◼ Around 308,000 Virginia voters may also be registered elsewhere, an analysis of 22 states’ election records found, according to Watchdog.org. - Washington Examiner
The results, which were originally reported by the Virginia Voters Alliance, found around 308,000 double registrations by matching names, birth dates and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
...How many of the double-registered voters cast multiple ballots in a single election is unknown, though the VVA revealed it has so far found 164 individuals who voted in both Virginia and Maryland in 2012.
Don Palmer, the secretary of Virginia’s State Board of Elections, said efforts are being made to contact Virginia voters who may be double-registered.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
“He is legitimately a quality candidate,” former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said of Donnelly. “You may disagree with his views and the types of programs he advocates, but he is a master at talking directly to the voters.”
◼ Phil Matier: California’s Tea Party Candidate Resists GOP’s Slump - CBS San Francisco
State Assemblyman and Tea Party conservative Tim Donnelly seems to be bucking the Republican’s downward trend by leading his party in the race, though he’s not rocketing points on the charts against the incumbent candidate, Governor Jerry Brown.
“He is legitimately a quality candidate,” former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said of Donnelly. “You may disagree with his views and the types of programs he advocates, but he is a master at talking directly to the voters.”
...Neel Kashkari, a genuine moderate Republican, is not much of a candidate, lacking rapport with the people and visibility as someone who can assume power, according to Brown.
He may have the endorsements of Condoleezza Rice and Mitt Romney, but according to Brown, that won’t matter.
◼ Listen to the Tim Donnelly, Neel Kashkari debate here.
How America treats illegal aliens vs. veterans
◼ A government that puts the needs of illegal aliens above U.S. veterans for political gain should be prosecuted for criminal neglect bordering on treason. - Michelle Malkin/Washington Examiner
Compare, contrast and weep:
In Sacramento, Calif., lawmakers are moving forward with a budget-busting plan to extend government-funded health insurance to at least 1.5 million illegal aliens.
In Los Angeles, federal bureaucrats callously canceled an estimated 40,000 diagnostic tests and treatments for American veterans with cancer and other illnesses to cover up a decade-long backlog.
In New York, doctors report that nearly 40 percent of their patients receiving kidney dialysis are illegal aliens. A survey of nephrologists in 44 states revealed that 65 percent of them treat illegal aliens with kidney disease.
In Memphis, a Veterans Affairs whistleblower reported that his hospital was using contaminated kidney dialysis machines to treat America's warriors. The same hospital previously had been investigated for chronic overcrowding at its emergency room, leading to six-hour waits or longer. Another watchdog probe found unconscionable delays in processing lab tests at the center. In addition, three patients died under negligent circumstances, and the hospital failed to enforce accountability measures.
In Arizona, illegal aliens incurred health care costs totaling an estimated $700 million in 2009.
In Phoenix, at least 40 veterans died waiting for VA hospitals and clinics to treat them, while government officials created secret waiting lists to cook the books and deceive the public about deadly treatment delays....
In 2013, the Obama Department of Homeland Security released 36,007 known, convicted criminal illegal aliens, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. The catch-and-release beneficiaries include thugs convicted of homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, and thousands of drunk or drugged driving crimes.
The same Department of Homeland Security issued a report in 2009 that identified returning combat veterans as worrisome terrorist and criminal threats to America.
Compare, contrast and weep:
In Sacramento, Calif., lawmakers are moving forward with a budget-busting plan to extend government-funded health insurance to at least 1.5 million illegal aliens.
In Los Angeles, federal bureaucrats callously canceled an estimated 40,000 diagnostic tests and treatments for American veterans with cancer and other illnesses to cover up a decade-long backlog.
In New York, doctors report that nearly 40 percent of their patients receiving kidney dialysis are illegal aliens. A survey of nephrologists in 44 states revealed that 65 percent of them treat illegal aliens with kidney disease.
In Memphis, a Veterans Affairs whistleblower reported that his hospital was using contaminated kidney dialysis machines to treat America's warriors. The same hospital previously had been investigated for chronic overcrowding at its emergency room, leading to six-hour waits or longer. Another watchdog probe found unconscionable delays in processing lab tests at the center. In addition, three patients died under negligent circumstances, and the hospital failed to enforce accountability measures.
In Arizona, illegal aliens incurred health care costs totaling an estimated $700 million in 2009.
In Phoenix, at least 40 veterans died waiting for VA hospitals and clinics to treat them, while government officials created secret waiting lists to cook the books and deceive the public about deadly treatment delays....
In 2013, the Obama Department of Homeland Security released 36,007 known, convicted criminal illegal aliens, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. The catch-and-release beneficiaries include thugs convicted of homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, and thousands of drunk or drugged driving crimes.
The same Department of Homeland Security issued a report in 2009 that identified returning combat veterans as worrisome terrorist and criminal threats to America.
Californians gripe about Obamacare enrollment snags, lack of doctors
◼ New data reveal the biggest category of complaints centers on getting confirmation of health plan enrollment and basic issues such as getting an identification card to obtain care. - LA Times
Many consumers have also encountered difficulty finding a doctor who accepts their new coverage, as well as frustration with inaccurate provider lists, according to the ◼ California Department of Managed Health Care.
Many consumers have also encountered difficulty finding a doctor who accepts their new coverage, as well as frustration with inaccurate provider lists, according to the ◼ California Department of Managed Health Care.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Financial Times: We’ve found some, ahem, “serious inconsistencies” in Thomas Piketty’s numbers
◼ Thomas Piketty ‘Cherry Picked’ Data In His Book Critiquing Capitalism - Daily Caller
Celebrated author and liberal darling Thomas Piketty may have skewed data about Western inequality in his latest bestseller.
According to an investigation conducted by the Financial Times economics editor Chris Giles, Piketty’s newest book about the growing inequality in Western world, “Capital in the 21st Century,” is chock-full of serious factual errors.
Giles wrote in an FT article on Friday that the arguments in Piketty’s 571-page critique of capitalism were undermined by “mistakes and unexplained entries in his spreadsheets.”
He explained that due to the misinformation presented in the book, there is little weight behind Piketty’s argument on economic inequality.
◼ Piketty got very obviously picky and choosey with a whole lot of the data points he used to construct his arguments, and the Financial Times just did their own investigation into the exact math he employed. The results? - HotAir
Prof Piketty, 43, provides detailed sourcing for his estimates of wealth inequality in Europe and the US over the past 200 years. In his spreadsheets, however, there are transcription errors from the original sources and incorrect formulas. It also appears that some of the data are cherry-picked or constructed without an original source.
For example, once the FT cleaned up and simplified the data, the European numbers do not show any tendency towards rising wealth inequality after 1970.
Celebrated author and liberal darling Thomas Piketty may have skewed data about Western inequality in his latest bestseller.
According to an investigation conducted by the Financial Times economics editor Chris Giles, Piketty’s newest book about the growing inequality in Western world, “Capital in the 21st Century,” is chock-full of serious factual errors.
Giles wrote in an FT article on Friday that the arguments in Piketty’s 571-page critique of capitalism were undermined by “mistakes and unexplained entries in his spreadsheets.”
He explained that due to the misinformation presented in the book, there is little weight behind Piketty’s argument on economic inequality.
◼ Piketty got very obviously picky and choosey with a whole lot of the data points he used to construct his arguments, and the Financial Times just did their own investigation into the exact math he employed. The results? - HotAir
Prof Piketty, 43, provides detailed sourcing for his estimates of wealth inequality in Europe and the US over the past 200 years. In his spreadsheets, however, there are transcription errors from the original sources and incorrect formulas. It also appears that some of the data are cherry-picked or constructed without an original source.
For example, once the FT cleaned up and simplified the data, the European numbers do not show any tendency towards rising wealth inequality after 1970.
Labels:
#FAIL,
Income-Inequality
Many have wondered about Barack Obama’s prolonged silence concerning the disastrous situation at the Veterans Administration hospitals and then his odd detached demeanor (well, maybe not that odd for him) when he finally did discuss it at a press conference.
◼ The Veterans Scandal: Socialized Medicine on Trial
- Roger L Simon/PJMedia
The answer is simple. His lifetime dream of a free public (single payer) healthcare system for all just disintegrated in front of him. Forget the wildly ambitious and pervasive “Affordable Care Act,” the government couldn’t even handle the health of our wounded servicemen, acknowledged for years to be by far the group most deserving of medical attention in our country. With veterans dying while waiting lists are falsified, it’s hard to see government healthcare as anything but incompetent, disgraceful and quite possibly criminal.
Government has failed utterly.
...We are in an interesting moment with so much of the liberal-left ethic disintegrating around them. The next couple of years will be historical — one way or the other.
- Roger L Simon/PJMedia
The answer is simple. His lifetime dream of a free public (single payer) healthcare system for all just disintegrated in front of him. Forget the wildly ambitious and pervasive “Affordable Care Act,” the government couldn’t even handle the health of our wounded servicemen, acknowledged for years to be by far the group most deserving of medical attention in our country. With veterans dying while waiting lists are falsified, it’s hard to see government healthcare as anything but incompetent, disgraceful and quite possibly criminal.
Government has failed utterly.
...We are in an interesting moment with so much of the liberal-left ethic disintegrating around them. The next couple of years will be historical — one way or the other.
"It is the Obama administration in sum and in miniature: incompetent management of a health system, defended by crude media manipulation."
◼ This is precisely why President Obama’s VA scandal is the most serious and damaging of his presidency. - Michael Gerson/Washington Post
◼ 33 Democrats Opposed a Bill to Make VA Bureaucrats Easier to Fire - Washington Free Beacon
◼ Exhausting three page bill strangled. The opposition was comprised of union-backed liberals. - Discussion at Lucianne
◼ The Veterans Scandal: Socialized Medicine on Trial - Roger L. Simon/PJM
◼ The VA scandal and Obamacare: Karmic coincidence here. - Discussion at Lucianne
Each of these elements deserves some unpacking. The incompetence comes in the aftermath of HealthCare.gov — the Technicolor failure of technocratic liberalism. Again, the White House is shocked, saddened and angered by the management fiasco of a manager under its direct control. In both cases, a presidential priority was badly mishandled over a period of years, and the president seems to have learned about it on cable news. Obama has defended himself by assuming the role of an outraged bystander — which, when it comes to leadership, is more of a self-indictment than a defense.◼ Discussion at Lucianne
◼ 33 Democrats Opposed a Bill to Make VA Bureaucrats Easier to Fire - Washington Free Beacon
◼ Exhausting three page bill strangled. The opposition was comprised of union-backed liberals. - Discussion at Lucianne
◼ The Veterans Scandal: Socialized Medicine on Trial - Roger L. Simon/PJM
◼ The VA scandal and Obamacare: Karmic coincidence here. - Discussion at Lucianne
Labels:
#FAIL,
Big Government,
Incompetence,
Obamacare,
Veterans,
Veterans Administration
Krauthammer: VA Scandal ‘Totally Dissolves’ Idea Of ‘Yes We Can’
◼ 'The idea that this is a government that's going to do great new things - universal preschool and all of these wonderful promises - is totally dissolved' - Daily Caller
“When you think of how this man was elected,” he began, “‘Yes We Can’ — apart from the narcissism of it — was, ‘Yes, the government can do great things: Revolutionize healthcare, create a green energy economy, do all of this efficiently.’”
