LYNN'S DAILY NEWS DIGEST

Note:  CCTA is a non partisan organization.  We do not endorse any particular candidate or political party.  News items are presented for you the reader to help you become informed and reach your own conclusions.

SPECIAL CLASS BEGINNING THURSDAY MAY 30th, 7:00 PM "The Truth About Islam in America" with Ralph Scott (Four Sessions) at Highland Park Christian Church, 905 Carolina Ave., New Bern, NC

CCTA Monthly Program Meeting--May 21st will be "THE TRUTH ABOUT ISLAM"!  Speaker:  Ralph Scott, and "UPDATE ON IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION" with Speaker Mary Delaney.  We meet every 3rd Tuesday, 7pm @ Bridge Point Hotel.

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!  CCTA Member Business Meetings are now being held on the 2nd Monday of the Month, 6:00 pm at the Highland Park Church in Trent Woods.   Our new study group, "The 5,000 Year Leap--A Miracle That Changed The World," and meets every Saturday at 10:00 am at the Highland Park Christian Church.  Family Fun Fridays--bring the whole family for food, games and fun, every other Friday at 7:00 pm (next May 24th) at the Highland Park Church, 905 Carolina Ave., Trent Woods, NC. More info: Lynn Childs, 252-528-0500 or email, lynn.ccta@gmail.com. --PLEASE COME OUT AND JOIN US!

542 Days to the Mid-Term Elections

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Did You Know About the Terrorism Arrest in Idaho This Week?
• Another Court Invalidates Controversial Obama Recess Appointment
• Megyn Kelly Goes Off on Guest Over Benghazi Talking Points: ‘Can We Have Some Honesty?’
• ‘Scandalous Hat Trick’: Sarah Palin Shreds Obama & His Scandal-Embroiled White House

NORTH CAROLINA:


NC House bill forbidding Islamic Sharia law passes-- RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A bill prohibiting the application of Islamic Sharia law in certain cases has cleared the North Carolina House. The bill passed Thursday would prohibit judges and agencies from applying part of any foreign legal system that would lead to violations of constitutional rights in domestic and child custody cases.

NC Rep. Jones Calls For US To Stop Funding Afghanistan--North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones is among those calling for an end to U.S. spending in Afghanistan. The Republican from Farmville joined with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) this week to condemn the Obama administration's continued investments in the country. The U.S. has spent an estimated $600 billion in Afghanistan since 2001. Jones claims a significant portion of that is going to corrupt officials in Afghanistan's government. He also says the military should end its efforts to train Afghan military and law enforcement officers.

OBAMACARE (OBAMATAX):

House Votes to Repeal Obamacare--The House voted to repeal Obamacare on Thursday for the third time since Republicans took over the chamber in 2011 and the 37th time the House GOP has voted to repeal or defund a part of the bill. The 229-195 vote included two Democrats who sided with Republicans — Jim Matheson of Utah and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina. All Republicans voted in favor. In a Congress where spin often trumps legislation, Republicans see a political advantage to keeping the pressure up as the administration tries to get all the moving parts of the law finally working. Starting this fall, uninsured people who can't get coverage through their jobs will be able to sign up for government-subsidized insurance that takes effect Jan. 1. The rollout promises to be bumpy because about half the states are still resisting the law, and Republicans in Congress won't provide the administration with funds it says are needed for a smooth implementation.

OTHER NEWS:

Obama breaches Marine umbrella protocol--The commander in chief of the American armed forces today forced a violation of Marine Corps regulations, so he wouldn’t get wet. According to Marine Corps regulation MCO P1020.34F of the Marine Corps Uniform Regulations chapter 3, a male Marine is not allowed to carry an umbrella while in uniform. There is no provision in the Marine Corps uniform regulation guidelines that allows a male Marine to carry an umbrella. Nevertheless, during a press conference under a light drizzle with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this morning, President Obama allowed the First Head to be protected from the elements by an umbrella held by a male Marine corporal.

GOP Leadership Waits for Permission to Speak Out Against Executive Branch Abuses--The Republican leadership is outraged by the reprehensible behavior of the Obama Administration in the Benghazi cover-up, the use of the IRS to go after its political enemies, and the Justice Department's unwarranted seizure of Associated Press phone records.

Gang of Eight Bill would Weaken Homeland Security and Immigration Enforcement--Tuesday morning's Judiciary Committee mark-up confirms that, if enacted, the Gang of Eight Immigration bill, S.744, would weaken homeland security and immigration enforcement.

Illegal Alien Lobby Demands Halt to All Deportations--Labor, Latino and immigrant advocate groups called on President Obama on Monday to suspend deportations of illegal immigrants who could be eligible for a pathway to citizenship.

S.744 Would NOT Secure the Borders--During last week's Judiciary Committee mark-up of S.744, the Gang of Eight amnesty bill, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley offered an amendment that would have required that our borders be secure for six months before the amnesty process could begin.

Rev. Graham: Obama’s IRS Targeted Christian Charities-- Evangelist Franklin Graham has stated in a letter to President Barack Obama that the Christian charities he is leading were also targeted by the IRS along with conservative groups last year. Graham sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday outlining how Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association were the subjects of an IRS probe during the 2012 campaign season.

Major Brit Newspaper Lists Obama's Top 10 Insults Against the UK-- BRITISH SAY OBAMA IS GUILTY OF “BREATHTAKING DIPLOMATIC INEPTITUDE”--On Monday, the British newspaper, The Telegraph, released an updated version of President Obama’s Top Ten insults against the British government and the people of the United Kingdom. The complete story gives detailed explanations of each of the ten examples of the American President’s complete lack of regard for the long history of friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

BREAKING: Cloaked in misinformation--What’s one of the most effective and expedient methods of taking an incident that is true and making it not only appear false, but outrageously and demonstrably false? You know the kind of false I mean… the “urban legend” type of false, causing anyone who hears about the incident to immediately dismiss it and attack the messengers as conspiracy nuts?

From Rags to Riches on You and Your Neighbor’s Tax Dollars--The wheels of TRUE justice, not those of the Obama-Holder unJustice Department, are beginning to move, if ever so slightly; but moving they do appear to be. With all the roadblocks the dastardly duo of Obama and Holder are placing in the path of progress, it’s a wonder that they are moving at all. Those two conniving chameleons of corruptness and chicanery run the most illegitimate department of justice in the history of this one-time great country (BO - Before Obama). In fact, to call it the Justice Department is the most improper and nonfactual title that could be bestowed on it. Justice does not dwell within its parameters.

Baptist Newspaper Said IRS Targeted Them--A 180-year-old Baptist newspaper said on Thursday that it was targeted by the Internal Revenue Service for extra scrutiny. The Biblical Recorder, published by the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, said it was singled out by the agency in March, Fox News reports. Last summer, the Recorder gained national attention after Allan Blume, its editor, published an interview with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy. In the interview, Cathy said that he was "guilty as charged" in his support of traditional family values. The Recorder also published ads from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association -- which also was targeted by the IRS -- that backed North Carolina's marriage amendment. The newspaper then received a telephone call from the IRS, Fox reports.

House Immigration Group Reaches Deal in 'Principle'-- A bipartisan group of House members reached an "agreement in principle" on a comprehensive immigration law revision and will start drafting legislation, said Texas Rep. John Carter. The group of eight lawmakers will prepare a measure to be introduced in the House, Carter and fellow Republican Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida told reporters Thursday in Washington. "We have an agreement in principle," Carter said as he left a meeting with the others in the negotiating group. He and other lawmakers gave no details. Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat from Kentucky, also told reporters there was a tentative agreement.

THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• What Phone Records Can Actually Reveal
• Obama Naming White House Official as Acting IRS Head
• Shocking Report Raises Serious Questions About Possible Political Motivations Behind AP Phone Scandal
• Obama Dodges Big Question on IRS Scandal
• Marco Rubio on IRS Scandal: Obama ‘Doesn’t Have Clean Hands in This’
• Confused by Obama’s Incredibly Brief IRS Statement? Here’s Krauthammer’s Take

WEBSITE OF THE DAY:  Liberty University

COMMENTARY:

Ann Coulter: Here's That "Dynamic Scoring" You Asked For, Senator-- The Heritage Foundation recently issued a comprehensive report showing that Sen. Marco Rubio's plan to instantly legalize 11.5 million illegal immigrants would add $6.3 trillion to the nation's budget deficits over the next 50 years. Heritage assumed there are 11.5 million illegals, but other estimates put the number at 33 million, which would mean adding another $18 trillion to the deficit. To put that in perspective, the largest U.S. budget deficit in history was $1.4 trillion in 2009.

American Thinker, Matthew May: The Burden is on Us--The Obama administration is drowning in the tsunami of its lawlessness. As Barack Obama and his ridiculous crew of spokespersons and sycophants continue to lie and misdirect about the growing scandals of the Benghazi massacre; the Internal Revenue Service targeting organizations that venerate the Constitution or contain the words "Tea Party," "Patriot," or some combination thereof; and Obama's inaptly named Justice Department's snooping on the Associated Press, it is best to recall the words of the brilliant author Mark Helprin. He deftly demolished Obama and his ilk when he said two years ago, "You cannot draw upon the glory of the English language if nearly every utterance is a lie."

TPN--Judson Phillips: It is time for impeachment--When our founding fathers wrote the Constitution, one of the most important powers they put into the Constitution was to give Congress the power to impeach and remove an elected official. The process is simple. The House of Representatives drafts Articles of Impeachment, which are approved on a majority vote. Then those Articles are sent over to the Senate where a trial is conducted and if the Senate votes by a two-thirds majority, the Impeached Official is removed from Office. It is time for impeachment. In fact, impeachment is long overdue. There is just one thing that makes this call for impeachment a bit unusual. What is it?

Judge Andrew Napolitano: Storm Clouds Gathering--Government is bad for personal freedom. That argument is premised upon the truism that everything government does interferes with freedom because it either prohibits or compels. Everything it owns it has taken from others. Much of what it says is divorced from the truth. President Obama, like President George W. Bush, has argued that his first job is to keep America safe, and if he impairs personal freedom in the process, that is a small price to pay for safety. Many of my colleagues in the media on the left and right have bought this argument, notwithstanding its fallacies. Until now.

VIDEO:

• Holder Says "No" To Special Counsel For Benghazi
• Monopoly Men (Federal Reserve Fraud) (1999)--The Federal Reserve, or the Fed as it is lovingly called, may be one of the most mysterious entities in modern American government.
• Bill Whittle: Republicans Don't Need to Make 'New Coke'
• Republicans Attack Jobs Lost From ObamaCare--This from House Republicans: “The Obamacare Train Wreck is costing American jobs.” Duh.
• CBS: Obama Not In Control Of His Administration--Charlie Rose and Bob Schieffer discuss how Obama Is not in control of his own Administration
• Michele Bachmann Uses IRS Scandal To Discredit Obamacare At Washington Tea Party Rally--IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is now using that scandal to try to bring down President Obama's Affordable Care Act. During a rally in Washington Thursday morning, Bachmann spoke to the press, asking, in light of what happened with the IRS, "could there be potential political implications of access to healthcare, denial of healthcare?"
• Dick Morris: The Emerging Shape Of Immigration Reform-- In this video commentary, I discuss how immigration reform will most likely pass. Tune in!
• White House: ‘No Reason’ To Believe IRS Targeting Was Politically Motivated-- Jay Carney told the White House press pool on Wednesday that the President has “no reason” to believe that IRS targeting conservative groups was politically motivated.

NORTH CAROLINA:

House Passes Campaign Spending Measure Expanding Disclosure--RALEIGH — A bill that supporters say would require more timely reporting by independent groups engaging in political campaigns in North Carolina passed the House by an overwhelming margin. The bill would require many electioneering expenditures by groups not affiliated with a candidate to report the spending, often within 48 hours.

North Carolina's Common Core-based English tests feature glaring omissions--JLF education expert cites absence of grammar, spelling questions-- RALEIGH -- Legislators and the State Board of Education should take steps to ensure North Carolina's public school testing program places greater emphasis on English grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage. That's a key recommendation in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. JLF's top education expert offers that advice as policymakers address concerns about the Common Core State Standards Initiative. "Withdrawal from the Common Core is the preferable course of action, but that step does not address an immediate problem with tests North Carolina public school students are taking today," said report author Dr. Terry Stoops, JLF Director of Research and Education Studies. "Tests in use at least through the next school year include no stand-alone questions about English-language grammar, spelling, parts of speech, and the like. Because of that omission, teachers now have a disincentive to teach grammar and usage."

Kay Hagan thinks the IRS NEEDS more power & stuff to do--In Washington, pols from both major parties are trampling each other to make it to a microphone and /or camera to denounce the Internal Revenue Service. In case you’ve been visiting other planets in our solar system the past couple of days — allegations have surfaced that the IRS has been targeting conservative and Tea Party groups and leaders since 2010. Democrats are telling us they are “shocked” by all of this stuff they are hearing about their friends, the tax collectors. That’s funny. In 2010, The New York Times reported that Democrats in the Senate were demanding IRS reviews of conservative political groups. Kay Hagan, our state’s Democrat senator who is affectionately known in some parts as Chuck Schumer’s sock puppet ™, has been in the Senate since 2008. I can’t find any comment from her about any of this stuff until today, when she reportedly described the whole saga as “disturbing and troubling.”

'Big Gulp' bill passes House--Cities would not be allowed to ban large servings of sugary drinks under a bill that passed the state House Wednesday night. House Bill 683, the "Commonsense Consumption" bill, would also prohibit people from filing "frivolous lawsuits" against food manufacturers or packagers for obesity, weight gain or health issues related to consumption of their products. The bill is model legislation promoted by pro-business advocacy group American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Sponsor Rep. Brian Brown, R-Pitt, said the measure "requests that individuals make smart decisions." “It’s right to not have people sue companies based on a bad personal choice that they made,” Brown said.

Details of NC House tax plan unveiled-- House Republicans offered their own North Carolina tax overhaul plan Thursday that would reduce personal and corporate income tax rates and expand the sales tax to cover more services. The proposal's scope is much narrower than what Senate counterparts offered as GOP legislators try to fulfill a commitment to carry out tax reform this year. The plan attempts to simplify income taxes and reduces the number of income tax brackets from three to one, according to the proposed legislation obtained by The Associated Press.

House passes abortion bill without contraception provisions--The state House has passed a bill dealing with several abortion-related provisions, but only after removing a controversial provision dealing with contraception coverage. House Bill 730, which passed the House Judiciary A Committee Wednesday morning, originally contained a measure that would have allowed employers to opt out of providing contraception in their health plans. North Carolina law already allows employers with religious affiliations to offer health plans with no contraception coverage. The committee-passed version of the bill extended the definition of "religious employer" to "include any employer, whether incorporated or not and whether for-profit or not, that has a religious, moral, or ethical objection to providing such coverage." However, the contraception provision was controversial among Republicans.

Social media privacy bill passes House--Potential employers and universities would not be able to ask for access to an applicant's private email or social media accounts under a measure the state House gave tentative approval to Wednesday night. House Bill 846 passed 110-2 but must stand for a second vote on Thursday. The bill prohibits schools and employers from asking for passwords and prohibits requiring "that an employee or applicant log onto a social networking site, electronic mail account, or any other Internet site or application by way of an electronic communications device in the presence of the employer." "It's a privacy bill," Rep. Duane Hall, D-Wake, told his colleagues. Similar measures have passed in other states, he said.

Student reported to SRO for reading sportsman catalog--WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- Parents of a 6th grade student at New Hanover County's Trask Middle School are outraged after they say their son was reprimanded after looking at a catalog with guns. Stanley Wardrip, says he got a call yesterday from the school resource officer. The issue was one he never could have expected. Wardrip says his son was reading a sportsman catalog while on the school bus. He says his son was not looking at the magazine in class, but some other students were talking about it. When the teacher overheard, she called the principal, who notified the resource officer, Wardrip said

Rep. Speciale gets it right...again--Mike Speciale deserves another award for standing up and speaking out against the foolishness that passes as "legislating" in Raleigh. He spoke up against and was one of 14 members of the House to vote against H 930. And we would dare say that if the liberal, left-wing media (a.k.a. WRAL TV) did not have it in for Mike and conservative Republicans you would have never heard about it. H 930 is euphemistically known as the "Puppy Mill" bill. It was supported by none other than the Governor's wife, who was in the gallery when the bill was being debated. Mike mentioned this and wondered if the reason a bad bill was gushing through the House was because of Mrs. McCrory's support rather than the merits of the legislation. For that he was roundly chastised, even by some of his Republican colleagues. It so happens we think he was correct on Mrs. McCrory and we'll bet it will not be long before she takes credit for getting this law passed.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

THE FED’S MOVE TO DRY UP AMMO SUPPLY LEAVES POLICE CHIEF BEGGING CITIZENS FOR ROUNDS--The federal government is still frantically stockpiling a historic arsenal of ammo for domestic government agencies. The stockpiling has created national shortages for citizens and local law enforcement agencies. The shortage is so bad, in fact, a police chief in Minnesota is having to turn to citizens for stock.

Secure Firearms Act: A Trojan Horse Gun Registration Bill--I got an email from my Congressman, Representative John Carter (R-TX31) the other day touting the introduction of the Secure Firearms Act in the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. The act is co-sponsored by Democrat Henry Cuellar (D-TX28). “The most common factor in the mass shootings over the past years is that people who should not have had access to firearms managed to acquire them anyway,” said Carter, a former Texas district judge. “We don’t attempt to address all the reasons for that in this bill, but specifically target better security of firearms by law-abiding citizens through incentives, not mandates.”

OBAMACARE (OBAMATAX):

Obamacare is Killing Doctor-Patient Relationships--Why is it that no one ever talks about Doctors when discussing Obamacare? Dr. Hal Scherz joined the show to discuss the very serious impact Obamacare will have on Doctor-patient relationships. Later in the show, John Ransom also discussed the power of energy independence.

HHS Doles Out 2nd Round of Billion Dollar Innovation Awards, But Can’t Say What Savings Seen Yet From 1st Round--Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Wednesday the second round of about $1 billion in “Health Care Innovation Awards,” as part of the ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. “We’re going to announce the latest steps we’re taking to spur innovation in our health care system by supporting some of the most promising ideas from around the country from lowering cost by improving the quality of care,” Sebelius said. “Bringing down health care cost is our top priority,” Sebelius said.

Washington Examiner Editorial: Kathleen Sebelius skirts law by seeking private cash for Obamacare--Even though it is for a worthy cause, most working adults know how awkward it is when the boss comes by their desk with a form asking how many boxes of Girl Scout cookies they want to buy. They may already be inclined to support scouting, or maybe they just like cookies, but the entire exchange still seems vaguely coercive. This is why the Code of Federal Regulations specifically forbids government employees from soliciting gifts of any kind from anyone or any company doing business with the federal government. Specifically, 5 CFR 2635.101 states that no government employee is allowed to "solicit or accept any gift or other item of monetary value from any person or entity seeking official action from, doing business with, or conducting activities regulated by the employee's agency, or whose interests may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's duties." This common-sense, easy-to-understand federal law could not be clearer as to what's not permitted.

The Government Health Care Plan (Video)

IRS to Enforce 47 Unconstitutional Obamacare Tax Provisions Starting Next Year--The Supreme Court’s contemptible decision last year to ignore every element of constitutional intent by declaring Obamacare a legitimate “tax” on American taxpayers has created a laundry list of new responsibilities for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to reports. As the enforcement arm of this gargantuan federal sick care scam, the IRS will reportedly have to administer and manage an extortionate 47 Obamacare tax provisions starting next year, for which the entity will require billions of dollars in new funding. Beginning on January 1, 2014, all “nonexempt individuals” living in the United States will allegedly be required to maintain what the federal government has decorously termed “minimum essential coverage” under Obamacare. Those who do not maintain such coverage will be expected to pay a so-called “shared responsibility payment” on their federal income tax return – in reality, this absurd “payment” is nothing more than a coercive fine for non-compliance with the Obamacare mandate.

