Update
Catching up on back news. Rehab this morning, may have
another lung infection. More pills, please! ~Bob
General News and Comment
Defending Hillary
Clinton is getting harder. By Jennifer
Rubin
Excerpt: The reaction of the mainstream media to the Clinton scandals is
telling. News reporters and independent-minded analysts by and large seem to
understand the gravity of the claims concerning foreign monies and concede that
there is no “quid pro quo” or “smoking gun” required. Peter Baker of the New
York Times is among those who have not been thrown off the scent of scandal. He
told CBS’s “Face
the Nation” that “this is a big issue for Hillary Clinton because, in fact,
it goes back to some of the issues we’ve been seeing with the Clintons
going to the ’90s, which is the interaction between money and politics, money
and the Clintons
in particular.”
Excerpt: As a result, the editorial boards are showing the
former first lady no love. The New York Times demanded she disclose
all the Foundation’s donations and donors, while chastising her for
breaking her pledge regarding disclosing such donors when she
became Secretary of State:
[VIDEO]
Stephanopoulous Floored as Seriousness of 'Clinton
Excerpt: The former public face of Bill Clinton’s White
House—and current host of ABC News’ This Week—George Stephanopoulos was floored
as two prominent journalists and the Republican Speaker of the House from his
Clinton days, Newt Gingrich, laid out for him just how bad the “Clinton Cash”
book is for his old bosses.
When they come to destroy your business because you are
pro-traditional family. By Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
Excerpt: When some homosexual couple comes to your Christian
business for services at their immoral event, don’t panic. Go ahead and take
their business! Then explain what is going to happen next. Tell them that the
food and services will be just fine. And then inform them that all of the money
that they pay for the services will be donated to a traditional pro-family
lobby. If it is something like catering,
where your employees have to be there to provide services, tell them that
all your people will smile, be professional, and everyone of them will be
wearing crucifixes and have the Holy Family embroidered on their uniforms. Then
show them pictures of your uniforms. When the truck pulls up, speakers will be
playing Immaculate Mary. Show them the truck and play the music. (This is
drawing a bit of comment. Personally, if I knew a business owner didn't like
Marines or Republicans, I would not want to give them my money. And I'd always
wonder if they adulterated the food. I personally have no problem with gay
marriage--I think a far larger problem is straights having kids and not getting
married. But I don't think people who disagree with me on this, or any other
political issue, should be punished. ~Bob)
Excerpt: It was a bad week for Hillary Clinton. So bad,
in fact, that The Washington Post declared she
had "the worst week in Washington ."
From The New York Times, there were reports of shady uranium
deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan .
From The Post, it was reporting on
how the Clintons '
foundation seems more like a personal piggy bank. And
from Politico, it was a
report that "Clinton
struggles to contain media barrage on foreign cash." (If you haven't kept
up, here's a bullet-point summary of
the key bits). And the
book that led to all these stories isn't even out yet.
11 Explosive Clinton
Excerpt: Perhaps the most surprising thing about the
forthcoming book rocking Washington
right now is the number of stunning facts liberal media outlets have already
confirmed and verified are accurate. Here, then, are 11 facts that mainstream
media say are true, verified, and facts from the upcoming blockbuster, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How
and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.
Hillary Furious as Thousands
of Americans Send Cigars to Her Office
http://electleaders.com/2015/04/hillary-furious-as-thousands-of-americans-send-cigars-to-her-office/
Excerpt: Hillary Clinton is reportedly furious and abashed
as thousands of cigars were recently delivered to her office in protest of her
announcement that she would run for President in 2016. Thanks to Send Clinton
Cigars (http://sendclintoncigars.com), a service that
allows you to anonymously purchase cigars and have them directly mailed to Clinton , thousands of
Americans are blatantly reminding her of her first stay in the White
House.
Are Democratic Insiders Starting to Panic
about Hillary? By John Fund
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417519/are-democratic-insiders-starting-panic-about-hillary-john-fund
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417519/are-democratic-insiders-starting-panic-about-hillary-john-fund
Excerpt: But what was striking about last night’s dinner was that many people
have come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton’s campaign is in deep trouble
and she is no longer as inevitable as people once thought. Working reporters
who cover her and other Democratic politicians wouldn’t go on the record, but
you heard the same thing from several of them: ... Privately, they fret about a
recent Quinnipiac poll in which 54 percent of Americans say Clinton
John ‘Doe’ Chisholm
going after Scott Walker’s First Amendment rights again?. By M.D. Kittle
Excerpt: John Chisholm has long been accused of not
understanding or valuing the First Amendment. This past weekend, he went about
proving that criticism, constitutional law experts say. The partisan Milwaukee
County District Attorney who brought Wisconsin
the political
John Doe probes into conservative organizations is threatening
Gov. Scott Walker to keep his mouth shut. The Republican
governor during a trip to Iowa
on his exploration of a possible run for president called out Chisholm and his
prosecutorial pals for the secret probe that has included predawn raids on the
homes and offices of people who have never been charged with a crime.