“He can’t even run a decades-old, normal, absolutely mundane healthcare system that are run everywhere in the world between here and Togo,” Krauthammer charged. “So the idea that this is a government that’s going to do great new things — universal preschool and all of these wonderful promises — is totally dissolved.”
Plus: Krauthammer's Take: If VA Problems Are Systemic, Why Not Privatize?
◼ Mark Levin on VA: Get Rid Of "Central Bureaucracy," Turn It Into A Voucher System - Real Clear Politics
◼ If liberals want to toast the Veterans medical system as an example of government-run health care done right, they are going to have to seriously grapple with its tragic failures. - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner @philipklein
◼ MD Congressman: Give Veterans A Choice Outside the VA System. Give Them Vouchers. [VIDEO] - Heather Smith/Daily Caller
Send In The Clowns: 84% of McDonald’s Protesters Were Not McDonald’s Employees
◼ It's kind of hard to call it a "spontaneous protest" when you're paying people to pretend to be employees! - RedState
On Wednesday, the Service Employees International Union, as part of its four-year old plan to unionize the nation’s fast-food workers, launched a frontal assault on McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Oakbrook, Illinois.
During the event, over 100 protesters, as well SEIU boss and fast-food unionization architect Mary Kay Henry, were arrested.
After her arrest, the SEIU’s self-anointed Burger Queen actually thanked the police on her Twitter feed.
The union’s event planners had rented 32 buses, ensured they had prominent civil rights leaders in tow for photo-ops as they stormed the company’s entrance and, while they had some of McDonald’s 440,000 U.S. employees, the vast majority of protesters (about 84%, according to Bloomberg’s numbers) appear to be nothing more than a rent-a-mob (or astroturf, as the case may be)...
◼ The event, the latest in a series of demonstrations by workers demanding $15-an-hour pay and the right to form a union, began at 1 p.m. local time yesterday, on the eve of McDonald’s Corp.’s shareholder meeting. - Bloomberg
Labels:
Astroturf,
Dishonesty,
McDonalds,
minimum wage,
Phony Protests,
SEIU,
Unions
Climate alarmists make major blunder in reporting Antarctica ice loss results
◼ Total ice loss from latest study is “consistent” with, not “double” prior study measurements - Watts Up With That?
The big scary headline claim in almost all of these alarmist articles which screamed that the rate of Antarctica ice loss has “doubled” compared to prior estimates is wrong. The alarmist reporters have managed to confuse two distinct issues addressed in this latest study which dealt with both continental Antarctic ice loss as well as the contribution of this Antarctica ice loss to sea level rise.
The big scary headline claim in almost all of these alarmist articles which screamed that the rate of Antarctica ice loss has “doubled” compared to prior estimates is wrong. The alarmist reporters have managed to confuse two distinct issues addressed in this latest study which dealt with both continental Antarctic ice loss as well as the contribution of this Antarctica ice loss to sea level rise.
Labels:
#FAIL,
Global Warming
“The Tea Party message is not a radical message. It’s not an extreme message... What is extreme is a $2 trillion deficit"
◼ Rand Paul bets his future on redefining the political center - Washington Examiner
As Paul now looks toward a potential bid for president in 2016, he is still struggling to shake the notion, held by many powerful Republicans and average Americans, that he is outside the political mainstream. The word “transformative” is thrown around regularly by Paul's allies as they envision what shape his presidential bid could take: Paul doesn't have to change, the subtext reads; it is the Republican Party that must evolve and expand to accommodate his vision.
Indeed, Paul’s policies seem to cater to a yet-emerging idea of the American political center, which was outlined in great detail in an Esquire-NBC News survey last year. The poll was remarkable because, rather than relying on party identification to classify voters, it assigned them to one of eight groups of like-minded Americans across the political spectrum based on policy preferences, with four of the eight groups comprising the center.
The poll showed that most Americans identify most closely with Democrats on some important policy preferences, such as social issues, but simultaneously gravitate toward some Republican economic policies. They want the U.S. to be a strong international superpower, but largely disengaged. And yes, they support term limits.
As Paul now looks toward a potential bid for president in 2016, he is still struggling to shake the notion, held by many powerful Republicans and average Americans, that he is outside the political mainstream. The word “transformative” is thrown around regularly by Paul's allies as they envision what shape his presidential bid could take: Paul doesn't have to change, the subtext reads; it is the Republican Party that must evolve and expand to accommodate his vision.
Indeed, Paul’s policies seem to cater to a yet-emerging idea of the American political center, which was outlined in great detail in an Esquire-NBC News survey last year. The poll was remarkable because, rather than relying on party identification to classify voters, it assigned them to one of eight groups of like-minded Americans across the political spectrum based on policy preferences, with four of the eight groups comprising the center.
The poll showed that most Americans identify most closely with Democrats on some important policy preferences, such as social issues, but simultaneously gravitate toward some Republican economic policies. They want the U.S. to be a strong international superpower, but largely disengaged. And yes, they support term limits.
Labels:
2016 Elections,
Rand Paul
“I believe that we could continue to explore the potential of electricity, but without being strong-armed by regulators”
◼ Car Exec Loses Money On Electric Cars, Says ‘I Hope You Don’t Buy It’ [VIDEO] - Chuck Ross/Daily Caller (image source)
The CEO of Fiat Chrysler said he hopes that people don’t buy his company’s electric car, the Fiat 500e, which he is forced to sell at a loss because of state and federal mandates.
“I hope you don’t buy it because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000,” Sergio Marchionne told the audience at the Brookings Institute during a discussion of the auto bailout....
In his candid remarks, Marchionne blamed regulations set in place in California and by President Obama.
“Because of California and there’s mandates which keep on moving the impositions back on car makers to produce cars that are zero-emission vehicles,” said Marchionne.
“The other one is because of the initiative that was put in place by Obama back in 2011 with the new emission rules which are effectively binding the industry until 2025.”
Thursday, May 22, 2014
THIS IS THE OBAMACARE PREVIEW. He campaigned on fixing the VA, he's now been in charge of it for 51/2 years.
◼ The VA’s Socialist Paradise - RICH LOWRY/Politico
"For the left, the Department of Veterans Affairs is how health care is ideally supposed to work. No insurance companies, no private doctors, no competition — just the government and the patient."
"Period"
"If six years into his presidency he has yet to fix the VA he promised to fix before he took office, that’s either an indictment of his presidency or the liberal vision of government or both."
◼ Wow: Powerful cartoon blasts Obama admin’s shameful inaction on VA scandal [pic] - Twitchy
Check out this editorial cartoon and the attached commentary: http://t.co/YAloAG3mNw
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) May 21, 2014Liberals touted Veterans Affairs hospitals as evidence government-run health care works
◼ If liberals want to toast the Veterans medical system as an example of government-run health care done right, they are going to have to seriously grapple with its tragic failures. - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner @philipklein
As a scandal involving long delays at Veterans Affairs hospitals mounts, it's worth recalling that liberals have long touted the socialized medical system as evidence that government-run health care can work.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has penned several valentines to the Veterans Health Administration over the years. In a 2006 column, Krugman argued that the system was, “one of the best-kept secrets in the American policy debate.”
He explained, “pundits and policy makers don't talk about the veterans' system because they can't handle the cognitive dissonance. ... For the lesson of the V.H.A.'s success story -- that a government agency can deliver better care at lower cost than the private sector -- runs completely counter to the pro-privatization, anti-government conventional wisdom that dominates today's Washington.”
...A Los Angeles Times investigation found that the problems with the system were widespread. Though the VA has touted improved wait times, the article quoted Dr. Jose Mathews, chief of psychiatry at the VA St. Louis Health Care System, as saying, “The performance data the VA puts out is garbage -- it's designed to make the VA look good on paper.”
Last September, I spent time in England researching the socialized British medical system, the National Health Service, for the Examiner's magazine edition, and encountered similar stories - of patient neglect and an unaccountable bureaucracy focused on gaming the system so they could claim to be meeting targets.
◼ MD Congressman: Give Veterans A Choice Outside the VA System. Give Them Vouchers. [VIDEO] - Heather Smith/Daily Caller
As a scandal involving long delays at Veterans Affairs hospitals mounts, it's worth recalling that liberals have long touted the socialized medical system as evidence that government-run health care can work.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has penned several valentines to the Veterans Health Administration over the years. In a 2006 column, Krugman argued that the system was, “one of the best-kept secrets in the American policy debate.”
He explained, “pundits and policy makers don't talk about the veterans' system because they can't handle the cognitive dissonance. ... For the lesson of the V.H.A.'s success story -- that a government agency can deliver better care at lower cost than the private sector -- runs completely counter to the pro-privatization, anti-government conventional wisdom that dominates today's Washington.”
...A Los Angeles Times investigation found that the problems with the system were widespread. Though the VA has touted improved wait times, the article quoted Dr. Jose Mathews, chief of psychiatry at the VA St. Louis Health Care System, as saying, “The performance data the VA puts out is garbage -- it's designed to make the VA look good on paper.”
Last September, I spent time in England researching the socialized British medical system, the National Health Service, for the Examiner's magazine edition, and encountered similar stories - of patient neglect and an unaccountable bureaucracy focused on gaming the system so they could claim to be meeting targets.
◼ MD Congressman: Give Veterans A Choice Outside the VA System. Give Them Vouchers. [VIDEO] - Heather Smith/Daily Caller
Labels:
Obamacare,
Socialism,
Veterans Administration
"So, unfortunately, members of Congress will head home for Memorial Day and veterans will keep waiting for accountability and that’s outrageous.”
