Saturday, April 26, 2014

Judge Jeanine: Texas Rancher Drops Dime On
Another Outrageous Land Grab,
Hopes Folks Will Come Support Him

On tonight’s Judge Jeanine, Texas Rancher Layne Chapman lays out the details of another federal land grab. This time, the details are much worse than in the case of Cliven Bundy, as the land is not leased, and no money is owed. According to Chapman, the land is privately owned, and has been for generations. He also asserts that all taxes have been paid every year of ownership. - The Right Scoop (Video At The Link)

He's ONE Guy With Millions, We're MILLIONS With Our $25 Bucks



And God-Given Rights. - NRA

U.S. Reporters Grill Obama in Asia: Did You Like Your Green-Tea Ice Cream?

In Japan on Friday, pool reporters inquired as to whether he’s getting enough sleep and whether he liked the Mount Fiji–shaped ice-cream dessert he had at a dinner in Japan. - Andrew Johnson/National Review

FULL SPEECH: Watch Mark Levin’s speech at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum



The Great One gave a great speech today at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum and you can watch the full speech, at the link. - The Right Scoop

Conservative Radio Host Mark Levin Goes Off on GOP at NRA Convention…Moments After Republican He Routinely Slams Got Done Speaking - The Blaze



Mark Levin, Wayne LaPierre Speak at the 2014 NRA Annual Meetings in Indy - Katie Pavlich/Townhall

NRA BLASTS BLOOMBERG: OUR FREEDOMS NOT FOR SALE - The Blaze
That message? “Bloomberg is one guy with millions. We’re millions with our 25 bucks. Let’s see who crushes who.”
LAPIERRE: Country 'slipping away,' gun owners 'willing to fight' for control - Washington Times
Firearms applications surge, swamp registration system - USA Today
"We have seen dramatic, unprecedented ... growth in the firearms and ammunition industry as the direct result of consumer demand for our products in the last five years,'' the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry's trade association, said on its website. "Not surprisingly, growth has placed added demand on the (ATF's) Office of Enforcement Programs and Services.

"Today, the office simply does not have the funding or personnel it needs to serve the industry and, by extension, our customers.''

The foundation estimated that the ATF's office needed $10 million in additional funding to "provide the level of service our industry needs to remain in compliance with federal law.''

SENATORS DENOUNCE OBAMA FOR THREATENING 'ENTIRE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM' BY 'NULLIFYING' IMMIGRATION LAWS

On Thursday, 22 Republican senators, including even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), denounced President Barack Obama in a scathing letter for threatening America's "entire constitutional system" with his immigration "enforcement review" that threatens to "nullify" the nation's immigration laws. - Tony Lee/Breitbart

"Your actions demonstrate an astonishing disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law, and the rights of American citizens and legal residents," the senators wrote in a letter to Obama. "Our entire constitutional system is threatened when the Executive Branch suspends the law at its whim and our nation’s sovereignty is imperiled when the commander-in-chief refuses to defend the integrity of its borders."

After intense pressure from pro-amnesty groups who fear that amnesty legislation will not pass this year, Obama's Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson met with advocacy groups last month to reportedly consider administrative actions--such as granting more forms of amnesty, not deporting illegal immigrants who have not committed "major" crimes, and allowing bond hearings for illegal immigrants--to further erode the nation's laws. The senators said they had "grave concerns" with these potential actions because they "would represent a near complete abandonment of basic immigration enforcement and discard the rule of law and the notion that the United States has enforceable borders."

"These policies have operated as an effective repeal of duly enacted federal immigration laws and exceed the bounds of the Executive Branch’s prosecutorial discretion," the senators wrote. "It is not the province of the Executive to nullify the laws that the people of the United States, through their elected representatives, have chosen to enact. Congress has not passed laws permitting people to illegally enter the country or to ignore their visa expiration dates, so long as they do not have a felony conviction or other severe offense on their record."

CNN Goes Bundy-Trolling on Racial Issues & Gets Retort from Black Bodyguard They Don’t Expect



CNN REPORTER: You’re protecting this man and he’s wondering whether African-Americans would be better off as slaves. How does that strike you? - IJ Review

JASON BULLOCK, BODYGUARD FOR CLIVEN BUNDY: It doesn’t strike me any kind of way. This is still the same old Mr. Bundy I met from the first day of all this happening.

CNN REPORTER: But aren’t those offensive comments to you

BULLOCK: Not at all.

CNN REPORTER: Not offensive?

BULLOCK: Because Mr. Bundy is not a racist. Ever since I’ve been here he’s treated me with nothing but hospitality. He’s pretty much treated me like his own family. …

BULLOCK: I would take a bullet for that man, if need be. I look up to him just like I do my own grandfather.

CNN REPORTER: Why?

BULLOCK: Because I believe in his cause and after having met Mr. Bundy a few times, I have a really good feel about him and I’m a pretty good judge of character.

