team is is prepared to work with you to make it happen.” he said.</div>
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/eZRFwv" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-35421934508386699162015-02-24T05:30:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:30:05.303-05:00Will Obama’s New Regulations Wreak Havoc Upon The Elderly? Financial Advisers Say Yes.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/AARP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/AARP.jpg" height="274" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">U.S. President Barack Obama (C) participates in a tele-conference town hall event on health care at the AARP in Washington, July 28, 2009. With Obama is Barry Rand (L), CEO of AARP and Jennie Chin Hansen, President of AARP. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES HEALTH POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR265K1</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
If you’re over 65 and you like your financial adviser, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to keep your adviser.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
President Obama is set to speak at AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C. Monday afternoon alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren and consumer protection chief Richard Cordray. Obama will announce new regulations from his Department of Labor, which will set new rules governing financial managers and advisers.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The White House said that it wants to abolish ”hidden fees that hurt consumers and back-door payments that help Wall Street brokers.”</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
But the financial lobby is freaking out, claiming that Obama’s new rules — which have yet to be announced by the White House or independently verified — will take a huge toll on financial planners and affect millions of retirees.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
A financial planner trade organization told The Daily Caller that the new rules come with a catch: they will effectively prohibit retired persons from keeping their trusted financial advisers if they make new investments during retirement.</div>
<div id="taboola-mid-article-thumbs-mix" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“The rule will say that if you’re an adviser with a 401(k) helping participants, and you want to look at a lifetime income option [for your client] then you as an adviser would be effectively blocked from working with that participant if there’s any fee difference,” Brian Graff, executive director of the National Association of Plan Advisors, told TheDC, citing insider talk and a past Obama administration attempt in 2010 to push through similar rules.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
If the fee you pay your financial adviser in retirement — for products like annuities — is even slightly higher than the fee you were paying your adviser when you were working and just had a 401(k) plan, then you will have to pay a 15 percent tax penalty on your total account value, Graff said, citing insider talk.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
So if your 401(k) is worth $100,000, then you’ll have to pay a $15,000 penalty if you want to make new investments that would lead you to pay your adviser even one dollar more. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em;">Seniors might have to drop the advisers who help them with their 401(k) rollover. </span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em;">“They have this view that you should always keep your money in the [401k] plan,” Graff said of the Obama administration. ”We think that’s a dumb idea. An adviser you trust shouldn’t be blocked from working with you.”</span></div>
<div class="ym" id="ym_1047031452335979308" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“No one’s going to pay a 15 percent tax to keep their adviser,” Graff said. “This isn’t 95 dollars like the health care one. We expect that millions of 401(k) participants will be affected.”</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“The irony is that you could then go down the street and get a new financial adviser who might charge you 200 percent more, and there’s no rule preventing that,” Graff said.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“Is it theoretically possible that you’ll have exactly the same amount of money in your rollover as you did in your 401(k)?,” Graff said. “No. Why then would you roll over?</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“In the zeal to try to protect people they’re preventing people from being able to do what they want,” Graff added, noting that the potential rule is a “huge deal” in the financial industry.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The rule is expected to go through the regulatory process and take effect in a few months.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/nuSYGT" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-80465361601362428882015-02-24T05:27:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:27:01.441-05:00Does Obama Love America or Islam?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The only problem with this question is "why did it take over 8 years to ask?"</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="sub-title" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -10px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 505px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -20px;">
<div class="printpreview">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="entry-content" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
<a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/sw.jpg" style="color: maroon; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Barack Obama" class="alignleft wp-image-251860" height="157" pagespeed_url_hash="482957672" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/sw.jpg" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 4px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 4px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; border-width: initial; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 570px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;" width="261" /></a>Walk into a store and you’ll see piles of red and pink in the Clearance box. Everything from heart-shaped cards and boxes of chocolate candy to plastic flowers and teddy bears clutching plush red hearts will be 50 percent off because Valentine’s Day comes but once a year. And Valentine’s Day is over.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama’s love for America also comes but once a year. He tosses it into a speech in the Midwest when his poll numbers are down and then it goes into the clearance box where you can buy his love and his patriotism for 50 percent off. And it’s still expensive at the price because the heart-shaped box is empty.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Greeting card sentiments come easily to the man who will say anything. Obama promised to eliminate income tax for seniors making less than $50,000, vowed transparent open government and promised that you could keep your doctor. His words were empty promises.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Love, of a person or of a country, is not judged by what we say. It is judged by what we do.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Every politician with ambition claims to love America. Most only love themselves. Some love other things. No one can know what is it in Obama’s heart, which is why the media’s shrill demands that Scott Walker affirm Obama’s love for America are silly and cynical, but we can certainly follow his passions.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
We show our passions in the things that we really care about. We all have our duties and obligations. Obama’s obligations include delivering speeches praising America, occasionally placing his hand on his heart during the pledge of allegiance (when he can find it) and badly saluting soldiers with a latte cup.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
But are these the things he loves and cares about?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
We can follow Obama’s passions the way that an adulterer’s trail to his mistress can be followed no matter how many cards or stuffed bears he gives to his wife.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
What are the things that Obama is passionate about?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
In his first days in office, he signed a number of executive orders. Of his first five orders, three involved Muslim terrorists captured and held in Gitmo. His third executive order was about the “humane” treatment of terrorists. His fourth executive order sought to close Gitmo. Like the man who can’t wait to get away from his wife so he can call his mistress, Obama made his priorities clear from the start.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