◼ Rubio: ‘Outrageous’ and ‘Unacceptable’ that Sanders, Democrats Blocked VA Accountability Bill
Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) blasted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Democratic lawmakers who blocked his bill to increase accountability in the Department of Veterans Affairs in a Fox News interview Thursday, calling it “outrageous.”
“I just don’t understand that,” Rubio said. “It’s a very simple bill. All it says is that the secretary or any future secretary appointed by this president, a Democratic president, can fire executives in the VA who aren’t doing their jobs. Right now he can’t do that. And they blocked it. So, unfortunately, members of Congress will head home for Memorial Day and veterans will keep waiting for accountability and that’s outrageous.”
Labels:
Democrats,
Marco Rubio,
Senate,
Veterans,
Veterans Administration
Pacific Legal Foundation: Obamacare's taxes were baked entirely in the Senate in violation of the Constitution
◼ PLF's Obamacare Fight Continues in the Court of Appeals - PLF Sentry
On May 8, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument in PLF's Obamacare challenge, Sissel v. HHS. Listen to what happened at the argument and what's next for the challenge.
The Origination Clause, Article I, Section 7, requires that legislation to raise revenue must start in the House, in order to keep the taxing power close to the people. But Obamacare began in the Senate when Majority Leader Harry Reid took an unrelated House bill (a measure to help veterans buy homes, which raised no revenue), gutted it, and inserted the language of Obamacare.
"The only thing we know for absolute certain about the Origination Clause is that the Senate cannot originate revenue-raising measures," Sandefur said. "Here we have a complete substitution of a six-page bill that was not a bill for raising revenue with a 2,000-page bill that was a bill for raising revenue."
◼ Democrat-Led Colorado Backs Lawsuit Calling Obamacare Unconstitutional - The Federalist Papers
Colorado has become the 20th state to support a federal lawsuit filed last week by a Texas doctor to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
It’s only the third state with a Democratic governor to do so.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican, signed onto an amicus brief last week, showing support for the effort to overturn the law based on the U.S. Constitution’s Origination Clause, which says that all bills that raise revenue must begin in the Senate.
...exactly where the controversial law began is itself a point of controversy. The Observer notes that the U.S. Justice Department contends that it did indeed begin in the House, originally as H.R. 3590, which was concerned with housing tax credits for veterans. Once in the Senate, however, Obamacare opponents say its language was entirely stripped and replaced with what became the ACA.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
"He said 'no, I am ready to see my Lord, I am a Christian,' and they blew his face away," Smith recalled. "That is the underlying, fundamental, raison d'être of Boko Haram."
◼ 'I wish there was such discrimination,' State Department official says when asked if Boko Haram only targets Christians - Joel Gehrke/Washington Examiner @joelmentum
"Boko Haram attacks everyone who is Nigerian. Boko Haram is an equal-opportunity threat for all Nigerian citizens."
That answer irritated Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who chairs the subcommittee panel on global human rights. "You said you wish they would differentiate or discriminate — they were so discriminating. Yes, they'll hit other Nigerians, they'll hit other westerners, but Christians are their main target," he countered....
"The question that I was asked was whether there was an official State Department position on the motivations of Boko Haram, which I simply don't have with me," Sewall replied. "If the question is, 'Does the leadership of Boko Haram and do the actions of Boko Haram target Christianity?' [the answer is] absolutely, unequivocally. More fundamentally, they target other things too and they are a threat to the government and the region. And so I loved the very clear-eyed characterization that was just offered [by Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas], which is that Boko Haram is motivated by hatred. I don't think anybody would disagree with that."
"Boko Haram attacks everyone who is Nigerian. Boko Haram is an equal-opportunity threat for all Nigerian citizens."
That answer irritated Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who chairs the subcommittee panel on global human rights. "You said you wish they would differentiate or discriminate — they were so discriminating. Yes, they'll hit other Nigerians, they'll hit other westerners, but Christians are their main target," he countered....
"The question that I was asked was whether there was an official State Department position on the motivations of Boko Haram, which I simply don't have with me," Sewall replied. "If the question is, 'Does the leadership of Boko Haram and do the actions of Boko Haram target Christianity?' [the answer is] absolutely, unequivocally. More fundamentally, they target other things too and they are a threat to the government and the region. And so I loved the very clear-eyed characterization that was just offered [by Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas], which is that Boko Haram is motivated by hatred. I don't think anybody would disagree with that."
One local parent summed it up well: "(T)he government can't control everything."
◼ Michelle Obama's Control-Freak Lunch Program - Michelle Malkin/Townhall
Look out, everyone: The nation's school lunch lady, Michelle Obama, is mad. With her federal nutrition program under fire across the country and now on Capitol Hill, Mrs. Obama put out a "forceful" call to arms this week to "health activists," according to The Washington Post.
She's cracking the whip. Her orders are clear: There must be no escape. The East Wing and its sycophants zealously oppose any effort to alter, delay or waive top-down school meal rules. Big Lunch must be guarded at all costs....
Draconian federal rules dictate calorie counts, whole-grain requirements, the number of items that children must put on their trays, and even the color of the fruits and vegetables they must choose. Asked for a solution, (L.A. Unified School District) Food Service Director David Binkle told the Times bluntly: "We can stop forcing children to take food they don't like and throw in the garbage."
Or you can do what Arlington Heights District 214 in Michelle Obama's home state of Illinois just did: Vote yourselves out of the unsavory one-size-fits-all mandate....
Look out, everyone: The nation's school lunch lady, Michelle Obama, is mad. With her federal nutrition program under fire across the country and now on Capitol Hill, Mrs. Obama put out a "forceful" call to arms this week to "health activists," according to The Washington Post.
She's cracking the whip. Her orders are clear: There must be no escape. The East Wing and its sycophants zealously oppose any effort to alter, delay or waive top-down school meal rules. Big Lunch must be guarded at all costs....
Draconian federal rules dictate calorie counts, whole-grain requirements, the number of items that children must put on their trays, and even the color of the fruits and vegetables they must choose. Asked for a solution, (L.A. Unified School District) Food Service Director David Binkle told the Times bluntly: "We can stop forcing children to take food they don't like and throw in the garbage."
Or you can do what Arlington Heights District 214 in Michelle Obama's home state of Illinois just did: Vote yourselves out of the unsavory one-size-fits-all mandate....
Labels:
Big Brother,
Michelle Obama,
Nanny State,
School Lunch
83% Think Americans Are Not Informed Voters
◼ Most Americans think voters in this country don’t have enough say in their government, but at the same time they overwhelmingly believe their fellow countrymen don’t fulfill their responsibility to be informed about the things they vote on. - Rasmussen
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 90% of Likely U.S. Voters think voters in countries with democratically elected governments have a responsibility to be informed about major policy issues. Just five percent (5%) disagree, while another five percent (5%) are undecided.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 90% of Likely U.S. Voters think voters in countries with democratically elected governments have a responsibility to be informed about major policy issues. Just five percent (5%) disagree, while another five percent (5%) are undecided.
Labels:
Low Information Voters,
Polls,
Rasmussen
Is the eternal campaign coming to an end?
◼ Say Goodbye to OFA - Weekly Standard
That’s campaigning and that’s what Organizing for America was meant to do. Keep on campaigning, even after the candidate has won the election and was in Washington...
It was, as Philip Bump of the Washington Post reports:
According to The Hill, the beleaguered supporters of the President are frustrated by the White House’s continued requests for donations, for which they get nothing in return. On Monday night, Obama orchestrated his 22nd fundraiser of 2014 and his 60th since he won the election in 2012. One Democratic strategist observed, “There’s definitely some donor fatigue in a lukewarm environment… They are tired of giving and giving and they know there’s not much more the president can do.”
That’s campaigning and that’s what Organizing for America was meant to do. Keep on campaigning, even after the candidate has won the election and was in Washington...
It was, as Philip Bump of the Washington Post reports:
… designed to essentially be the Obama presidential campaign, made eternal. "Obama For America" became the non-profit "Organizing For Action" early last year, with the hope of continuing the campaign's energy, organizing, and fundraising prowess to generate support for the president's policy positions.Now, the organization has:
… told donors that it will stop requesting large contributions this year, even as it has reportedly shed half of its staff.◼ 'DONOR FATIGUE' RISES AS OBAMA FAILS TO PRODUCE RESULTS - Robert Wilde/Breitbart
According to The Hill, the beleaguered supporters of the President are frustrated by the White House’s continued requests for donations, for which they get nothing in return. On Monday night, Obama orchestrated his 22nd fundraiser of 2014 and his 60th since he won the election in 2012. One Democratic strategist observed, “There’s definitely some donor fatigue in a lukewarm environment… They are tired of giving and giving and they know there’s not much more the president can do.”
Labels:
OFA,
President/Candidate Obama
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
O’Keefe will unveil the movie at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday!
Hollywood celebrities caught on hidden camera accepting money from "Middle Eastern oil interests"
◼ O’Keefe Strikes AGAIN! Hollywood Progressives Duped in Anti-Fracking Sting Operation (Video) - ProgressivesToday
The conservative journalist duped progressives Ed Begley Jr. and Mariel Hemmingway to get involved in an anti-fracking film that was funded by Middle Eastern oil interests.
O’Keefe will unveil the movie at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday!
◼ O’Keefe Strikes AGAIN! Hollywood Progressives Duped in Anti-Fracking Sting Operation (Video) - ProgressivesToday
The conservative journalist duped progressives Ed Begley Jr. and Mariel Hemmingway to get involved in an anti-fracking film that was funded by Middle Eastern oil interests.
O’Keefe will unveil the movie at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday!
They call this a fee, but make no mistake, its a tax.
◼ In Sacramento there’s no shortage of creative ways to take more of your money to fund government programs.
If you haven't heard the term VMT yet -- you soon will. VMT stands for vehicle miles travelled. It could be referred to as Vehicle Miles Taxed -- because that's the intent of a new measure the California legislature is considering. A new VMT fee would raise more revenue for state highways and infrastructure by charging drivers a fee for every mile they drive. They call this a fee, but make no mistake, its a tax.
If you haven't heard the term VMT yet -- you soon will. VMT stands for vehicle miles travelled. It could be referred to as Vehicle Miles Taxed -- because that's the intent of a new measure the California legislature is considering. A new VMT fee would raise more revenue for state highways and infrastructure by charging drivers a fee for every mile they drive. They call this a fee, but make no mistake, its a tax.