The Week in
'Tolerance:' Boycotts, Bans and Bullying. By Guy Benson
Excerpt: The coercive Left's End of Discussion mob is
emboldened and on the march. Four vignettes from around the
country: (1) In New York, a pair gay hoteliers are facing angry
boycotts because they dared to dine and chat with Ted Cruz. These men are
successful businessmen, they're pro-gay marriage, and their political donations
through the years have slanted
heavily toward Democrats.
But fraternizing with the enemy is now a punishable
offense:
Excerpt: Helena Andrews, who pens an online column for
the Washington Post called the Reliable Source, was videotaped ignoring the national anthem at Saturday’s annual White House Correspondents’
Dinner while she played with her phone. She was blasted on Twitter
after her narcissistic faux pas aired on CNN.
The Wisconsin Arnold
Excerpt: Anyone still wondering how low the American Left
will sink in pursuit of its agenda should turn their gaze toward Wisconsin . In a blatant
attempt at political intimidation masquerading itself as legitimate
investigation, police conducted a
series of early morning raids at the homes of several Wisconsin
conservatives. Dozens of armed officers showed up for pre-dawn raids with
battering rams, swarming into houses and threatening the people inside with
arrest if they didn’t cooperate, even as they seized personal property. And on the
way out, the invaders gave every person they encountered the same warning:
Don’t call your lawyer, and don’t tell anyone about what happened, because a
gag order is in place.
American Voters Back Iran Deal By Wide Margin, Quinnipiac University
Excerpt: American voters support 58 - 33 percent the
preliminary agreement with Iran
to restrict that country's nuclear program, according to a Quinnipiac
University National poll released today. At the same time, only 35 percent
of voters are "very confident" or "somewhat confident" the
agreement would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, while 62 percent
are "not so confident" or "not confident at all," the
independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. ... Voters
support 65 - 24 percent making any Iran agreement subject to
congressional approval. ... American voters support same-sex marriage 58 - 34
percent, with strong support from every party, gender and age group except
Republicans, who are opposed 59 - 33 percent, and voters over 55 years old, who
support same-sex marriage by a narrow 48 - 43 percent.
EU won't send armed
force to Ukraine
Excerpt: EU leaders have told Ukraine they are worried about
ceasefire violations in the east of the country but will not send armed
peacekeepers there. "We can only talk about a civilian mission, not
military," European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference
in Kiev . Earlier
Ukraine 's President Petro
Poroshenko said the EU or the UN should deploy peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine .
Worth Reading
Excerpt: It’s likely that obtaining fraudulent payments from
the federal government dwarfs all other categories of financial crime in the United States .
Whether it’s obtaining Social
Security disability payments under false pretenses, massive, organized
Medicare fraud, or making multiple false refund claims for the Earned Income
Tax Credit (EITC) or other tax provisions—it has been common knowledge for
years that such fraud is widespread, and the relevant federal agencies have
done little or nothing about it. It’s not as if such fraud is particularly hard
to detect. According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
(TIGTA), in 2011 alone 54,000 tax refunds totaling over $86 million were issued
to 10 physical addresses. You read that right—54,000 tax refunds to only 10
addresses. A single address in Atlanta
received 24,000 tax refunds in 2011. Such fraud should have been identified about
the time the third check was issued to the same address.
Excerpt: A couple of years ago, Thomas Sowell tracked down
the origin of the phrase "trickle down". It turns out to have been
coined by FDR's speech writer, Samuel Rosenman, who attacked "the
philosophy that had prevailed in Washington since 1921, that the object of
government was to provide prosperity for those who lived and worked at the top
of the economic pyramid, in the belief that prosperity would trickle down to
the bottom of the heap and benefit all." Then, as now, the notion was a
left-wing fantasy. What actually happened in the Twenties under Calvin
Coolidge, as Amity Schlaes showed in her biography, was that tax rates were cut
in order to boost revenue. The taciturn old Congregationalist had grasped the
logic of the Laffer Curve avant la lettre. As a result of his rate reductions,
the wealthiest Americans ended up contributing far more in both absolute and
proportionate terms.