Sure Bundy is a ‘Racist’? Edited Video of ‘Racist’ Comments vs. Full Video of What He Actually Said - IJ Review

In the full video, it sounds like he’s sympathizing with blacks and illegal aliens. But you listen and make the call on that.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Harry Reid condemns ‘hateful racist’ Cliven Bundy


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called Cliven Bundy a “hateful racist” and has urged Republican leaders to condemn him. - Politico
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Mo Elleithee condemned Bundy’s remarks on Twitter on Thursday, as well.
Harry Reid condemns Bundy for saying Obama’s light-skin and non-negro dialect helped him become president… - The Right Scoop
Oh wait! Bundy didn’t say that at all. That was what Harry Reid said about Obama in 2008, meaning he thought Obama was white enough to be president.

So take that into consideration when you read below that Harry Reid is calling on Republican leaders to publicly condemn Cliven Bundy:
POLITICO – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called Cliven Bundy a “hateful racist” and has urged Republican leaders to condemn him.

“Today, Bundy revealed himself to be a hateful racist,” Reid said in a statement released Thursday.
Reid apologizes for racial remarks about Obama during campaign - Mark Preston/CNN 1/9/2010



Black Conservative Kira Davis: I don’t care if Cliven Bundy is a racist



BUNDY AND THE 'NEGRO' - NYT
Slavery better than welfare? - Washington Post
Rand Paul, Republicans -- RUN! - Washington Post
Rancher responds - The Right Scoop

Working at Fox News “is like getting on a Southwest Airlines plane,” Will replied. “Everyone’s happy, they’re at the top of the heap and feel like insurgents.”


George Will Schools Stephen Colbert on Difference Between News on FNC and ABC - Newsbusters

Working at Fox News “is like getting on a Southwest Airlines plane,” Will replied. “Everyone’s happy, they’re at the top of the heap and feel like insurgents.”

“Wow, that’s great,” Colbert replied grimly. “That sounds almost dangerous.”

Will then admitted that he's a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. “I'm afraid that if I stop” supporting the players or the team, “they'll start winning.”

“The age” of the stadium "is great,” Colbert said. “I love things that are old. I'm a conservative, you're a conservative. I don't anything should ever change. Do you think that Wrigley Field -- ?

“No, that makes you a liberal,” Will interrupted.

“That nothing should ever change?” Colbert asked, obviously surprised at his guest's remark.

FARMLAND



COMING SPRING 2014

MOST AMERICANS HAVE NEVER STEPPED FOOT ON A FARM OR RANCH OR EVEN TALKED TO THE PEOPLE WHO GROW AND RAISE THE FOOD WE EAT. FARMLAND WILL TAKE AN INTIMATE LOOK AT THE LIVES OF FARMERS AND RANCHERS IN THEIR ‘20S, ALL OF WHOM ARE NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR RUNNING THEIR FARMING BUSINESS.

THROUGH THIS FILM FROM AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR, JAMES MOLL, YOU’LL STEP INSIDE THE WORLD OF FARMING FOR A FIRST-HAND GLIMPSE INTO THE LIVES OF YOUNG FARMERS AND RANCHERS. LEARN ABOUT THEIR HIGH-RISK/HIGH REWARD JOBS AND PASSION FOR A WAY OF LIFE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, YET CONTINUES TO EVOLVE.

DIRECTOR JAMES MOLL TRAVELED ACROSS THE COUNTRY MEETING YOUNG FARMERS AND RANCHERS. WATCH THE TRAILER TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF STORIES SHARED DURING HIS INTERVIEWS. THIS FILM WILL BE RELEASED IN SPRING 2014.

THIS FILM WAS MADE WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE U.S. FARMERS & RANCHERS ALLIANCE ®.

Over 40,000 voters are registered in both Virginia and Maryland, group finds

And that’s just the beginning. - FOX

Group finds duplicate voters around Virginia - WatchDog.Org

“We are also determining the best way to identify non-citizens who have registered to vote and may have voted in past elections,” George said.

Working with the Privileges and Elections committees of the state House and Senate, VVA identified 31,000 dead voters via the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. Subsequent processing by SBE found 40,000 to 60,000 dead voter registrations.

“Dead voter registrations are prime targets for voter fraud which generate few complaints,” George noted.

SPRING TEA 11:30-2:00


Spring Tea Time!
Welcome, new members!
Our Annual Membership Tea
11:30-2:00 April 24th
Esther Smith-Holmes beautiful home in Westhaven, is the perfect place for our ANNUAL TEA.

Sponsored by our Board of Directors, this is one of our most popular events, it gives us a chance to visit in a beautiful and informal setting, and to introduce new and prospective members, while we enjoy tea, coffee and goodies

CIARA’S IRISH SHOP will put on a fashion show and some of our members will be modeling her lovely clothes.

Remember - Because of the Tea, there will be NO GENERAL MEETING on April 17th.

________________

DIRECTIONS TO ESTHER’S HOME:
Take 101 North to Westhaven Exit.  At the Exit make a sharp right onto Driver Road.  (Sign says Moonstone Heights). 637 Driver Road is the first house on the left. Please park on the lawn.  Questions? Call Esther Smith Holmes at 677-3219.

This is a great time to bring a guest. Consider sharing the ride!