It took Obama a month to set up the Economic Recovery Advisory Board. It took him two days to set up a Special Interagency Task Force on Detainee Disposition to free Gitmo terrorists.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama prioritized helping Muslim terrorists over the economic recovery. Why? Because that was a subject he was passionate about.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
People will always prioritize what they are passionate about over what they aren’t. It’s easy to look at a mission shift and see the choice that has been made.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
For example, is Obama passionate about space exploration? He told the head of NASA that his “foremost” priority was making Muslims feel good about themselves.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama is more passionate about Muslim self-esteem than he is about visiting other planets.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Is he passionate about god and religion? That depends on which god and which religion.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama left out “Under God” when reciting the Gettysburg Address. The DNC’s platform initially left out “God” and booed the reinsertion. Obama’s invocation at his inauguration also dropped “Under God”.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
However Obama cheerfully recited “Allahu Akbar”, the opening of the Islamic supremacist call to prayer, and called it “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth.” He had a man jailed for making a YouTube video attacking Mohammed and blamed him for Muslim acts of terror against America.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama’s religious beliefs, such as they are, remain locked in his head. But there is only one religion that he is passionate enough to protect by imprisoning those who blaspheme against it.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
He may botch salutes and the pledge of allegiance, but he has retained the ability to chant “Allahu Akbar” with a “first-rate accent”.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
He may think that the “good book” says “don’t throw stones in glass houses”, but he accurately quotes the Koran. The things that we remember are the ones that we really care about.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama has an obligation to reference the Gettysburg Address, to wait out the pledge of allegiance and to praise America. He has no obligation to quote the Koran or chant “Allahu Akbar”. These are things that he does because he wants to do them. They are the things that he is actually passionate about.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Does he love them more than he loves America? No one can know what is in another person’s heart.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
There are married couples who have lived together for decades only to discover that the love of their life had been cheating on them all along. And who is to say that the adulterer doesn’t love? We can’t pass a final verdict on his feelings. But we can know his faithlessness by his deeds.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
We can say of him and of Obama that they broke faith with the covenant that they had entered into. We can say that they betrayed those who trusted them, lied to them, used and abused them, and then feigned outrage when their actions were questioned.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Can the media’s furious talking heads denouncing Giuliani deny that Obama lied to Americans? Can they deny that he harmed them? Can they deny that he refused to take responsibility for his actions?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
The facts are clear. Only the interpretation is in doubt. And the interpretation is what we are debating.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Does Obama lie to Americans because he loves them? Does he weaken America abroad because he loves it? And if Obama loves America, what does he love about it and how does he show that love? Does he love the Constitution? If he did, he wouldn’t constantly violate it. Does he love Americans? Which Americans? The ones whose health plans he took away for ObamaCare or the ones whose jobs he took away to legalize illegal aliens? The ones whose votes and wishes he ignores and snidely mocks?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Is it the Americans who no longer believe in the future under his rule that he loves? Is it the unemployed Americans he loves? Is it the Americans he jailed under his new laws and regulations that he loves?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
If Obama loves Americans, then it’s a clear case of hurting the ones you love.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
And if Obama doesn’t love Americans, what America does he love; the rock band or the Walt Whitman poem, the town America in the Netherlands or the Neil Diamond song?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Questioning Obama’s love for America is alleged to be unacceptable gutter politics, but accusing his critics of being racists is a standard debating tactic for those same outraged media talking heads.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
It wasn’t gutter politics when Obama claimed that the national debt under Bush was “unpatriotic”. Is Obama at least as “unpatriotic” for increasing the debt by 70 percent? Is it possible that his spending spree proves that he doesn’t love America? Or is indebting our children the way that he shows his love?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Can we question the patriotism of a man who frees terrorists or only of a man who locks them up?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Is asking whether Obama loves America an unacceptable question because the answer is obvious or because it isn’t?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
Obama will go on making speeches in which he claims to love America while making the country poorer, more dangerous and weaker. He will also go on making speeches praising Islam while increasing the power, influence and wealth of Muslims in America and around the world.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
As the clearance box after Valentine’s Day shows, anyone can buy a card or a teddy bear. It’s the actions that count. It’s not what we say that shows love. It’s what we do that shows what we truly care about.</div>
</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/uVNs3f" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-62233503604712825132015-02-24T05:23:00.002-05:002015-02-24T05:23:28.114-05:00Obama-Nominated Judge: New Illegal Immigrants Must Be Released<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://is.gd/A4ZTb9" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://is.gd/A4ZTb9" height="268" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">Two men are taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol near Falfurrias, Texas March 29, 2013. Brooks County has become an epicentre for illegal immigrant deaths in Texas. In 2012, sheriff's deputies found 129 bodies there, six times the number recorded in 2010. Most of those who died succumbed to the punishing heat and rough terrain that comprise the ranch lands of south Texas. Many migrants spend a few days in a "stash house", such as the Casa del Migrante, in Reynosa, Mexico, and many are ignorant of the treacherous journey ahead. Picture taken March 29, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 9 OF 36 FOR PACKAGE 'LIFE ON A DEADLY BORDER' SEARCH 'BROOKS MIGRANTS' FOR ALL IMAGES - RTXZNHR</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
A federal judge has ordered the federal government to grant U.S. civil rights to illegals who are caught at the border, and to release all migrants except for those who may endanger Americans.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The migrants “may have legitimate claims to asylum … [and] their presence here may become permanent … [so] that they are entitled to the protection of the Due Process Clause, especially when it comes to deprivations of liberty,” <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2015cv0011-33" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">said the judge</a>, who was nominated by President Barack Obama.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Under current rules, border-crossers who are released are also allowed to compete against Americans for jobs, and to attend U.S. schools and to receive welfare, until their cases are decided by immigration judges.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
But immigration courts are already so clogged with asylum-seekers that many cases aren’t decided for several years. The slow process gives migrants many opportunities to find other legal avenues to become citizens, and full access to U.S anti-poverty programs for themselves, their parents and their children.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Unless reversed, the decision opens a huge hole in U.S. border security, and likely will dramatically increase illegal immigration and competition for jobs, partly because immigration enforcement <a href="http://bethepeopletv.com/senator-jeff-sessions-documents-president-obamas-lawlessness-immigration/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">has already been greatly reduced</a> by President Barack Obama.</div>