Rising Dragon News
Excerpt: The United States
has asked for access to Philippine military bases in eight locations to rotate
troops, aircraft, and ships as Washington
shifts its forces to Asia and as China
expands its military presence in the South China Sea .
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in a speech in Arizona ,
has outlined Washington 's next phase in its Asia "pivot", deploying its most sophisticated
destroyers, bombers and fighters to the region.
Chinese
island-building in South China Sea 'may
undermine peace', says Asean
Excerpt: Chinese island-building efforts “may undermine
peace, security and stability” in the disputed South China Sea ,
leaders of southeast Asian nations said in a statement ahead of a summit on
Monday. The statement, yet to be publicly released, was prepared on behalf of
leaders gathering for the annual
meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) in Malaysia.
“We share the serious concerns expressed by some leaders on the land
reclamation being undertaken in the South China Sea ,
which has eroded trust and confidence and may undermine peace, security and
stability,” it said.
Gun News
Permit
Spotted on a pile of curb side trash today. --George
Women not facing
charges after shooting ex-boyfriend
Excerpt: A woman is not facing charges after police say she
shot her alleged abusive ex-boyfriend during an attack.
The ex-boyfriend is in critical condition. “He beat me twice. Three times, it’s
a wrap. I don’t want to go through that no more,” said Moody.
Race Card News
Have not verified.
Priorities: Obama
Sends THREE Reps to Freddie Gray Funeral–Sent ZERO to American Sniper Chris
Kyle’s and British PM Thatcher’s Funerals. by Warner Todd
Huston
Excerpt: This blatant act of pandering shows where Obama’s
priorities are. This week he sent three–count ‘em THREE–White House
representatives to the funeral of Baltimore
resident Freddie Gray. But he didn’t send a single official to either American
sniper Chris Kyle’s or British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s funerals.
(To be fair, I doubt Thatcher or Kyle would have wanted Obama there. ~Bob)
Media Fail To
Identify Leader Of Baltimore
Excerpt: Major news media outlets have failed to report one
of the main leaders of the “splinter group” of Baltimore protesters who turned violent
is a notorious racist and the former national chairman of the New Black Panther
Party, WND has found. The New York Times, the Associated Press, the New York
Daily News, CBS local and other news media outlets all name Malik Shabazz as a
leader of the breakaway, chaotic protests. Yet each of these news outlets only
identify Shabazz only as “president of Black Lawyers for Justice.”
Excerpt: "The Baltimore Police Department/Criminal
Intelligence Unit has received credible information that members of various
gangs including the Black Guerrilla Family, Bloods, and Crips have entered into
a partnership to "take-out" law enforcement officers," a press
release states. "This is a credible threat. Law enforcement agencies
should take appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of their
officers."
Tweet from Black
Republican. @blackrepublican
What becomes of a city where [42.5%] of its working-age
black males are not employed? #FreddieGray
Excerpt: Police in Baltimore
-- including SWAT officers -- were trying Monday afternoon to disperse
protesters who had thrown rocks and blocked traffic near a busy mall
area.
Black Woman Explains
Why Ferguson
Excerpt: When whites riot, the public rightly labels them as
criminals. When blacks riot, the public considers them to be protestors with
legitimate grievances. Is this different standard fair? Or is it an example of
a new form of racism cloaked in low expectations? Chloe Valdary, a black
student at the University
of New Orleans
Worth Hearing: The Class of 2015: Book Burners Afraid
of Matches
This is the BEST 13 minutes you will spend in a long time.
Bill Whittle is incomparable in presenting his ideas with great clarity and
force.. --Steve
Worth Reading
Excerpt: Baltimore has
the fifth highest big city murder rate in the country. The four cities
ahead of it are Detroit , New
Orleans , Newark and St. Louis . All these cities have something in
common. Not racism, but race. The killers and the dead are black. The murder
rate in Baltimore
stood at 37.4 to 100,000 people. There have already been 63 murders this year.
Fifty-six of the victims were black. Of the
16 murders in the last 30 days, 14 of the victims were black. If black
lives really mattered, then black violence would matter. But that would mean
taking responsibility for a broken culture which few leaders in
the black community are ready to do.
Obamacare/Government Healthcare News
Excerpt: Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has introduced the Preserving
Freedom and Choice in Health Care bill, which he frames as a response
to the Supreme Court deciding for the plaintiffs in King vs. Burwell. This
lawsuit seeks to force the administration to obey the law by not paying tax
credits to health
plans that operate in states using a federal health insurance exchange
(i.e. healthcare.gov). Victory for the plaintiffs would cause massive
disruption in health insurance
in the 36 states using healthcare.gov because beneficiaries’ premiums
would increase significantly. Up to nine million people would experience this
effect. It is necessary for Congress to have an alternative to Obamacare ready
in case the Supreme Court decides in favor of King because President Obama will
immediately propose an amendment to change the law to accord with how he is
executing it.