Joe Wilson Was Right



Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.) created an outcry in September 2009 when he blurted out “You lie!” at President Barack Obama while he discussed health care reform before Congress. - David Rutz/Washington Free Beacon

The public has caught up to Wilson, as well. Sixty-one percent of voters said in a Fox News poll that they believe Obama lies “most” or “some” of the time on important issues. On everything ranging from Obamacare to Syria to Fast & Furious to Benghazi, the fact-checkers have agreed.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

'The intelligence community was part of that, the Department of State was part of that, and certainly that means that the top leadership of the United States, our national security leadership, and potentially Congress – if they were briefed on this – also knew about this.'

Benghazi attack could have been prevented if US hadn't 'switched sides in the War on Terror' and allowed $500 MILLION of weapons to reach al-Qaeda militants, reveals damning report - Daily Mail

Citizens Committee on Benghazi claims the US government allowed arms to flow to al-Qaeda-linked militants who opposed Muammar Gaddafi

Their rise to power, the group says, led to the Benghazi attack in 2012

The group claims the strongman Gaddafi offered to abdicate his presidency, but the US refused to broker his peaceful exit

The commission, part of the center-right Accuracy In Media group, concluded that the Benghazi attack was a failed kidnapping plot

US Ambassador Chris Stevens was to be captured and traded for 'blind sheikh' Omar Abdel-Rahman, who hatched the 1993 WTC bombing plot

The Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a self-selected group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers, declared Tuesday in Washington that a seven-month review of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack has determined that it could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn't been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier.

'The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,' Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline.

She blamed the Obama administration for failing to stop half of a $1 billion United Arab Emirates arms shipment from reaching al-Qaeda-linked militants.

'Remember, these weapons that came into Benghazi were permitted to enter by our armed forces who were blockading the approaches from air and sea,' Lopez claimed. 'They were permitted to come in. ... [They] knew these weapons were coming in, and that was allowed...

The White House and the National Security Staff did not immediately respond to questions about the group's findings.

'If at First You Don’t Succeed, Lie, Lie Again'



The Republican National Committee has released a brutal memo on Senate majority leader Harry Reid, savaging him for repeatedly lying. The memo, under the name of press secretary Kirsten Kukowski, is titled "Nothing’s Too Unethical for Harry Reid." - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

"Harry Reid is having a bad month," the memo begins. "He was caught funneling campaign money to his relatives. His Senate Majority PAC was caught lying to voters. And he was caught hypocritically accepting money tied to people he calls 'un-American.' As he desperately clings to power, is there anything Harry Reid won’t do to promote his own self interests?"

RAND PAUL SOUNDS OFF ON COMMON CORE, SCALIA'S 'REVOLT' REMARKS

Video at the link

On Monday’s “On the Record” on the Fox News Channel, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered a wide-ranging interview to host Greta van Susteren. In that appearance, Paul discussed the Bundy Ranch standoff in Nevada, education including Common Core and Justice Antonin Scalia’s remarks about taxes from last week. - Breitbart TV

Buckley’s Realist Foreign Policy - By Sen. Rand Paul/National Review

"What we have heah, is a failure to communicate!"

The Republicans’ Continued Public Relations Disaster - Roger L Simon/PJMedia

Given the current state of the USA, Republicans should be winning every election from Seattle to Key West. The economy hasn’t moved for years with the labor participation rate at record lows — people have given up – and bankruptcy over entitlements looming. The international situation is in free fall with China becoming the global power, Iran making a mockery of faux negotiations and Putin on the way to reconstituting the Soviet Union. Al Qaeda is not only alive, it’s growing. (GM is dead.) Optimism about our country is in the proverbial toilet. More Americans feel threatened by their own government than proud of it.

Republicans should be winning by acclimation for every position from dog catcher to president.

But they’re not. And you don’t need Strother Martin to tell you why – it’s a failure to communicate....

Rather than dealing with these realities, both sides — establishment and Tea Party — spend their time aiming fusillades at each other. How infantile and suicidal....

At the Bundy ranch working to save this calf retrieved nearly dead from BLM



PETA HITS BLM OVER MASS CATTLE GRAVE - Breitbart

"Is there a sense, you think potentially, that maybe these families just really want to have their day and not have that full weight of history bearing down on them?"

No Bad News for Michelle: Nets Skip Protest Over First Lady's High School Graduation Speech - Newsbusters

ABC, NBC and CBS routinely offer fawning coverage over Michelle Obama and her role as First Lady. However, a growing protest related to a planned gradation speech in Kansas has been ignored by the networks.

Fox and Friends covered the story on Sunday. Co-anchor Ainsley Earhardt explained, "The five high schools in the district would have a single ceremony, limiting the number of guests that each student can invite." She added, "Students and parents spoke out at a recent school board meeting saying that she might...upstage their big day." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] A Change.org petition has almost 2500 signatures requesting a return to "regular graduation."

On Monday, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough lashed out at the students upset over the First Lady's visit, calling the complaints "asinine" and lecturing them to "keep those concerns to yourself."