Labels:
California,
Scams,
Taxes,
Transportation
Watch Dr. Ben Carson’s Powerful Point on Welfare That Had Liberals Fuming & The View Crowd Clapping
◼ When they let him finish, the reaction is amazing... - IJ Review
On Tuesday morning, Dr. Ben Carson appeared on ABC’s The View. (Typically, we’d cut the video to get to the feature part of the segment, but it’s so solid from start to finish that we’ll leave you the option of jumping ahead to the 6:50 mark.)
Labels:
Dr. Benjamin Carson,
Political correctness
Biologist Gets 10 Months for Yurok Grift
◼ A judge today sentenced a local biologist to serve 10 months in prison for his role in conspiring to embezzle nearly $1 million in federal funds from the Yurok Tribe over a three-year period beginning in 2007, according to Yurok Tribal Chairman Thomas O’Rourke. - Thadeus Greenson/The Journal
Mad River Biologists founder Ron LeValley pleaded guilty in February to a single count of conspiring to embezzle funds from an Indian tribal organization and faced up to two and half years in federal prison in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the federal probation department felt a one year prison sentence was appropriate in the case, but U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ultimately opted for the 10-month sentence, citing cooperation with a federal investigation into the grift — cooperation that led directly to the conviction of LeValley’s co-conspirator, former Yurok Tribe Forestry Director Roland Raymond, who was sentenced to a three-year prison term in January....
Mad River Biologists founder Ron LeValley pleaded guilty in February to a single count of conspiring to embezzle funds from an Indian tribal organization and faced up to two and half years in federal prison in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the federal probation department felt a one year prison sentence was appropriate in the case, but U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ultimately opted for the 10-month sentence, citing cooperation with a federal investigation into the grift — cooperation that led directly to the conviction of LeValley’s co-conspirator, former Yurok Tribe Forestry Director Roland Raymond, who was sentenced to a three-year prison term in January....
Labels:
Crime,
Humboldt County,
Local News
Maybe he should switch to Fox News... White House says Obama only learned of VA wait-list scandal on TV (just like the IRS, Fast and Furious and reporter snooping scandals)
◼ Krauthammer: Obama Acts Like He Stumbled Upon The Presidency & All This Horrible Stuff Is Happening - IJ Review
◼ White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president didn't know about explosive Veterans Administration scandal until he saw news reports - Daily Mail
◼ ABC, NBC Ignore Report Showing Obama Administration Knew About Ongoing VA Problems - Newsbusters
◼ Video: Obama routinely shocked, angered by things happening within his own administration - Guy Benson/HotAir
...This White House’s “we found out on the news” formulation has become such predictable boilerplate that Allahpundit didn’t even have to spell it out in his earlier headline, and the “anger” charade is its inevitable counterpart. Nobody is madder — “madder than hell” in this case — than the president, you guys. But as MKH noted last week, the president’s ostentatious fury generally recedes into “we can’t comment on an ongoing investigation” territory, followed by “only wing-nuts are still talking about this phony scandal — which, by the way, happened a long time ago, brah.” ABC News’ Jonathan Karl pressed Jay Carney about the Robert Petzel kabuki “resignation” yesterday, which Carney deflected by hiding behind a statement from the American Legion:...
◼ VA Whistleblower Says He's Been Demoted, Bullied - CBS St. Louis
◼ More Coming Forward - USNews&WorldReport
◼ When will Obama address? - FOX
◼ Empty Anger: Why VA hospital scandal is hurting the administration’s credibility - FOX
◼ FOURNIER: Quiz: How Dumb Does Obama Think We Are? Policy fiasco magnified by insulting public relations - National Journal
◼ FLASHBACK: Obama Assailed Bush VA For 'Deplorable Conditions' - Jim Geraghty/National Review
PLF asks High Court to review feds’ attempt to sink Drakes Bay oyster farm
◼ link - Pacific Legal Foundation
...Submitted along with the California Cattlemen’s Association, PLF’s brief supports the petition for certiorari to the High Court by the Lunny family, owners of the 80-year-old oyster farm.
...Submitted along with the California Cattlemen’s Association, PLF’s brief supports the petition for certiorari to the High Court by the Lunny family, owners of the 80-year-old oyster farm.
“It is outrageous that regulators are trying to destroy a family-owned business that is part of the historic fabric of Northern California and its economy, and that provides a nutritious, organic food source in an environmentally beneficial way,” said PLF Attorney Tony Francois. “Pacific Legal Foundation is proud and determined in our support of the Lunny family against this shameful assault on their livelihood, their employees, and the future of a beloved Bay Area institution.”◼ PLF brief: Ninth Circuit’s ruling gives bureaucrats a license to be abusive - Pacific Legal Foundation
Drakes Bay Oyster Company sued over the permit denial — including regulators’ failure to produce a NEPA report — but a divided Ninth Circuit panel sided with the government.The case is Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. U.S. Department of the Interior. More information, including PLF’s amicus brief and a video, may be found at: www.pacificlegal.org.
“The Ninth Circuit’s ruling raises far-reaching concerns that go beyond this particular case, and cry out for Supreme Court review,” said Francois. “In essence, the Ninth Circuit has given environmental regulators a license to be arbitrary and abusive without fear that they’ll be called to account, in court, for their decisions.”
THE FULL SCALE OF THE OBAMACARE LAUNCH DISASTER IS REVEALED
◼ Remember back in the old days, when we had an inquisitive media filled with “reporters” who would do whatever it took to get the real facts of a story, especially if they thought powerful officials might be lying to the American people? - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o
...Judicial Watch, which did investigative work the mainstream media willfully refused to do on the Benghazi and IRS scandals, just emerged from the Obama Temple of Doom with yet another long-lost treasure of hard information: a 106-page document from the Department of Health and Human Services, revealing the breathtaking scope of the ObamaCare launch disaster. In accordance with standard Obama scandal protocols, all of this information was kept from the public until a few crucial news cycles had rolled past.... details unearthed by Judicial Watch paint a portrait of staggering incompetence and mendacity...
ObamaCare is an enduring example of Big Government incompetence and deception, mirrored precisely in the currently exploding VA scandal, which gives Americans a very accurate forecast of what our ultimate, hellish single-payer socialized future will look like. Your future under the combined domination of Big Government and Big Business will be a series of expensive frauds. Truth will be treated like a radioactive isotope that must be kept buried until its political half-life has expired. And if you grow angry when the facts are finally revealed, mainstream media “reporters” will be standing by to insult you for obsessing over old news.
Update: The expanding Serco scandal is another example of the mainstream media sleeping through bad news for ObamaCare. Serco is a contractor that was caught by local media paying a huge staff of employees at an ObamaCare “processing center” to do nothing all day. Another such office has been uncovered in Arkansas… by another Missouri news station. Apparently none of our vaunted mainstream media “reporters” could be bothered to follow upon a story of outrageous taxpayer money wasted in the name of President Boyfriend’s “signature achievement,” so Missouri reporters went to Arkansas to continue the investigation.
...Judicial Watch, which did investigative work the mainstream media willfully refused to do on the Benghazi and IRS scandals, just emerged from the Obama Temple of Doom with yet another long-lost treasure of hard information: a 106-page document from the Department of Health and Human Services, revealing the breathtaking scope of the ObamaCare launch disaster. In accordance with standard Obama scandal protocols, all of this information was kept from the public until a few crucial news cycles had rolled past.... details unearthed by Judicial Watch paint a portrait of staggering incompetence and mendacity...
ObamaCare is an enduring example of Big Government incompetence and deception, mirrored precisely in the currently exploding VA scandal, which gives Americans a very accurate forecast of what our ultimate, hellish single-payer socialized future will look like. Your future under the combined domination of Big Government and Big Business will be a series of expensive frauds. Truth will be treated like a radioactive isotope that must be kept buried until its political half-life has expired. And if you grow angry when the facts are finally revealed, mainstream media “reporters” will be standing by to insult you for obsessing over old news.
Update: The expanding Serco scandal is another example of the mainstream media sleeping through bad news for ObamaCare. Serco is a contractor that was caught by local media paying a huge staff of employees at an ObamaCare “processing center” to do nothing all day. Another such office has been uncovered in Arkansas… by another Missouri news station. Apparently none of our vaunted mainstream media “reporters” could be bothered to follow upon a story of outrageous taxpayer money wasted in the name of President Boyfriend’s “signature achievement,” so Missouri reporters went to Arkansas to continue the investigation.
Labels:
FOIA,
Judicial Watch,
Media Malpractice,
Obamacare
What if the states could force Congress to accept a Balanced Budget Amendment? Well, not only can they, it is much closer to happening than you probably think.
◼ The Article V Initiative: The way for the states to end Washington's spending - CainTV
If you’re frustrated by the refusal of Congress to stop its fiscal insanity – and how could you not be? – it’s time to start realizing that the Constitution gives states and the people more power over Congress than most realize. And right now there is an effort called the Article V Initiative that would wield and deploy that power.
Most people don’t know, because they have never been taught, that Article V of the Constitution empowers the people through their state legislatures to propose amendments. Specifically, Article V proscribes a process in which two-thirds of state legislatures (34 total) can vote to direct Congress to call a meeting of the states for the purpose of proposing amendments.
This is not a constitutional convention, which would be for the purpose of writing an entirely new Constitution. It is solely for the purpose of voting to enact amendments. Once such a meeting of the states is called (and Congress cannot refuse if two-thirds of the states call for it), then any amendment would require a vote of three-fourths (38 total) of state legislatures for ratification....
If you’re frustrated by the refusal of Congress to stop its fiscal insanity – and how could you not be? – it’s time to start realizing that the Constitution gives states and the people more power over Congress than most realize. And right now there is an effort called the Article V Initiative that would wield and deploy that power.
Most people don’t know, because they have never been taught, that Article V of the Constitution empowers the people through their state legislatures to propose amendments. Specifically, Article V proscribes a process in which two-thirds of state legislatures (34 total) can vote to direct Congress to call a meeting of the states for the purpose of proposing amendments.
This is not a constitutional convention, which would be for the purpose of writing an entirely new Constitution. It is solely for the purpose of voting to enact amendments. Once such a meeting of the states is called (and Congress cannot refuse if two-thirds of the states call for it), then any amendment would require a vote of three-fourths (38 total) of state legislatures for ratification....