Private Insurance
Exchanges Thrive While Obamacare's Falter. By Sally Pipes
Excerpt: The federal government is desperate for Americans
to enroll in Obamacare’s exchanges. But most people have refused. When the
exchanges officially closed in February, the U.S. Treasury estimated that there
were still some
6 million people who would have to pay the penalty established by
Obamacare for going without insurance. So the White House re-opened the
marketplaces for an extra six weeks to try to entice them. According to the
latest government data, just
36,000 people have taken advantage of the extension.
Democrat Strategist
on Syria: Hey, At Least We're Not Talking About Obamacare. By Guy Benson
Excerpt: This isn't quite a "wag the dog"
admission. It's more of a "thank goodness we're talking about something
other than our widely-loathed healthcare law as it rolls out, even if that
something is a war." And an unpopular war at that -- both on Capitol Hill,
and with the public writ large. That's how badly some Democrats are
itching to change the subject from their "Affordable Car Act"
disaster. Quite the far cry from "owning it," wouldn't you say?
"You're Greener than Gore" News
The Alinsky Way
Excerpt: Arizona
Rep. Raul Grijalva, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources
Committee, recently caused a stir by sending letters to seven university
presidents seeking background information on scientists and professors who had
given congressional testimony that failed to endorse what is the conventional
wisdom in some quarters regarding climate change. One of the targets was Steven
Hayward, a colleague of mine at Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy
Mr.
Grijalva left a clue about how he operates in 2013 when the magazine In These
Times asked about his legislative strategy. “I’m a Saul Alinsky guy,” he said,
referring to the community organizer and activist who died in 1972, “that’s
where I learned this stuff.”
Excerpt: More than 3,500 birds died during the 377-megawatt
Ivanpah solar project’s first year of operation, a new report estimates. Bird
deaths were known at the “power tower” project, which is located in San Bernardino County
off Interstate 15 just southwest of the Nevada
border. But how many was unclear. Even at the 3,504 estimate, the report
considers the deaths a “minimal proportion of local, regional, or national
populations” of birds. (Remember when, to save the birds, we condemned millions
of black kids to death from Malaria by banning DDT? Good times. ~Bob)
Excerpt: While California
is clearly experiencing another drought, the extreme water shortages are an
ongoing and man-made human tragedy — one that has been brought on by
overzealous liberal environmentalists who continue to devalue the lives and
livelihoods of California
residents in pursuit of their own agenda.”(Truly the land of the nuts/whackos. It's
good to be surrounded by the Great Lakes . --JB)
Open letter to Pope
Francis on climate change
Excerpt: Approximately 90 scientists, religious leaders, and
academics have signed the letter that urges Pope Francis to re-examine
scientific and moral arguments concerning global climate change. The
signatories suggest that he may not be sufficiently informed about the issue.
In December 2014, the pontiff promised to release an encyclical letter in June
of this year concerning a Christian response to environmental stewardship.
“Rather than a careful reporting of the best evidence,” they write, “we get highly
speculative and theory-laden conclusions presented as the assured results of
science. In the process, science itself is diminished, and many well-meaning
moral and religious leaders risk offering solutions based on misleading
science.”
Religion of Peace News
JerusalemU produced a
new documentary on what our students have to endure on American campuses. By
Steve Kramer
Excerpt: The topic is the incredibly disturbing feeling that
many young American Jews experience at the college or university they attend.
This new documentary reveals the rise of anti-Israel activity and
anti-Semitic rhetoric on North American university campuses, and demonstrates
when reasonable criticism of Israel
‘Crosses the Line’ into anti-Semitism. (ctl.stepupforisrael.com/watch)
The film was graphic and disturbing. The ugly, obnoxious, undemocratic behavior
of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, most of whom are students and
lecturers, is appalling. Jews are verbally and physically threatened by these
organized, well-funded mobs. Unfortunately, our Jewish students are not
sufficiently educated, nor prepared, for the onslaught they might encounter.
Most Favor Increased
Use of Drones Against Terrorists
Excerpt: Despite President Obama’s acknowledgement last week
that a U.S.
drone attack on an al-Qaeda camp killed two hostages, including an American,
voters remain strongly supportive of using the armed unmanned aircraft. Most also
still believe the United
States should use them even more.