Jim DeMint Op-Ed: Obamacare isn't about health care, it's about power--Members of the House of Representatives are scheduled to vote Thursday to repeal all of Obamacare. Given that the House voted to repeal the law last year, some commentators and observers have questioned the need for another repeal vote. However, the scandals coming to light over the last week perfectly make the case for why Congress must eradicate the law from the statute books.

OTHER NEWS:

Tea Party Groups Join with GOP in IRS Protest on the Hill- Republican lawmakers joined forces Thursday with tea party leaders on Capitol Hill, calling for a thorough investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny and demanding that the Obama administration come clean about what it knew about the scandal. The press conference came less than a day after President Obama forced out the acting IRS commissioner and featured a rare public show of support for the tea party movement from Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who described the tax agency’s behavior as an example of “runaway government at its worst.”

RAND PAUL: A staggering abuse of power--When I filibustered over domestic drone use, critics said that I was being ridiculous. They said that no American had been killed by a drone on American soil and that no one was likely to be anytime soon. President Obama responded that he hadn’t killed anyone yet and didn’t intend to — but he might.

IRS exec got $42k in bonuses in three years--Lois Lerner, the senior executive in charge of the IRS tax exemption department and the federal employee at the center of the exploding scandal over the IRS targeting of conservative, evangelical and pro-Israel non-profits, was given $42,531 in bonuses between 2009 and 2011.

7 Muslim Mid East Chemical Engineering Grads Snooping Around Reservoir in Mass--Shortly after midnight Tuesday, seven people were caught trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir. State Police say the five men and two women are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, and “cited their education and career interests” for being in the area. The men told police they were chemical engineers and recent college graduates.

Jury Concludes that FRAUD Put President Obama on the Ballot in 2008-- A decision handed down by an Indiana jury in late April 2013 has concluded that outright fraud put both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the ballot in that state in 2008. Two Democratic operatives in the state were convicted of the illegal scheme. A Fox News report provided the details:

The Benghazi deception--It is interesting that the corporate media, like sharks attracted to chum in the water, is just now appearing to treat Benghazi as a political scandal similar to Watergate that took down former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon in his second term. While many people see the comparison, I not only see the comparison, but also sense a collusion of a different, more nefarious and less conspicuous type as well.

Tea Party leader says IRS targeting was to help Obama--Information gathered by Internal Revenue Service agents who targeted conservative groups was used to further the re-election of President Barack Obama, Tom Zawistowski, leader of the Portage County Tea Party, said Wednesday. he groups were seeking tax-exempt status and were asked questions about their membership and intentions as part of the application process. The IRS has apologized for the targeting, which delayed the applications and frustrated leaders of the groups including several Ohio tea party organizations.

Pitfalls of Obama's Current Political 'Perfect Storm'--In a sane world, Barack Obama would already be facing the prospect of impeachment over his mishandling and subsequent cover-up of the Benghazi fiasco. But in a sane world, an inconsequential Illinois State Senator who overwhelmingly voted 'present' in order to duck hard issues and who then served only a matter of months in the United States Senate would never have been elevated to the nation's highest office, even if his rival for that office was as hapless as John McCain.

Corrupt IRS went after National Organization for Marriage--The world is learning about the corruption of the IRS in targeting conservative groups, including various Tea Party organizations, for heightened scrutiny. But the corruption goes much deeper than harassing groups seeking first time non-profit designations, into actively sabotaging existing non-profit groups by releasing confidential information. In March of 2012 the Human Rights Campaign published a confidential tax return of the National Organization for Marriage, which was immediately republished by The Huffington Post and other liberal news media outlets. The HRC and NOM are the leading national groups on opposing sides of the fight over gay marriage. HRC wants to redefine marriage to make it genderless, while NOM wishes to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman. NOM a target

Liberal Myth of Separating God From the State--Virtually every week there is some outrageous story of an alleged violation of the separation of church and state. They’re becoming so frequent that they are often met with a collective yawn.  The crazy thing about all this is how removed these actions are from the clear intent of the founders — as seen in their documents, their actions, words, etc.  A lot of times when the pro-religious freedom side fights back, we win. (That’s because the constitution and history are on our side.) But that takes a lot of courage, energy, and money. And many people would rather just go with the flow and turn the other cheek, which is understandable. Yet over time, we find our liberties being chipped away piece by piece.

Soros Gave $6.1 Million to Groups Linked to Pressure on IRS to Target Conservative Nonprofits--As IRS efforts targeting politically-conservative groups gained momentum, George Soros-funded liberal groups repeatedly called on the IRS to investigate conservative nonprofit organizations. While the first reported instances of extra IRS scrutiny for conservative groups began in Cincinnati in March of 2010, the attacks began to pick up steam on a national level soon after Soros-funded groups began firing off letters to the IRS in October of that year - following the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. The talking points of these groups then bounced around a carefully created progressive "echo chamber," until they eventually made their way into established media outlets. Key IRS policy changes about how it investigated conservative groups took place soon after it received three separate letters sent by Soros-funded liberal organizations.

Republicans Call for Probe of IRS Leaks of Confidential Taxpayer Information-- ‘No one should be intimidated by the government into shutting up as part of our political process. And that’s why the Republican members of the Finance Committee are sending a letter today to Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration requesting investigation into this very issue. Because, without this sort of inquiry, we may never have confirmed the inappropriate harassment of conservative groups that was going on at the IRS for two years. Apparently, this is the only way to get this Administration to take responsibility for its actions.’

Congressman Doesn’t Rule Out Obama’s Impeachment--Rep. Jason Chaffetz reiterated Tuesday that the impeachment of President Barack Obama is possible as the White House faces scrutiny over its role in responding to the terror attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

The First Big Step Toward Obama’s Impeachment--Over the last few days, I’ve heard the word “impeachment” from more of my sources on Capitol Hill than in the last six years combined. One member of Congress told me to look at the Richard M. Nixon articles of impeachment and just change the name to Barack Obama. That member believes that many of the arguments about the Watergate cover-up apply to the current Benghazi cover-up scandal, the IRS Tea Party scandal, and the AP telephone records scandal. Here’s how article one against Nixon laid out the charges: making false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States; withholding relevant and material evidence or information from lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States…..

There’s A Witness Protection Program for Terrorists? The Justice Department failed to provide the names of some terrorists in the witness protection program to the center that maintains the government's watch list used to keep dangerous people off airline flights, the department's inspector general said in a report Thursday. As a result of the department's failure to properly share information, some in the witness protection program who were on the "no-fly" list were allowed to travel on commercial flights, the federal watchdog said.

The Hill: Obama seeks to weather storm--President Obama flatly declared Thursday he was unaware of the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of political conservative groups. Asked if he could ensure the public that no one in the White House knew about the IRS's actions before the White House counsel's office learned of a Treasury inspector general report in April, Obama said he “certainly did not know anything about” the scandal before reading news reports. "I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the IG report before the IG report had been leaked through press," Obama said at a soggy Rose Garden press conference where he sought to battle back against a trio of controversies dogging his administration.

Judge Says It’s Ok for Muslim Violence Against Christians--If you want to experience the Middle East, you only have to travel as far as Dearborn, Michigan. This western suburb of Detroit has a population of close to 100,000. Over 40,000 of them are Arab or of Arab descent, giving Dearborn the distinction of having the largest Muslim population of any city in the United States. The Muslims have been taking over many of the cities elected positions and have instituted many Muslim friendly ordinances. In fact the Muslim influence is so strong in Dearborn that the local high school held a girl’s only prom, since their religion does not allow girls and boys to dance or socialize together. If any other school in America did something similar based on Christian or Jewish beliefs, the ACLU and other groups would be circling the school waiting their turns to file lawsuits for violation of church and state. But these legal groups were nowhere to be seen in Dearborn.

Sebelius: Donate To My Friend’s “Non-Profit” Obamacare Organization--The whole IRS debacle has been allegedly about making sure overtly conservative organizations were really about “promoting social welfare,” instead of primarily pushing some conservative political agenda. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell ranted on his show that while he didn’t necessarily agree with the IRS’s singling out of “tea party” groups, the real fraud occurred over 50 years ago when the IRS changed its rules to allow a non-profit, tax-exempt organization to engage in political activity as long as it wasn’t “primarily” doing so.

The DOJ Seized House Cloak Room Phone Records, Too--Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA), who sits on the House Ways And Means Committee, dropped a bombshell on Hugh Hewitt’s Show, Wednesday night. Nunes was on the show to talk about his committee's upcoming hearing Friday into IRS-gate. The congressman broke news when he alleged that the Justice Department seized phone records from the House of Representatives as part of their investigation of the AP. Via Hot Air Greenroom, here's the essential part of the transcript.

Obama to Announce Major US Nuclear Force Cuts…by Executive Action? President Barack Obama is set to announce a new round of strategic nuclear warhead reductions in the near future as part of a disarmament agenda that could reduce U.S. strategic warheads to as few as 1,000 weapons. The next round of U.S.-Russian arms talks would follow Obama’s expected announcement that the United States’ arsenal of strategic warheads can be reduced unilaterally to around 1,000 warheads. That position is expected as part of the Pentagon’s long-delayed Nuclear Posture Review implementation study that Obama was expected to sign earlier this year.

Benghazi Emails Directly Contradict White House Claims--The White House on Wednesday released 94 pages of emails between top administration and intelligence officials who helped shape the talking points about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that the CIA would provide to policymakers in both the legislative and executive branches. The documents, first reported by The Weekly Standard in articles here and here, directly contradict claims by White House press secretary Jay Carney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the revisions of those talking points were driven by the intelligence community and show heavy input from top Obama administration officials, particularly those at the State Department.

U.S. Government Siezes Bitcoin’s Bank Account. Bitcoin has been promoted as digital money, an alternative to fiat money. The company’s owner’s will now get to test their theory. Their fiat money just got frozen by the federal government. The Feds seized Bitcoin’s bank account. Everyone with any understanding of the U.S. government knew that something like this would happen.

Liberal Columnist Cheers IRS for Harassing Tea Party Organizations. The business editor for the Huffington Post says that IRS was right in treating Tea Party groups differently. (The phrase “business editor” for the Huffington Post is an oxymoron.) I love liberals. They make such great targets! What about the rule of law? Ignore it whenever you can inflict damage on your ideological opponents! FDR started using the IRS against his critics. Why stop now? Lost in the latest political scandal is a simple fact: The Internal Revenue Service was acting in the public interest when it opted to train its auditing power on the Tea Party and affiliated groups.

IRS denied tax-exempt status to pro-lifers on behalf of Planned Parenthood--This keeps getting worse. Check it out: IRS officials refused to grant tax exempt status to two pro-life organizations because of their position on the abortion issue, according to a non-profit law firm, which said that one group was pressured not to protest a pro-choice organization that endorsed President Obama during the last election.

Obama's 'Enemies List' -- Tyranny in Action--The Patriot Post -- IRS Target of Opportunity--If you asked me whether I thought card-carrying members of the Socialist Democratic Party would, by way of their bureaucratic surrogates, use the IRS and other government agencies to target groups with the name "Patriot," I would have said, "Of course." If you asked me whether I thought they would get caught at it, I would have said "No."

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• See Some of the Outrageous Requests the IRS Made to Tea Party Groups
• ‘Very Frightening’: Prominent Catholic Prof. Claims IRS Audited Her After Speaking Out Against Obama and Demanded to Know Who Was Paying Her
• CNN Refutes Major Part of ABC’s Bombshell Benghazi Report…But Is There an Explanation?
• Wait Until You See the Media Matters Talking Points on the DOJ/AP Story That Even Made HuffPost Say ‘Wow’
• EPA Accused of Playing Favorites with Green, Conservative Groups: Another Scandal for the White House?

VIDEO:

• Rep. Jim Jordan exonerates Hicks on Benghazi Hearings--This video outlines how Gregory Hicks was instructed to not cooperate with a Congressional investigation led by Rep. Chaffetz on the Benghazi attack. Hicks was told by Hillary Clinton "good job" yet don't cooperate with investigation.
• Police Break Into Private Home Without a Warrant and Tase Residents

NORTH CAROLINA:
Fighting Common Core: Civitas has unveiled a new statewide web site, StopCommonCoreNC.com, dedicated to educating North Carolinians about the problems associated with Common Core Standards and the threat they pose to state and parental rights. Common Core is a national effort, powered by private interests and the federal government, to impose untested academic content standards for English language arts and mathematics on all K-12 public schools across the nation.


Guiding the NC Elections Board – to the Left--Supporters of public campaign financing have long claimed that it would never have a partisan slant. But the latest Civitas investigation has found how one liberal activist has taken control of the process.  In the first article of this series, we revealed the disturbing relationship Bob Hall, a liberal lobbyist for Democracy NC, has with the State Board of Elections (SBOE), which makes decisions affecting North Carolina’s electoral process. Democracy NC is the ultra-liberal non-profit that was one of Blueprint NC’s founding members. Blueprint NC is the organization in the center of a recent scandal of a leaked memo that revealed how liberal groups have been targeting the Governor and the Republican leaders in the legislature. The second article of the series brought to light overwhelming evidence proving Hall is a behind-the-scenes driving force at the SBOE and in 2012 coordinated with the SBOE to attack the Republicans in the legislature over a budget issue. Now we turn our attention to the involvement of Hall and left-wing groups in public campaign financing.

OBAMACARE (OBAMATAX):

Obamacare: Taxpayers Must Report Personal Health ID Info to IRS--When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form. The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”. So why will the Obama IRS require your personal identifying health information?

Simply put, there is no way for the IRS to enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate without such an invasive reporting scheme. Every January, health insurance companies across America will send out tax documents to each insured individual. This tax document—a copy of which will be furnished to the IRS—must contain sufficient information for taxpayers to prove that they purchased qualifying health insurance under Obamacare. This new tax information document must, at a minimum, contain: the name and health insurance identification number of the taxpayer; the name and tax identification number of the health insurance company; the number of months the taxpayer was covered by this insurance plan; and whether or not the plan was purchased in one of Obamacare’s “exchanges.”

OTHER NEWS:

IRS Stalled Conservatives While Giving Liberals a Pass on Tax Exemptions--Evidence is mounting that the Internal Revenue Service gave far better treatment to left-wing groups than those on the right, with data showing the agency approved dozens of liberal and progressive organizations as tax-exempt while leaving conservative groups hanging. No tea party applications were approved in a 27-month period beginning February 2010. But numerous applications from liberal and progressive groups were given tax-exempt status during the same period, USA Today reported.


Is the Dam of Lies About to Burst? Usually there are signs a dam is about to burst. Tiny cracks show up, the structure makes strange noises, and then, whoosh! That’s what we are witnessing as the President, the former Secretary of State, and the Attorney General struggle to keep the bulwark of lies and half-truths they have built intact. It is showing signs of collapse.

The Barack H Obama Foundation Received Tax Exempt Status in 30 Days in 2011--A fresh Op-Ed this morning by IRS head Steven Miller reveals the lengths to which the IRS and the White House are going to spin the on-going scandal.

The IRS Wants to Know If You’re a “Patriot”-- Heritage sounded the alarm on the Obama Administration’s hit list nearly a year ago-- Across this great land, patriotic Americans are behaving subversively. We’re quoting from our pocket Constitutions, starting reading groups to discuss our founding documents, even gathering together to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Uncle Sam is not amused. As leaders of tea party groups have been painfully aware for years, the Internal Revenue Service has given “special” attention to conservative groups. Heritage sounded the alarm on the Obama Administration’s hit list nearly a year ago. Idaho businessman Frank VanderSloot was singled out by the IRS and the Labor Department after making a sizable donation to Mitt Romney. Who ordered his investigation?

Obama and Hillary’s Gunrunning Benghazi aftermath: Libya on the verge of implosion--The bloody battle for Libya could ignite at any time now. This will accelerate the Obama administration's next stop Syria-- Libya is rapidly deteriorating and could fall into bloody chaos at any moment. When Ambassador Christopher Stevens, under orders from the Obama-Clinton regime, first arrived in Libya he came by boat with approximately 80 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) people and contractors. Their mission was to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi supposedly for humanitarian purposes. They accomplished their task by arming, aligning and coordinating with the“rebels”, who turned out to beJihadists and Islamic militants. The rebel’s top military commander, Abdelhakim Belhadj, for example, was the emir to an al Qaeda affiliate called Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). Belhadj was not a fan of America. Reportedly In 2004, he claimed he had been tortured at the CIA interrogation program known as rendition. Prior he had joined the Taliban and was accused of having “close relationships” by the Gaddafi government with al Qaeda leaders and Taliban chief Mullah Omar. This was the man who helped to get rid of Gadaffi for Obama and Hillary and so it was. As then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gleeful said after Gaddafi was murdered in October 2011, “We came, we saw, he died.”

Impeach, Impeach, Impeach! The magnitude of the scandalous and illegal behavior of the Obama administration--The past week has been amazing for American political observers, and it probably has many Americans longing for the good ol’ days of government transparency and impartiality that we saw during the Nixon administration. Though it has been long simmering, the scandals pot on the Obama administration’s stovetop is finally starting to boil over, and there’s little now that anyone in the executive branch can do about it.

Benghazi: Hillary Clinton’s Consulate to the Jihadists--Want proof that the Obama administration is pulling out all the stops to help with the rise of Islamic jihad in the Middle East? Then look no further than Benghazi. While the lion’s share of the attention has been focused on security failures leading up to and following the terrorist attacks on the anniversary of 9/11, the potentially bigger scandal for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is what was a diplomatic facility doing in middle of jihadist country in the first place?

Gay Marriage vs. Tax Exempt Churches--So, what is gay the marriage issue really about? Is this just about the freedom for couples who share a matching chromosome set to commit to each and promise to love, honor, and endure the IRS marriage penalty together? Of course it’s not. Anyone who actually believes that is naive to the point where they shouldn’t be allowed to handle scissors or live in a home with sharp corners. The gay marriage issue, as it is currently being pursued, is a back door assault on the constitutional freedom of religion and fundamentalist Christian churches.

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Local News Reporter: IRS Started ‘Hammering’ Me After Tough Obama Interview
• Attorney General Eric Holder Reveals He Recused Himself From AP Phone Record Investigation
• NBC Reporter Calls Out Jay Carney Over Obama’s Support of Press During Contentious News Conference
• German Homeschooling Family’s Request for Asylum Denied by the U.S. Government
• Nancy Pelosi’s Curious Statement About John Boehner: ‘If He Were a Woman…’
• Another Teen Atheist Successfully Gets 10 Commandments Removed at His High School
• IRS Released Confidential Info About Conservative Groups to Media Last Year
• ‘Sinister’ and ‘Chilling’: MSNBC Host Takes Aim at DOJ’s Secretive Seizure of AP Phone Records
• Revealed: See the Letter the IRS Sent to One Local Tea Party and the Detailed Demands It Made
• Russia Detains U.S. Diplomat, Accuses Him of Being a Spy — Is This Him in His Disguise?

VIDEO:

The twelve minute video that could make Jay Carney curl up in the fetal position

NORTH CAROLINA:

Senate passes bills on abortion education, car sales, trial by jury--Criminal defendants would be able to ask for a bench trial, during which a judge rather than a jury decides guilt and innocence, under a measure that passed the state Senate Monday night. The measure was one of more than two dozen measures senators dealt with Monday. The bench trial bill is a proposed amendment to the state constitution. If the House also approves the measure, voters would have the ultimate say.

NC Senate bill ends regional development groups--A bill abolishing regional economic development commissions has received initial approval from the North Carolina Senate. The bill tentatively passed the Senate Monday with opposition from rural lawmakers who argued the bill cedes power to Raleigh at the expense of poor regions. The bill dissolves the seven regional economic development commissions and transfers their functions to the Department of Commerce, which will send at least one employee to work directly in one of eight newly created zones.