<div id="taboola-mid-article-thumbs-mix" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The judge’s decision was released late Friday, but political pushback is growing.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“If liberal federal judges and the president are determined to trash the rule of law in this manner, we are on the verge of a full-blown constitutional crisis,” said Jonathan Tobin, an editor of <a href="https://www.commentarymagazine.com/2015/02/22/immigration-and-the-end-of-the-rule-of-law-asylum-executive-orders/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">Commentary magazine</a>, which generally favors large-scale immigration.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
“As much as there is reason to grant many illegals a path to legality if not citizenship, without first securing the border, such proposals ought to be off the table,” he wrote in a short article titled “Immigration and the End of the Rule of Law.”</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The decision comes amid a partisan standoff over the 2015 budget for the Department of Homeland Security.</div>
<div class="ym" id="ym_1047031452335979308" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Obama and his political allies are insisting the agency be allowed to implement his November amnesty plan, even though a court ruled Feb. 16 that Obama’s plan violated federal law. Unless the Democrats stop their filibuster of the 2015 agency budget, they will force a partial shutdown of the agency by Feb. 28.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The Democrats’ amnesty is so lawless that the GOP should change the Senate’s filibuster rules to allow the GOP majority to defund Obama’s November amnesty, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/22/krauthammer-end-filibuster-to-block-obamas-amnesty-grab/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote</a> Feb. 19.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The <a href="https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2015cv0011-33" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">judge’s decision</a> requires border officers to go through a lengthy legal process if they want to keep a border-crosser in jail while a judge decides if the illegal is repatriated or put on a path to citizenship. “Such detention harms putative class members in myriad ways, and as various mental health experts have testified, it is particularly harmful to minor children,” the judge declared.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The government “maintains that one particular individual may be civilly detained for the sake of sending a message of deterrence to other Central American individuals who may be considering immigration,” the judge wrote. But the government’s “current policy of considering deterrence is likely unlawful … [and] causes irreparable harm to mothers and children seeking asylum.”</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The anti-jailing decision increases the already huge incentive for millions of foreigners to fly, sail, walk or drive across the U.S. border, and then claim asylum from foreign criminal gangs, political oppression or domestic abuse. In March 2013, Gallup reported that at least <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/161435/100-million-worldwide-dream-life.aspx" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">138 million foreigners</a> want to migrate into the United States.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The decision was issued late Friday, Feb. 20, by Judge James Boasberg of D.C.-based Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. Boasberg was nominated by Obama, and was confirmed in 2011.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Obama is likely to appeal the decision, partly because it reduces his ability to manage the inflow of migrants.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Obama <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/25/obama-americans-have-no-right-to-favor-americans/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">favors high levels of immigration</a> but he knows the public <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/181313/dissatisfied-immigration-levels.aspx" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">is overwhelmingly opposed</a> to greater immigration.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The American public — including most Latino voters — is strongly opposed to lax border controls.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The immigration issue has dominated federal politics since 2013, when Obama’s allies in the Senate tried to push through a bill that would have increased immigration and given an amnesty to all 12 million illegal immigrants now living in the United States.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Since then, Obama has <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/16/georgia-poll-shows-huge-opposition-to-obamas-amnesty/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">lost the battle</a> <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/16/georgia-poll-shows-huge-opposition-to-obamas-amnesty/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">for public opinion</a>, lost the congressional debate over immigration, lost his Senate majority, and in February lost the first round of a lawsuit that is trying to block his November amnesty for 5 million illegal immigrants.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
But Obama has used his power over the immigration agencies <a href="http://bethepeopletv.com/senator-jeff-sessions-documents-president-obamas-lawlessness-immigration/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">to minimize enforcement</a> of immigration laws. Since 2009, Obama’s senior deputies have repeatedly instructed his immigration agencies to reduce enforcement of immigration laws. For example, since 2009, his aides have given work-permits and temporary residency <a href="http://cis.org/government-data-reveal-millions-of-new-work-permits" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">to 4.7 million migrants</a>, including illegal immigrants, tourists, guest-workers and students.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
That 4.7 million is in addition to the annual inflow of 1 million legal immigrants. Roughly 4 million American youths enter the workforce each year.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
In November 2014, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/19/fewer-us-born-americans-have-jobs-now-than-in-2007/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">one in every five U.S. jobs</a> was held by a foreign-born worker, up from one-in-six jobs in January 2010, according to <a href="http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab7.htm" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">federal data</a> highlighted by the <a href="http://cis.org/despite-recent-job-growth-native-employment-still-below-2007" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">Center for Immigration Studies</a>.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/05/obama-deputies-free-30862-foreign-criminals/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: underline;">In 2014, 130,000 Central American asylum-seeking adults</a>, youths and children crossed the border. Under Obama’s rules, a large percentage were immediately allowed to get work permits plus access to welfare programs and free schooling, ad were allowed to ask judges for permanent residency.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
American’s hostile reaction to the inflow that killed Obama’s top second-term legislative priority — passage of a comprehensive immigration reform law that would have sharply increased legal immigration.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The public’s hostility also contributed to the Democrats’ crushing defeat in the November Senate elections, when the GOP gained nine seats and won a strong 54 vote-majority in the Senate.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/2n3jPS" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-13426924086773692592015-02-24T05:20:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:20:09.399-05:00Texas Governor: Since Jan. 1, 'We Have Had More Than 20,000 People Come Across the Border'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/image/gregg-abbott" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #005291; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Gregg Abbott"><img alt="Gregg Abbott" class="" height="153" src="http://www.cnsnews.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/medium/images/aaa4_188.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Gregg Abbott" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">(CNSNews.com) - "We all saw what happened on the Texas border last summer, but we need to understand that the problem is not going away," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told CBS's "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer on Sunday.</span><br />