Labels:
Article V,
balanced,
Balanced Budget,
Budget,
Constitution,
State's Rights
I’m here to tell you that earmarks don’t save a penny. All you do if you kill an earmark or appropriation, is send that money to the White House…
◼ Jim Inhofe on Earmarks: Important Conversations – No Earmark Means the Money Goes to Obama, No Exceptions - Maggie's Notebook
INHOFE: What I warned America in late 2010 is proving true today: Eliminating earmarks has not saved taxpayers one dime. Instead our debt has increased by $4 trillion, and Congress is giving specified amounts of taxpayer dollars to the president so that he can spend it as he and his unelected bureaucrats so please.
Republicans’ decision to cede power to the president through the earmark moratorium has made Congress less accountable, less transparent, and less responsible to its constituents… Source: Tulsa World, May 17, 2014...
If you stop an earmark it doesn’t save one penney. All it does is take that money and gives it to the President of the United States. That’s the way the system works. It goes to the executive branch.
INHOFE: What I warned America in late 2010 is proving true today: Eliminating earmarks has not saved taxpayers one dime. Instead our debt has increased by $4 trillion, and Congress is giving specified amounts of taxpayer dollars to the president so that he can spend it as he and his unelected bureaucrats so please.
Republicans’ decision to cede power to the president through the earmark moratorium has made Congress less accountable, less transparent, and less responsible to its constituents… Source: Tulsa World, May 17, 2014...
If you stop an earmark it doesn’t save one penney. All it does is take that money and gives it to the President of the United States. That’s the way the system works. It goes to the executive branch.
Labels:
Earmarks,
Jim Inhofe,
Spending
The Rise of the Campus Brown Shirts
◼ fusillade of attacks by students and faculty on commencement speakers and honorary degree awardees at four of our better known schools — Smith, Haverford, Rutgers and Brandeis — has tarnished this year’s commencement season beyond any in recent memory. - Roger L. Simon/PJM
Speakers as distinguished as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, former Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been forced to withdraw even as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of the most courageous fighters of oppression on the planet, had to walk from her honorary degree from a university established in the shadow of the Holocaust. Go figure.
What next? The Bill of Rights gets repealed? An academic “War on Women”? (Three of the four attacked are female.) A new generation of undergraduate Brown Shirts comes back from 1930s Berlin to smash every college window and burn every school library book by unapproved authors in a renewed Kristallnacht?
Of course all of the above dignitaries finally walked away voluntarily from their campus honors, underlining the juvenile absurdity of these same students and faculty, not to mention the paleo-milquetost behavior of their administrations. Mercifully, William G. Bowen, the former Princeton president who replaced Lagarde as Haverford commencement speaker, called out the protestors as “immature” and “arrogant” during his speech, an understatement, to be sure, but welcome nonetheless.
This would all be great fodder for Saturday Night Live, if it still had any spine. Or a tough conservative or libertarian comedy show, if there were one. But in the final analysis, it’s not all that funny. Something is seriously wrong with our university system — as if we didn’t know. And the fault is less with the students — they are what they are and finally just young people — as with the faculties, especially in the social sciences and what’s left of the humanities....
◼ William Bowen’s welcome response to university commencement “disinvitation season” - JOnathan Adler/Washington Post
Speakers as distinguished as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, former Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been forced to withdraw even as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of the most courageous fighters of oppression on the planet, had to walk from her honorary degree from a university established in the shadow of the Holocaust. Go figure.
What next? The Bill of Rights gets repealed? An academic “War on Women”? (Three of the four attacked are female.) A new generation of undergraduate Brown Shirts comes back from 1930s Berlin to smash every college window and burn every school library book by unapproved authors in a renewed Kristallnacht?
Of course all of the above dignitaries finally walked away voluntarily from their campus honors, underlining the juvenile absurdity of these same students and faculty, not to mention the paleo-milquetost behavior of their administrations. Mercifully, William G. Bowen, the former Princeton president who replaced Lagarde as Haverford commencement speaker, called out the protestors as “immature” and “arrogant” during his speech, an understatement, to be sure, but welcome nonetheless.
This would all be great fodder for Saturday Night Live, if it still had any spine. Or a tough conservative or libertarian comedy show, if there were one. But in the final analysis, it’s not all that funny. Something is seriously wrong with our university system — as if we didn’t know. And the fault is less with the students — they are what they are and finally just young people — as with the faculties, especially in the social sciences and what’s left of the humanities....
◼ William Bowen’s welcome response to university commencement “disinvitation season” - JOnathan Adler/Washington Post
It’s “disinvitation season.” Several high-profile commencement speakers have been “disinvited” or have withdrawn from university commencement ceremonies in response to student and faculty protests. First Ayaan Hirsa Ali was deemed too controversial for Brandeis University. Then former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice withdrew from commencement at Rutgers University after students and faculty objected due to her role promoting the Iraq War and counter-terror policies during the Bush Administration.◼ Haverford College commencement speaker lambastes students - Susan Snyder/Philadelphia Inquirer
More recently, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, withdrew from Smith College’s commencement in the face of protests over various IMF policies. Abby Phillip noted the irony that “one of the most accomplished and powerful women in the world” was apparently unfit to address Smith’s graduates.
Labels:
brownshirts,
Censorship,
Education,
fascism,
Roger L Simon,
Thoughtcrimes,
Totalitarianism
Monday, May 19, 2014
Hillary’s Brain; Hillary’s Brain on Drudge
◼ Karl Rove: Hillary Clinton's health 'will be an issue in the 2016 race' - Yahoo
◼ Reince Priebus: Discussion of Hillary Clinton's health is 'fair game'
"It's fair game for Ronald Reagan, it's fair game for John McCain," he said. "It's going to be an issue" for Hillary Clinton
- Reince Priebus
◼ Karl Rove stunned a conference when he suggested Hillary Clinton may have brain damage. - Emily Smith/NY Post
◼ KARL ROVE: HILLARY MAY HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE - WND
Reminds public she was in hospital 30 days◼ Republicans Defend Questioning Hillary Clinton’s Health - Wall St. Journal
The official diagnosis was a blood clot. Rove told the conference near LA Thursday, “Thirty days in the hospital? And when she reappears, she’s wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what’s up with that.”
◼ Hillary’s Brain; Hillary’s Brain on Drudge - Sarah Palin
◼ Bill Clinton Weighs In on Hillary’s Health - Wall St. Journal
Mrs. Clinton, when she was still serving as secretary of state, suffered a concussion after falling in December 2012. In a follow-up exam, doctors discovered a blood clot between her brain and skull. After the incident, some conservatives suggested she was exaggerating her symptoms to avoid testifying before Congress about the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans.◼ Only four men alive have captained successful presidential campaigns... - Washington Examiner
When Karl Rove talks, people listen
◼ The Five: Unlike Hillary, Palin Was Fair Game to Media Because She’s ‘Not Human’ - Josh Feldman/Mediaite
The hosts of The Five today took on the media double standard in covering Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, based on Palin’s Facebook post calling out said double standard, with Greg Gutfeld surmising that unlike Clinton, Palin was fair game because to the media, she’s “not human.”
Gutfeld argued, “They treated her like an alien cartoon, because no one in the media had ever come into contact with anybody like Sarah Palin, yet they were constantly surrounded by people like Hillary Clinton, which are petulant progressives with a thirst for power.”
And it’s not just on issues of health, he and Eric Bolling also brought up the attacks on Palin’s children, which were never tolerated about Chelsea Clinton. Bolling said it was “the most disgusting thing” the media did, as opposed to the “very legitimate question” Karl Rove threw out about Clinton possibly suffering from brain damage.
Labels:
2016 Elections,
Benghazi,
Hillary Clinton,
Karl Rove
MONDAY! May 19 voter registration deadline for June primary
◼ The May deadline is looming for Humboldt County residents to register to vote in the state and countywide elections on June 3. - Times-Standard
Residents can still pick up applications at a several locations, including post offices, the Humboldt County Elections Office on H Street in Eureka, and Department of Motor Vehicles locations. Applications must be turned in to the elections office by May 19. They can also be mailed to the office and will be processed as long as they are postmarked by that date.
Humboldt County Assistant Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders said around half of the 75,000 registered voters in Humboldt County — 38,000 people — vote-by-mail rather than at the polls on Election Day. The ballots started going out on May 5 to residents registered as permanent vote-by-mail voters. She said May 27 is the last day the office can mail a vote-by-mail ballot to residents who are already registered to vote. After that, voters can pick them up at the office....
Residents can register to vote online at www.registertovote.ca.gov, and request a vote-by-mail ballot and find out where their polling location is at ◼ www.co.humboldt.ca.us/election.
Individuals must re-register after moving, changing names or changing political party preference. Voters can check registration status through the Secretary of State's website at ◼ www.sos.ca.gov/elections/registration-status.
For more information, visit ◼ www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm or call the Humboldt County Elections Office at 445-7481.
Residents can still pick up applications at a several locations, including post offices, the Humboldt County Elections Office on H Street in Eureka, and Department of Motor Vehicles locations. Applications must be turned in to the elections office by May 19. They can also be mailed to the office and will be processed as long as they are postmarked by that date.
Humboldt County Assistant Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders said around half of the 75,000 registered voters in Humboldt County — 38,000 people — vote-by-mail rather than at the polls on Election Day. The ballots started going out on May 5 to residents registered as permanent vote-by-mail voters. She said May 27 is the last day the office can mail a vote-by-mail ballot to residents who are already registered to vote. After that, voters can pick them up at the office....
Residents can register to vote online at www.registertovote.ca.gov, and request a vote-by-mail ballot and find out where their polling location is at ◼ www.co.humboldt.ca.us/election.
Individuals must re-register after moving, changing names or changing political party preference. Voters can check registration status through the Secretary of State's website at ◼ www.sos.ca.gov/elections/registration-status.
For more information, visit ◼ www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm or call the Humboldt County Elections Office at 445-7481.
Labels:
2014 Primary,
Humboldt County,
Local News,
Voter Registration
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Primary Elections in California
Bottom line is, California's is now an Open Primary, the top two vote-getters, REGARDLESS OF PARTY go on to the General Election. This could mean two Democrats rather than the traditional one Democrat and one Republican. Sadly, it makes the elections more partisan, and not less. But, if there's any hope of breaking the one-party domination of California, Republican candidates need your vote.
◼ What is a voter-nominated office? - sos.ca.gov
◼ What is a voter-nominated office? - sos.ca.gov
The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect January 1, 2011, created "voter-nominated" offices. The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act does not apply to candidates running for U.S. President, county central committees, or local offices.