Trial ordered for redrawn NC voting maps--A three-judge panel on Monday ordered a trial on lawsuits challenging how the Republican-controlled legislature redrew North Carolina's congressional and legislative district maps in 2011. Some Democratic lawmakers, the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, Democracy North Carolina and other groups have maintained that the new maps reduce the political power of minority voters by lumping them into as few districts as possible and split too many counties and too many precincts among districts.

Rockingham school board votes against opening with a prayer--The Rockingham County school board voted 7-3 Monday night against opening its meetings with a prayer, a move that ends a month of heated discussions and saw the resignation of board member Leonard Pryor.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Obama Dismisses GOP Criticism of Benghazi as ‘Sideshow’: ‘The Whole Thing Defies Logic’
• ‘Outrageous’: Obama Vows Full Investigation, Accountability Amid IRS Intimidation Furor
• ‘This Is Tyranny’: MSNBC Hosts Lambaste Obama Admin, IRS Over ‘Unspeakable’ Targeting of Conservatives
• Can Eating Bugs ‘Reduce Pollen’ and ‘Fight Hunger’? The U.N. Touts Edible Insects
• ‘Moderate’ Palestinian Leader Swears: ‘If We Had a Nuke, We’d Have Used It This Very Morning’
• Glenn Beck’s Withering Response to the IRS Admitting It Targeted the 9/12 Project, Conservative Groups

VIDEO:

• Obama Could Be Indicted For War Crimes--On October 2, 2002, Barack Obama burst onto the national scene with his famous anti-war speech at the Federal Plaza in Chicago. Mysteriously—or not so mysteriously per the 2008 Obama presidential campaign—video of the speech was “lost” except for thirteen seconds (shown in the above video). Many believe it was lost because the panning camera would have revealed a who’s who of radical leftists, anti-Semites, and “social justice” (that is socialist) unions in the audience.
• Texas Lawmakers Debate “Birther” Bill--Will Texas do the right thing?

NORTH CAROLINA:

Senator Burr Condemns IRS for Targeting Conservative Groups--The revelations over the weekend that the IRS has been intentionally targeting conservative groups are both disgraceful and inexcusable. The deliberate harassment of any individual or organization for their political beliefs is absolutely unacceptable and threatens the very essence of our individual rights as protected by our Constitution. While the IRS apologized for their actions on Friday, reports over the weekend demonstrate that much wider problems exist and that senior officials within the organization failed to correct the situation for nearly two years before the truth was finally revealed. President Obama needs to come out immediately to condemn these practices in the harshest of terms and hold people accountable. Where the administration has failed in protecting the public’s trust, my colleagues and I in Congress will work tirelessly to find answers, demand accountability, and restore trust in our institutions of government.

John Hood Daily Journal: A Pivotal Two Weeks--Decisions made by the North Carolina General Assembly over the next two weeks will likely determine not only the political fate of its Republican majority but also how the core functions of state government will operate for years to come. Some analysts have chosen not to wait to assess these matters. Liberal critics, biased media outlets, and Democrats desperate to reestablish their relevance have already declared the GOP-run legislature and McCrory administration to be failures despite the fact that most of the major issues of the session have yet to be decided. Sorry, folks, but hysterical claims about Republican theocracy and voter suppression do not constitute a serious assessment. Whatever you think of the merits of parental-consent laws for abortion or IDs for voting, for example, both ideas are broadly popular among North Carolina voters. Enacting them won’t hurt Republicans in 2014.

Army vet to run against Jones in race for 3rd district--Jason Thigpen, a 35-year-old Army veteran and Purple Heart Medal recipient, is making a run on the Republican ticket for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District represented by Rep. Walter Jones, also a Republican. Thigpen is graduating this month from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a degree in finance. He recently moved from Wilmington to Holly Ridge with his wife, an active duty Marine. Thigpen spent six years in the Army following 9/11. Thigpen said he has a lot of respect for Jones but criticized him for being disconnected from his district.

Annexation book author says Raleigh low-balling him out of spite--Seven years ago, Grady Jeffreys published a Raleigh-based manifesto for resisting City Hall – a bright yellow paperback with a fist on its cover. He gave it this rally-cry title: “Fighting Annexation: How to Protect Your Property Rights Against Municipal Tyranny.” The book got handed out among state legislators, and many activists now credit Jeffreys with inspiring their movement to stop cities from adding land without residents’ say-so. But today, Jeffreys, 78, finds himself in his own local government quarrel. Raleigh wants to acquire about 12,000 square feet of his property on Auburn-Knightdale Road along the Neuse River, much of it for a sewer easement. But they’ve offered him what he considers a bargain-basement price: $1,100 – about $24,000 too low, to Jeffreys’ thinking.

JONES RECEIVES AWARD FOR DEFENDING AMERICAN LIBERTY--Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) was named a Patriot Coalition “True Son of Liberty” for his dedication to defending conservative principles in the House of Representatives. The Patriot Coalition is a political organization championing the preservation of liberty and a strict adherence to the Constitution. Congressman Jones was presented the award “[f]or upholding [his] oath of office to defend the Constitution of the United States, for consistently voting against attacks on the Bill of Rights, for defending free-market principles and fiscal responsibility, and consistently demonstrating the admirable character traits of a true son of liberty in the face of ongoing intolerable acts.”

Man sentenced in plot against terror witnesses--A North Carolina man was sentenced Friday to four life terms for plotting to behead federal witnesses whose testimony helped convict him for his role in an earlier plot to slaughter U.S. servicemen and their families.  Hysen Sherifi, 29, was one of six Raleigh-area Muslims convicted in 2011 of planning to attack the Marine base in Quantico, Va., and overseas targets. Shortly after starting his 45-year prison sentence in the terror case, Sherifi approached another inmate to help him hire a hit man to behead government informants and FBI agents. He recruited his younger brother Shkumbin Sherifi, 23, and former special education teacher Nevine Aly Elshiekh, 48, to help pay the hit man and organize the murders.

Rep. Ellmers weighs campaign to take on Sen. Hagan--Republican U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers is mulling a bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014, but has some obstacles to consider: a competitive primary field, attacks on her record and a so-far meager campaign war chest. In the primary, Ellmers would face formidable challenges, especially if two top state lawmakers, state House Speaker Thom Tillis and state Senate President Phil Berger, decide to run. Ellmers is calculating her options, but not talking about it publicly. Although she ran as a tea party-supported outsider and a long-shot in 2010, she soon aligned with the House Republican leadership. She gained exposure and a seat on the important House Energy Committee. But she also got anger from the right.

Lowe’s joins opposition to healthcare provision--Mooresville-based Lowe’s Companies, Inc., on Thursday joined 86 other retailers, restaurant groups and trade associations to support legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-9th District) that would repeal the “Auto-Enroll” provision of President Obama’s health care plan. The “Auto-Enroll” provision of Obamacare requires certain companies to automatically enroll their employees in health insurance, whether or not the employee wants the coverage. This provision is expected to cause major problems for retailers and restaurants, which traditionally have high turnover, forcing these employers to frequently enroll, then quickly remove, short-term employees from the health plan, Pittenger said.

OTHER NEWS:

BENGHAZI: IT’S US VS.THEM--Democrats act all outraged at the suggestion that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would ever do anything to endanger the lives of personnel stationed overseas in order to win re-election. Well guess what – that’s exactly what happened. They lied, gave orders to stand-down, didn’t send help, failed to act, changed the facts, covered-up, lied some more, went to Vegas, lied again, got help from Candy Crowley, got some other people to lie, intimidated witnesses and are now going after the folks testifying to the truth. Since they took office the Administration has been holding a gun to the head of nearly every American in its quest to exact maximum pain on each of us to achieve Barack Obama’s political objectives. First, printing and spreading money around to their supporters, then bribing members of Congress to pass legislation, and now engaging in activity and cover-ups such as Fast & Furious, the Sequester and now the murders in Benghazi.  It makes me wonder what they’ve done that we don’t know about.

CLEVELAND KIDNAPPER ARIEL CASTRO A REGISTERED DEMOCRAT, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE--He’s employed by the Cleveland school district as a bus driver. According to voter registration records, Ariel Castro, the Cleveland kidnapper, is a registered Democrat. He was also the alleged leader among the three Castro brothers, who were arrested this week, and the owner of the house at 2207 Seymour Ave., where the three abducted local women had been kept in captivity for over a decade. Why is this important? Whenever a crime or a scandal captures national attention, the pattern in the mainstream media is to either identify the culprit as a Republican or hold silence — in which case we can rest assured that the culprit is a Democrat.


SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

Glenn Beck’s Withering Response to the IRS Admitting It Targeted the 9/12 Project, Conservative Groups


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/11/glenn-becks-withering-response-to-irs-targeting-912-project-conservative-groups/

American Professor Reportedly ‘Stabbed in the Neck’ in Egypt

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/11/american-professor-reportedly-stabbed-in-the-neck-in-egypt/

VIDEO:

Obama Could Be Indicted For War Crimes--On October 2, 2002, Barack Obama burst onto the national scene with his famous anti-war speech at the Federal Plaza in Chicago. Mysteriously—or not so mysteriously per the 2008 Obama presidential campaign—video of the speech was “lost” except for thirteen seconds (shown in the above video). Many believe it was lost because the panning camera would have revealed a who’s who of radical leftists, anti-Semites, and “social justice” (that is socialist) unions in the audience.

http://www.westernjournalism.com/obama-could-be-indicted-for-war-crimes/

Texas Lawmakers Debate “Birther” Bill--Will Texas do the right thing?

http://www.westernjournalism.com/texas-lawmakers-debate-birther-bill/

NORTH CAROLINA:

Army vet to run against Jones in race for 3rd district--Jason Thigpen, a 35-year-old Army veteran and Purple Heart Medal recipient, is making a run on the Republican ticket for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District represented by Rep. Walter Jones, also a Republican. Thigpen is graduating this month from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a degree in finance. He recently moved from Wilmington to Holly Ridge with his wife, an active duty Marine. Thigpen spent six years in the Army following 9/11. Thigpen said he has a lot of respect for Jones but criticized him for being disconnected from his district.

http://www.jdnews.com/news/local/army-vet-to-run-against-jones-in-race-for-3rd-district-1.141267

Annexation book author says Raleigh low-balling him out of spite--Seven years ago, Grady Jeffreys published a Raleigh-based manifesto for resisting City Hall – a bright yellow paperback with a fist on its cover. He gave it this rally-cry title: “Fighting Annexation: How to Protect Your Property Rights Against Municipal Tyranny.” The book got handed out among state legislators, and many activists now credit Jeffreys with inspiring their movement to stop cities from adding land without residents’ say-so. But today, Jeffreys, 78, finds himself in his own local government quarrel. Raleigh wants to acquire about 12,000 square feet of his property on Auburn-Knightdale Road along the Neuse River, much of it for a sewer easement. But they’ve offered him what he considers a bargain-basement price: $1,100 – about $24,000 too low, to Jeffreys’ thinking.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/11/2886726/annexation-book-author-says-raleigh.html#emlnl=Politics#storylink=cpy

JONES RECEIVES AWARD FOR DEFENDING AMERICAN LIBERTY-- Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) was named a Patriot Coalition “True Son of Liberty” for his dedication to defending conservative principles in the House of Representatives. The Patriot Coalition is a political organization championing the preservation of liberty and a strict adherence to the Constitution. Congressman Jones was presented the award “[f]or upholding [his] oath of office to defend the Constitution of the United States, for consistently voting against attacks on the Bill of Rights, for defending free-market principles and fiscal responsibility, and consistently demonstrating the admirable character traits of a true son of liberty in the face of ongoing intolerable acts.”

http://jones.house.gov/press-release/jones-receives-award-defending-american-liberty

Man sentenced in plot against terror witnesses--A North Carolina man was sentenced Friday to four life terms for plotting to behead federal witnesses whose testimony helped convict him for his role in an earlier plot to slaughter U.S. servicemen and their families.

Hysen Sherifi, 29, was one of six Raleigh-area Muslims convicted in 2011 of planning to attack the Marine base in Quantico, Va., and overseas targets. Shortly after starting his 45-year prison sentence in the terror case, Sherifi approached another inmate to help him hire a hit man to behead government informants and FBI agents. He recruited his younger brother Shkumbin Sherifi, 23, and former special education teacher Nevine Aly Elshiekh, 48, to help pay the hit man and organize the murders.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NC_TERROR_ARRESTS_NCOL-?SITE=NCWIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Rep. Ellmers weighs campaign to take on Sen. Hagan--Republican U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers is mulling a bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014, but has some obstacles to consider: a competitive primary field, attacks on her record and a so-far meager campaign war chest. In the primary, Ellmers would face formidable challenges, especially if two top state lawmakers, state House Speaker Thom Tillis and state Senate President Phil Berger, decide to run. Ellmers is calculating her options, but not talking about it publicly. Although she ran as a tea party-supported outsider and a long-shot in 2010, she soon aligned with the House Republican leadership. She gained exposure and a seat on the important House Energy Committee. But she also got anger from the right.

http://www.miamiherAlderman.com/2013/05/10/v-print/3391291/rep-ellmers-weighs-campaign-to.html#storylink=cpy

Lowe’s joins opposition to healthcare provision-- Mooresville-based Lowe’s Companies, Inc., on Thursday joined 86 other retailers, restaurant groups and trade associations to support legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-9th District) that would repeal the “Auto-Enroll” provision of President Obama’s health care plan. The “Auto-Enroll” provision of Obamacare requires certain companies to automatically enroll their employees in health insurance, whether or not the employee wants the coverage. This provision is expected to cause major problems for retailers and restaurants, which traditionally have high turnover, forcing these employers to frequently enroll, then quickly remove, short-term employees from the health plan, Pittenger said.

http://www.hickoryrecord.com/mooresville_tribune/news/article_e2713642-b8d7-11e2-a458-0019bb30f31a.html

OTHER NEWS:

BENGHAZI: IT’S US VS.THEM--Democrats act all outraged at the suggestion that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would ever do anything to endanger the lives of personnel stationed overseas in order to win re-election. Well guess what – that’s exactly what happened. They lied, gave orders to stand-down, didn’t send help, failed to act, changed the facts, covered-up, lied some more, went to Vegas, lied again, got help from Candy Crowley, got some other people to lie, intimidated witnesses and are now going after the folks testifying to the truth. Since they took office the Administration has been holding a gun to the head of nearly every American in its quest to exact maximum pain on each of us to achieve Barack Obama’s political objectives. First, printing and spreading money around to their supporters, then bribing members of Congress to pass legislation, and now engaging in activity and cover-ups such as Fast & Furious, the Sequester and now the murders in Benghazi.

It makes me wonder what they’ve done that we don’t know about.

http://joeforamerica.com/2013/05/benghazi-its-us-vs-them/

CLEVELAND KIDNAPPER ARIEL CASTRO A REGISTERED DEMOCRAT, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE--He’s employed by the Cleveland school district as a bus driver. According to voter registration records, Ariel Castro, the Cleveland kidnapper, is a registered Democrat. He was also the alleged leader among the three Castro brothers, who were arrested this week, and the owner of the house at 2207 Seymour Ave., where the three abducted local women had been kept in captivity for over a decade. Why is this important? Whenever a crime or a scandal captures national attention, the pattern in the mainstream media is to either identify the culprit as a Republican or hold silence — in which case we can rest assured that the culprit is a Democrat.

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=4301673%3ATopic%3A1502132&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic


WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Watch Live at 11:30 am ET: House Benghazi Hearing
• Pro-Gun Control Senators Consider Amending Background Check Bill to Ensure Passage
• Jesse Watters Confronts Radical Convicted Cop-Killer Hired by Columbia — and School Security Wasn’t Happy
• Here Are the Top 5 ‘Best’ & ‘Worst’ States for Business: Guess Which Ones CEOs Prefer
• Mother of Murdered Benghazi Victim Tears Into Hillary Clinton During Emotional Interview: ‘I Blame Her’

COMMENTARY:

American Thinker--Paul Shlichta: The Source of Our Moral Decay?  Like many senior citizens, I have been bewildered by the rapid degeneration of our American society. A half-century ago, we were a decent people and a benevolent force in global affairs. Even then, we had to contend with drugs, violence, pornography, and the materialism engendered by prosperity, but we somehow managed to keep these malignancies at sub-critical levels. But by 1990, even though the threat of Communism seemed to be fading away, we had become aware that something was seriously wrong. Consider Michelle's famous "Pollyanna" monolog in TV's "Knots Landing":

Michelle Malkin: Operation Smear Benghazi Whistleblowers— It's on. As the White House grapples with a growing backlash over its Libya lies and lapses, President Obama's apologists are gearing up for battle. Put on your hip-waders. Grab those tar buckets. Get ready for Operation Smear Benghazi Whistleblowers. Capitol Hill hearings this Wednesday on the deadly 9/11 consulate attack by jihadists will feature three compelling witnesses, all State Department veterans: Gregory N. Hicks, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libya and highest-ranking U.S. diplomat in the country at the time of the Benghazi jihad attacks; Mark I. Thompson, a former Marine who now serves as deputy coordinator for operations in the agency's Counterterrorism Bureau; and Eric Nordstrom, a diplomatic security officer who was the top security officer in Libya.

Brent Bozell: Ted Cruz Has All the Right Enemies—The Washington Post offered a splashy profile of freshman Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday, and the most surprising thing about it was a lack of venom. The reporter described "the self-assured, nonstop talker who won national debate championships as an undergraduate at Princeton." Cruz "honed his reputation early in his career as a dazzling Supreme Court advocate" and now "has bashed into the national conversation," most notably in attacking establishment Republicans, who've called him and other young Senate conservatives "wacko birds."

John Myers: Four Years, Four Reasons Why I Loathe Obama-- When President Barack Obama left for Mexico and Costa Rica last week, I felt a sense of relief, the feeling you get when the crazy uncle no longer shows up for Thanksgiving dinner. The official line from the White House was that the President went to reinforce the deep cultural, familial and economic ties that so many Americans share with Mexico and Central America. I do not doubt for one moment that Obama has a lot in common with those Latin dictators who have bled their countries dry through overspending.

VIDEO:

• Is There A Third Boston Marathon Bomber?  In George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel 1984, high officials direct robotic bureaucrats to alter the past—“pushed down the memory hole” is the famous phrase–all in order to prop up the state apparatus. Names are changed, facts disappear, and new facts are born.
• Obama Plans To Forcibly Disarm Christians-- Bryan Fischer says Obama’s commitment to keep guns out of the hands of “dangerous people” is part of a plot to confiscate the guns of Christians…

NORTH CAROLINA:

John Hood Daily Journal: Another Year for the History Books-- RALEIGH — As should be obvious by now, North Carolina is undergoing dramatic change in 2013. A new Republican governor and legislature are pursuing new approaches to state issues such as taxation, regulation, transportation, and education. North Carolina Democrats — locked out of executive, legislative, and judicial power for the first time since Reconstruction — are seeking to reorganize themselves as an effective opposition party. In other words, both political coalitions are adapting to unfamiliar roles. So far, 2013 has already featured dramatic events and compelling controversies. More will follow. It seems likely that future scholars of North Carolina’s political history will look back on the year as a momentous one.

Senate Tax Plan Would Broaden Base, Cut Rates--RALEIGH — Senate leaders used a Tuesday press conference to announce their long-awaited tax proposal, a proposal that would lower personal and corporate income tax rates, along with the sales tax rate. It also would expand the sales tax base to cover services not currently taxed in the state.

Parental consent for treatment of STDs in NC bill-- RALEIGH — A bill advancing in the North Carolina House would require minors seeking treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and other problems to first obtain parental consent. The House Health and Human Services Committee approved a Republican bill Tuesday that requires minors to get notarized consent from a parent or guardian to be treated for a venereal disease, pregnancy, substance abuse or mental illness. The bill would apply to prescriptions for birth control.