Needs Confirmation: Islamic State chief Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi dead, claims Radio Iran
Excerpt: According to Radio Iran , Islamic State chief Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi is dead following injuries from an air strike against an Iraqi
target last month. Earlier, The Guardian had reported that Baghdadi had
suffered life threatening injuries in a US-led coalition air strike in March.
(Unlike Obama and Kerry, I don't automatically believe everything that comes
out of Iran .
~Bob)
Excerpt: Taliban forces assaulted the districts of Imam
Sahib, Aliabad, and Qala-i-Zal as well as areas in Kunduz city over the
weekend. The chief of Kunduz’s provincial council claimed that “about 2,000
heavily-armed insurgents attacked” the district center in Imam Sahib, and that
contact with more than 500 Afghan security personnel in the district has been
lost, Pajhwok
Afghan News reported. The governor of Kunduz conceded that the
Taliban have
taken control of several villages and that security forces have
abandoned at least three outposts. (Afghanistan is a war of necessity,
a war we must win said Obama. But every thing he says comes with an expiration
date. ~Bob)
Excerpt: An Iranian general accused
the U.S.
of having planned and carrying out the 9/11 attacks as a pretext to invade
Middle Eastern countries and thus prevent Sunni-Shiite cooperation.
In a television interview last
week, Brigadier-General Ahmad Reza Pourdestan, who commands Iran ’s ground forces, said current conflicts in
the Middle East are all part of an “American
strategy.”
Fighting escalates
across Yemen, air strikes on capital Sanaa
Excerpt: Air raids, naval shelling and ground fighting shook
Yemen
on Sunday in some of the most widespread combat since a Saudi-led alliance
intervened last month against Iranian-allied Houthi militia who have seized
large tracts of the country. There were at least five air strikes on military
positions and an area near the presidential palace compound in the Houthi-held
capital Sanaa at dawn on Sunday, while warships pounded an area near the port
of the southern city of Aden ,
residents said.
Iraqi General, 3
Officers Killed in Islamic State Ambush
Excerpt: Fighters from the Islamic State group ambushed an
Iraqi army convoy on Friday with a bulldozer packed with explosives, killing
the commander of the Iraqi 1st Division and three of his staff officers north
of Fallujah, said military officials. The suicide bomber attacked the convoy of
Humvees and then militants opened fire, killing Brig. Gen. Hassan Abbas Toufan,
a colonel and two lieutenant colonels in the Nadhem al-Taqseem region, said a
member of the division and an intelligence officer. There was no initial count
on the number of soldiers killed in the attack. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Excerpt: The UK
banned Pamela Geller and me from entering the country. The Home Office’s letter
to me said I was being banned for noting that Islam had a doctrine of violence
against unbelievers, which is like being banned for saying grass is green. But
for Hani al-Sibai, an al-Qaeda propagandist and mentor of jihad murderer
Mohammed Emwazi, they have a rent-free £1 million home. Why is Hani al-Sibai
roaming free and living in a taxpayer-funded £1 million mansion? Because to
take any other course of action would be “racist” and “Islamophobic.” This is
the Britain
that is poised to make Ed Miliband its next Prime Minister. The
light of freedom is just about to go out in Britain . What follows after it will
be long, violent and ugly.
Excerpt: “We are going to make it an aggravated crime. We
are going to make sure it is marked on people’s records with the police to make
sure they root out Islamophobia as a hate crime.” The problem is that Islamic
supremacists, apparently deliberately, conflate “Islamophobia” meaning attacks
on innocent Muslims, which are never justified, with “Islamophobia” meaning
honest examination of how Islamic jihadists use the texts and teachings of
Islam to justify violence and supremacism, and resistance to Sharia oppression.
Miliband’s new law making “Islamophobia” an “aggravated crime” would
criminalize and silence all opposition to Islamization, would effectively
destroy what remains of the freedom of speech in Britain ,
and spell the end of Britain
as a free society.
*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five
terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic.
http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5
For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s
eleven books are listed here:
http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html.
His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.
Posts
A few years ago California voted on a Prop regarding gay marriage. A reporter covering a polling station up north stopped a voter on the way out and asked if he'd mind identifying himself and reveal how he voted. He agreed first saying he was retired Army. The reporter then injected a remark that he surely voted against. He replied in fact he supported gay marriage and so voted. He went on to say he had no problem with it that they (gays) had every right to be as miserable as everyone else. Folks nearby listening in burst into laughter. And then he was off camera. He was funny - as in haha. The public voted no. I have no idea where the issue now stands in the state. And don't care.
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