New Ads from Oregon and Michgan: TRUST, and #WarOnWomen



Monica Wehby, a pediatric neurosurgeon running for the U.S. Senate in Oregon, has released a new ad that will make you shed a tear. - Ashe Schow/Washington Examiner

In the Twitter Wars, Republicans Win

It took some time for politicians to warm up to social media platforms like Twitter, but these days, they are using it like old pros—especially Republicans. - Heritage

A new report out from The Washington Post shows that Republican House Members have about 13 percent more followers on Twitter than Democrats and the gap widens to 17.9 percent in the Senate.
__________________

It does pay to get on Twitter. Every voice counts. And yes, Twitter is a political battlespace. Get on it. - Michelle Malkin

Granny’s Guide to Twitter - Dan Collins at Twitchy

A GREAT Tutorial if you are thinking of getting your feet wet.

Amazon's not going to raid your home with a SWAT team the way government might if it gets the wrong impression from your emails. Facebook can't forcibly take my money or put me in jail.

Facebook, Amazon, our government and your privacy - John Stossel/FOX

...I voluntarily give up privacy. Amazon has my credit card info. Facebook, Google, Reason.org, Cato.org etc., know my preferences.
I resent that websites demand I click "agree" to say that I've read their complex terms and conditions. (I click "agree," but no one reads them.)

By comparison, the National Security Agency's data mining seems relatively benign. They just gather patterns of phone numbers. They say they don't listen to my calls or know my name. Do we trust them?

But the distinction we care about shouldn't be whether they know my name. The important difference is whether what you do is voluntary....

And there's a good, rational reason we don't worry so much about companies: Even if they get ahold of my embarrassing information, all they can do with it is try to sell us things.

Amazon's not going to raid your home with a SWAT team the way government might if it gets the wrong impression from your emails. Facebook can't forcibly take my money or put me in jail....

BOMBSHELL -- VA To Veterans: If You're Late Paying Bills, We Will Prohibit You From Ever Owning A Firearm...

Since I wrote the article titled “Disarming America’s Heroes” I have been inundated with emails and phone calls from veterans and the families of veterans. The horror stories I am hearing are proof that the VA and the Obama administration have launched an all out assault on the Constitutional rights of our nation’s wounded warriors and other veterans. - Michael Connelly, Constitutional Attorney and United States Army Veteran/Red Flag News

Veterans are being declared incompetent not because they have a serious mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves or others, but because they have a physical disability resulting from their service in the armed forces or because they simply let their spouses pay the family bills.

If veterans have minor issues with PTSD, have expressed that they are depressed sometimes, or even in the case of Vietnam veterans admit that they are getting older and sometimes forget to pay their bills on time, the bureaucrats at the VA will seek to declare them incompetent. (I am a 65 year old veteran and often forget where I put my car keys, does that make me incompetent to handle my own financial affairs and even worse mean that I can’t own a firearm?) According to the VA it apparently does.

Many of the veterans I have heard from were initially both scared because of what was happening to them, and hurt because it is their own government that is causing this fear. After all, when they joined the military they signed a blank check to their country to defend it and its Constitution even if it cost them their lives. Yet, now their own government is turning on them and taking from them the very Constitutional rights they fought to preserve.

However, now something else is happening; the fear and betrayal that these veterans felt is turning to anger. Their training and instincts as warriors is coming forth and they are once again prepared to fight for their rights and the rights of other Americans. I think that the Obama administration has picked a fight with the wrong dog. Veterans are fighting back.

Obama Skipped Aunt's Funeral; Went Golfing Instead

President Obama did not attend the funeral of his late aunt Zeituni Onyango. Instead, he went golfing. - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

The New York Times reports:
After Zeituni Onyango, the woman President Obama once called Auntie, died in a South Boston nursing home this month, her closest relatives gathered her belongings at her nearby apartment. There, framed photographs of her with the president covered the wall.

Weeping before a polished wood coffin at her wake this past Saturday, they described Ms. Onyango, the half sister of the president’s father, as “the spirit of the Obama family” and talked about raising money to send her body back to Kenya. Mr. Obama helped pay funeral expenses and sent a condolence note, Ms. Onyango’s family members said, but the president did not attend, as he was golfing.

'The president says lots of debates are over because he is losing them'

The Daily Caller recently conducted an extensive interview with the Washington Post columnist on politics, culture and his new book, “A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred,” which TheDC will be featuring over the next several weeks. - Jamie Weinstein/Daily Caller

“Of course [Obamacare] can be repealed,” Will explained in this segment of the interview. “Or it can be repealed piecemeal. And certain things Obamacare wants to achieve are nice: make insurance more portable, to try to do something about people with pre-existing conditions. That’s fine, but there are lots of ways to do that.”

“The president says lots of debates are over because he is losing them,” Will continued. “The debate on Obamacare is over. The debate on climate change is over. The debate on the effectiveness of universal pre-care is over. Every time he says something is over you know there is a lot of inconvenient evidence that he is sweeping under his increasingly mound-like carpet where he puts inconvenient evidence. Of course it can be changed.”