<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
"Already this calendar year, since January 1, we have had more than 20,000 people come across the border, apprehended, unauthorized. And so we have an ongoing problem on the border that Congress must step up and solve."</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.mrctv.org/embed/133281" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="MRC TV video player" width="500"></iframe><br /><br />(All told in fiscal year 2014, U.S immigration officials <a href="http://www.ice.gov/removal-statistics" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #005291; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">removed 213,719 individuals </a>apprehended while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States.)<br /><br />Schieffer reminded Abbott that there are some 800,000 illegal aliens living in Texas right now. "You don't have enough buses to send them back to Mexico, and I don't expect you can put all of them in jail. What are you going to do with them?" he asked Abbott.<br /><br />"Well, two things," the governor responded. "One is, the president himself said as these people were coming across the border that he would repatriate them as soon as possible. So, we need to see whether or not the president himself is going to live up to the commitment that he made."<br /><br />Abbott said the second thing is to let Congress -- not the president -- decide how to deal with the millions of people who are in the United States illegally: "And so we need Congress to have the latitude to fulfill its responsibility to solve the problem."<br /><br />Abbott said as governor, he has outlined a plan to secure the border: "I'm going to add more than 500 more Department of Public Safety officers, more Texas Rangers, more technology. We are coming out of our own pocket, Texas taxpayers' pockets, to secure the border and doing the job that the federal government must do.<br /><br />"The first step that has to be taken in this whole process is to secure the border," he added.<br /><br />Abbott filed a lawsuit on behalf of 26 states challenging President Obama's decision to go around Congress by unilaterally giving millions of illegal immigrants permission to temporarily stay in the U.S. and get Social Security numbers so they can work here as well.<br /><br />A federal judge recently put Obama's plan on hold, and Abbott said he expects the case to "continue through the court process all the way to the Supreme Court."<br /><br />Abbott said it is "essential" to win on constitutional grounds, "because what we have here is a situation where the president has violated the rule of law and really contradicted the Constitution by actually making up the law and imposing his own standards on the immigration system.<br /><br />"And so what Congress must do is to continue to ensure that the rule of law and the United States Constitution as constructed are fulfilled. And that means it's the Congress, not the president, that establishes what our immigration laws are."<br /><br />Abbott noted that the lawsuit he filed doesn't deal with immigration -- it deals with "an overreach by the president."<br /><br />In <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/20/remarks-president-address-nation-immigration" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #005291; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">announcing</a> his deferred deportation plan for millions of illegal aliens last November, President Obama said, "If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up." He said the new policy does not apply to recent border-crossers.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/enL2Bb" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-83070880064317285042015-02-24T05:16:00.002-05:002015-02-24T05:16:38.024-05:00Losing the Internet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The administration’s plan to create a “<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">free and open Internet</a>” means, as usual, the <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/233400-obama-cyber-pitch-misses-mark-in-silicon-valley" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">opposite</a> of what it says. As <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/l-gordon-crovitz-from-internet-to-obamanet-1424644324" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gordon Crovitz</a> explains in the Wall Street Journal, it is really a monumental, bare-faced power grab.</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The permissionless Internet, which allows anyone to introduce a website, app or device without government review, ends this week. On Thursday the three Democrats among the five commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission will vote to regulate the Internet under rules written for monopoly utilities.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
No one, including the bullied FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, thought the agency would go this far. The big politicization came when President Obama in November demanded that the supposedly independent FCC apply the agency’s most extreme regulation to the Internet. A recent page-one Wall Street Journal story headlined “Net Neutrality: How White House Thwarted FCC Chief” documented “an unusual, secretive effort inside the White House . . . acting as a parallel version of the FCC itself.”…</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The more than 300 pages of new regulations are secret, but Mr. Wheeler says they will subject the Internet to the key provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, under which the FCC oversaw Ma Bell.</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The specifics of the grab don’t matter as much as the direction in which things must inevitably move. Regulation is an absorbing state like the Hotel California. You can try to check out any time you like, but once inside you can never really leave. Three hundred pages of regulation will become 301 … 302 … A new administration might slow down the rate of growth, but it can never reverse it.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The very success of the Internet doomed its independence. Like any rich, glittering center of wealth that springs up in the desert sands, it would inevitably be coveted by nearby chieftains. And if there’s anything this administration — and to a lesser extent any administration — hankers after it is power. So a-raiding they will go. So here is prince Barack, at the tech city gates, demanding the keys. Not that he will know what to do with it after obtaining them. But possession of the bauble is in the first instance enough.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
There is the notion, often reticiently expressed but frequently glimpsed in news stories, that the key to the future World Order is information. Lawfare, the use of sanctions — in fact every application of ”smart” policy — implicitly depends on information dominance. Information is the key to the Western elite’s power. It is probably the administration’s idea that possession of tech will open the gates to this new World Order.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The “other side” — whatever you want to call them since they cannot be referred to as the ‘enemy’ know this too. They understand or guess that the world is dividing into wired and unwired spaces. Their basic strategy is to base themselves and expand in the <em>ungoverned</em> – and coincidentally the unwired — spaces of the world where they operate in conventional ways; with armies, trucks and outlandishly uniformed men. But in the wired West, their strategy is totally different to suit the conditions.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
There Lawfare is waiting to defend the West with surveillance. Homeland Defense doesn’t really rely on screeners at airports or border crossings who are there only to impress the rubes. The real defense of the realm depends on ever increasing amounts of domestic monitoring. The cracked encryption on your SIM; the data retained on your ISP, the real-time machine monitoring of conversations, the proposed sharing of data collected by Silicon Valley these are all bricks in the wall that keep the Jihadis out. They are also bricks in the invisible prison that surrounds you. But a brick is a brick and the information sharing the president proposes will naturally enough be put under Homeland Security rather than the NSA.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The “other side” understands this and therefore employs “lone wolf” tactics against the West for two reasons. First, singletons are difficult even for the wired world to detect; and second, they encourage the metastatic growth of more wires to prevent the next attack. The joint product of political correctness, lawfare, surveillance and lone wolves is to essentially create fascism and discontent in the West. The president’s response to lone wolf problem will essentially be to watch everybody. In that way nobody is profiled. This suits the every players’ book. The El-Shabab threatens to attack the malls and Jeh Johnson gets a billion dollars more. What’s not to like?</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span id="more-42086"></span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