NC House gives initial OK to repeal estate tax--RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- North Carolina's tax on a dead person's financial assets would be repealed in legislation approved by House members who say the estate tax hurts family-owned farms. The chamber gave tentative approval Tuesday to legislation ending the estate tax, which this year applies to estates that roughly exceed a little over $5 million. It's higher for couples.

NC House votes to bar sex-selective abortions-- RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Seeking to further restrict abortions in North Carolina, the Republican-led House voted Tuesday to approve legislation that would prohibit the carrying out of abortions on the basis of the gender of the fetus. The House voted 79-40 in favor of the measure, which also would allow a pregnant woman or others close to her to sue the doctor for damages. Hefty fines could be levied against a doctor who doesn't follow a court order against such sex-selective abortions and is found in contempt. Republicans who took control of the Legislature after the 2010 elections passed new abortion restrictions the following year. Some gender-based abortions have been documented in parts of Asia, where there's gender bias in favor of boys and against girls. Such abortions are occurring in the United States, according to bill sponsor Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret, citing university studies.

Senate tax plan aims to cut $1 billion over three years--The state Senate offered details today about a tax reform plan designed to cut North Carolinians’ tax burden by $1 billion over three years, starting in 2014. The plan eventually would reduce the top personal income tax rate from 7.75 percent to 4.5 percent, exempt the first $15,000 of income from any taxation, cut the corporate tax rate from 6.9 percent to 6 percent, reduce the sales tax by 0.25 percentage points while broadening the sales tax base, reduce the business franchise tax by 10 percent, and kill the death tax. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and Sens. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, and Bill Rabon, R-Columbus, discussed the plan during a 42-minute news briefing.

Commercial, recreational anglers battle over coastal fish--RALEIGH, N.C. — Commercial fishermen pleaded with lawmakers Monday to scuttle an effort to prevent them from catching three species of fish. House Bill 983 hasn't been debated in any committee yet, but sponsors held a public hearing for interested legislators to hear from both sides of a hotly contested issue. A similar bill to designate spotted sea trout, red drum and striped bass as “coastal game fish” never made it out of committee in the last legislative session, but co-sponsor Rep. Tom Murry, R-Wake, said Monday that it's only a matter of time until such a bill passes. "Recreational fishermen will eventually get game-fish status," Murry said, adding that he wants his bill to be fair to commercial fishermen.  Note:  12 CCTA Members attended this hearing in support of the commercial fisherman, and 3 members spoke at the hearing.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Gun Homicides Sharply Down, Ownership Up… Public Remains Brainwashed--A study released Tuesday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics is bad news for people in the United States seeking to further restrict citizens' 2nd Amendment rights. It illustrates a sharp drop in the number of American gun homicides since their highest level of occurrence a decade ago.

Obama Trying Gun Control End Run--President Barack Obama's end run around Congress to establish onerous laws to infringe on the 2nd Amendment rights of Americans goes through the Department of Health and Human Services and its director, Kathleen Sebelius. She is writing regulations to amend privacy regulations in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that would waive Federal privacy laws and encourage your doctor to report you to the FBI.

Texas lawmakers may permit concealed handguns on college campuses--The Texas State House of Representatives on Saturday passed a controversial bill that if signed into law will permit both resident and commuter university and college students to carry concealed firearms if they possess handgun licenses, according to Texas police officials. The proposed law will allow licensed gun owners to carry firearms in classrooms and campus buildings such as dormitories, said Lt. Jonathon Steelmann, a member of Southwest University’s campus police department in nearby Arizona.

Government Is Buying Up Ammo, So the Public Can’t — Senator Imhofe--The procurement officer of the Department of Homeland Security says the DHS has the right to buy 750 million rounds of ammunition. This is three times what the Defense Department buys to train soldiers in the U.S. Army. What will be done with this ammo? Nothing, says Oklahoma Senator James Imhofe. It’s not being bought.

OBAMACARE (OBAMATAX):

Lawsuit claims Obamacare crushing small employers--The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act radically hikes small-business costs, impoverishes states and violates the plain language of the U.S. Constitution, claims a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Houston, Texas. Steven F. Hotze, a Katy-based allergist and immunologist, says the Affordable Care Act, popularly called Obamacare, forces his wellness center to pay enormous costs for its 73 employees. His suit challenges the law on three main grounds. Hotze’s lawsuit claims that by forcing Americans to buy private insurance, Obamacare violates the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, which holds that private property can only be taken for a “public use” and with just compensation for the property owner.

England's National Health Services Offers Future Vision of ObamaCare--From 2005 to 2012, British hospital emergency room visits increased 22 percent, a period during which the population grew by only 4 percent...

Houston doctor taking on Obama’s Affordable Care Act--here are so many things unconstitutional about ObamaCare something has to stick eventually. Check it out: The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that penalties under the Affordable Care Act qualify as taxes has opened the door to another constitutional challenge, Dr. Steve Hotze, a Houston physician and prominent Republican donor, said at a Tuesday press conference announcing his lawsuit against the federal government.

Impeaching A Corrupt President Honors ‘The Office Of The President’-- This last week Attorney General Eric Holder pandered to illegal aliens, calling them “unauthorized immigrants.” Shortly thereafter, Obama went to Mexico pandering to illegals while blaming the American people for the very crimes he and his administration contrived through “Fast and Furious”. I have got to believe that the people in Mexico realize that this man’s administration is personally responsible for the bloodshed of 300 Mexicans. Shortly after Obama’s speech – surprise, surprise – pro-amnesty protesters show up in Dallas, Texas, proclaiming, “Listen, Obama! We’re at war!” I have been exposing this administration on my radio show for years concerning their criminal conduct.

OTHER NEWS:

‘Fair’: Government Taxing Businesses to Fund Competitors to Their Businesses--President Barack Obama and the Left have declared the government is now even more extensively in the economic “fairness” business.

Socialism, the State, and Scripture-- God, as Creator and Sovereign of all things, owns all things (Ex. 19:5; Ps. 24:1; 50:7-12; 1 Cor. 10:26). And He has delegated the stewardship of property to mankind, which he created in His image (Gen. 1:26-28) to tend and watch His garden (Gen. 2:8, 15). When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord, God banished them from the Garden of Eden and posted a “No Trespassing” sign in the form of Cherubims and a flaming sword to keep them out, giving them a quick lesson on the reality of private property. This doctrine was preserved as God’s way to order and prosper society, which is why he established specific property laws. For example, He condemned the accumulation of property through theft (Ex. 20:15; Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Job 24:2; Prov. 22:28; 23:10; Hos. 5:10; Eph. 4:28), the confiscation of property by governmental decree (1 Kings 21), and the willful destruction of property by the envious (Gen. 26:12, 17). To Him, these are lawless acts, damaging to an orderly society.

The Internet Sales Tax: Taxation Without Representation--Supporters of this tax argue that this tax is not a new tax. Not only is it a new tax, it is a grotesque tax: a violation of the principle, “no taxation without representation.” Republicans in the Senate voted for this tax, all in the name of a fantasy: “It really is not a new.

DeMint to Newsmax: Syria Has Gone Too Far--Syria has crossed the line in its purported use of deadly chemical weapons in its ongoing civil war — but what the United States should do about it isn't clear, former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint says. "It appears that the red line has been crossed,'' DeMint, president of the Heritage Foundation, told Newsmax TV. ”It’s hard to determine what to do at this point since the administration has not led from the beginning. "That has created more instability and invited other countries such as Iran to get involved with this conflict.''

Cases Show How Easy Vote Fraud Is in NC--The Left constantly tells us that there is no voter fraud in North Carolina, and they claim that only a few cases have been investigated compared to millions of votes cast over the past four or five years. The outcome of a recent Pasquotank County Elections Board hearing, however, is proof that if there is a system in place to identify voters, fraud can be identified.

Immigration Reform Is about Votes--As we watch Republican senators being danced around the floor by their gleeful Democrat squires, we shouldn't allow this spectacle to cause us to lose sight of a simple truth. Despite the whispered promises and pledges of fidelity, immigration reform is and has always been about increasing the number of Democrat voters, especially through the use of illegal immigrants. There are some things that are so demonstrably true that you can never go wrong relying upon them: whenever a Democrat seeks bipartisanship, the Democrat intends to win all he seeks while conceding nothing of value. Similarly, whenever a Democrat quashes something as logical and obvious as proof of a right to vote legally, the Democrat does so in recognition of the threat posed by proceeding lawfully.

Two-thirds of senators to vote on U.S.-Mexico border without having seen it, Those who have call it a learning experience! Border security is a key sticking point in this year’s immigration debate, but only a little more than one-third of senators have been to the southwestern border during their time in office to get a firsthand look at the security situation, according to a survey of the chamber’s members by The Washington Times. Of 100 senators, 34 said they have been down to observe the border, 64 senators have not, and two — the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is writing the bill, and the chamber’s Republican leader — refused to answer.

Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study-- Gun crime has plunged in the United States since its peak in the middle of the 1990s, including gun killings, assaults, robberies and other crimes, two new studies of government data show. Yet few Americans are aware of the dramatic drop, and more than half believe gun crime has risen, according to a newly released survey by the Pew Research Center. In less than two decades, the gun murder rate has been nearly cut in half. Other gun crimes fell even more sharply, paralleling a broader drop in violent crimes committed with or without guns. Violent crime dropped steeply during the 1990s and has fallen less dramatically since the turn of the millennium.

Texas Jobs Trip May Find Obama Grudgingly Embracing Governor Rick Perry’s Free Market Success Story--Even with the selective editing afforded the White House by major news outlets, President Barack Obama hasn’t fared well of late in the public eye. A cavalcade of Constitutional assaults on firearm ownership, privacy and State sovereignty, coupled with a series of elitist, out-of-touch endorsements of regressive social reform proposals before Congress, have distanced the President from leading the public’s attention back to the talking point central to the agenda that led him to two election-year victories: the economy.

Is Cruz Our Best Hope? The buzz these days is that Senator Ted Cruz from Texas will run for president in 2016. His name is not exactly a household word today, but Ted Cruz could become the most important political leader of the 21st century. Does that sound too bold? Consider the situation. America is the last best hope of ordered liberty and the Judeo-Christian moral tradition surviving. It is much less important to have two or three presidential terms under men like Bush, Dole, Bush, McCain, and Romney -- the presidential nominees since Reagan left office -- than one or two presidential terms under a transformative conservative leader who intends to reclaim the nobility and virtue or America and create in our nation a model which the rest of the world can see.

EU Targets Seeds and Gardeners; Critics Lash Out-- As part of the seemingly never-ending drive to expand and centralize its own coercive power, the controversial European Union in Brussels is now targeting seeds and gardeners with a proposed new “law” aimed at regulating all “plant reproductive material” within the bloc. Despite strong backing by mega-corporations and genetic-engineering giants, however, the proposal has sparked a furious grassroots outcry around the world that transcends traditional political divides. Critics are calling on the emerging EU super state to kill the scheme immediately.
TPN—Judson Phillips: The Amnesty lies--The Amnesty movement is getting desperate. They are pulling out all of the stops in an effort to make America believe that real Americans support Amnesty. Something shocking happened yesterday. It speaks to the desperation of the pro-Amnesty crowd. What is it and what is the response?

Benghazi Whistleblower: “You should have seen what (Clinton) tried to do to us that night!” Benghazi whistleblower Mark I. Thompson, a former Marine and now the deputy coordinator for operations in the State Department’s counterterrorism bureau, is expected to level the allegation that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a key aide effectively tried to cut his department out of the chain of reporting and decision-making. His testimony is set to begin on Wednesday before Chairman Darrell Issa’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But there’s another official Fox News is reporting on.

FBI Most Wanted Terrorists-30 Muslims, 2 Liberals, 0 Right Wing Patriots-- There has been a lot in the news the last two days about Joanne Deborah Chesimard who is the first woman ever placed on the “FBI Most Wanted Terrorists” list. Joanne’s connections with the Weather Underground and Obama mentor Bill Ayers have been much publicized. Rather than beat that story into the ground I thought I would take a moment to make a point that fails to be made often enough. With all the constant rhetoric about the dangers of the American Patriot and right-wing-Christian terrorists, the facts still remain. The current list of “FBI Most Wanted Terrorists” contains 32 people. 30 of those people are Muslims and two are left-wing liberals. In addition to Chesimard, Daniel Andreas San Diego is the other non-Muslim on the list.

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Revealing New Statistics Seem to Debunk One of the Main Arguments Made by Gun Control Advocates
• S.C. Dem Backtracks (Again) on Anti-Nikki Haley Comments — But Did He Make It Worse?
• Senators Revolt Against Illegal Abortions and Gosnell’s Alleged ‘House of Horrors’ With This Resolution
• 2nd Grader Suspended for Making ‘Gun Noises’ With a Pencil — After Pretending to Be a Marine Like His Dad
• Biden Wants Pastors, Rabbis and Nuns to Tell Their Flocks: Enacting More Gun Control Is the Moral Thing to Do
• Guess Which West Coast City Is Suing Monster Energy for Marketing to Children
• Purported Benghazi Drone Operator Calls Hannity with New Details: We Weren’t Able to Be Armed & No One Has Contacted Me
• Guns and Crime: What the Statistics Really Say and How They’re Interpreted in the Debate
• Ted Cruz Vs. Harry Reid on Senate Floor: ‘My Friend From Texas Is Like a Schoolyard Bully’
• The Truth About Benghazi Continues to Trickle Out Slowly — Here’s What We Know Now

NORTH CAROLINA:

New Bern mayor charged with DWI; Bettis says he was tired--New Bern Mayor Lee W. Bettis Jr., 48, was arrested and charged with driving while impaired and two other traffic charges in Havelock on Monday morning. Bettis was stopped by Havelock police around 7:43 a.m. after two motorists called 911 to report that a Chevrolet van was driving erratically. According to a news release from Havelock, police officers were able to observe the vehicle and initiated a vehicle stop on U.S. 70. The driver was identified as Bettis. Police said two children were passengers in the vehicle.

North Carolina House gives initial OK to gun rights measure--RALEIGH — The Republican-led House on Monday night tentatively approved a bill that would expand where concealed weapon permit holders can carry or store their pistols, while lengthening penalties for crimes committed with a gun. On a party-line 76-38 vote, the House voted in favor of the GOP measure endorsed by gun-rights groups and sheriffs but opposed strongly by University of North Carolina leaders. Republican leaders defeated five Democratic-sponsored amendments — some seeking to bring squarely the national gun debate to North Carolina — using parliamentary maneuvers to avoid recorded votes on the specific topics. A final House vote was expected Wednesday before the measure goes to the Senate, which also is controlled by the GOP.

Senate plan would expand sales tax, lower NC rates--RALEIGH, N.C. --Senate Republicans rolled out Monday evening the frame of their tax overhaul plan for North Carolina they say will cut income tax rates while expanding the scope of the sales tax. Senate leader Phil Berger announced the release of a video and web site in which the Rockingham County attorney lays out some of the highlights of the plan. The video was designed as a preview as Berger and leaders of the chamber's tax committee scheduled a news conference Tuesday to talk more about the details.

NC Republicans to hear from national GOP lineup--RALEIGH, N.C. --The list of speakers for North Carolina's Republican Party convention next month is full of national GOP luminaries. The state party says former presidential adviser Karl Rove, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts are all scheduled to participate in at the convention set for June 7-9 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Rove worked closely with President George W. Bush. He'll speak at the party banquet the evening of June 8. Barbour is a former national GOP chairman. He'll speak at a luncheon earlier in the day. Delegates to the party convention also will elect a new state chairman. Former Wake County Chairman Claude Pope has the backing of Gov. Pat McCrory and top General Assembly leaders.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Colorado Gun Companies Keep Promise and Leave State-- The companies were being courted by a number of states that are proud of their gun-friendly laws, but the Colorado companies were being rather secretive as to where they might be heading. That is until now. HiViz Shooting Systems, formerly located in Fort Collins, manufactures various parts for a number of weapons, some of which are now outlawed under Colorado law. They have just announced that are moving their entire operations to Laramie, Wyoming.

OTHER NEWS:

BREAKING NEWS! AMNESTY BILL: Illegals Will Get $9.4 Trillion in Benefits. Study pegs cost of immigration bill’s mass legalization at $6.3 trillion. (Fox News) – The comprehensive immigration overhaul being taken up in the Senate this week could cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion if 11 million illegal immigrants are granted legal status, according to a long-awaited estimate by the conservative Heritage Foundation. The cost would arise from illegal immigrants tapping into the government’s vast network of benefits and services, many of which are currently unavailable to them. This includes everything from standard benefits like Social Security and Medicare to dozens of welfare programs ranging from housing assistance to food stamps.

Neither Medicaid nor Head Start Work--The effectiveness of both Medicaid and Head Start, two bulwarks of the left's belief that massive government spending could make a difference in the lives of the poor have been exposed as ineffective. Big government social engineers must be shaking their heads in disbelief. The honest amongst them have to be asking how they could have been so wrong. The effectiveness of both Medicaid and Head Start, two bulwarks of the left’s belief that massive government spending could make a difference in the lives of the poor have been exposed as ineffective. A much anticipated study out of the state of Oregon on the health impacts of having Medicaid versus not having it has released second year data, and the results are devastating to those who believe in the power of government medicine.

DEMOCRATS’ AGENDA FOR BENGHAZI HEARING: PROTECT HILLARY AT ALL COSTS--Ahead of Wednesday’s long-awaited hearings at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the Benghazi terror attack of Sep. 11, 2012, Democrats have a clear agenda: protect Hillary Clinton at all costs. Clinton, the former Secretary of State and likely frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, could be severely damaged by testimony about the attacks, which occurred in part because of security lapses for which the State Department is primarily responsible.

Past testimony about the attacks has also revealed that President Barack Obama did nothing once informed the attacks were under way, and that there was no communication among key members of the administration and military who could have responded.

Achtung, Baby: Are People Being Encouraged to Rat On ‘Anti-Government’ Neighbors?  Just when you thought the crap couldn’t get any creepier in Obamaland, BOOM, it does and things just got a little bit more … how shall I say it … peculiar. Can we still use the word “peculiar”? We can? Good. Cue Twilight Zone music, por favor, and allow me to proceed. So, what am I talking about you ask? Am I referring to the forced lesbian kissing class in a Red Hook, New York middle school? No, silly. That was like two weeks ago. Duh. That’s so yesterday. Or, as Jay Carney said of the Benghazi Massacre, “That was a long time ago.”

Morning Bell: New Heritage Study on the Cost of Amnesty--The immigration debate is about to get a lot more concrete. Lawmakers need to be honest about the cost of their proposed immigration plans—and a new study due out today from The Heritage Foundation calculates the cost to taxpayers of granting amnesty to unlawful immigrants. Yesterday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," Heritage President Jim DeMint said:

The study you'll see from Heritage this week presents the staggering costs of another amnesty in our country and the detrimental effects, long-term, that that will have. There's no reason we can’t begin to fix our immigration system so that we won't make this problem worse. But the bill that's being presented is unfair to those who came here legally; it'll cost Americans trillions of dollars; it'll make our unlawful immigration system worse.

RUSSIA WARNS AMERICANS: Barack Hussein Obama has been shipping arms to al-Qaeda jihadists in Syria for over a year--Russia delivered to the Obama administration a list of the names of Syrian rebels who are members of al-Qaeda groups and who are receiving arms shipments coordinated by the U.S. (Obama seen foaming at the mouth while Hagel seems to be stuttering more than usual). The list, the officials added, demonstrates how the U.S. is failing in its due diligence of vetting the rebels being supported by the West for ties to al-Qaida and other jihad groups. The information comes amid scores of news media reports that the Obama administration is aiding the rebels, including by coordinating Arab arms shipments.

SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Limo Bursts Into Flames, Killing 5 Women Trapped Inside
• Dem. Congressman: Susan Rice’s Benghazi Talking Points ‘Absolutely’ False
• What Piece of Seemingly Benign Advice From an NRA Speaker Has Liberal Sites Up in Arms?
• Syria Blames Israel for Powerful Explosions that Rocked Damascus Overnight – See the Dramatic Video
• Glenn Beck Teaches Part of America’s History Like Never Before Using Guns in NRA Keynote Speech: ‘It Is the Man, Not the Gun’

NORTH CAROLINA:

Let’s see. Blocking incompetents from voting is — CONTROVERSIAL???  Yep. I find that hard to believe, as well. We’ve documented the story about mentally-handicapped people being hauled to the polls on Election Day to “cast votes.” There is a new effort afoot in the NC General Assembly to make it harder for folks to haul mentally challenged folks to the polls to vote. Jay DeLancey, head of the Voter Integrity Project, has been fighting the good fight against vote fraud in North Carolina for some time now. He is worried about the fate of this current legislation:

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

NRA Surges to Record 5 Million Members--At the National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston, TX, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced that the NRA has now grown to an unprecedented 5 million active members. He concluded his speech back down. We will never surrender. We will always stand. We will always fight.” Well over 70,000 members of the NRA are assembled in Houston, Texas for its 142nd Annual Meeting—projected to break the all-time record for the nation’s oldest and largest Constitutional rights organization. The convention houses over 300,000 square feet of exhibits (mostly firearms and accessories), seminars on various topics including women’s and children’s safety, and formal speeches from national political leaders and the NRA’s leadership. The central focus on the annual convention—as always—is protecting the Constitution’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

KS State Secretary: “We Will Happily Meet Mr. Holder in Court” Over Gun Law-- Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has responded to Eric Holder and he is not backing down. Kobach warned, in a statement released Thursday, “With respect to any litigation, we will happily meet Mr. Holder in court.” For the State of Kansas to pass the strongest 2nd Amendment legislation in the nation made my heart swell with American pride and their rejection of Mr. Eric Holder yesterday made me even prouder. I was born in Kansas and will die a “Jayhawk.”

OBAMACARE (OBAMATAX):

States fear losing aid for 'uninsurables'-- Thousands of people with serious medical problems are in danger of losing coverage under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul because of cost overruns, state officials say. At risk is the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a transition program that's become a lifeline for the so-called uninsurables - people with serious medical conditions who can't get coverage elsewhere. The program helps bridge the gap for those patients until next year, when under the new law insurance companies will be required to accept people regardless of their medical problems.

OTHER NEWS:

IRAN, SYRIA PREP RETALIATION FOR ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES. Officials warn of terrorist attacks in Africa, South America--TEL AVIV – Iran has instructed the Al Quds unit of the Revolutionary Guard to prepare a response to Israel’s reported airstrikes Sunday and Friday against Syrian targets, according to informed Middle Eastern security officials. The officials, speaking to WND, said Syria and Iran are determined to respond to the Israeli strikes. The officials said the retaliation may not be launched from Syrian territory but instead could come in the form of a terrorist attack against Israelis in Africa or South America.

Bill Allows for $150M in Grants to Sign Up Illegal Immigrants to Become Citizens-- A Washington group is criticizing the Senate immigration bill because it allows for up to $150 million for organizations to advertise citizenship opportunities and to help illegal immigrants sign up to become citizens. The nonpartisan Center for Immigration Services calls the money “slush funds” and earlier this week cited several concerns — particularly that the money can go to the same groups that helped craft the legislation and that the spending appears to have no cap or oversight.

Pentagon Changes Mind, Says Soldiers Can Share Their Faith--Following an uproar over a Defense Department statement saying that military personnel could be court-martialed for sharing their faith, the Pentagon has backed down on that position and now says soldiers are free to proselytize, as long as they don't harass others. “Service members can share their faith,” clarified Navy Lieutenant Commander Nate Christensen in a statement, “but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one's beliefs.” Earlier the Defense Department had released an alarming statement saying: “Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense.... Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis.” That statement appeared to come as the result of an April 24 meeting between military officials and Mikey Weinstein of the atheist group Military Religious Freedom Foundation, in which Weinstein pressured Air Force officials to enforce a policy that supposedly bans Air Force personnel from openly expressing their religious faith. The Defense Department has reportedly turned to Weinstein's group to hammer out policies on religious expression in the military.

Sen. Graham: Benghazi Testimony ‘Going to Make You Mad’--Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Saturday that once Americans hear the testimony of three State Department survivors of the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya next week, “it’s going to make you mad. It’s going to make you upset.” “Come Wednesday, you’re going to start hearing the truth about Benghazi,” the South Carolina Republican told former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on his Fox News program.

British National Archives show a son was born to Obama Sr. in 1961 in Kenya--On April 18, 2012, the BNA released the first batch of thousands of “lost” colonial-era files believed to have been destroyed, including files on Britain’s former colony of Kenya. Reporters at the UK’s The Guardian were among the first who looked at some of the newly released colonial files. They found that the name of Barack Obama (henceforth, Obama Sr.), the father of the POS in the White House, is on the top of a list of names revealed in a hitherto secret British colonial file of Kenyans studying in the United States.

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:

• Justice Clarence Thomas: ‘The Elites & Media’ Are Gentle With Obama Because They Agree With Him
• Day 1 at the NRA Convention…in 68 Pictures
• Boston Bombing Suspect’s Cause of Death Revealed
• Report: Israel Strikes Syrian Weapons Facility

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:
MUST WATCH!!! MB Studio Productions High Capacity Magazine PSA


OTHER NEWS:

Middle school girls forced to ask for "lesbian kiss" in anti-bullying presentation...and it only gets worse from there--A very disturbing story coming out of New York this week exposes a school that took its anti-bullying demonstration just a tad too far. They covered a wide range of controversial sexual issues, forced 13-year-old girls to pretend to be lesbian lovers, advised boys to always carry a condom, and gave tips on how to spot ‘sluts’. Glenn reacts on radio today.

Obama Puts Fox In Charge Of Fannie, Freddie Henhouse--Subprime Scandal: President Obama has named Democrat Rep. Mel Watt to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If he gets his choice, we might as well have ACORN in charge of mortgages. Affordable-housing zealots don't like current regulator, Edward DeMarco, who as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has monitored Fannie and Freddie during their costly taxpayer bailout, now at about $130 billion.

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013
TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Would Ronald Reagan Support Gay Marriage?
• Scientists Find ‘Convincing Evidence’ of a Gruesome Practice at Jamestown Colony
• So Paul Ryan Now Supports Gay Adoptions — But Not Gay Marriage
• Hannity Panel Clashes Over Radical Islam, ‘Alarming’ New Research: ‘Pull Your Head Out of the Sand’

COMMENTARY:

Ann Coulter: America’s Most Feared Economist--You can tell the conservatives liberals fear most because they start being automatically referred to as “discredited.” Ask Sen. Ted Cruz. But no one is called “discredited” by liberals more often than the inestimable economist John Lott, author of the groundbreaking book More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws . Lott’s economic analysis of the effect of concealed-carry laws on violent crime is the most thoroughly vetted study in the history of economics, perhaps in the history of the world. Some nut Dutch professor produces dozens of gag studies purportedly finding that thinking about red meat makes people selfish and that litter leads to racism — and no one bothers to see if he even administered questionnaires before drawing these grand conclusions about humanity.

Dr. Mike Adams: Time to Ban High Capacity Liberals From Campus-- Not all liberals are created equal. Some make an occasional stupid remark. Others have the capacity to make a lot of stupid remarks without reloading. An example of the latter is my boss, UNC Chancellor Thomas Ross. As a former Professor of Public Law and Government, he cannot be accused of mere bias when he makes demonstrably false statements about matters of public policy. Instead, the public must recognize that he is not just biased but also grossly incompetent. Because his incompetence threatens the safety of all people who come to UNC campuses, including small children, he should be replaced immediately.

VIDEO:

WATCH: It’s About Control with Glenn Beck


NORTH CAROLINA:

John Hood Daily Journal: National Factors Influencing State Budget Decisions--During the recent conference of the National Association of State Budget Officers, which I attended, the main topics of conversation were the nation’s economic outlook, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and the impact on states’ budgets from discussions in Washington for the upcoming fiscal year. I will highlight some of the more interesting areas, so as not to bore you with mind-numbing economic numbers. National Economic Outlook: This conference focused on, among other issues, those pertaining to budgetary resources for the states. All states receive a portion of their annual budgets from the federal government, which is why states are closely watching results from the sequester cuts. For example, federal funds constitute 33 percent of North Carolina’s 2013-14 budget. Imagine if the federal government wasn't able to pay its portion or promised amount. The states, North Carolina included, have become too reliant on federal funds and need to start acting as though their federal check will shrink.

Obama choice of Watt sparks controversy-- The Obama administration’s selection Wednesday of Charlotte Rep. Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency is likely to spark a confirmation battle and new debate over the government’s role in backstopping home loans. The agency’s job is to oversee the government-sponsored titans of mortgage finance, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Environmental rollbacks clear first NC Senate vote--A bill requiring local governments and state agencies to roll back environmental regulations passed its first full vote in the North Carolina Senate on Wednesday. The Republican bill requires cities, counties and numerous state agencies to repeal or rewrite rules that go beyond federal law. It also allows businesses or utilities with decommissioned buildings to dispose of waste on site rather than transporting it to a landfill and potentially weakens standards to mitigate damage to wetlands. The vote was 36-12, with some Democrats crossing party lines to support the Republican majority.

Classmates rally around Princeton student who left gun in car--David Cole Winthrow, 16, was charged Monday with bringing a weapon on educational property, which is a felony. He was expelled from school and won't be allowed to graduate with his class later this month. Family friend Kim Boykin said Winthrow, an Eagle Scout and honors student, accidentally left his gun in the car after skeet shooting over the weekend. When he realized, he went inside to ask school officials if he could leave campus to take the gun home, but an administrator reported the weapon to police. "To have him arrested and expelled from school is excessive," she said. "He locks his vehicle, goes inside and tries to do the right thing."  SEE ALSO:  'Free Cole' controversy takes over Johnston County town

Chapel Hill Acknowledges Silliness Of Empty ‘Green’ Parking Spaces--Posted May 1st, 2013 at 6:31 AM by Donna Martinez--A resident of Chapel Hill got tired of trying to find a parking space at the library while eight prime spots right up front sat empty, reserved for “green” vehicles only. Now town manger Roger Stancil has had to acknowledge the silliness of the whole thing and is having the reserved signs removed. Here’s what Janet Johnston had to say about it.

Lights, camera … and a $69 million N.C. rebate to movie industry--State leaders blamed each other in October 2011 after Continental Tire chose South Carolina for a large new factory that will employ 1,600 workers. The biggest hang-up, according to documents and state officials, was $45 million in taxpayer money the tire company said it needed to locate in southeastern North Carolina. Lawmakers could not agree on that large payment in a lump sum, with some wanting to spread the money out into the next decade on top of other state and local incentives. The factory is now being built near Sumter, S.C. That same month, Hollywood producers made a decision that cost North Carolina taxpayers millions and supported far fewer jobs – jobs that have already come and gone. They announced the filming of “Iron Man 3” around Wilmington.

Bill Gutting Renewable Mandate Survives in Senate Committee--Controversial voice vote only part of lively debate-- A contentious Senate committee hearing Wednesday on a bill to phase out multimillion-dollar state tax subsidies to select renewable energy providers came to a raucous close with a disputed voice vote. “It was extremely disappointing. It offended democracy,” state Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, said after the Senate Finance Committee passed Senate Bill 365, the Affordable and Reliable Energy Act. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, supports the bill, a companion to House Bill 298, which is stalled in the House Public Utilities and Energy Committee.

NC State Rep. Pittman apologizes, seeks forgiveness from Speaker Tillis for recorded comments.  A North Carolina House Republican has apologized for his remarks criticizing Speaker Thom Tillis over how some bills filed by conservatives haven't been heard. Rep. Larry Pittman of Concord said Wednesday in a prepared statement that his speech last week to a tea party group wasn't fair to Tillis and asked for his forgiveness. A video of the speech posted online showed Pittman complaining to the audience that two gun rights bills he introduced still sit in committee. He also said some bills are on hold because considering them would hurt Tillis' U.S. Senate bid next year. Tillis hasn't announced such a campaign.

OTHER NEWS:

Obama housing nominee: Most white people won’t vote for black candidate, should be excluded from ‘democratic process’--President Obama’s pick to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency once said that a “majority of white voters” would never vote for a black candidate and that they should be excluded from “the democratic process.”  The White House announced Wednesday that Obama will nominate Democratic North Carolina Congressman Mel Watt to take over the FHFA, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the country’s government sponsored mortgage companies


WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Tests Allegedly Link Deadly Ricin to Poison-Laced Obama Letter Suspect
• Redskins Star QB RGIII Blasts ‘Tyranny of Political Correctness’ — The Left Freaks Out
• Caught on Tape: Shotgun-Wielding Thug Finds Himself Staring Down the Barrel of His Own Gun After ‘Victim’ Fights Back
• Two of the Biggest Gun Control Myths Debunked--Gun control is not about safety, common sense or saving American lives — it’s about “control.”

COMMENTARY:

NetRightDaily Editorial: U.S. lends $35 billion through IMF foreign aid slush fund-- U.S. lending to foreign governments through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached $35 billion, representing more than 24 percent of the agency’s $145.4 billion of outstanding loans. Well above its 17.7 percent quota, the U.S. is therefore funding a disproportionate share of IMF loans. Astonishingly, 60 percent of IMF lending, or $87.9 billion, has gone to just three countries, Greece, Portugal, and Ireland that have been rocked by sovereign and mortgage debt crises. The U.S. share of those European bailouts is now $21.1 billion. Should things worsen in Europe, we may ultimately wind up wishing we could get that money back from this foreign aid slush fund.

VIDEO:

• Senator Ted Cruz surprised the FreedomWorks' Texas Summit by showing up to thank grassroots activists for their hard work to help elect him in November.
• SC Congressman DESTROYS Eric Holder’s Bogus Racism Charges on Voter ID--After viewing this evisceration of the DOJ (and indeed, the entire Democrat Party and all its left-wing fan boys in the blogosphere), one is simply baffled why every GOP member isn’t out there with as much principled tenacity.

NORTH CAROLINA:

FLASH BACK TO LAMESTREAM MEDIA AS HAGAN FLACKS:  Congressional Quarterly says Sen. Hagan voted with President Obama's positions 96 percent of the time last year...Higher than other Democrats in the South who are fighting to save their Senate seats next year...

Southern Democrat Fighting Conservative Tide, Kay Hagan--Washington-- For decades, Republicans have been unrelenting in taking congressional seats away from Democrats in the South. And in 2014, three of the six Senate seats in the South still in Democratic hands in North Carolina, Arkansas and Louisiana will be on the line, political analysts say, with all signs suggesting those incumbents will be buffeted by significant political headwinds. Opinions differ, though, about which of the three races could be the most telling about Democrats' chances of stopping and possibly reversing Republican momentum at the congressional level in the region. In Arkansas, Mark Pryor, 50, son of legendary former Arkansas governor and senator David Pryor, will be aiming for a third term.

NC Rep. Jones May Face Primary Challenge--Although he did not formally announce his candidacy, Craven County, N.C., Commission Chairman Scott Dacey said last week he is considering a primary challenge to Republican Rep. Walter Jones in 2014.

Illegal Immigrants Try To Cash In On Tax Refund Fraud--RALEIGH — When a woman named Veronica tried to cash a federal income tax refund check for $8,113 April 5 at a Sampson County check-cashing business, instead of a handful of cash she was greeted by members of the Sampson County sheriff’s office who suspected that her tax refund was the result of a fraudulent tax return. Deputies were acting on a tip that the IRS had issued the check to Veronica, who had used a fictitious identity and reported fictitious earnings on her individual income tax return. Carolina Journal independently confirmed that her refund claim was fraudulent.

John Hood Daily Journal: In the Absence of Argument-- RALEIGH — “People generally quarrel,” G.K. Chesterton once wryly observed, “because they cannot argue.” To the extent North Carolina politics looks increasingly quarrelsome at the moment, it is because of a breakdown of argument — of constructive debate among people of good faith who happen to disagree on public policy. Instead, traditional and online media alike are filled with venom, personal attacks, conspiracy theories, and overall boorishness. The Republicans now in power in Raleigh campaigned for and won their offices on the basis of specific policy promises. They promised to reform North Carolina’s decrepit, anti-competitive tax code and regulatory process. They promised to reduce government spending on bloated transfer programs and pork-barrel schemes in order to free up resources for core public services and tax relief. They promised not to hasten the implementation of what they perceive as the disastrously counterproductive Affordable Care Act. And they promised to enact a voter-identification bill.

Obama naming NC's Watt for housing post--WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama intends to nominate Rep. Melvin Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator that oversees lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a White House official said Tuesday. If confirmed by the Senate, Watt, D-N.C., a 20-year veteran of the House, would replace Edward DeMarco, an appointee of President George W. Bush who has been a target of housing advocates, liberal groups and Democratic lawmakers.

Pittman blasts Tillis--RALEIGH — Rep. Larry Pittman, R-Cabarrus, blasts House Speaker Thom Tillis in a video circulating online. In the video, Pittman speaks to a gathering of conservative Republicans and tells them about his frustration getting bills moved through the state House. Pittman opens his remarks by opining on religion and how that informs how someone works in public life.

NC Voter ID Update: There has been significant interest in the North Carolina Voter ID bill (HB589), which has just been passed by the House. It is now working its way through the Senate, where is likely to receive some amendments, including simplifications, before passage. The section of the current bill that has generated the most reaction is the initial implementations schedule, which starts after passage and is completed in 2016. This schedule appears to be driven by the needs for education and to verify that the process is running smoothly, but it also is critical to a successful Judicial review. The bill, once signed by the Pat McCrory, will receive an immediate court challenge. Legislation containing proper education and administrative preparation will improve the likelihood of a positive court ruling. It is my view that a “perfect” bill is not likely to occur but one that is effective at addressing the majority of voter fraud is likely. Future legislatures will make adjustments as needed.  You can view the bill here.  The implementation schedule, section 22, is located at the end of the bill, along with the implementation requirement to fund the $3.7M price tag.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

REGISTERING FOR CONFISCATION--VIDEO FROM CANADA MADE 3 MONTHS AGO--If background check data is compiled into a gun registry you can bet they will come for the guns!

OBAMACARE (OBAMATAX):

Obamacare’s Tax Hike Train Wreck--The most destructive Obamacare tax increases are just around the bend!  Asked about Senator Max Baucus’s (D-Mont.) recent “train wreck” comments, President Obama today said, “A huge chunk of it [Obamacare] has already been implemented.” Unmentioned was the wave of destructive Obamacare tax increases that will begin to hit Americans during the next tax filing season and beyond:

Starting in tax year 2013:  Obamacare Surtax on Investment Income: A new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This tax hike results in the following top tax rates on investment income:

Employee Benefits Fall As Firms Brace For ObamaCare--Employer spending on benefits rose at the slowest pace on record in the first quarter, as companies began bracing for higher health costs with next year's launch of ObamaCare.  Total benefits, such as insurance and pension contributions, rose just 0.1% vs. the end of last year, the smallest gain in Labor Department data going back to 2001. By comparison, payroll employment grew by a half-million, or 0.4%, in Q1. So benefits-per-worker declined.  Total employee benefits provided outside of government jobs declined outright.

‘Obamacare’ Poll Finds 42% of Americans Unaware It’s Law-- A new poll finds that many Americans are confused about the health care overhaul legislation commonly called “Obamacare.” The Kaiser Family Foundation released results of a non-partisan study today finding more than 40 percent did not even know the law was in place. “Four in ten Americans (42%) are unaware that the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is still the law of the land,” the report says, “including 12 percent who believe the law has been repealed by Congress, 7 percent who believe it has been overturned by the Supreme Court and 23 percent who say they don’t know enough to say what the status of the law is.” The survey showed public opinion on Obamacare is at its second-lowest rating in the past two years. Less than half – 40 35 percent – of adults viewed the ACA favorably, whereas 35 40 percent said they viewed it unfavorably. Another 24 percent said they did not know or refused to answer.