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Democrat Congressman Warns America that ‘It’s Gonna Hit the Fan’ After the 2014 Elections

As the delays keep piling up and the horror stories keep rolling in, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) says that, in the next few years, ObamaCare is going to “hit the fan.” - IJ Review

During an interview late last week, Lynch spoke specifically about individuals whose group healthcare plans exceed $10,200, which he referred to as “Cadillac plans.”
“They’re gonna have to pay that employer if they provide that – and many do today, never mind in 2018 – will have to pay a 40 percent tax on the amount over the maximum established under the Affordable Care Act.
*
So, that’s a huge tax. It’ll be the first time in this country’s history that we have taxed healthcare.”

“Because of this standoff, I have looked into BLM’s authority to conduct such paramilitary raids against American citizens, and it appears that BLM is acting in a lawless manner in Nevada.”

Obama Accused By Congressman Of Illegal Action At Bundy Ranch: He cites a severe violation of U.S. Code -- 43 U.S.C. Section 1733, Subsection C - Western Journalism

He cited the limited powers granted to the federal government, noting the bureau has no “right to assume preemptory police powers, that role being reserved to the States,” and explained “many federal laws require the federal government to seek assistance from local law enforcement whenever the use of force may become necessary.”

The letter included a section of the U.S. Code — 43 U.S.C. Section 1733, Subsection C — stating exactly that point. [Emphasis Stockman's]
“When the Secretary determines that assistance is necessary in enforcing Federal laws and regulations relating to the public lands or their resources he shall offer a contract to appropriate local officials having law enforcement authority within their respective jurisdictions with the view of achieving maximum feasible reliance upon local law enforcement officials in enforcing such laws and regulations.”
In the case of the Bundy Ranch, he continued, “the relevant local law enforcement officials appear to be the Sheriff of Clark County, Nevada, Douglas C. Gillespie.”
...The stated purpose of the correspondence is for the Obama administration “to bring the BLM into compliance with 43 U.S.C. section 1733.”

Absent a full investigation into the agency’s actions, he concluded, “the federal government must not only stand down, but remove all federal personnel from anywhere near the Bundy ranch.”

Legislators and law enforcement personnel have stood alongside state militia members and the Bundy family in opposing the excessive force employed by the BLM. Stockman’s letter adds even more weight to the growing sentiment against the federal overreach.

Bill Gates is a sad clown today because his bizarre $100 million student data project has failed

Common Core-loving billionaire Bill Gates has suffered a stinging defeat in his ambitious quest to reform every cranny of the American K-12 public education system. - Eric Owens/Daily Caller

The nonprofit educational-software company InBloom Inc., which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corp. of New York financed to the tune of $100 million, announced on Monday that it will shut down permanently.

The reason for the shutdown is a steady cascade of parental and legislative anxiety about student privacy, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The strategy driving inBloom had been to create a huge database connecting local school districts and state education bureaucracies with behemoth education companies.

To accomplish this goal, the nonprofit had hoped to provide a smorgasbord of data about students. What homework are they doing? What tests are they assigned? What are their test scores? Their specific learning disabilities? Their disciplinary records? Their skin colors? Their names? Their addresses?

The Atlanta-based company had originally signed up nine states for the database. It planned to charge school districts between $2 and $5 per student for the privilege of participating in the student data collection scheme.

Many parents across the country – particularly in the otherwise fairly disparate states of New York and Louisiana – hated the bizarrely intrusive idea from the start and rallied key state legislators to their causes.

The final blow came earlier this year when the New York state legislature forced its state education bureaucrats to abandon the invasive Gates-funded project.

“Hopefully, today’s announcement that inBloom is closing its doors will make government officials, corporations and foundations more aware that parental concerns cannot be ignored,” Leonie Haimson, a former New York City public-schools parent who successfully lobbied lawmakers against inBloom, told the Journal....

Why are Common Core tests in New York chock full of product placement? Why?


Mandatory Common Core tests in New York just happen to be full of corporate brand names - Daily Caller

Across the state of New York, this year’s Common Core English tests have reportedly featured a slew of brand-name products including iPod, Barbie, Mug Root Beer and Life Savers. For Nike, the tests even conveniently included the shoe company’s ubiquitous slogan: “Just Do It.”

The brands – and apparently even some of their familiar trademark symbols – appeared in tests questions for students ranging from third to eighth grades, reports The Post-Standard of Syracuse.

Over one million students were required to take the tests.

Parents, teachers and school administrators have speculated that the kid-friendly brand names are a new form of product placement.

Education materials behemoth Pearson, which has a $32 million five-year contract to develop New York’s Common Core-related tests, has barred teachers and school officials from disclosing the contents of the tests.

Students and parents are not so barred, though, and many have complained.

“‘Why are they trying to sell me something during the test?’” Long Island mother Deborah Poppe quoted her son as saying, according to Fox News. “He’s bright enough to realize that it was almost like a commercial.”

Five things you need to know about Common Core - TavernKeepers

...Because it is unconstitutional and violates specific federal law for the Department of Education to create a national curriculum / standards, the work was done through non government organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Governor’s Association. The federal government in turn did what it does best, provided unfunded mandates to the states to drain money and then offered money back in return for adopting Common Core.