This happy cycle can go on indefinitely until eventually the the world is divided into two distinct spaces: a West completely crisscrossed by a “free and open” Internet and Internet of Things governed by a man called Hussein and 8th century badlands governed by other men called Hussein. Welcome to the 21st century. So are we doomed? Probably. But critically not in the way you might think and perhaps more importantly, not in the way president Obama thinks.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The actual effect of government control is to institutionalize incompetence. The more Obama controls, the more he destroys. Take Obamacare. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t read that<a href="http://time.com/3698417/china-anthem-hack-healthcare/" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> 80 million records </a>have been stolen by Chinese hackers from Obamacare provider Anthem; or that <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/230238-obamacare-site-sharing-data-with-third-parties" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Obamacare itself is sharing information</a> with third party providers. Only the other day the public learned that 800,000 wrong tax forms were mailed to Obamacare policy holders because they used the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/obamacare-special-enrollment-period-115353.html" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">wrong year</a> in the computation; that after 3 years the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/healthcaregov-obamacare-affordable-care-act-106036.html" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">backend isn’t finished</a>.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
And in other news let’s not forget that Snowden stole the crown jewels from the NSA. In fact, Glenn Greenwald was on hand to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/healthcaregov-obamacare-affordable-care-act-106036.html" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">collect the Oscar</a> given by Hollywood to the documentary depicting the theft.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The administration’s proposal has been called Obamacare for the Internet. What Obama’s Internet grab will do is activate the Law of Unintended consequences. The princes may be attracted to the glittering city in the sands but they don’t know a thing about running it. Never having governed before, they haven’t learned that the wires can strangle them also. Once they lose information — and cover it up in the habitual way — the loss can have deadly consequences. To see how this can happen, let’s take a trip back in time to 1920 and the review <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Gang" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">destruction of the Cairo Gang</a>.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
The Cairo Gang was a special British intelligence unit dispatched to Ireland to finish the IRA. ” Its members lived in boarding houses and hotels across Dublin, where they lived unobtrusively while preparing a hit list of known republicans. However, the IRA Intelligence Department (IRAID) was one step ahead of them and was receiving information from numerous well-placed sources, including Lily Merin, who was the confidential code clerk for British Army Intelligence Centre in Parkgate Street, and Sergeant Jerry Mannix, stationed in Donnybrook. Mannix provided the IRAID with a list of names and addresses for all the members of the Cairo Gang”.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
This is a simple example of what it means to lose information. The IRA got inside the wires. The IRA hunters were themselves killed on “morning of 21 November 1920 by the IRA in a planned series of simultaneous early-morning strikes engineered by Michael Collins”. Now imagine if you will, some enemy power getting inside the ramshackle empire of Homeland Security and getting a list of all the people who really matter in American defense and doing a Michael Collins. Or think about a monumental takedown of a powergrid, or the compromise of a vital SCADA system.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
Many of the administration’s supporters don’t understand that they are making themselves, not just others, vulnerable. Once you put the wires in the hands of Barack Obama, what could go wrong? Ambassador Stevens must have trusted the administration. Where is Stevens now?</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
In some ways, leaving the Internet alone has the same advantages as leaving all the P-40s at Pearl Harbor in their original revetments. Readers will recall that as a security measure against sabotage, military authorities ordered all the P-40s in Hawaii taken out of their shelters and parked in the center of the runways in order to better guard them. That was how the Japanese found them on December 7, 1941.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
Will the administration give you a “freer and more open Internet” than you have now? Or more to the point, will giving it over to the feds enhance security? We are in all probability doomed by this move. The difference is we know it. The administration has not yet figured out that in incompetent hands even the finest weapon can be turned around to face its hapless wielder.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://pjmedia-new.pjmedia.netdna-cdn.com/richardfernandez/user-content/13/files/2015/02/claymore.jpg" style="color: #24839f; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="claymore" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42088" height="187" src="http://pjmedia-new.pjmedia.netdna-cdn.com/richardfernandez/user-content/13/files/2015/02/claymore.jpg" style="clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 737px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;" width="269" /></a></div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
Boy, will they be surprised.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/KNPgCn" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-66075532526824390952015-02-24T05:14:00.001-05:002015-02-24T05:14:10.007-05:00Get this: Al Sharpton and Comcast hit with $20 billion lawsuit… alleging racial discrimination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Bad news, everyone. According to reports and rumors, MSNBC’s Red Wedding is only growing bloodier. Al Sharpton’s MSNBC program <em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Politics Nation</em>, on the air since 2011, is headed for the <a href="http://atlantadailyworld.com/2015/02/23/rev-al-sharpton-to-lose-daily-show-on-msnbc/" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">chopping block</a>. For now, <a href="http://blackmediascoop.com/tv-shake-al-sharpton-msnbc/" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">that’s just a rumor</a>, but the confirmed details of a lawsuit targeting both Sharpton and his employer are far more troubling for both than merely the floundering ratings of the cable host slash political activist.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
A lawsuit targeting Comcast and Sharpton last week, filed by the National Association of African-American Owned Media, alleges that both parties engaged in systematic discrimination against black-owned media outlets.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
This group filed a similar suit against AT&T and DirecTV in late last year. “This time, the plaintiff is not only targeting both Comcast and TWC on the verge of what would be the largest pay television distributor in the United States, but also various African-American advocacy groups and MSNBC host Al Sharpton for allegedly facilitating discrimination,” <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/comcast-al-sharpton-hit-20-777015" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The Hollywood Reporter revealed</a>.</div>
<blockquote style="background-color: #c8c8c8; border-left-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 3px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 50px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 0.5em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; padding-top: 0.5em; position: relative; width: 492px;">
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