OTHER NEWS:

'Real' Jobless Rate Still Above 10% In Most States--Two months from now, revised government estimates are likely to show that the economy is even bigger than the currently stated $15 trillion. And while the numbers may make some blink or gasp, the mere size of gross domestic product won't hide the reality that in terms of actual growth, this is also the worst economy in 83 years.

Pentagon Blocks Access to Southern Baptist Website--The U.S. Military has blocked access to the Southern Baptist Convention’s website on an unknown number of military bases because it contains “hostile content” — just weeks after an Army briefing labeled Evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics as examples of religious extremism, Fox News has learned.

The Dogs Of Liberalism--According to a study conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles, the intellectual shepherds to whom we entrust our children self-identify as liberal more than 60 percent of the time on average, with fewer than 15 percent of their colleagues claiming a more rational outlook.

TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• 70% of Americans Think More Surveillance Cameras in Public Is a Good Idea
• Can the Government Ban Assault Weapons? Constitutional Experts Weigh In
• The Boston Herald Releases Figures on Just How Much Welfare the Tsarnaevs Received
• The Pro-Gun Billboard in Colo. That Has Some Residents Upset
• What’s Your Constitutional IQ? This Popular Game Is on a Mission to Teach ‘Constitutional Literacy’
• Texas Man Reportedly Yells ‘Jihad’ Numerous Times After He’s Arrested for Breaching Dallas Airport Security
• Explosive Report Contradicts the Obama Administration’s Benghazi Story in a Big Way
• Store Owner With Shotgun to His Head Thinks of His Kids During Robbery and Gets ‘Really Angry’ — Here’s What He Did Next
• Former Green Jobs Czar Van Jones Got Arrested Today
• ESPN Analyst Says Being Homosexual Is ‘Open Rebellion to God’ — Outrage Ensues

VIDEO:

How Obama And FAA Scammed Us - Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert! In this video commentary, I discuss how Obama used the sequester and the FAA to bottleneck the American people. Tune in!

NORTH CAROLINA:

Ross to lawmakers: Keep guns off UNC campuses--CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — University of North Carolina President Tom Ross said Monday that he's concerned about legislation moving through the state House that would allow people to have guns on university campuses. House Bill 937 passed a House committee last week. It is scheduled to go before the full House Tuesday, April 30. Under the proposal, concealed handgun permit holders would be able to lock their handguns in their cars when they park on college campuses, including all public community college and UNC campuses. Independent colleges and universities in North Carolina would have the choice of whether to allow firearms on campus but would have to post a prohibition.

Independent Brewer Wants Out of Wholesaler Controls-- Legislation would raise limits on how much independents can distribute on their own--Bill Sherrill chooses to hire people to distribute and deliver the beer he makes at Red Oak Brewery rather than use an outside distributor. But under current state law, he would lose that option if his production exceeds 25,000 barrels a year. Legislation would increase the cap on production, but wholesalers are fighting that proposal. “I’ve invested $10.5 million in this place,” Sherrill said. “I just invested $500,000 in tanks.” Those tanks, Sherrill said, would lead to the brewery exceeding the 25,000-barrel limit. According to Sherrill, once he reaches that cap, every drop he brews — not just the first 25,000 barrels — would have to be handled by a separate distributor.

Daily Journal—Mitch Kokai: A One-Word Question at the Heart of the Debate-- RALEIGH — If you can get beyond the horribly dated technology and the occasional lapse into hippie-inspired silliness, the classic late-1960s libertarian-themed television show “The Prisoner” still raises significant questions worth answering. The search for answers can lead to a better understanding of the relationship between the individual and the government that conspires to limit his freedom. One example that leaps immediately to mind is an episode titled “The General.” Late in the program, Patrick McGoohan — the Prisoner — learns that an evil mastermind has been testing a form of television-induced mass hypnosis as a tool for brainwashing entire societies.

On NC state sales tax, a special deal for some--RALEIGH — In the thick of the Great Recession four years ago, state lawmakers fought into the evening over a proposed one-penny increase in the state’s sales tax to prevent further cuts to schools, courts and health care services. House Minority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam grabbed the microphone and told his colleagues the increase amounted to a 20 percent hike in the sales tax, which would go from 4.75 to 5.75 percent.

OTHER NEWS:

Abortion Doctor: I Would Leave Babies to Die Born Alive After Abortion--In a second undercover video Live Action has released in two days, another abortion clinic staffer acknowledges leaving babies to die following failed abortions. The videos show there are other abortion clinics, abortion practitioners and staff who, like Kermit Gosnell, would leave babies to die after failed abortions. First, the pro-life group released a video showing an abortion facility staff member saying an unborn child born alive after a botched abortion should just be flushed down the toilet. In this second video, leading D.C. late-term abortion doctor Cesare Santengelo admits he would leave a baby struggling for life after a failed abortion to die.

The Patriot Post Monday Brief: Remembering a Great Patriot--"Sunday, April 28, mark[ed] the 255th anniversary of President James Monroe's birth in 1758. ... How have we let this great patriot become a forgotten man? Monroe's military service alone made him a hero. When he was 18 and newly matriculated at William and Mary College, and the Second Continental Congress proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, he suspended his education to enlist in the Virginia infantry. ... Monroe and his fellow Virginia sharpshooters repelled a British advance, marking the first time in the War for Independence that Americans had whooped the British, forcing the redcoats to turn tail and run for their lives. Monroe played a key role in Washington's famous 1776 Christmas night sortie across the Delaware River. The teenaged Monroe was the co-leader, with one of Washington's cousins, of an advance party of 50 that had crossed the river ahead of the rest of Washington's troops, and then captured the two strategically placed cannons that defended the Hessian military camp outside of Trenton. Though seriously wounded by a musket shot, Monroe stood his ground, repelling repeated Hessian attempts to recapture the big guns, thereby saving many American lives (including, possibly, Washington's), and thereby making that indispensable, resounding victory possible. ...

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

WEBSITES OF THE DAY

• Liberty Tree University
• Sign the FreedomWorks petition to stop Common Core in your schools

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Six Months Later Gov. Christie Is Again Praising Obama for His Sandy Response
• Lesbian Activist’s Surprisingly Candid Speech: Gay Marriage Fight Is a ‘Lie’ to Destroy Marriage
• Are Obama and Rev. Wright Friends Again? Media Outlet Claims They Still Retain a ‘Relationship’
• Local VA Councilwoman Interrupts Class Presentation of Community Quilt to Lecture Students on Using…Black Stick Figure
• These Videos Reportedly Show al-Qaeda-Linked and Hamas Terror Trainees as Young as 5-Years-Old Firing Pistols and AK-47s
• More Details Emerge on Bizarre History of Accused Boston Bombers’ Raving Mother

COMMENTARY:

Michael Barone: Benghazi Report Revives Troubling Questions--"What difference, at this point, does it make?" That was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's angry response to a question about the State Department's account of the attack on the Benghazi consulate where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were murdered on Sept. 11, 2012. Her response was cheered by leftist commentators on MSNBC. Righteous indignation is so attractive. But of course it makes a difference. Hillary Clinton is leading in polls for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination and general election. It's always legitimate to examine the performance of a front-runner for the presidency. And of the president himself.

Star Parker: How Abortion Has Changed America--The trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, facing the death penalty for the deaths of four infants and one woman in his clinic, is over. America has moved on. It’s exactly what the pro-abortion contingent wants. They want Gosnell out of the news because they want abortion out of the news. Ongoing discussion provokes thought about the status quo. And pro-aborts want to keep things as they are. And, they have reason to be confident. Our president, whom no one can accuse of not being politically astute, showed up this week, despite the Gosnell story, as the first sitting president ever to address Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Katie Kieffer: BENGHAZIGATE: Obama’s Secret Gun-Running Program--Liberals don’t want honest Americans like you to have guns. Liberals just want to arm foreign rebels in crapshoot attempts to “end global violence.” But liberals feign ignorance when the rebels they arm end up being criminals who kill innocent Americans like the late U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. Why did Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans die in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012? We now know that President Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-CIA Director David Petraeus were likely behind a mishandled gun-trafficking program that ended up arming the radical jihadist rebels who stormed the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya on that fateful day.

Lloyd Marcus: Will The Bombing Victims Take a Back Seat?-- Talk about Yogi Berra's famous line, “It's deja vu all over again”, have you noticed the similarity in how the mainstream media is portraying suspected marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the way they portrayed Trayvon Martin? In both cases, the media blasted a much younger angelic photo of each young man, in essence, misrepresenting who they were at the times of their suspected crimes. Dzhokhar received his Miranda warning and lawyered up with appointed federal public defenders. Liberals are all over the airways and the internet working to soften Dzhokhar's image, calling him a kid and a confused victim of his older brother and an unfriendly America. At the earliest, Dzhokhar's trial will be a year from now.

VIDEO:

• Liberal Chick Gets College Students to Sign Pressure Cooker Ban!
• Boehner Has Concerns About Tea Party ... Really? Boehner Has Concerns About Tea Party .. he says weak leadership and lack of vision are the real problems facing his fellow GOP Members in Congress...I ask you, my friends, "Is that NOT the pot calling the kettle black?"

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

A new front for gun background checks: The Ballot--After struggling to sway both state and federal lawmakers, proponents of expanding background checks for gun sales are now exploring whether they will have more success by taking the issue directly to voters. While advocates generally prefer that new gun laws be passed through the legislative process, especially at the national level, they are also concerned about how much sway the National Rifle Association has with lawmakers. Washington Rep. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat who had sponsored unsuccessful legislation on background checks at the state level, said a winning ballot initiative would make a statement with broad implication

Pro-Gun Grab Groups Have Gotten Millions In Donations From Liberal Billionaire Soros-- George Soros, the billionaire chairman of the American fund management firm that bears his name, has donated nearly $7 million to nonprofits that push a pro-gun control agenda between 2000 and 2011. According to Newsbusters, Soros donated a combined $6,727,966 to five organizations during that period. It’s not yet known how much he’s spent on backing gun-grabbing advocates since the beginning of last year’s string of mass shootings, which raised liberals’ public zeal to legislate gun ownership.

Dems push gun control agenda in DC, but not in battleground states--Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate. The two-pronged effort has prompted Republicans to accuse the Senate Democratic leadership of hypocrisy, but Democrats say it is simply smart politics. The question is whether two of the Democrats’ most promising potential candidates in Montana and South Dakota will pay a price for the leadership’s political maneuverings in Washington. Or will recruiting candidates who do not support President Obama’s gun control agenda have any effect on Democratic fundraising efforts?

NC Restaurant Carry Gets Vote on Tuesday!  On Wednesday, HB 937, “Amend Various Firearm Laws” which contains; restaurant carry, provisions for guns in locked vehicles on college campuses, carry in assemblies for which admission is charged, and a "cleanup" of parks carry language, passed from the House Judiciary A Subcommittee. It is now calendared for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, April 30. Attacks by anti-gun leftists, narrowly fended off in the committee, will likely be tried again when the bill hits the floor.

Biden: Gun Control ‘Will Pass Before the Year is Out’--Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that Arizona Sen. John McCain probably would have beat his boss in the 2008 presidential election had the economy not collapsed. Biden’s comment about McCain and President Barack Obama came during the opening dinner of an annual forum among the Red Rocks of Sedona in northern Arizona. He and McCain, a Republican, touched on the gun control debate following the Newtown shootings and the bombings in Boston, but made no mention of Syria. Just as the night came to a close, Biden turned to the grueling nature of presidential campaigns.

NORTH CAROLINA:

John Hood--Daily Journal: Why the Energy Bill Matters--RALEIGH — In a legislative session featuring proposals to rewrite the tax code, take important next steps on regulatory reform, give parents more school choice, and restructure the state’s transportation and Medicaid programs, Rep. Mike Hager’s idea of putting a time limit on North Carolina’s renewable-energy mandate might seem comparatively inconsequential. Although the bill is sometimes called a “repeal” of the 2007 mandate that electric utilities buy solar energy and other costly sources, Hager’s legislation was a compromise. It actually allowed the mandate — and thus its effect on our monthly electric bills — to grow over the next few years, not shrink. It also authorized a study commission to examine the issue in greater detail. What the solar industry and allied groups objected to was the provision that by the beginning of the next decade, the public would no longer be compelled to subsidize their industry by paying electricity surcharges.

Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Widespread--Durham scheme reaches several states, also federal returns--DURHAM — A stolen-identity tax refund scheme uncovered by a Durham retiree in March apparently is so widespread that one federal official has described it as the “No. 1 tax scam for 2013.” It’s called SIRF, stolen identity refund fraud, and it affects an untold number of innocent taxpayers, costing the federal government billions. It relies on two weaknesses in the operations of the Internal Revenue Service: its desire to get returns to taxpayers quickly, and a timing gap in how it deals with employees and employers.

Legislators hear from opponents of ferry tolls in Pamlico--ORIENTAL — North Carolina legislators gave people some hope Saturday that proposed tolls for the Minnesott-Cherry Branch and Bayview-Aurora routes are being fought in Raleigh. Sen. Norman Sanderson, R-Pamlico, and Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, joined Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, at the meeting, which drew about 25 people to Oriental’s Town Hall.

Jones: Lack of jobs in east is the federal government's fault--Rep. Walter Jones has announced plans to launch what he calls an “economic growth initiative” across the third congressional district in the coming months. Jones said he will be holding a series of events asking constituents to share their concerns about government policies.

NEW YORK TIMES: Cost could top $4.4B in program intended to address discrimination against black farmers...Obama admin added thousands more black, Hispanic and female farmers who had never claimed bias...Pigford v. Glickman case argued the Agriculture Dept's credit bureau denied or limited loans to black farmers...
NC LOAN MGR: 'You knew (fraud) was wrong, but what could you do? Who is going to listen to you?' No. of successful claimants exceeded the total number of farms operated in 4 states, including NC...In Maple Hill, NC, the number of people paid was nearly 4 times the total number of farms...
The late Andrew Breitbart blew whistle on scam...the Left scoffed...
FLASHBACK: The Media Matters frenzy to discredit Breitbart's Pigford investigation... http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/04/26/Media-Matters-Published-20-Stories-to-Discredit-Breitbarts-Pigford%20Investigation

OTHER NEWS:

Marco Rubio: Corrupted by Washington in Only Two Years--It’s hard to believe that Marco Rubio has only been in the Senate since January 2011. With the way he has been going on lately, telling conservatives what a bunch of unenlightened rubes we are for objecting to his immigration reform, you would think he’d been a Senator for 20 years. The once Tea Party favorite, whose chances of being elected President are now on par with Mark Sanford, has been at the forefront of jamming the Democrat’s dream of opening the immigration floodgates through Congress, an effort that shares many the hallmarks of the passage of Obamacare:

Morning Bell: Immigration Bill Doesn’t Secure the Border--Must Washington fix our broken southern border? You bet. Will the comprehensive immigration reform bill help? You bet it won’t. The number one flaw of the bill is it starts by giving amnesty to the unlawfully present population in the United States. As soon as the bill passes, those in the country contrary to U.S. immigration law are granted status to stay. Amnesty immediately creates an incentive for illegal border crossings and overstays. Thus, the bill’s strategy would drive up the cost of securing the border. To make matters worse, the draft law states that anyone who was present in the U.S. before 2012 qualifies—creating massive opportunity for fraud, since there is no proof required that applicants have been here for several years.

Under strict bullying law, kid who called classmate ‘horse’ and ‘fat ass’ goes to court-- After enacting the strictest anti-bullying law in the country, the state of New Jersey must now hold trials for kids who call each other names on the playground. An eighth-grader in the village of Ridgewood who allegedly called a girl “horse,” “fat,” and “fat ass” is just one of a dozen cases that suggest the 2011 law went too far in criminalizing bullying, according to The Star-Ledger. The boy denied calling his classmate any name other than “horse.”

Gun Owners are terrorists according to DHS Video--This is sickening. This is propaganda in its dirtiest form, and it’s paid for by those it attempts to demonize.  What you are about to see is a training video the DHS is using, or has used, to depict scenarios where domestic raids are necessary to thwart terrorist attacks. While it might be logical for a video to depict radical Muslims or similar entities plotting bombings or mass killings, the DHS apparently chose to ignore these groups, instead opting to use “illegal gun owners” as the evil guys. The video even references a “local militia group” in the fake news report.

UNDER IMMIGRATION BILL, ILLEGALS WON'T HAVE TO PAY BACK TAXES BEFORE APPLYING FOR, OR RECEIVING, AMNESTY--NUMBERSUSA NEWSLETTER, WEEK OF APR 26TH, 2013: BREAKING: Our Capitol Hill team has finished crunching the numbers of the new amnesty bill and found that the bill would grant 33 million new green cards in the first 10 years after enactment. Look for more details to come...The 844-page bill filed by the Senate's Gang of Eight is filled with so many waivers, exemptions, loopholes, and broken promises that it's almost too much to keep up with. The most recent item that can be filed in the "broken promises" category has to do with back taxes.

Big Sis: Obama Admin Can Pick Which Immigration Laws to Enforce--(Breitbart) – During her testimony on the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that she, President Barack Obama and other political officials at the top of this administration have the authority to decide which laws to enforce, and which ones to ignore.

Liberals Try to Pin Texas Plant Explosion on Republican Governor--Is there any incident of mass death that liberals won’t exploit for political points?  If the behavior of the Sacramento Bee and newspaper cartoonist Jack Ohman is typical, then the answer is no. The Bee ran an Ohman cartoon that attempts to link Texas Gov. Rick Perry to the recent fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, that killed 14 and injured 200. The cartoon’s first panel shows Perry at a podium in front of a banner that says “Low Tax! Low Regs!” Perry is saying “Business is booming in Texas.” The second panel shows the plant exploding, sending Perry’s signs flying. Ha ha.

American Thinker: Islamic Terror and Suburban Entitlement-- It has recently surfaced that Djokhar Tsarnaev told his mother a couple of years back that he was "willing to die for Islam." It now appears that he was playing for keeps and that he meant it. Further, it appears the little punk will get his wish. But, for two redundant weeks, people like Bill O'Reilly have been out there calling Tsarnaev a "coward." O'Reilly and others are flat wrong. Their rush to dismiss every last aspect of the terrorists' character is counterproductive and unhelpful. Unless "coward" is some byword escaping the common meaning, its application to Islamofascists is misguided. To Aristotelian ethicists' ears, calling Islamofascists "cowards" is as absurd as calling them all "gluttons" -- employed as if either of these vices captures some "unity of vice" operating within the souls of our enemies. The vices, like the virtues, each bear specific definitions and thus, specific usages.

SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• House Homeland Security Chair: Boston Bombing Suspects Had a ‘Trainer’
• 
  ‘Gosnell Is Not Alone’: Counselor Tells Undercover ‘Mom’ What Happens When Babies Move After Late-Term Abortions
• Former Israeli Intel Chief: Iran Has Already Crossed Nuclear ‘Red Line’
• Israel Launches Airstrikes In Response to Rocket Fire From Gaza
• Officials: No Sign of Mysterious Islamist Friend ‘Misha’ Connected to Boston Bombings

NORTH CAROLINA:

NC Republican Woman Joyce Krawiec Announces Run for NC GOP Vice Chair--Kernersville, NC ) — Joyce Krawiec, Grassroots Activism Chair of the NC Federation of Republican Women, announced today that she will seek the position of Vice Chair of the North Carolina Republican Party. “I have made this decision after much thoughtful and prayerful consideration, as well as encouragement from many friends and colleagues. As our Vice Chair, I would like to reach out to all conservatives across North Carolina and to form a partnership that will make our state Republican Party even stronger.” A resident of Kernersville, Krawiec works in real estate with her husband, Ray, and is a former member of the NC House. She represented District 73, which included areas of Forsyth and Davidson counties. In addition to her current position with the NC Federation of Republican Women, she has also served as the Legislative Chair, New Membership director and Regional Vice President of the organization. Krawiec has also served on committees of the National Federation of Republican Women.