...Because it was created by these groups, they hold the copyright on the standards. They can change them at any time with the states having no ability to change them. At most, the states can add 15 percent new standards, but that is it. This control is achieved through the copyright and agreements from receipt of federal money such as Race to the Top.

"Obama rigged the system so millions of people would have their insurance policies cancelled… and now is bragging that those same millions have purchased the only alternative now on offer, his government-run plans."


THE TRUTH BEHIND OBAMACARE’S PHONY 8 MILLION SIGNUPS - Robert Hutchinson/Human Events

The U.S. media, following a carefully prepared script from the White House, have declared that Obamacare is now a total and complete success because 8 million people have signed up for health insurance through government-run exchanges.

The tone of the partisan victory cries is unmistakable....

The equally jubilant New York Times, however, did concede that the White House and its media allies weren’t being totally forthcoming about their statistics, although the concession came eight paragraphs into its lead story. “The administration did not release two other crucial statistics that would help determine the success of the law: the number of people among the eight million who bought insurance for the first time and the number who paid for their premiums.”

Well, that’s an understatement if ever there were one!

Polling data has revealed that a substantial portion of the 8 million signups have come from two sources: previously insured people who had their “substandard” private policies cancelled by government edicts and were forced to buy Obamacare policies to replace them… and people signing up for free coverage through Medicaid.

Last December, the Associated Press estimated that 4.7 million Americans lost their coverage due to Obamacare rules.

In other words: Obama rigged the system so millions of people would have their insurance policies cancelled… and now is bragging that those same millions have purchased the only alternative now on offer, his government-run plans.

◼ Like this: Obamacare Sign-Ups Hit 8 Million In Remarkable Turnaround - Huffington Post

◼ However: Older voters aren't fooled by Obamacare hype - Hugh Hewitt/Washington Examiner

...This is why Democrats are panicked about the fall elections. This is why they should be panicked. Older voters know exactly what is going on with their heath care. They know exactly what has happened to their premiums and the availability of their doctors. They also know that President Obama could appear in the Rose Garden a hundred times proclaiming victory for Obamacare and it won't change a thing about the impact on their lives. They know about the manipulations to try and postpone the very worst of what is coming their way, and they know -- because they read the fine print -- that the president is fudging every number in an attempt to deceive them....

The ‘We Do What We Want, Bleep You’ Administration - Tom Blumer/PJMedia

"No aspect of this administration’s performance exemplifies its 'bleep you' approach more than Obamacare."

Why I’m a Republican


Last year I was invited to speak at the University of Chicago Law School. During the question and answer session, a black female student asked me a pointed question: “In today’s America, how can a black woman be a Republican?” - Mia Love

...Fiscal discipline, limited government, personal responsibility: These are the values that have made America a strong and free country, a shining city on a hill that countless millions throughout history have sacrificed everything to come to.

I believe conservative values are what lift people out of poverty. I believe conservative values lead to the greatest amount of prosperity for the greatest number of people. I believe conservative values allow immigrants like my parents to come here with nothing but $10 in their pockets, and then within one generation witness their daughter serve as her city’s mayor and possibly—hopefully—as her district’s representative in Congress.

The incidence of black conservatism is far deeper and more widespread than most believe.


T.W. Shannon - rising black Republican star - Star Parker/Urban Cure

T.W. Shannon is making new headlines. He has stepped down from his position as House speaker to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex) has just joined Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Dr. Ben Carson and Sarah Palin in endorsing Shannon.

Should Shannon succeed – there are several Republicans already in contention in the upcoming primary - he would become the second sitting black U.S. Senator, joining South Carolina Republican Tim Scott....

Needless to say, the prospect of a new, courageous, and unapologetic conservative in the U.S. Senate is a something I find most appealing.

But I am also happy to see another black conservative voice joining the ranks of political power in America....

Conventional wisdom that black liberalism is somehow natural and genetic needs to be disabused and, as more black conservatives like T.W. Shannon come on the scene and win elections, the many black conservatives around the country will feel more comfortable stepping forth and taking public stands for what they believe.

And when this starts happening, America will see that the incidence of black conservatism is far deeper and widespread than most believe.

The Finneys said the officer was kind, but told them being on school property while actively opposed to the test was “kind of a trespassing thing.” Further, the Finneys claim, they were told their kids weren’t permitted on school grounds if they were not participating in the state exams.

Parents Thought They Were Meeting With the School Principal to Complain About State Testing — Instead, They Were Greeted by a Cop - The Blaze

...Mary and Tracy Finney oppose their children taking the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and had initially sent an email to administrators asking if they could opt out.... “With all due respect, we never requested to opt out,” Tracy Finney wrote in response. “We are REFUSING the CRCTs.”

The parents then scheduled a meeting with the school principal Wednesday morning. The meeting was confirmed at 6:40 p.m. the night before, but later canceled via email by Smits at 9:04 p.m.

The Finneys claim they didn’t receive notice of the cancellation and showed up at the school in the morning. They were greeted by a police officer.

...The police officer’s report confirmed the parents were told they and their children would be trespassing if they remained at the school, the Journal reported.