At the time of Comcast’s 2010 acquisition of NBCUniversal, Comcast entered into memoranda of understanding with the NAACP, the National Urban League and the National Action Network, but the lawsuit says the voluntary diversity agreements are “a sham, undertaken to whitewash Comcast’s discriminatory business practices.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The plaintiff objects that the only fully owned black-channel picked up by Comcast is the Africa Channel, and that entity is owned by former Comcast/NBCU exec Paula Madison, who “was directly involved in putting together the sham MOUs and obtaining government approval for the Comcast acquisition of NBC Universal, thus creating a serious conflict of interest.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Other black channels are said to be “window dressing,” with black celebrities as “fronts” when they are “white-owned businesses” that are run by friends or family of Comcast executives.</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The suit further alleges that Comcast made a series of donations totaling $3.8 million to Sharpton’s National Action Network to ensure that he would endorse Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal and deflect attention from its discriminatory practices. That seems like a more supportable charge than the claim that Comcast has a “Jim Crow” system in which black-owned media outlets are discriminated against and African-American talent is selectively elevated so as to shield the company from racial criticism. This allegation might be true, but it seems difficult to establish as fact.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
This isn’t the beginning of the backlash against Sharpton by a younger set of African-American activists, but it is a significant development in that ongoing generational and cultural clash. <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/01/8561365/amid-tensions-sharpton-lashes-out-younger-activists" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">A report in Capital New York </a>published last month detailed a speech in which Sharpton lashed out at younger protesters who saw little value in deferring to New York City’s elected officials amid ongoing protests against police brutality that exploded late last year.</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
“You can’t be that stupid!” Sharpton reportedly barked at a crowd of protesters in Harlem on January 31. “ You more worried about who going to lead [National Action Network] than who going to be the governor with a multi-billion dollar budget that you got to pay state tax in. You can’t be that stupid.”</div>
<blockquote style="background-color: #c8c8c8; border-left-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 3px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 50px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 0.5em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; padding-top: 0.5em; position: relative; width: 492px;">
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
In a statement to Capital following Sharpton’s speech, [protest participant Josmar] Trujillo wrote, “In New York, specifically in the majority of the work happening in the last year, Sharpton’s brand is largely seen as destructive at worst– irrelevant at best.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Trujillo added, “This city voted in a self described ‘progressive’ mayor and city council, only to have Rudy Giuliani’s police commissioner, Bratton, return to power. And who opened their doors to welcome him back? Al Sharpton and NAN.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Trujillo also said, “As we move ahead here in New York, inspired by Ferguson youth, we’re speaking truth to power. Sharpton, and others like him, are in fact much too cozy with power to fill that role. For the former informant to paternalistically admonish younger, more dynamic leaders by comparing them to ‘hoes’ is just another self-serving attempt to squash dissent as he wrestles for control of a movement that’s leaving him behind.”</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
It seems that a younger generation of African-American activists who seek to reform the establishment are tired of taking orders from someone who is quite plainly part of the establishment. Described as <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/al-sharpton-obama-race-110249.html" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Obama’s “go-to” man on the subject of race</a>, Sharpton is no longer an outsider bravely combatting the injustices of the system from without. An activist leader who evades prosecution for tax evasion despite flagrant violations and who celebrates his birthday surrounded by celebrities and powerbrokers at the Four Seasons in Manhattan no longer enjoys a claim to hardship and moral authority. For a new batch of activists, Sharpton is no longer viewed as an asset but as a liability.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/XM8rBX" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-2783372350118550422015-02-24T05:02:00.002-05:002015-02-24T05:02:28.709-05:00Socialist Greece has No "Plan B", Delays Submission of Reform Agenda to Eurogroup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div align="justify" style="background-color: white;">
<br />ATHENS – The Greek government will miss the original deadline of midnight Monday to deliver a list of detailed proposals to carry out the accord reached last week with its Eurogroup partners to extend a loan program.<br /><br />The document will be delivered Tuesday, Greek officials said, offering no explanation for a delay that the other 18 eurozone countries apparently accepted.<br /><br />The European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund will evaluate the proposals from Athens before the eurozone finance ministers take up the plan in a conference call set for Tuesday afternoon.<br /><br />Greece’s current financial lifeline expires Feb. 28 and no new funds will be made available to Athens until after the list of proposed reforms is approved by the Eurogroup, the ECB and the IMF.<br /><br />The plan to be submitted on Tuesday will include all the elements of the “first pillar” of the platform drafted by the leftist Syriza party before winning the Greek general elections last month, official sources said.<br /><br />The first pillar comprises measures to address the effects of the austerity policies imposed on debt-strapped Athens as a condition of receiving financial support to pay Greece’s creditors.<br /><br />Syriza’s proposed “humanitarian” measures include free electricity and food stamps for some 300,000 households subsisting below the official poverty line and expanded access to free medical care.<br /><br />The Greek government also wants to fulfill a campaign promise for a moratorium on home evictions.<br /><br />Other aspects of the proposal focus on objectives shared by Syriza and the Eurogroup such as cracking down on tax evasion and corruption and streamlining government operations.<br /><br />Greek media suggest the government expects anti-smuggling enforcement and collection of unpaid taxes to generate some 4.8 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in additional revenue.<br /><br />The accord reached late last Friday in Brussels has caused divisions within Syriza, with some prominent members of the party denouncing it as a capitulation after the party won election on a pledge to end austerity, which has pushed unemployment to record levels even as Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio has soared to 175 percent.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/RzjriY" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-24379303344159626882015-02-24T04:59:00.004-05:002015-02-24T04:59:37.869-05:00Odd Philosophies: Greek Government Hopes Minimum Wage Rise Will Give a Boost to the Economy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>POISON PILL: There is only so much profit in the private sector. Higher pay causes less people to have jobs. You can have less people earning more or more people earning less. The ammount of money being spent in the economy will be relatively the same, either way.</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ATHENS – Greece’s Labor Minister Panos Skurletis says he is confident that increasing the minimum wage next year will help boost the Greek economy.<br /><br />However, the minister acknowledged in an interview with Efe, the financial position of companies must be improved first.<br /><br />“Companies are not afraid to increase the minimum wage to 751 euros gross like it was before (it was lowered to 586 euros by the previous government),” Skurletis said.<br /><br />But he added that “what worries them are other things that for us are also priorities, such as companies’ debts to banks and to the Treasury or Social Security.”<br /><br />The leftist politician said he believes an increase of “tens of euros” will bring no substantial hardship to a small business that “has maybe three or four employees,” but that increase will help people with low incomes to inject additional money into the market.<br /><br />“This small positive boost to the economy in the medium term will help create jobs,” the Greek minister argues.