Most of the offices that were previously known as "partisan" are now known as "voter-nominated" offices. Voter-nominated offices are state constitutional offices, state legislative offices, and U.S. congressional offices. The only "partisan offices" now are the offices of U.S. President and county central committee.
All candidates for voter-nominated offices are listed on one ballot and only the top two vote-getters in the primary election – regardless of party preference - move on to the general election. A write-in candidate will only move on to the general election if the candidate is one of the top two vote-getters in the primary election.
Labels:
2014 Primary,
California,
Elections,
One Party Rule,
Open Primary,
Republicans
PROP 41: VETERANS HOUSING AND HOMELESS PREVENTION BOND ACT OF 2014.
Put on the Ballot by the Legislature
Authorizes $600 million in general obligation bonds for affordable multifamily supportive housing to relieve homelessness, affordable transitional housing, affordable rental housing, or related facilities for veterans and their families. Fiscal Impact: Increased state bond costs averaging about $50 million annually over 15 years.
WHAT YOUR VOTE MEANS
YES: A YES vote on this measure means: The state would sell $600 million in general obligation bonds to fund affordable multifamily housing for low-income and homeless veterans.
NO: A NO vote on this measure means: The state would not sell $600 million in general obligation bonds to fund affordable multifamily housing for low-income and homeless veterans.
ARGUMENTS:
PRO: Prop. 41, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014, redirects $600 million of previously approved, unspent bond funds to construct and rehabilitate housing for California’s large population of homeless veterans. This Act will construct affordable, supportive, and transitional housing for homeless and near homeless veterans without raising taxes.
CON: Proposition 41 would authorize the State to borrow (by selling bonds) $600 million out of $900 million in bonds previously approved by voters in 2008 for use by the CalVet Home and Farm Loan Program. The issue is whether such a diversion of funds is wise.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR: Coalition for Veterans Housing
777 S. Figueroa St., Suite 4050
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 346-0400
info@yesonprop41forvets.org
www.yesonprop41forvets.org
AGAINST: Gary Wesley
gary.wesley@yahoo.com
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN POSITION:
After extensive research and analysis, the CFRW has come out against Prop 41. Prop 41 is titled the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act. Taken at face value, this would seem like a proposition we should support. But upon further review and analysis, Prop 41 does little to fix the homeless veteran problem and actually does more harm to veterans looking to purchase homes.
Prop 41 would take $600 million away from the CalVet program, a $900 million bond program passed by voters in 2008, and instead uses that money to build multifamily, low income housing for homeless vets.
The original CalVet program helped vets secure loans for purchasing property, homes, and farms. This new prop is leaving only $300 million for those vets and instead using $600 million in bond money to support approximately 19,000 homeless vets in the state of California. California has almost 2 million vets living here, yet we are shifting 2/3rds of already approved bond money to help 1% of vets in the state. We believe that the homeless vets should be helped- with a hand up, not a hand out.
Prop 41 would build all new multifamily, low income housing, which is why labor unions are big supporters of the bill. But Prop 41 would also create a new tax liability for Californians, averaging in at least $50 million annually in new costs over the next 15 years.
Prop 41 would also create new bureaucracies for its implementation, many of these overlapping with already established state and federal programs for our homeless vets. This creates more waste and unnecessary spending when this bond money could be better spent to help our vets.
We believe that our vets deserve creative solutions. A robust economy and affordable, competitive college programs would help Californian veterans. How about tax credits for businesses that employ vets? Or reworking the CalVet program for better loan options for vets to purchase property themselves.
Prop 41 is the easy answer, not the right answer. We OPPOSE Prop 41!
Labels:
2014 Primary,
California,
CFRW,
Humboldt County,
Prop 41
PROP 42: PUBLIC RECORDS. OPEN MEETINGS. STATE REIMBURSEMENT TO LOCAL AGENCIES. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Put on the Ballot by the Legislature
Requires local government compliance with laws providing for public access to local government body meetings and records of government officials. Eliminates reimbursement for costs of compliance. Fiscal Impact: Reductions in state payments to local governments in the tens of millions of dollars annually. Potential future costs on local governments in the tens of millions of dollars annually.
WHAT YOUR VOTE MEANS
YES: A YES vote on this measure means: The state would not be required to pay local governments for costs to follow state laws that give the public access to local government information.
NO: A NO vote on this measure means: The state would still be required to pay local governments for certain costs of providing public access to local government information.
ARGUMENTS
PRO: Proposition 42 will cement in the Constitution the public’s right to know what the government is doing and how it is doing it. Local agencies shouldn’t be allowed to deny a request for public information or slam a meeting door shut based on cost. Vote YES on Proposition 42.
CON: Proposition 42 would amend the California Constitution to impose the cost of complying with the California Public Records Act and local open meeting laws upon the local governments involved. An alternative, not offered by this proposition, would be to impose the cost upon the state government.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
FOR: Peter Scheer
First Amendment Coalition
534 Fourth St. #B
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 460-5060
pscheer@firstamendmentcoalition.org
www.cnpa.com/prop42
AGAINST: Gary Wesley
gary.wesley@yahoo.com
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN POSITION:
Prop 41 is the easy answer, not the right answer. We OPPOSE Prop 41!
By contrast, Prop 42 is a straightforward bill. The CFRW Voting Body voted to SUPPORT Prop 42. Prop 42 is called the California Compliance of Local Agencies with Public Records Act. It would require that all local agencies comply with the California Public Records Act (CPRA) and the Brown Act. A good question would be: why weren’t localities already complying with these important transparency acts? Prop 42 would guarantee a private citizen’s right to open, public records and to attend public meetings. This could save the state millions of dollars by eliminating the requirement that the state reimburse local agencies for compliance with these laws. Now the local agencies must comply with these transparency laws and will be incentivized to keep costs down since the state will no longer reimburse costs. In an increasingly paperless world, most local agencies should make their records available online to keep costs low and transparency high. We SUPPORT Prop 42!
Labels:
2014 Primary,
California,
CFRW,
Humboldt County,
Prop 42
2014 Primary Election
◼ Smart Voter, HUMBOLDT
__________________
BALLOT MEASURES:
◼ PROP 41: VETERANS HOUSING AND HOMELESS PREVENTION BOND ACT OF 2014.
◼ PROP 42: PUBLIC RECORDS. OPEN MEETINGS. STATE REIMBURSEMENT TO LOCAL AGENCIES. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
There are two measures for the upcoming primary election in June, Props 41 and 42. Both propositions were placed on the ballot by the Legislature. The CFRW Voting Body has voted to OPPOSE Prop 41 and SUPPORT Prop 42.
After extensive research and analysis, the CFRW has come out against Prop 41. Prop 41 is titled the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act. Taken at face value, this would seem like a proposition we should support. But upon further review and analysis, Prop 41 does little to fix the homeless veteran problem and actually does more harm to veterans looking to purchase homes.
Prop 41 would take $600 million away from the CalVet program, a $900 million bond program passed by voters in 2008, and instead uses that money to build multifamily, low income housing for homeless vets.
The original CalVet program helped vets secure loans for purchasing property, homes, and farms. This new prop is leaving only $300 million for those vets and instead using $600 million in bond money to support approximately 19,000 homeless vets in the state of California. California has almost 2 million vets living here, yet we are shifting 2/3rds of already approved bond money to help 1% of vets in the state. We believe that the homeless vets should be helped- with a hand up, not a hand out.
Prop 41 would build all new multifamily, low income housing, which is why labor unions are big supporters of the bill. But Prop 41 would also create a new tax liability for Californians, averaging in at least $50 million annually in new costs over the next 15 years.
Prop 41 would also create new bureaucracies for its implementation, many of these overlapping with already established state and federal programs for our homeless vets. This creates more waste and unnecessary spending when this bond money could be better spent to help our vets.
We believe that our vets deserve creative solutions. A robust economy and affordable, competitive college programs would help Californian veterans. How about tax credits for businesses that employ vets? Or reworking the CalVet program for better loan options for vets to purchase property themselves.
Prop 41 is the easy answer, not the right answer. We OPPOSE Prop 41!
By contrast, Prop 42 is a straightforward bill. The CFRW Voting Body voted to SUPPORT Prop 42. Prop 42 is called the California Compliance of Local Agencies with Public Records Act. It would require that all local agencies comply with the California Public Records Act (CPRA) and the Brown Act. A good question would be: why weren’t localities already complying with these important transparency acts? Prop 42 would guarantee a private citizen’s right to open, public records and to attend public meetings. This could save the state millions of dollars by eliminating the requirement that the state reimburse local agencies for compliance with these laws. Now the local agencies must comply with these transparency laws and will be incentivized to keep costs down since the state will no longer reimburse costs. In an increasingly paperless world, most local agencies should make their records available online to keep costs low and transparency high. We SUPPORT Prop 42!
You'll find this and other links on our ◼ CANDIDATES page
◼ United States Representative; District 2 Voter Information 2014
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT
◼ Dale K. Mensing, Republican
STATE:
◼ State Legislature Contests for California State Government (complete list)
◼ State Senator; District 2 2014
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Member of the State Assembly; District 2 2014
◼ Lawrence R. Wiesner, Republican
◼ Matt Heath, Republican◼ Governor Voter Information 2014
(Note, Humboldt GOP has endorsed Matt Heath)
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Lieutenant Governor Voter Information 2014
◼ Tim Donnelly, Republican
◼ Neel Kashkari, Republican
◼ Andrew Blount, Republican
◼ Glenn Champ, Republican
◼ Alma Marie Winston, Republican
◼ Richard William Aguirre, Republican
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Secretary of State 2014
◼ Ron Nehring, Republican
◼ David Fennell, Republican
◼ George Yang, Republican
(Note, Humboldt GOP has endorsed Ron Nehring)
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Controller
◼ Roy Allmond, Republican
◼ Pete Peterson, Republican
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Treasurer
◼ Ashley Swearengin, Republican
◼ David Evans, Republican
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Attorney General
◼ Greg Conlon, Republican
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ Insurance Commissioner
◼ David King, Republican
◼ John Haggerty, Republican
◼ Phil Wyman, Republican
◼ Ronald Gold, Republican
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ State Board of Equalization; District 2
◼ Ted Gaines, Republican
Republican Candidates ON THE BALLOT◼ State Superintendent of Public Instruction
◼ James E. Theis, Republican
COUNTY
◼ Assessor; County of Humboldt
◼ Auditor-Controller; County of Humboldt
◼ Coroner-Public Administrator; County of Humboldt
◼ District Attorney; County of Humboldt
◼ Recorder-County Clerk Registrar of Voters; County of Humboldt
◼ Sheriff; County of Humboldt
◼ Treasurer-Tax Collector; County of Humboldt
◼ County Supervisor; Humboldt County; Supervisorial District 4
◼ County Supervisor; Humboldt County; Supervisorial District 5
BALLOT MEASURES:
◼ PROP 41: VETERANS HOUSING AND HOMELESS PREVENTION BOND ACT OF 2014.