Tracy Finney told TheBlaze he was “shocked” when the officer greeted him and his wife.

“[W]e were not there to fight,” he said. “We were there to ensure our children were not forced to sit in the class during the test and told to stay quiet.”

Monday, April 21, 2014

Calif. moves to ban judges affiliated with Boy Scouts

California is proposing to ban members of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) from serving as judges because the Boy Scouts do not allow gay troop leaders, The Daily Caller has learned. - Daily Caller

In a move with major legal implications, The California Supreme Court Advisory Committee on The Code of Judicial Ethics has proposed to classify the Boy Scouts as practicing “invidious discrimination” against gays, which would end the group’s exemption to anti-discriminatory ethics rules and would prohibit judges from being affiliated with the group.

“The Committee’s invitation ignores the fact that the change also encompasses other youth organizations whose membership is limited on the basis of gender, e.g., the Girl Scouts, as well as the military, which continues to practice ‘discrimination’ on the basis of gender,” wrote Catherine Short, legal director of the pro-life group Life Legal Defense Foundation, in a letter to the Committee obtained by TheDC that predicts possible implications for pro-life judges in the future.

“Perhaps this is not an unintended consequence,” wrote Short.

“This proposed amendment has as its overtly-stated purpose the branding of the BSA as an organization whose members must be assumed to be biased and thus unfit for the bench. The Committee states that ‘eliminating the exemption… would enhance public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary,’” Short said.

Words at Play

No happy medium between right and wrong usage. - Peter Hannaford/American Spectator – 4.21.14

Datelined “Los Angeles,” the news story began, “Social media has been buzzing for weeks...” Has they? I thought. Who would use the word “media” as if it were singular? The answer, of course, was anyone who had not been taught the difference between the two words, both derived directly from Latin (“media” is plural — always; a “medium” is singular). For example, Facebook and Twitter are social media; Facebook by itself is a social medium.

As for those who were not taught the difference it is probably a large number of people, inasmuch as few public schools today teach spelling and word definitions, let alone grammar and sentence structure. In this case, though, the article was written by an Associated Press reporter who should know better. If not, his or her copy editor should have caught it. Either the writer or the copy editor are probably graduates of a journalism school. Alas, those schools seem indifferent to whether their students become proficient in English language usage.

Copy editors are essential to news organizations. Most importantly, they correct mistakes in spelling and grammar and often write the headline for a story. With heavy pressure on budgets, some newspapers have dispensed with discrete copy editors and spread the function among other editors. It shows.

English being an elastic and welcoming language, new words — neologisms, they’re called — are invented frequently. Some become well seasoned and remain; others fall by the wayside after a brief burst of fame and usage. “Elastic” and “welcoming” does not mean, however, that the language should be used recklessly by news reporters, whom readers expect to be correct.

Misuse of “media” is one glaring example. There are plenty of others. Take “Intel,” picked up from up from intelligence-gathering agencies. Or, “intercept” used as a noun (it’s a verb; “interception” is the noun). These shortened and converted words are jargon in intelligence agencies. When those engaged in a field day after day a shortened version of certain words used by all in the field are a short cut that saves time. For outsiders, such as news reporters, truncating words and turning verbs into nouns doesn’t save a nanosecond. Instead, they may use tthe jargon because they are lazy or, more likely, because it conveys to the reader, listener or viewer the idea that the reporter is delivering inside information.

One nonsensical word coined in recent years is “proactive.” It is widely used today by public officials and is being picked up frequently in newspaper stories, although it originated in the business world. I first heard it several years ago from a corporate public relations man who said, “Our company can’t just be reactive, we must be ‘pro-active.’” He didn’t mean “in favor of being active,” which would be alright. Rather, he meant, “We must anticipate events and be get on top of them.” The right word for that is “active.”

Broadcast media interviewers and their guests have not only changed a verb to a noun, but in the process have created a newly pronounced word which involves a certain amount of tongue twisting. It is “Construct,” pronounced “CON-struct,” as in “This legislation is a CON-struct that is likely to fail.” The owner of a construction business would be laughed at if he were to say, I’m in the CON-struct business.” Although “CON-struct” is usually applied to policy or political propositions, “construction” is still the right word for such things and takes less time than to remember to pronounce “CON-struct.”

The legendary Typhoid Mary carried the disease (though she didn’t have it herself). Reporters who spread bad word usage and tortured language not only infect their audiences, but also themselves have chronic cases of the disease. It’s curable, but would take acts of will the victims may not have.
__________________

Peter Hannaford was closely associated with the late President Reagan for a number of years. His latest book is ◼ “Presidential Retreats.” Robert Zaposochny is an analyst specializing in the decline and end of the Cold War.