<br /><br />“Increasing the minimum wage will begin starting next year,” noted the official, adding that other laws aiming to improve the economy have top priority at the moment.<br /><br />The first bill will be introduced this week and refers to the payment of debts amounting to 75 million euros in installments to the Greek Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity.<br /><br />The aim of the measures us to improve the economic position of families and small and medium-sized enterprises, thus reviving the economy, said the minister.<br /><br />The current government considers that legislation passed by its predecessor which offered the possibility of postponing the deadline for repaying debts up to 100 times, was riddled with exceptions that are incompatible with the law.<br /><br />“One of the challenges faced by the new government is represented by the fight against illegal employment, in which 40 percent of the workers are not registered for Social Security, or work for fewer hours,” Skurletis explained.<br /><br />“In order to fight this scourge, which has contributed to the erosion in the coffers of the Social Security system, we must strengthen labor inspection measures in terms of human resources and material capabilities,” the minister said.<br /><br />To improve the long-term outlook for the Social Security fund the government of Alexis Tsipras seeks to establish a new national fund, in addition to encouraging contributions by employees and from employers obtaining revenue flows from the use of public property.<br /><br />Among the emergency measures that should not be implemented are the series of commitments by the previous government that led to an average 30 percent plunge in the value of pensions over six years.<br /><br />In terms of labor rights, the Government will restore collective bargaining agreements and protection against layoffs, in a package of measures to be developed in cooperation with the International Labor Organization and implemented next March.<br /><br />The minister explained that “collective bargaining agreements have lost all value, because in practical terms, there are only individual contracts. In those cases, workers are subject to permanent blackmail and likely to accept jobs under sub-standard working conditions.”</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/sqMLdu" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-85903060598044077772015-02-24T04:51:00.004-05:002015-02-24T04:51:55.328-05:00U.S. Jury Orders Palestine to Pay $218 Million to Victims of Attack in Israel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEW YORK – A federal jury in New York on Monday ordered the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to pay $218.5 million to victims of several attacks in Israel between 2002 and 2004, local media reported.<br /><br />The court considered the two organizations responsible for the attacks and ruled in favor of a group of American victims seeking compensation under civil law.<br /><br />The monetary compensation awarded Monday might well be tripled because under U.S. law, those attacks are considered terrorist actions.<br /><br />The jury’s verdict puts an end to a legal battle that has gone on for almost a decade and that was finally tried this year in a Manhattan court.<br /><br />The lawsuit was entered by more than 40 American victims of seven attacks around Jerusalem, in which 33 people were killed and many others were wounded during the second Intifada.<br /><br />The plaintiffs were supported by the 1991 Anti-Terrorism Act, a federal law that allows U.S. victims of international terrorist attacks to file lawsuits with federal courts.<br /><br />The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization were charged with responsibility for planning and executing the attacks, something the two organizations denied at all times.<br /><br />The Palestinians also argued that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction to judge what happened in the Middle East.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/hoaqAw" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-27148215089315435942015-02-24T04:50:00.001-05:002015-02-24T04:50:21.467-05:00High Court Hands Win to Cuban Firm Over Use of Cohiba Brand Name in U.S.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/24/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court gave a victory to state-run Cuban tobacco firm Cubatabaco on Monday by refusing to intervene in the legal case against a U.S.-based rival firm over the Cohiba trademark that both use for their cigars.<br /><br />The high court refused to hear an appeal by U.S. firm General Cigar seeking to overturn a ruling issued last June by a federal appeals court that found in favor of Cubatabaco.<br /><br />The decision allows the Cuban firm to once again request that the patent on the Cohiba brand registered by the Delaware-based General Cigar be cancelled, a move the firm must direct to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.<br /><br />The dispute dates back to 2009, when Cubatabaco won a lawsuit against General Cigar for using and marketing the Cohiba brand name for the latter’s products in the United States.<br /><br />The U.S. firm, which in 1992 began selling Dominican tobacco products under the Cuban Cohiba trademark, appealed the ruling.<br /><br />Selling Cuban-made Cohiba cigars is prohibited in the United States under the economic embargo imposed on the communist island in 1962.<br /><br />Culbro Corp., a company that later was acquired by General Cigar, registered the Cohiba trademark in the United States in 1981 and the conglomerate reacquired the rights to the name in 1995.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Cubatabaco registered the Cohiba trademark in 1972 in Cuba and, later, in more than 100 other countries.<br /><br />Since then, the U.S. firm has claimed that the embargo against Cuba prevents Cubatabaco from reclaiming patent rights in the United States, while the Cuban firm maintains that a registered trademark was stolen from it.<br /><br />In its decision last June, the federal appeals court held that Cubatabaco has a legal basis for requesting the cancellation of General Cigar’s patent.<br /><br />However, Cubatabaco this time placed its request before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which rejected it in 2013 saying that the Cuban firm had no legal basis for the claim.<br /><br />The case went to the Supreme Court shortly after the historic announcement in mid-December that Washington and Havana are going to resume diplomatic and other ties, although that had no influence on this case since only Congress can lift the embargo on the island and, for the moment, it has not done so.<br /><br />Among the measures included in the announcement of normalizing relations with Havana, the U.S. government now authorizes travelers who visit Cuba to bring back up to $100 worth of tobacco and alcohol products.</span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/VsEzhK" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-64990876670230199542015-02-23T23:26:00.001-05:002015-02-23T23:26:21.933-05:00Muslim illegal alien charged in bomb threat against mosque <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/23/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://is.gd/0I0BnS" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://is.gd/0I0BnS" height="320" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Azzam Baytie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police say the <a href="http://bit.ly/1A2C4is" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #347ca8; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">man behind the bomb threat earlier this week</a> targeting the North Austin Muslim Community Center is Azzam Ahmad-Raji Baytie, 53. He is charged with the third-degree felony of terroristic threat.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The two apparent bomb threats came Tuesday morning, including one in the West Campus area. The other was at the Muslim center at 11900 North Lamar Blvd., where police say Baytie indicated there was a bomb in a Ford F-150 Econoline Van. Police say Baytie initially told them there was a van at the International Food Market at 10901 North Lamar Blvd. that was going to blow up.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