◼ PROP 42: PUBLIC RECORDS. OPEN MEETINGS. STATE REIMBURSEMENT TO LOCAL AGENCIES. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
There are two measures for the upcoming primary election in June, Props 41 and 42. Both propositions were placed on the ballot by the Legislature. The CFRW Voting Body has voted to OPPOSE Prop 41 and SUPPORT Prop 42.
After extensive research and analysis, the CFRW has come out against Prop 41. Prop 41 is titled the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act. Taken at face value, this would seem like a proposition we should support. But upon further review and analysis, Prop 41 does little to fix the homeless veteran problem and actually does more harm to veterans looking to purchase homes.
Prop 41 would take $600 million away from the CalVet program, a $900 million bond program passed by voters in 2008, and instead uses that money to build multifamily, low income housing for homeless vets.
The original CalVet program helped vets secure loans for purchasing property, homes, and farms. This new prop is leaving only $300 million for those vets and instead using $600 million in bond money to support approximately 19,000 homeless vets in the state of California. California has almost 2 million vets living here, yet we are shifting 2/3rds of already approved bond money to help 1% of vets in the state. We believe that the homeless vets should be helped- with a hand up, not a hand out.
Prop 41 would build all new multifamily, low income housing, which is why labor unions are big supporters of the bill. But Prop 41 would also create a new tax liability for Californians, averaging in at least $50 million annually in new costs over the next 15 years.
Prop 41 would also create new bureaucracies for its implementation, many of these overlapping with already established state and federal programs for our homeless vets. This creates more waste and unnecessary spending when this bond money could be better spent to help our vets.
We believe that our vets deserve creative solutions. A robust economy and affordable, competitive college programs would help Californian veterans. How about tax credits for businesses that employ vets? Or reworking the CalVet program for better loan options for vets to purchase property themselves.
Prop 41 is the easy answer, not the right answer. We OPPOSE Prop 41!
By contrast, Prop 42 is a straightforward bill. The CFRW Voting Body voted to SUPPORT Prop 42. Prop 42 is called the California Compliance of Local Agencies with Public Records Act. It would require that all local agencies comply with the California Public Records Act (CPRA) and the Brown Act. A good question would be: why weren’t localities already complying with these important transparency acts? Prop 42 would guarantee a private citizen’s right to open, public records and to attend public meetings. This could save the state millions of dollars by eliminating the requirement that the state reimburse local agencies for compliance with these laws. Now the local agencies must comply with these transparency laws and will be incentivized to keep costs down since the state will no longer reimburse costs. In an increasingly paperless world, most local agencies should make their records available online to keep costs low and transparency high. We SUPPORT Prop 42!
You'll find this and other links on our ◼ CANDIDATES page
Woman’s cancer killed by measles virus in unprecedented trial
◼ ...(A)s part of a two-patient clinical trial, doctors at the Mayo Clinic injected Erholtz with 100 billion units of the measles virus – enough to inoculate 10 million people. - Washington Post
Her doctor said they were entering the unknown.
Her doctor said they were entering the unknown.
Seventh VA office finds secret wait list — with over 200 veterans on it
◼ VA Secretary Eric Shinseki declared himself “mad as hell” over the allegations of wait-list fraud in Phoenix, where 40 veterans passed away before accessing medical assistance while the office falsified records.
...Marco Rubio sent out a statement this morning demanding everything the VA currently has on its wait-list scandal:
...Marco Rubio sent out a statement this morning demanding everything the VA currently has on its wait-list scandal:
“I am troubled by new reports suggesting secret waiting lists were being kept at the Gainesville VA hospital, potentially to the detriment of our veterans’ health. This would be outrageous in its own right, but it’s even more so because of the pervasive problems emerging about the VA each day in all corners of the country.Let’s not forget that the VA first found out about wait-list fraud more than a year ago, and again last fall. Shinseki’s very late to the party to declare himself “mad as hell” about it, and especially to pledge to take responsibility for reform. ◼ Jim Geraghty calls this a familiar refrain in this administration...
“Earlier this week, I asked VA Secretary Shinseki for all information regarding secret VA waiting lists in Florida and Biloxi, MS. I don’t want to wait until everything is ready. I want to see what is available now, starting with Gainesville.
“It also highlights the need to bring real accountability to the VA. From problems in Phoenix to Miami and now potentially Gainesville too, we’ve seen plenty of finger-pointing and excuses, but no one actually being fired for incompetence and negligence in the performance of their duties. As an easy first step, Congress should approve the VA reform bill Congressman Jeff Miller and I have introduced.”
Labels:
Marco Rubio,
Obama Administration,
Scandals,
Veterans
Santo Domingo Strikes Again!
◼ “Embassy officials” join in the scamming of targeted grandparents. - Peter Hannaford/American Spectator – 5.14.14
For months con men have been preying on grandparents by telephone, apparently finding them a Mother Lode of money. Just last seek I learned how a Long Island, New York couple lost $4,500 to these smooth talkers who presented a plausible scenario.
It went this way: Their grandson, a college student, called from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic (it sounded just like him). He had gone there during spring break. Alas, the car he was in from the airport to his hotel was stopped for a traffic violation. When the officer saw young men in the car, he ordered them out and searched the car. In the trunk he found a bag of cocaine hidden under the floor mat. It was off to jail for all.
The “grandson” told his “grandparents” that he had been allowed one call, so he called them, presumably because he was sure they would be home. He turned the call over to a U.S. Embassy official who had come to the jail to help them. He introduced himself and advised there would be a hearing and that their grandson would be found innocent; however, the court calendar was crowded and a quick payment of bail might get him a hearing the next day, but no payment could result in a delay of weeks. At that point the grandparents wired the requested $4,500 for the bail. It was sent to a supposed bail bondsman in Santo Domingo. The grandparents were told the bail would be refunded a few days after the hearing.
The next day the “Embassy official” called with the good news that the grandson had been found innocent; however, the court had imposed a fine on him. The grandparents, now suspicious, said they would have to call back. They then learned that their real grandson had spent the weekend at his family home in New Jersey.
Despite their loss, the victims had seen spared a much larger one. Had they wired the “fine” it would have been followed a day later with the news from the “Embassy official” that a good-sized bribe would have to be paid to the Customs officials to get back the grandson’s passport. After that, his air ticket home would have to be changed in order to get him on the next plane to New York. This would cost several hundred dollars.
The scenario sounded familiar to me, as I had received a call from my “grandson” in January, telling me of a similar fate on the way from the Dominican Republic airport to the hotel in Santo Domingo. Then, two months later he called again.
This time I feigned deafness and said, “Who did you say was calling?” “Your grandson. Sorry about my voice. I have a cold.” “Where are you?” I asked. “Actually, I’m traveling. I’m in Peru.” Whereupon, after a pause, I said, “You are not my grandson and you are not in Peru. I am familiar with this scam.” and slammed down the telephone.
In retrospect, a better course of action would have been to string them along until I could get a telephone number, and then call the State Department’s American Citizen Service at 1/888/407-4747. They are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This band of crooks is particularly difficult, because it moves around. A State Department investigator told me that they are using this dodge all over the world, masquerading as officials of the U.S. Embassy in the particular country.
While the arrested travelers are most often grandsons, sometimes they are granddaughters (involving, for example, a dented fender in a rental car, in a country where a foreign driver is considered responsible, no matter who was at fault).
If you are a grandparent or know anyone who is, beware of this seductive approach. Even if the “grandchild” sounds close to the real one, be immediately suspicious. If you play along until the “Embassy official” gives you the pitch about money, firmly say you will need some time (such as half an hour) and ask for his telephone number. The number may be phony; nevertheless, report it immediately to American Citizen Services.
A recent communiqué advised that the con men have lately concentrated on Arizona and Florida where there are a great many grandparents. If you don’t live in either, still be on guard. They apparently make the connection between the grandparent and the grandchild by some sophisticated online data mining, so they make strike wherever you live.
__________________
Peter Hannaford was closely associated with the late President Reagan for a number of years. His latest book is ◼ “Presidential Retreats.”
For months con men have been preying on grandparents by telephone, apparently finding them a Mother Lode of money. Just last seek I learned how a Long Island, New York couple lost $4,500 to these smooth talkers who presented a plausible scenario.
It went this way: Their grandson, a college student, called from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic (it sounded just like him). He had gone there during spring break. Alas, the car he was in from the airport to his hotel was stopped for a traffic violation. When the officer saw young men in the car, he ordered them out and searched the car. In the trunk he found a bag of cocaine hidden under the floor mat. It was off to jail for all.
The “grandson” told his “grandparents” that he had been allowed one call, so he called them, presumably because he was sure they would be home. He turned the call over to a U.S. Embassy official who had come to the jail to help them. He introduced himself and advised there would be a hearing and that their grandson would be found innocent; however, the court calendar was crowded and a quick payment of bail might get him a hearing the next day, but no payment could result in a delay of weeks. At that point the grandparents wired the requested $4,500 for the bail. It was sent to a supposed bail bondsman in Santo Domingo. The grandparents were told the bail would be refunded a few days after the hearing.
The next day the “Embassy official” called with the good news that the grandson had been found innocent; however, the court had imposed a fine on him. The grandparents, now suspicious, said they would have to call back. They then learned that their real grandson had spent the weekend at his family home in New Jersey.
Despite their loss, the victims had seen spared a much larger one. Had they wired the “fine” it would have been followed a day later with the news from the “Embassy official” that a good-sized bribe would have to be paid to the Customs officials to get back the grandson’s passport. After that, his air ticket home would have to be changed in order to get him on the next plane to New York. This would cost several hundred dollars.
The scenario sounded familiar to me, as I had received a call from my “grandson” in January, telling me of a similar fate on the way from the Dominican Republic airport to the hotel in Santo Domingo. Then, two months later he called again.