McCrory taps all new members for elections board--A Winston-Salem lawyer has been appointed by Gov. Pat McCrory to the board responsible for running elections and monitoring campaign finance reports statewide. Paul Foley is one three Republicans on the five-member State Board of Elections. The others are Josh Howard of Wake County and Rhonda Amoroso of New Hanover County. Democratic Party members will be Joshua Malcolm of Robeson County and Maja Kricker of Chatham County. Both chair their county elections boards.

Liberal Media and the Left – Thick as Thieves--Just in case you ever doubted the cozy relationship between liberals and mainstreatm media—-In my last blog, NC State Board of Elections Happy Investigators for Democracy NC, I talked about the AP reporter (Michael Biesecker) who wrote the story about the State Board of Elections’ (SBOE) willingness to investigate contributions outlined in a complaint filed by Bob Hall, Democracy NC director. I wrote: As always the liberal media refers to Bob Hall and his group as “Watchdogs.” Seeing that Michael Biesecker, one of the reporters for the AP article, was formerly a reporter for the News and Observer, he knows very well that Hall is a liberal activist, registered lobbyist and executive director of a group that was an original member of the now infamous Blueprint NC organization. You will remember that Blueprint NC was the source of a recently leaked strategy memo that exposed the game of how a coalition of liberal non-profits will “attack” elected officials in North Carolina. Hall’s work with Bartlett and the SBOE has produced a collection of some of the most liberal laws in the land. I posted the blog and went back to work. While perusing the more than 5,000 emails Civitas acquired through a public records request to the SBOE – you may remember – all of the emails were to or from Bob Hall, I came across an email from Bob Hall informing Gary Bartlett that Biesecker had moved to the Associated Press.

Fight over North Carolina's renewable energy portfolio standards pits poor captive ratepayers against special interests--A bill that would rein in and rethink North Carolina's renewable energy portfolio standard was rejected in a House committee, with several Republicans joining Democrats -- and falling in lockstep with the dictates of Pres. Barack Obama through his permanent campaign arm, Organizing for Action. When S.B. 3 instituted the RPS mandate back in 2007, the revolution in shale gas extraction through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing had not yet come about. Now, however, cheap, plentiful natural gas -- which is recognized in the European Union as green energy because it is clean-burning -- is an inescapable feature of the energy landscape.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Here's Comes the First of the Executive Orders-- Just as I warned SurvivalBlog readers, it appears that the BHO Administration is taking executive action on firearms importation. Take a few minutes to read this: After Senate setback, Obama quietly moving forward with gun regulation. Here is the key portion of the article: “The Importation of Defense Articles and Defense Services — U.S. Munitions Import List references executive orders, amends ATF regulations and clarifies Attorney General authority “to designate defense articles and defense services as part of the statutory USML for purposes of permanent import controls,” among other clauses specified in heavy legalese requiring commensurate analysis to identify just what the administration’s intentions are. Among the speculations of what this could enable are concerns that importing and International Traffic in Arms Regulations [ITAR] may go forward to reflect key elements within the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.” [Emphasis added.] Depending on how it is implemented, the implications of this change could be huge. With the stroke of a pen and without the consent of Congress, ATF bureaucrats could make ANY gun part or accessory (including magazines) or ammunition that were originally manufactured or perhaps even those designed for military use no longer legal for importation for civilian use. That might mean no more milsurp parts sets. No more milsurp magazines. No more milsurp ammo. No more milsurp optics. Perhaps not even spare firing pins. This could be ugly.

OTHER NEWS:

Agenda-21 Quick Summary--"The American global domination project is bound to generate all kinds of resistance in the post-colonial world." ~Richard Falk, U.N. Human Rights Council, U.N. Monitor for Palestine Seen on FOX AND FRIENDS 4/26/2013--1. Agenda 21 is legally non-binding, or “soft law,” document signed in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit by 178 nations, including the United States. It promotes the philosophy of “Sustainable Development.” Agenda 21 is a UN-sponsored international program, or blueprint, designed to implement internationally-controlled standards for virtually all aspects of life from the use of private property to the places people can and cannot live to how they travel to what they eat. Once standards are adopted they are difficult to repeal. “Soft law” policy will eventually become international “hard law.”  Take a look at what Richard Falk, U.N. Human Rights Council and Monitor for Palestine says on Fox and Friends this morning.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013
Lunchtime Breaking News--The House of Representatives passed a bill to give the Federal Aviation Administration the flexibility to end furloughs of air-traffic controllers that have sparked widespread flight delays across the country. The legislation, which cleared the Senate Thursday evening, now goes to President Barack Obama. 

WEBSITE OF THE DAY--Founders’Truth—Preserving the sacred fire of liberty
http://www.founderstruth.org/

TODAY ON THE BLAZE: http://www.theblaze.com/

• O’Reilly to Beck on Saudi National Story: ‘We’re Always Willing to Give You a Hearing
• Mo. House Takes Shot at Federal Gov’t by Passing This Gun Bill
• Hezbollah Denies Launching Drone to Israel that Forced Netanyahu’s Chopper Flying Nearby to Make Unscheduled Landing
• 91-Year-Old Man Survives Being Shot in the Face by Robber — So Why Do Police Still Have HIS Guns More Than a Year Later?
• Did Boston Bomber Suspect Tamerlan Use Terror Tactics He Learned Last Year From Azerbaijan Plot?

COMMENTARY:

Junius P. Long: Food for Thought--"If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally ...you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion ... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

VIDEO:

UNBELIEVABLE—MUST WATCH! Just When you Think You’ve Seen Everything – This Pokes You in the Eye--People Petition to Confiscate Guns From Tea Party Supporters and Repeal the Second Amendment

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

FreedomWorks-- The secret is out. The Congressional Democrats who rammed ObamaCare down our throats want to exempt both themselves and their staff from ObamaCare.  You read that right. The same people who tell us ObamaCare is good for us are trying to protect themselves from it.  Demand Speaker Boehner tell the liberals in D.C.: if Congress gets a pass on ObamaCare, we should too!

NORTH CAROLINA:
House, Senate at odds over state boards – again--A dispute between House and Senate leaders on Senate Bill 10 reopened Thursday with two of Gov. Pat McCrory’s judicial appointees caught in the crossfire. Republican lawmakers want to purge many state boards and commissions to remove Democrats and existing appointees and replace them with their allies, but the two chambers can’t agree on how far-reaching to make the overhaul.

NC: 57 of 60 Voter Challenges Sustained by Pasquotank County Board of Elections--On Thursday, April 18, 2013 the Pasquotank Board of Elections convened a hearing to address the 60 voter challenges to voters using 1704 Weeksville Road (Elizabeth City State University) as their voting address. Richard “Pete” Gilbert, Pasquotank GOP Chairman and a resident of the 4th ward brought the challenges after successfully challenging four voters on election day. One of the main points that Mr. Gilbert made during the proceedings is the North Carolina laws regarding residency of college students. Case law in North Carolina provides the legal presumption that college students are NOT domiciled in the college town to which they go. It is a rebut-able presumption that can be overcome with the greater weight of the evidence. (from NC State Board of Election’s General Counsel, Don Wright, in his paper Residency for Election Purposes.) Case law also provides that the person alleging the change in domicile (the student) bears the burden of proof in providing evidence of the change. Proof could be a North Carolina driver’ license or form of ID or bill that bears the name of the voter and their new address. But students do not change their address. They go home on weekends and Christmas because they have not abandoned their previous domicile.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

North Carolina: Critical Right-to-Carry Reform Bill Advances to House Floor--Contact your state Representative in support of House Bill 937! Yesterday, the NC House Judiciary Subcommittee A passed House Bill 937 on a voice vote, after first making a number of improvements that made this pro-gun bill even stronger. This legislation seeks to make a number of important pro-gun reforms including, but not limited to: Allowing Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) holders to lawfully carry their personal protection firearm into a restaurant that serves alcohol.; Removing the prohibition on CHP holders from carrying into a place where tickets are sold for admission and would fix the problem of anti-gun localities overstepping their authority regarding restricting CHP holders from carrying firearms into locally controlled parks; and Addressing some issues regarding firearms in a vehicle, as well as certain firearm issues on campus grounds. In addition, this subcommittee added language that would bring North Carolina in compliance with the requirements set forth in the federal NICS Improvement Amendments Act (NIAA) of 2007. This legislation does not expand or create new categories of prohibited persons.

GOP Lawmakers Hope to Combat Ammunition Stockpiling by Gov’t Agencies With AMMO Act--Republicans in the Senate and House are expected to introduce a joint bill Friday that would limit the amount of ammunition that federal agencies are allowed to buy and stockpile over the next six months, the Washington Free Beacon reports.  The bill, titled the Ammunition Management for More Accountability or “AMMO” Act, is being proposed after several lawmakers have voiced concerns about some federal agencies, like the Department of Homeland Security, seemingly stockpiling large quantities of ammo. “DHS, for instance, has placed two-years worth of ammunition, or nearly 247 million rounds, in its inventory,” the Free Beacon notes.  In a statement provided to the Washington Free Beacon, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), said federal agencies must provide more “transparency and accountability” in regards to its “stockpiles of ammunition.”

OTHER NEWS:

Saudi Person of Interest: Osama Bin Laden’s Son? Now we know why Michelle Obama was so anxious to see him. She wanted to apologize for killing his father. Check it out: We haven’t vetted this yet but feel free to check out the links below… very interesting. HAMZA IS KNOWN AS THE “CROWN PRINCE OF TERROR,” AND VOWED REVENGE VS. USA. HAMZA IS KNOWN TO BE “THE SPITTING IMAGE OF HIS FATHER, OSAMA BIN LADEN.” “SAUDI STUDENT” WAS TACKLED FLEEING BOSTON MARATHON, THEN HOSPITALIZED WITH “SEVERE HAND BURNS AND SHRAPNEL IN BACKSIDE OF LEG.”


Cringe Worthy: At Officers Memorial Biden Calls Bombers 'Knock-off Jihadis'--Speaking at the memorial service for slain M.I.T. officer Sean Collier VP Joe Biden called the Boston marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev “two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knock-off jihadis here in Boston.” Blithering idiot, not ‘knock-offs’ unfortunately for their victims they were to legit to quit. Hey crazy Joe, how many slaughtered Americans does it take for a knock-off jihadi to reach the next level of full blown genuine jihadist?? Correction: ‘Twisted, perverted cowardly islamic jihadists.’ Much better. From Little Rock to Fort Hood to Benghazi to Boston, the Obama Regime continues to insult the American victims of islamic jihad.


THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Sequester & Airport Delays: Is Harry Reid Off the Mark?
• DOJ Quietly Gives Companies Immunity From Wiretapping Law in Exchange for ‘Private Internet’ Surveillance
• Boston Suspects Also Wanted to Bomb NYC’s Times Square — Here Are the Details
• Obama Uses George W. Bush Library Dedication to…Stump for Immigration Reform
• Megyn Kelly’s Surprise Revelation: FBI Was ‘Shocked’ to See Judge ‘Waltz’ in and Give Suspect Miranda Rights
• The 1915 Armenian Genocide – Why Is It Still Denied By Turkey (And The U.S.)?
• Some of the Technology That Could Have Helped Prevent the Boston Bombings — But Are There Concerns?
• Dagestani Extremist Supposedly Ran Bomb-Making Training Camps — Did He Train Boston Suspect?
• NY Times’ Use of the Word ‘Fetus’ in Gosnell Murder Trial Coverage Angers Christian Professor — Here’s Why
• This GOP Rep’s Anti-Obama Speech on the House Floor Is Spreading Fast
• Intruder With a Baseball Bat Vs. Texas Man With a Shotgun — Here’s What Happened
• Financial Gun Control? GE Capital Quietly Cuts Off Lending to Gun Shops
• Are These Pictures of Michelle Obama Visiting the Saudi Student Put on a Watchlist Last Week?

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

ObamaCare Will Hurt North Carolina Poor--Obamacare was sold to the American people as a vehicle toward attaining the goal of “universal coverage”. The key selling points were that many Americans are without health insurance because they cannot afford it; and that the uninsured are at risk of being thrown into abject poverty once they must enter the medical system. Obamacare was also sold as a humanistic endeavor to assist those who need medical care.  One would ordinarily think that such a program would be very good for the poor. However, it turns out that North Carolina’s poor (i.e., the working class and lower middle class) will not fare very well under Obamacare. In fact, the true story of Obamacare’s impact on these groups is fairly shocking. Consider the following:

NORTH CAROLINA:

Public notice bill passes Senate--Open government advocates, newspaper industry objected. S.B. 287, a bill sponsored by Sen. Trudy Wade, R-Guilford, passed the N.C. Senate 26-23 on second reading earlier this week. Sen. Norman Sanderson, R-Pamlico, voted against the bill. The bill allows a select group of local governments to opt out of posting public notices in newspapers, which is required by law. Public notice advertisements generate revenue for newspapers and are regarded by open government advocates as a necessary part of government transparency.

State legislators visit ferry sites gathering information on toll issue--ORIENTAL — A number of state lawmakers will be in Oriental on Saturday morning for an informational session on planned ferry toll changes, sponsored by an anti-tolls group and its supporters. The 9 to 11 a.m. meeting is at the Oriental Town Hall, put on by Don’t Tax Our Highways, a grassroots group that formed in 2012 after the General Assembly ordered new and increased tolls for the seven coastal ferries.

House Public Utility Committee Turns Back HB 298, Continues Raw Deal for Taxpayers and RatePayers-- House Bill 298, Affordable and Reliable Energy Act was the only bill heard in the House Public Utilities Committee today. When a mandate for utility companies to derive 12 ½% of energy from renewable energy sources (solar, wind and biomass) passed in 2007, it seemed like a raw deal for taxpayers and rate payers. Since then we’ve learned the mandate and the subsidies are in fact a raw deal for taxpayers and rate payers. House Bill 298 offered an opportunity to roll back the mandate and sunset the taxpayer funded subsidies for an industry who’s time has come to make it or break it on its own. Unfortunately the committee voted to continue the mandate and the subsidies and the raw deal for tax payers and rate payers. The vote was 13 yes and 18 no. What a raw deal….

Voter ID one step closer to become state law--The state House passed a bill Wednesday requiring voters to show a photo ID when they go to the polls in 2016, after an emotionally charged debate that underscored North Carolina’s political polarization. House Republicans pushed through the measure saying that the public demanded more stringent ballot security at polling places, that voter fraud was more prevalent than is understood, and that in a modern, mobile society fewer election officials personally knew voters.

VIP-NC Response to Passage of HB 589 (“Voter ID” legislation)--The only excuse that Thom Tillis’ indirectly gave us about his stunningly weak “voter ID” law is that Eric Holder was making him do it. We hope the voters will keep that in mind if they should ever see Thom’s name on a ballot again. . . . Now, the battle moves on to the Senate, where we hope they will approach this with more of an investigative mindset and avoid any up-front concessions that there is no vote fraud in North Carolina. -Jay DeLancy, Executive Director of VIP-NC

Daily Journal--Setting the Record Straight on School Vouchers: Critics of school vouchers have been out in force recently, particularly in the pages of the News & Observer. For example, last week Yevonne Brannon and Nick Rhodes declared in an op-ed that “school vouchers are wrong for NC.” Let’s take a look at their opposition to House Bill 944: Opportunity Scholarship Act. 1. “Lower- to middle-income families who try to use the $4,200 voucher will still be left with a tuition balance they cannot afford.” There is no evidence that this is the case. The Children’s Scholarship Fund-Charlotte, a privately funded voucher program that caps its voucher at $2,500 per student, requires participating low-income families to pay part of the tuition at the schools of their choice. Low-income families are asked to (and do) make financial sacrifices to ensure that their children receive the education that best meets their needs. Private schools are more than willing to provide financial assistance, as well.

Three More Perdue Donors Convicted In Campaign Probe--RALEIGH — Three associates of former Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue — New Bern attorney Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs, Morganton businessman Charles Michael Fulenwider, and former Western Piedmont Community College board member Robert Lee Caldwell — were convicted Wednesday of misdemeanor charges for obstruction of justice in an investigation of fundraising violations during Perdue’s 2008 campaign for governor.

N.C. lawmakers court black families to back vouchers--State lawmakers have turned to a key demographic in the state — black families — to build support for legislation that would help more students attend private schools. Several state representatives, including House Speaker Thom Tillis, spoke to a crowd of more than 2,400 people Tuesday at an advocacy event at the Greensboro Coliseum. The parents, educators and community leaders came from as far away as Asheville and the Outer Banks to hear from school choice supporters, including Grammy-nominated gospel artist Marvin Sapp.

NC hearing set on charges against Perdue donors--RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A trio of former supporters of North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue are due in court on charges that they obstructed justice during an investigation of financial activities related to her campaign. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby says due in court Wednesday are long-time Perdue family friend Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs Jr. of New Bern, fast-food restaurant owner Charles Michael Fulenwider and Robert Caldwell, both of Morganton.

State evicting veterans from American Legion post--SALISBURY, N.C. -- The Samuel C. Hart American Legion post has been volunteering and hosting fundraising in Salisbury since World War I. "We're one of the longest active posts in the state. It's like a close-knit family," said Commander John Taylor. The state of North Carolina, though, is now telling the Hart Post 14 family to find a new home. The Department of Transportation is set to build a new bridge over the land where Hart Post 14's home base currently sits along Highway 29. The DOT approached the American Legion post about the plan and made an offer, but the members said there was never an agreement.

Mom punished for school attendance--A Pitt County mother claims she was wrongly charged and then found guilty of allowing her daughter to violate a school attendance law each absence. Christine Gray's 14 year old daughter Samantha has a long medical history, which includes autism, glaucoma, mental retardation, and epilepsy. Last year her daughter missed 89 days of school and 50 this year at Ayden Middle School. Gray was found guilty earlier this year for violating the State's Compulsory Attendance Law, despite the schools knowledge of her daughter’s medical history. The school said over ten of those days was unexcused absences.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Financial Gun Control? GE Capital Quietly Cuts Off Lending to Gun Shops--General Electric, Co. has been quietly informing gun shop owners that the company will no longer be providing lending services to them, the Wall Street Journal reports. GE Capital is apparently reconsidering its relationship to firearms companies following the Sandy Hook shooting. Earlier this month, Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncan’s Outdoor Store in Bay City, Mich., claims he received a letter from GE Capital Retail Bank announcing its “difficult decision” to stop providing financial services to his business. Other gun shops have received similar notices, the Journal notes. More from WSJ.com:  GE is at least the second big financial firm to retreat from the gun business following the school shootings, which claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults in December.  Days after the killings, private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP said it would try to sell the gun company it owns—Freedom Group Inc.— which makes brands including Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin and H&R.

OTHER NEWS:

JONES SEEKS TO BLOCK FUNDING FOR UN ARMS TREATY-- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday Congressman Walter Jones (NC-3) joined 50 of his colleagues in urging the House Appropriations Committee to prohibit U.S. taxpayer funding from being used for the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty. In a letter to the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Kay Granger (TX-12) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (NY-17), Jones and his colleagues expressed deep concern with the proposed treaty and its implications for both domestic and foreign policy.