“Baytie then changed the location to the mosque located on North Lamar (which is the North Austin Muslim Community Center) stating it was chloride, ammonia, and C4 in a white, Ford F-150 van at the mosque,” documents say. “He stated the police needed to clear the area all the way to the Texaco station, which is located at 11331 North Lamar Blvd.”</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Police say that’s when the had to block off the area around the North Austin Muslim Community Center, not allowing anyone to enter until it was safely cleared of any threat. The Austin Police Bomb Squad responded, found the van Baytie described — which actually belongs to the Community Center — and inspected it, though they didn’t find any explosives.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Police say Baytie “committed the offense of terroristic threat and placed the North Austin Muslim Community Center in grave danger by reporting this bomb threat.”</div>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/C4OGbn" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>hat tip: <a href="http://is.gd/wZ43J0" target="_blank">michael savage</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-11851914323043812042015-02-23T23:15:00.004-05:002015-02-23T23:15:55.159-05:00Russia Offers Iran Antey-2500 Missile Defense Systems<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/23/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">MOSCOW – Russia has offered Iran its Antey-2500 missile defense system, a modified version of the S-300 missiles which Moscow had previously declined to provide Tehran due to international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.<br /><br />“Tehran is now considering the offer,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Sergei Chemezov, chief executive officer of Rostec Corp. as saying on Monday.<br /><br />“As far as Iran is concerned, we offered the Antey-2500 instead of S-300. They are thinking about it. No decision has been made yet,” Chemezov added, according to the Moscow Times.<br /><br />Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Chemezov explained that the Antey-2500 missile defense system is a modified version of the S-300 that Russia is obliged to provide to Iran under a contract signed in 2007.<br /><br />Russian President Vladimir Putin has already addressed this issue with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, but Moscow has made the deal conditional on Tehran withdrawing the lawsuit it brought against Moscow in 2010 for the cancellation of the S-300 contract.<br /><br />Recently, the defense ministers of Iran, Hossein Dehgan, and Russia, Sergei Shoigu, signed in Tehran a military cooperation agreement to combat terrorism and extremism.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/MLUrAi" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-23493034374010516872015-02-23T23:14:00.001-05:002015-02-23T23:14:22.846-05:00Unaccountable "Free Range Kids" Activists Reach Peru<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/23/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><a class="topstheader" href="" style="color: #50697c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Peru Seeks Remedies to Entrenched Violence Against Children</a></span><br />
<div align="justify">
<br />LIMA – Beatings and other forms of mistreatment to discipline children are widely accepted in Peru and activists say it is vital to amend current law that effectively condones violent punishment.<br /><br />It is common to see parents yell at their children on the bus or drag them out violently if they misbehave at a restaurant, and bystanders are generally unwilling to intervene in what is considered a family problem.<br /><br />“This is a country where authority is imposed by force and not by reason and this is replicated in daily relationships, but the way parents use their power causes fear and submission,” Ana Maria Marquez, program director for Save the Children in Peru, told Efe.<br /><br />“Another factor is the lack of recognition of the child as a person with rights,” she said.<br /><br />An Ipsos survey published by El Comercio newspaper found that 73 percent of respondents had been beaten by their parents or another adult, while 57 percent had witnessed violence against children within their families.<br /><br />Third-party intervention led recently to two arrests for child abuse.<br /><br />A Lima man was detained after he smashed his 6-year-old stepson’s nose into a car seat because the child had a tantrum. Police in the southern region of Ica arrested a mother that beat her 2-year-old daughter while bathing her outdoors.<br /><br />In the first case, a young woman posted photos of the violent stepfather on social networks. In the second a neighbor, shocked by the continued aggression against the girl, recorded the incident with her cellphone and gave the footage to the media.<br /><br />“We need to raise awareness about this problem,” Matilde Cobeña, an assistant director in the national ombudsman’s office for children and adolescents, told Efe.<br /><br />“We have been raised in violence, it is a practice entrenched in society and culture, it is accepted,” she said.<br /><br />The mistreatment of children by their parents “is not a private matter, it is a public matter and anyone who knows of a case should report it, but we don’t do it,” Cobeña said.<br /><br />The official said the United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child has asked Peru to ban “physical and humiliating punishment of children and adolescents everywhere.”<br /><br />Cobeña said current Peruvian law establishes the right of parents to use “moderate correction” with their children.<br /><br />Five bills have been introduced in Congress seeking to eliminate violence against children.<br /><br />Currently 44 countries – eight of them in Latin America – have legislation banning corporal punishment of children.</div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/7kaIEi" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-24624011962273484182015-02-23T23:07:00.000-05:002015-02-23T23:07:10.283-05:00Familiar Excuse: Chile’s President Says She Learned about Her Son’s Deals in the Press<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2/23/2015</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SANTIAGO – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Monday that she learned in the press that her son was involved in a deal worth millions that is being investigated by the justice system.<br /><br />“I had no knowledge of it, either before or after – I learned about it in Caburgua in the press,” Bachelet told reporters after returning to the presidency from a vacation in southern Chile at her residence on the banks of Lake Caburgua.<br /><br />Sebastian Davalos, Bachelet’s son, was accused by rightist politicians of the suspected crimes of influence peddling and the use of privileged information, following a real estate venture executed by his wife, Natalia Campagnon.<br /><br />The president’s son, who worked as the socio-cultural director of the presidency, resigned that unpaid position last Feb. 13.<br /><br />Campagnon, who owns 50 percent of the Caval Limitada company, obtained on Dec. 16, 2013, the day after Bachelet’s victory in the presidential election, a loan from the Banco de Chile worth 6.5 billion pesos (some $10.4 million) for the acquisition of rural land in the municipality of Machali in the O’Higgins region south of Santiago.<br /><br />The loan was granted at a meeting in the bank’s main office with the participation of Andronico Luksic, owner and vice president of the financial institution, Sebastian Davalos, who at the time was Caval’s operations manager, and his wife.<br /><br />The stated purpose of the loan was to acquire rural land that was supposed to be re-zoned for urban use, and which afterwards was sold for a net profit of 3 billion pesos (some $4.8 million).<br /><br />News about the deal, reported in a local weekly publication, unleashed a political scandal that has not yet died down.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/jRIXWN" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5168667659356359131.post-84237158404424814262015-02-23T23:04:00.004-05:002015-02-23T23:04:59.363-05:00Pope Asks That Argentina Avoid “Mexicanization”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>2/23/2015</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BUENOS AIRES – Pope Francis expressed his concern about the growing drug trafficking in Argentina in a letter to Buenos Aires legislator Gustavo Vera, in which he asked that Argentine citizens “avoid the Mexicanization” of their country.<br /><br />“I was talking with some Mexican bishops and the matter is terrifying,” the pontiff said in the letter posted on the Web site of the non-governmental organization La Alameda, headed by Vera.<br /><br />“I see your tireless work going full steam ahead. I often ask God to protect you and all those of La Alameda,” Pope Francis said.<br /><br />The letter was an answer to a previous message from Vera about the constant growth of drug trafficking in Argentina and informing the pontiff about the denunciations he is about to launch through the NGO, whose mission is the fight against people trafficking and slave labor.<br /><br />The lawmaker and the pope frequently exchange letters, since they have kept up a long-standing friendship, and Vera even visited Francis in Rome and spent a week with him at the papal residence at Santa Marta in 2013.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><a href="http://is.gd/ffqzPL" target="_blank">source</a></i></b></span></div>
Freedom Re-Foundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897436171555670114noreply@blogger.com0