The death of the watchdog media

Former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson on Sunday became the latest media figure to expose the rot underneath the facade of "speaking truth to power" that so many media organizations like to present. - Charles Hoskinson/Washington Examiner



Blunt Sharyl Attkisson on CNN: 'I Didn't Sense Any Resistance...Ever' to Negative Bush Stories at CBS - Newsbusters

SHARYL ATTKISSON SUGGESTS MEDIA MATTERS WAS PAID FOR PROPAGANDA ATTACK CAMPAIGN AGAINST HER - Breitbart

HHS MOVES TO CANCEL MORE INSURANCE PLANS

The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a rule that would, if implemented, guarantee that even more Americans who like their health insurance plans cannot keep them. - Mike Flynn/Breitbart

Fixed indemnity plans, which pay insured customers a set amount towards medical expenses and are often cost-effective relative to more comprehensive health insurance, are popular forms of coverage, and potentially becoming more popular in the wake of Obamacare.

Health insurance industry representatives say that fixed indemnity plans have been attracting more interest as many Americans look for a way to mitigate against the high deductibles applicable to many insurance policies available on the Obamacare exchanges (fixed indemnity plans are not Obamacare-compliant, but they are seen by some consumers as pairing nicely with Obamacare-compliant insurance).

...Under the proposal, consumers who can afford only fixed indemnity insurance may wind up carrying no insurance at all and simply paying the Obamacare penalty. Consumers could face higher risks of medical cost-related bankruptcy, while a lower number of consumers- especially younger consumers, who may be able to afford fixed indemnity but not an Obamacare-compliant policy- reject entering the insurance marketplace full stop, thus risking driving up insurance costs for existing insured consumers.

It could also mean that hospitals and other health care providers have a harder time recouping costs for treatment, as more patients go "naked," lacking even the basic coverage that fixed indemnity plans offer, and cause further inflation in health care costs as providers seek to recoup losses from those who can and will pay.

How Obama lost friends and influence in the Brics

The president’s real pivot is not to Asia but to America, inspired by domestic sentiment - FT

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When Barack Obama took office, he pledged a new overture to the world’s emerging powers. Today each of the Brics – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is at loggerheads with America, or worse. Last month four of the five abstained in a UN vote condemning the fifth’s annexation of Crimea. Next month India is likely to elect as its new leader Narendra Modi, who says he has “no interest in visiting America other than to attend the UN in New York”. As the world’s largest democracy, and America’s most natural ally among the emerging powers, India’s is a troubling weathervane. How on earth did Mr Obama lose the Brics?

Barack Obama and the politics of lies

That was quite a victory dance President Obama did Thursday while claiming Obamacare is “working” because eight million people have now supposedly signed up for the health care program. - Washington Examiner EDITORIAL

He even indulged in some less-than-subtle mockery of Republicans - and by extension the majority of Americans who have disapproved of Obamacare since before it became law. "The repeal debate is and should be over,” Obama said, taking a dig at Republicans who are “going through, you know, the stages of grief … anger and denial and all that stuff …”

It comes as no surprise today that Obama's defenders are sparing no invective for Fox News in the wake of that survey. But it was the president, not Fox News, who repeatedly and knowingly misled the American people with two infamous Obamacare lies: “You can keep your health insurance if you like it. Period. You can keep your doctor. Period.” For better or worse, Obama will forever be known as the president who chose repeatedly to propagate two falsehoods. Those two lies were profoundly significant because they were designed to hide the truth about how Obamacare would affect the daily lives and health of hundreds of millions of Americans....

Such questions go to the heart of the issue of the president's probity. If he lied about keeping health insurance plans and doctors, why should fellow citizens believe his claim that nothing else could have been done to save four Americans in Benghazi, or that there isn't "a smidgen of corruption" at the IRS? That is Obama's legacy and his burden.

Jews urged to flee Ukraine by Holocaust survivor

ALL Jewish people should leave Ukraine at once, a Holocaust survivor warned last night, after “grotesque” anti-Semitic leaflets were handed out in the country. - Marco Giannangel/Express UK

The pamphlets and posters, distributed in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk, demanded that the Jewish population register, pay a new tax or leave.

They are a terrifying echo of the anti-Jewish atrocities carried out by Ukrainians under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.

The leaflets, apparently signed by pro-Russian group the People’s Republic of Donetsk, have enraged the world....

Sam Pivnik, 86, was only 14 when his family were rounded up in Bedzin, western Poland, and sent to the death camp at Auschwitz.

After his parents, brothers and a sister were chosen “with the flick of a glove” for extermination by “Angel of Death” Dr Josef Mengele, the teenager, tattooed with a prisoner number, was left to survive alone. Mr Pivnik, who now lives in Golders Green, north London, said he was not surprised by the literature’s anti-Semitism....

As the climate of fear grows, however, the authenticity of the pamphlets is being called into question. Denis Pushilin, leader of the breakaway pro-Russian People’s Republic, vehemently denied his organisation was behind the leaflets. “Look at this document, I have never called myself the people’s governor, my job is different,” he told the Sunday Express.

“The stamp is bigger than it should be because it was Photoshopped from some real document.”

...They called on Ukraine’s police and secret services to find the real culprits, claiming the authors “tried to provoke a conflict”, and pin blame on the separatists.

Dr Efraim Zuroff, of the respected Simon Wiesenthal Centre, agreed, suggesting the Donetsk flyers were “an attempt to paint the pro-Russian forces as anti-Semitic”.