This time I feigned deafness and said, “Who did you say was calling?” “Your grandson. Sorry about my voice. I have a cold.” “Where are you?” I asked. “Actually, I’m traveling. I’m in Peru.” Whereupon, after a pause, I said, “You are not my grandson and you are not in Peru. I am familiar with this scam.” and slammed down the telephone.
In retrospect, a better course of action would have been to string them along until I could get a telephone number, and then call the State Department’s American Citizen Service at 1/888/407-4747. They are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This band of crooks is particularly difficult, because it moves around. A State Department investigator told me that they are using this dodge all over the world, masquerading as officials of the U.S. Embassy in the particular country.
While the arrested travelers are most often grandsons, sometimes they are granddaughters (involving, for example, a dented fender in a rental car, in a country where a foreign driver is considered responsible, no matter who was at fault).
If you are a grandparent or know anyone who is, beware of this seductive approach. Even if the “grandchild” sounds close to the real one, be immediately suspicious. If you play along until the “Embassy official” gives you the pitch about money, firmly say you will need some time (such as half an hour) and ask for his telephone number. The number may be phony; nevertheless, report it immediately to American Citizen Services.
A recent communiqué advised that the con men have lately concentrated on Arizona and Florida where there are a great many grandparents. If you don’t live in either, still be on guard. They apparently make the connection between the grandparent and the grandchild by some sophisticated online data mining, so they make strike wherever you live.
Peter Hannaford was closely associated with the late President Reagan for a number of years. His latest book is ◼ “Presidential Retreats.”
Labels:
Peter Hannaford,
Scams
How Conservatives Can Outsmart Liberals on the Issue of Inequality
◼ Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century is a smash on the Amazon bestsellers list. It is all the rage in Washington and other corridors of influence. - Curtis Dubay/Heritage Foundry
...Figuring out how we can lift the economy out of its now six-year-long rut should be the paramount goal of those concerned with rising inequality.
The debate over inequality isn’t going away anytime soon, since liberals have taken Obama’s lead and chosen it as their policy battleground leading up to 2016.
When going up against a familiar opponent, it’s always comforting to know which play they’re going to call. When it comes to inequality, liberals will call the same play in 2016 they called for in 1916.
Conservatives know what’s coming. They should have a superior defense ready for deployment.
◼ Get Capital in the Twenty-First Century at Amazon
◼ Inequality Myths - CATO Institute
From President Obama to Paul Krugman, Thomas Piketty to Elizabeth Warren, the Left has adopted “inequality” as the cause of the day. They paint a picture of a new Gilded Age in which a hereditary American gentry becomes ever richer, while the vast majority of Americans toil away in near-Dickensian poverty. It’s a compelling political narrative, one that can be used to advance any number of policy proposals, from higher taxes to increases in the minimum wage.
Unfortunately, bad facts make for bad policy. Let’s look at just some of the ways they get it wrong....
There is good reason for this country to have a debate over issues such as how best to reduce poverty and increase middle-class incomes. But beating the inequality drum will do little to contribute to that debate.
...Figuring out how we can lift the economy out of its now six-year-long rut should be the paramount goal of those concerned with rising inequality.
The debate over inequality isn’t going away anytime soon, since liberals have taken Obama’s lead and chosen it as their policy battleground leading up to 2016.
When going up against a familiar opponent, it’s always comforting to know which play they’re going to call. When it comes to inequality, liberals will call the same play in 2016 they called for in 1916.
Conservatives know what’s coming. They should have a superior defense ready for deployment.
◼ Get Capital in the Twenty-First Century at Amazon
◼ Inequality Myths - CATO Institute
From President Obama to Paul Krugman, Thomas Piketty to Elizabeth Warren, the Left has adopted “inequality” as the cause of the day. They paint a picture of a new Gilded Age in which a hereditary American gentry becomes ever richer, while the vast majority of Americans toil away in near-Dickensian poverty. It’s a compelling political narrative, one that can be used to advance any number of policy proposals, from higher taxes to increases in the minimum wage.
Unfortunately, bad facts make for bad policy. Let’s look at just some of the ways they get it wrong....
There is good reason for this country to have a debate over issues such as how best to reduce poverty and increase middle-class incomes. But beating the inequality drum will do little to contribute to that debate.
'NIGERIA SECURITY TRACKER' MAPS OUT BOKO HARAM VIOLENCE SINCE 2011
◼ Experts at the Council on Foreign Relations, led by former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell, have been using media reports to track the number of political or religious deaths in Nigeria since 2011. Their research exposes the alarming speed at which Boko Haram established its reign of terror and how it continues to spread. - Frances Martel/Breitbart
The Nigeria Security Tracker follows deaths that can be attributable to a terror group or tensions between ethnic, political, or religious groups. While the tracker does follow all varieties of this sort of violence, its findings suggest that Boko Haram is far and away the most dangerous group conducting these deadly activities. The group, which has existed in its current state under leader Abubakar Shekau since 2009, is to blame for a great number of these deaths.
When announcing the tracker in 2012, the Council on Foreign Relations noted that Boko Haram was also responsible indirectly for a number of deaths thanks to inefficient attempts by the Nigerian government to fight them. "Government soldiers have been indiscriminate in their fight against Boko Haram, often killing innocent civilians," noted Campbell. "Police across the country are notorious for extrajudicial murder. Violent clashes between ethnic or occupational groups at times appear indicative of a deeper conflict between Christians and Muslims."
At the time, the U.S. Department of State under Hillary Clinton refused to add Boko Haram to a list of terror organizations, despite the number of attacks already attributable to the radical Islamist group....
The tracker has found that Boko Haram is responsible for ◼ more than 4,000 deaths in 2014.... Boko Haram opposes the education of girls and has kidnapped girls to use as cooks and sex slaves. It has killed hundreds of children.
The group seeks to replace Nigeria's government with a ultra-strict Islamic state.
__________________
◼ PALIN: OBAMA ADMIN'S 'LAZY' & 'NAIVE' HASHTAG ACTIVISM 'EMBARRASSING' - Tony Lee/Breitbart
...Palin blasted the Obama administration's "embarrassing" reliance on junior high-like tweets and tickles in place of a foreign policy rooted in peace through strength."
"Diplomacy via Twitter is the lazy, ineffectual, naïve, and insulting way for America’s leaders to deal with major national and international issues," she said. "If you’re going to get involved anyway, Mr. President, learn to understand this and believe it, then announce it: Victory is only brought to you 'courtesy of the red, white and blue.' It’s certainly not won by your mere 'unfriending' the bad guys on Facebook. Leading from behind is not the American way."
Palin noted that under Obama, "Hillary Clinton’s State Department repeatedly refused to recognize Boko Haram as terrorists despite their conventional, predictable Islamic terrorist rants, training, and mission."
She added that the kidnapped Nigerian girls are now in a "life and death" situation in the hands of terrorists and asked, "And what is the Obama administration’s weapon of choice in this battle for these young girls’ lives? Hashtagging tweets on social media!"
Palin then said, "like the patriot writes in this photo, winning takes Warriors":
The Nigeria Security Tracker follows deaths that can be attributable to a terror group or tensions between ethnic, political, or religious groups. While the tracker does follow all varieties of this sort of violence, its findings suggest that Boko Haram is far and away the most dangerous group conducting these deadly activities. The group, which has existed in its current state under leader Abubakar Shekau since 2009, is to blame for a great number of these deaths.
When announcing the tracker in 2012, the Council on Foreign Relations noted that Boko Haram was also responsible indirectly for a number of deaths thanks to inefficient attempts by the Nigerian government to fight them. "Government soldiers have been indiscriminate in their fight against Boko Haram, often killing innocent civilians," noted Campbell. "Police across the country are notorious for extrajudicial murder. Violent clashes between ethnic or occupational groups at times appear indicative of a deeper conflict between Christians and Muslims."
At the time, the U.S. Department of State under Hillary Clinton refused to add Boko Haram to a list of terror organizations, despite the number of attacks already attributable to the radical Islamist group....
The tracker has found that Boko Haram is responsible for ◼ more than 4,000 deaths in 2014.... Boko Haram opposes the education of girls and has kidnapped girls to use as cooks and sex slaves. It has killed hundreds of children.
The group seeks to replace Nigeria's government with a ultra-strict Islamic state.
◼ PALIN: OBAMA ADMIN'S 'LAZY' & 'NAIVE' HASHTAG ACTIVISM 'EMBARRASSING' - Tony Lee/Breitbart
...Palin blasted the Obama administration's "embarrassing" reliance on junior high-like tweets and tickles in place of a foreign policy rooted in peace through strength."
"Diplomacy via Twitter is the lazy, ineffectual, naïve, and insulting way for America’s leaders to deal with major national and international issues," she said. "If you’re going to get involved anyway, Mr. President, learn to understand this and believe it, then announce it: Victory is only brought to you 'courtesy of the red, white and blue.' It’s certainly not won by your mere 'unfriending' the bad guys on Facebook. Leading from behind is not the American way."
Palin noted that under Obama, "Hillary Clinton’s State Department repeatedly refused to recognize Boko Haram as terrorists despite their conventional, predictable Islamic terrorist rants, training, and mission."
She added that the kidnapped Nigerian girls are now in a "life and death" situation in the hands of terrorists and asked, "And what is the Obama administration’s weapon of choice in this battle for these young girls’ lives? Hashtagging tweets on social media!"
Palin then said, "like the patriot writes in this photo, winning takes Warriors":
If you intend to rescue these innocent girls whose only “crime” was seeking an education despite the threats of insane Islamic terrorists who drag women back to the Stone Age (see, Liberals, THAT is the real “war on women” so quit making it up that conservatives wage it), then you need to send a message to the world that our United States military is the strongest force to protect the good guys, and the most deadly against the bad guys. Pretty simple, the world needs to know America is still on the side of the good guys.
Labels:
#bringbackourgirls,
Boko Haram,
Hillary Clinton,
Islam/Muslim,
Murder,
Nigeria,
Terrorism
170 Years Of American History In One Amazing GIF
◼ In Case You Slept Through High School, Here’s 170 Years Of American History In One Amazing GIF - Kyle Becker/IJ Review
This fantastic gif tells the story of how America came to be. Since the Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789 until the U.S. added the 50th state of Hawaii in 1959, a quick look at this gif shows us how a nation was formed.◼ Animated gif map, fascinating
Labels:
History
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