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Another Dem. Exit: Max Baucus Won’t Seek Reelection in 2014
• Was Watertown’s Door-to-Door Search for Bombing Suspects a Violation of the Fourth Amendment?
• You Get ‘Paid’ for Being a Jerk: NY State Senator Goes After Piers Morgan in Tense Exchange Over Torture of Boston Bombing Suspect
• Army Allegedly Orders That Bible Inscriptions Be Scraped Off of Weapon Scopes
• Did You Hear About the Traffic Stop Made in Niagara Falls the Morning the Boston Bomber Suspect Was Captured?
• Farmers Banned From Viewing Anti-Fracking ‘Gasland 2′ Premier at Film Fest…Despite Having Tickets
• DHS Official Provides New Details, Maintains Innocence of Saudi National Once Considered a Person of Interest in Boston Bombings

NORTH CAROLINA:


Drug testing for benefits bill passes Senate--Applicants the welfare program known as WorkFirst would need to pass a drug test before enrolling in the program under a bill that passed the state Senate Monday night. The measure, which passed 35-15, now goes to the House. There are currently 21,124 people in North Carolina enrolled in WorkFirst, a program that provides cash payments to people looking for jobs. It is targeted to the parents of young children.

NC Senate gives initial OK on legal notice options--RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- More local governments would be allowed to post legal notices online rather than in newspapers to comply with North Carolina law in a bill narrowly given tentative approval Monday night in the state Senate. The Senate voted 26-23 in favor of legislation that would give 10 counties and nearly all the municipalities within them the option to place notices for things like proposed zoning changes, public hearings and lists of delinquent taxpayers on government web sites instead of in local newspapers. They also can use both communication methods. The counties include Wake, Mecklenburg and Guilford and several in the mountains. Some municipalities already had the online option. Supporters call the change a money-saving measure for governments seeking to avoid the high cost of newspaper advertising as more people have access to the Internet.

Politicians hosting job fairs: How about some pro-growth votes, instead? US Senator Kay Hagan (D) got a lot of glowing publicity for hosting a job fair in Rocky Mount this week. It’s the least she could do. She enthusiastically cheerleaded and voted for ObamaCare, which even veteran Democrat senator Max Baucus (Montana) describes as a “train wreck coming.” She’s been a dependable vote for the job-killing big government agenda of Big Barry, Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer. Ol’ Kay and her voting record have helped damage a lot of bottom lines and produce a lot of layoffs and hiring freezes.

OTHER NEWS:

Putting Ryan Out Front Alters Immigration Debate Dynamic--This week’s most important development in the immigration debate has nothing to do with those testy exchanges at Monday’s Senate Judiciary hearings. It didn’t even happen in Washington. And the central player is one of President Barack Obama’s most prominent critics. The event was a daylong swing through Chicago on Monday by Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, who ran for vice president last year on the Mitt Romney “self deport” platform and who has continued to make deficit reduction the focus of his congressional career and his 2016 national aspirations.

DeMint Defends Heritage’s Immigration Report--Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint, the former senator from South Carolina, is defending the conservative think tank’s research into the fiscal effects of an immigration overhaul. Earlier this month, supporters of the Senate bill pre-emptively attacked Heritage Senior Research Fellow Robert Rector for what they contend was a “flawed” a 2007 study examining the cost of providing a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. The Cato Institute and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform have charged that Rector’s latest study on the subject, which has yet to be released, will probably be similarly flawed and does not represent conservatives.

Trial begins for officials accused in Obama, Clinton ballot petition fraud--VOTER FRAUD TRIAL: Did Obama Ever Qualify For 2008 State Ballot? The trial is underway for a former Democratic official and a Board of Elections worker who are accused of being part of a plot that has raised questions over whether President Obama's campaign -- when he was a candidate in 2008 -- submitted enough legitimate signatures to have legally qualified for the presidential primary ballot. The two face charges of orchestrating an illegal scheme to fake the petitions that enabled then-candidates Obama, and Hillary Clinton, to qualify for the race in Indiana.

Perez Abomination Grows--Committee vote on controversial mominee could come Thursday. (Please call your senators and ask them to vote against Thomas Perez as Secretary of Labor. Read the article below and you will agree. What a racist!)--To insist on at least some standards of political acceptability, to protect the Senate’s constitutional prerogatives, and especially to honor the rule of law itself, Senate Republicans are duty-bound to block, by any procedural means necessary, the nomination of Thomas Perez to be Secretary of Labor. Several blockbuster new developments add to the already compelling. Several old outrages, seen correctly, provide yet more grounds for a pitched battle against him.

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Hear the Incredible Account of an Eyewitness Who Saw the Boston Bomb Suspect Running Over and Dragging His Own Brother to Escape
• Alleged Bomber’s Aunt Gives More Details About Islamic Faith and His Elusive Trip to Russia: He ‘Did Not Fit Into the Muslim Life’
• 6 Interesting Things We Learned From the Boston Bomber Affidavit
• Sparks Fly at Tense Senate Immigration Hearing: ‘I Never Said That!’
• The Incredible Stat Involving the Boston Bombing Victims Not Killed in the Attack
• Canadian Authorities Say They’ve Foiled Major Al-Qaeda Linked Terrorist Plot
• Beck Breaks Exclusive Information on Saudi National Once Considered a Person of Interest in Boston Bombings
• White House: Boston Bombing Suspect Won’t Be Charged as ‘Enemy Combatant’
• Reuters: German Chancellor Says EU Nations Must Be Prepared to Cede Sovereignty
• Where Were the Boston Bombing Suspects Heading Next?
• Why Is Farrakhan’s Cop Son Driving a Taxpayer-Funded Police Car and Carrying a Gun When He Hasn’t Worked a Shift in 4+ Years?

OTHER NEWS:

Why is the FB I covering up for 9/11 Saudi Jihadists--There is a jawdropping expose in the Miami Herald today. Why has the full truth about Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 attacks not yet been told? And why is the FBI working so furiously to make sure the true story never makes the light of day? Thanks to the dogged pursuit by BrowardBulldog.org of these documents under the Freedom of Information act, the release shows “information contained in the documents flatly contradicts prior statements by FBI agents in Miami and Tampa who have said the investigation found no evidence connecting the al-Hijjis to the hijackers or the 9/11 plot.”  Who are they working for, anyway? Read the entire article — it’s astounding and deeply disturbing.

SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Boston Officials: Bombing Suspects ‘Were Going to Attack Other Individuals’
• Dianne Feinstein Prefers Massive Police Presence to Individuals With Assault Rifles During Boston Manhunt
• Israeli Doctors Are Treating Boston Bombing Suspect: New Details on His Condition
• #FreeJahar Hashtag Hits Twitter as People Sympathize With Boston Terror Suspect Who Allegedly Placed Bomb That Killed 8-Year-Old
• Shocking: At Least 179 Dead, 6,700 Injured After Earthquake Rocks China
• What You Said: Blaze Readers Respond to Boston Marathon Attack
• ‘It Is Not Sufficient’: U.S. Doubles Aid to Syrian Rebels, Who Still Want More

WEBSITE OF THE DAY:

FEET TO THE FIRE—To ensure the elected do what’s expected

COMMENTARY:

Tim Phillips: Wasteful Programs that Make You Want To Pull Your Hair Out-- This week we finally reached Tax Freedom Day – the day after which American workers begin to make money for themselves and their families instead of the government. While no one begrudges making a reasonable contribution for necessary services, how many of us are confident that our wages earned over the past 108 days are being spent carefully and wisely by the federal government in Washington, D.C? So while we all listen to politicians and government employee unions still bemoaning the modest cuts imposed by the Sequester, let’s scroll through the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) annual report highlighting just some of the waste and redundant programs still funded by our tax dollars. Wasteful Spending Program #1: $14 million on Catfish Inspections--Not only does government have a spending problem, but with a budget shortfall estimated at $845 billion this year, we have a massive wasteful spending problem. Take for instance Catfish Inspections. The GAO reports that we could easily save $14 million annually by consolidating the overlapping inspection processes on Catfish.

Aaron Cantor: The Oath--Many years ago when I held up my hand and swore my oath, with the zeal that comes with youth, I whispered to myself, this is for as long as I live. Now I find myself well into my senior years, with all the frailty that comes with extreme old age, but one thing has not changed, The Oath is still just as binding today as it was then, because I don’t remember seeing an expiration date on that oath. Just like a marriage vow, it is “Till Death Us Do Part”. As long as I live and breathe, that oath is intact and in effect, and I am quite certain it is the same for all of my brothers and sisters in arms who spent most of their adult life in uniform serving our country. Officers do not swear allegiance to POTUS – as a safeguard against a usurper commander-in-chief. They swear allegiance only to the Constitution.

VIDEO:

Obama Is Not Doing Squat for the Black Community-- AlfonZo Rachel sounds off on the First Lady’s belief that race relations still have a long way to go in this nation. Zo asks what President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have done for the Black community?

NORTH CAROLINA:

NCLEG and the stalwart commissioners of Rowan County get it right and didn't buckle under to the mindless Main Stream Media and the ACLU.

“Hometown Girl” Raises Money--U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-NC, came back to the town she grew up in, Lakeland, a little over a week ago and left with a weighty addition to her re-election campaign chest. Hagan, the daughter of Joe P. and the late Jeanette Chiles Ruthven, makes occasional trips back to see her family, but this time it had a special payoff. Brother Greg Ruthven said Lakeland contributors helped raise $115,000 for her re-election campaign in North Carolina during a local fundraiser event hosted by the Ruthven family.

N.C. House coalition proposes independent redistricting, but Senate leaders likely to balk--RALEIGH — Even as they debated a voter ID bill Wednesday, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers pushed a potentially farther-reaching change in how North Carolinians vote. The unusual alliance – representing a majority of House members – touted a bill that would take redistricting out of their hands and give it to an independent commission. “We are creating the most efficient, forward-looking redistricting process in the U.S.,” said Speaker Pro Tem Paul Stam, a Wake County Republican.

OTHER NEWS:

"THE DELIBERATE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA"--ALL PATRIOTS FOR AMERICA SHOULD READ THIS LINK. AND BE SURE OTHERS READ IT ALSO.  IT IS A FREE DOWNLOAD BOOK TITLED "THE DELIBERATE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA" WRITTEN BY CHARLOTTE THOMSON ISERBYTE--EXPLAINS SO MUCH. I FOUND IT BY LUCK ....SO ENLIGHTENING!

Imam Connected to Suspected Bomber’s Mosque Pulled as Speaker at Marathon Memorial-- According to reports, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev attended the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, MA. The Islamic Society of Boston’s website states the mosque’s sister organization is the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. They are both subordinate to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a known US Muslim Brotherhood associate and an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Trial.

Owners of 'Terrorista #1' BMW taken into custody over Boston bombings AGAIN: Feds arrest two men 'who were friends with suspect for immigration violation'-- The two men who own a BMW with the license plate ‘Terrorista #1’ and who are said to be friends with the younger Boston bombing suspect were taken into custody again on Saturday.

This time the two foreign nationals were arrested over alleged immigration violations in the Massachusetts town, New Bedford, where police say the surviving suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, may have once lived. The students, named by neighbours by their first names Azmat and Diaz, drive a black BMW 330XI with the personalised plate and a sticker on the back which reads: ‘F*** you, you f****** f****’.

Immigration bill contains 400 waivers, exceptions and exemptions--The Senate’s pending immigration bill includes roughly 400 exemptions, exceptions, waivers, determinations and grants of discretion. The bill’s complexity is forcing opponents and supporters to comb through its 844 pages before they can declare their conditional support or opposition to the high-stakes measure. “WAIVER.—The Secretary, in the Secretary’s sole and unreviewable discretion, may waive the application of subparagraph (A) on behalf of an alien,” says one passage on page 71 of the complex document.

Islam - The Religion of Peace; But for America, More like the Harbinger of Death--Ever since the followers of Islam began their migratory moves to America our country has been subjected to the very dark side of that freedom-to-kill cult that unabashedly announced to we Americans that they, the Islamists, considered us, the Americans, to be infidels or ‘unbelievers’ unless we submit to Islam and discard other beliefs. In other words, spit on Christianity and swallow whole, Islam and all of its ravages.

Boston Marathon Bombings & Saudi ‘person of interest’--In the wake of the horrific April 15 bombing at the Boston Marathon that killed three people including an 8-year-old boy, injuring over one hundred and forty, and the media frenzy that ensued, today I contacted the Saudi Embassy In Washington, DC, seeking answers regarding President Obama’s meeting with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Boston Marathon bombing, and the conflicting media reports regarding the Saudi national, Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi—initially considered a “person of interest.”

Why Is Janet Napolitano Still on the Federal Payroll? Janet Napolitano is supposed to be in charge of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS.) That is what her office letterhead alleges, and that is presumably what she is paid for.

Obama’s Futile Tantrum over Gun Bill--During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama ran as a great uniter. “I don’t think there is anybody in this race who’s able to bring new people into the process and break out of some of the ideological gridlock that we have as effectively as I can,” he said at the time.

Obama’s Plan to Destroy America Hatched at Columbia Says Classmate--The economic news has gone from bad to worse. First we found out the jobs numbers are collapsing. Then retail sales figures were released- they showed across the board contraction. Next we found out U.S. business inventory figures were a disappointment. Finally consumer confidence not only collapsed, but it was the largest miss from expectations in U.S. economic history. What exactly is our president’s plan? Because it’s certainly not working. Or is it? It depends on what the plan is.

SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• John McCain & Lindsey Graham Want You to Know Boston Bombings Won’t Slow Immigration Reform
• The Surveillance Image of the Boston Suspect Moments Before He Was Captured
• Watch the Last 5 Days Summed Up in 3 Minutes
• ‘Gotcha http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/19/gotcha-the-first-pictures-of-alleged-boston-bomber-in-custody-surface/ha!’: The First Pictures of Alleged Boston Bomber In Custody Surface

VIDEO:

• Beck To Expose Obama Boston Bombing Coverup-- Godspeed, Glenn Beck!!
• Obama’s “Catch & Release” Of Saudi Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect--If anyone dares to question his motives, those close to Barack Obama insist that he is fiercely loyal to the nation…We simply ask, “Which nation?”
• Michael Savage Attacks Obama's Empty Speech After Arrest of Boston Bomber, Talks Real Security

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

Obamacare To Encourage Employers to Hire Immigrants Over Citizens--Actually, it’s a combination of Obamacare and the immigration reform bill that has been introduced into Congress. Under the terms of the immigration reform bill, nearly 11 million illegals will be granted a provisional legal status to live and work in the US. However, that legal status will mean that they will be considered to be the same as people classified as ‘not lawfully present’ under Obamacare. The significance of this is that provisionally legal immigrants (still illegal in my book), are not required under Obamacare to obtain health insurance nor are they eligible for Obamacare tax credits. Employers who hire them will not be required to provide health benefits for them and the employers will not be penalized for not providing health coverage. When you boil all of this down, employers will reap up to $3,000 in savings by hiring an illegal, oops, I mean a provisionally legal immigrant over hiring a US citizen and this is how it works:

NORTH CAROLINA:
NC senators discuss possible intelligence committee after Boston terror attack—A conversation began this week among a group of senators in North Carolina focusing on the state's safety and terror attacks. "We have a responsibility to stay vigilant on this and be proactive, and not just wait for things to happen," said Sen. Jeff Tarte. Tarte said some legislators with military backgrounds started discussing forming an intelligence committee on the state level. Tarte asked if lawmakers can do more.  "And it's not to circumvent any other processes or organizations out there. It's to be in concert, so we can be in communication to know how do we help, or is there a role to help from a legislative perspective?" Tarte said.

Jay Schalin: Faculty Attack Squad--An attempt to organize North Carolina's progressive faculty gets down and dirty. “Fascists,” “bums,” and “killing machines.” That’s how conservatives and Republicans were described at the initial meeting of a new organization of faculty members in North Carolina. The group, named “Scholars for a Progressive North Carolina,” was formed in response to what organizers described as “the destructive course pursued by the state legislature.” The group’s members are primarily faculty from the state’s public and private colleges and universities, although they are also partnering with the North Carolina Justice Center, a private non-profit organization that has long advocated for left-wing causes in the state.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Chris Christie (RINO) Unveils Sweeping Gun Control Plans--Gov. Chris Christie unveiled gun control and violence prevention measures that are as comprehensive as they are ambitious. Governor Chris Christie announces a plan to strengthen existing gun laws and background checks, bolster criminal penalties and treat the root causes of mass violence. (Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen) Christie acknowledges there is no way to prevent all violence in our society, but he says it is the job of government to question, to scrutinize and to demand more in an attempt to address the problem.

Pelosi on Gun Control: “We’re Not Taking No for an Answer.”-- Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, said yesterday that the Congress is going to pass a gun control bill, no matter what the NRA says. She did not say when. “We are not taking no for an answer,” she explained. Gun control is “inevitable,” she said. “It’s a matter of time,” she insisted. But what of Democrats in the Senate who voted against Senator Reid’s bill, which would have mandated background checks at gun shows. She said they put their careers ahead of public safety. That would seem to indicate that the voters in those Senators’ states do not think that tighter gun control laws are going to increase public safety. On the contrary, they are concerned about safety from a grasping federal government.  We need gun control “for the children,” she insisted. That means we need a more powerful federal government for the children.

OTHER NEWS:

Obama Buries Boston Massacre Saudi Connection--One Boston Massacre terrorist is dead, under suspicious circumstances. We saw the second terrorist—Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—literally shut down an entire metropolitan area for over twenty-four hours. And now he’s under lock and key, whisked away from the public eye. America saw what martial law looked like as light-armored tanks roamed the streets and hundreds of special forces conducted a house-to-house search, looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, apparently a punk kid. Except martial law was never declared. Except America wondered: if one nineteen-year-old kid could shut down an entire metropolitan area, what could a small contingent of al-Qaeda jihadis do? Was this the future of America under a President who declared in 2008 that he would make peace with the Muslim world?

Home School Family Has to Go, Chechen Islamists Got to Stay-- By now you have heard of the German homeschooling family that our government wants to deport. The family left Germany because of Nazi-era education laws that forbid parents from choosing homeschooling for their children. TIME reported on the story in 2010. “The Romeikes are not your typical asylum seekers. They did not come to the U.S. to flee war or despotism in their native land. No, these music teachers left Germany because they didn’t like what their children were learning in public school — and because homeschooling is illegal there.” U.S. Immigration Judge Lawrence Burman had granted the Romeike family asylum, saying that “the [German] government is attempting to enforce this Nazi-era law against people that it purely seems to detest because of their desire to keep their children out of school.” Michael Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association said it best when he made the point that “eleven million people are going to be allowed to stay freely – but this one family is going to be shipped back to Germany to be persecuted,” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.” And for what? Because they want to educate their children at home like millions of American families — an “estimated 2 million children, or about 4% of the total school-age population.” Is there any indication that the Romeike family is in any way a threat to our nation? Not in the least.

How Can the US Protect Citizens Against Terrorists with Barack Obama as Commander-in-Chief?  Over the past four plus years, Barack Obama has repeatedly gone out of his way to declare that the United States is NOT at war with Islam, despite all evidence to the contrary. Even more distressing, Obama apparently refuses to accept the fact that Islam IS, by its own admission, at war with America! This bone-headed refusal to face truth may be instrumental in the loss of innocent Americans lives, perhaps even including the tragic events in Boston this week. The big question: How much more spilled American blood will it take to convince Barack Obama that 1)the war on terror is not over, 2) the war is now being fought on the streets of America, and 3)adherents of radical Islam are dedicated enemies of American and Americans?

House Dismantles Fourth Amendment While America Distracted-- While Americans were focusing on the Boston Marathon bombings and defending the Second Amendment to the Constitution from the Senate’s efforts to eliminate guns, the House was busy about the business of destroying the Fourth Amendment. After two days of debate this week, the House passed CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, by a vote of 288-127, with 18 abstaining. The legislation would allow the federal government to engage private sector firms — think Google — in the business of monitoring your emails, postings and user data for nebulous “threat information” which would then be shared “voluntarily” without need for any sort of warrant. The IRS and other federal agencies already have policies in place stating their belief that they are allowed to waltz through your data anytime they please, so CISPA seems primarily crafted to protect the Facebooks, Twitters, Yahoos, Sprints and other electronic communications businesses from legal reprisals.

The Schizophrenic Argument For Abortion-- The latest in Obama stupidity involves a letter written by Michelle Obama, saying that abortion is a routine medical procedure. I let idiotic statements like this roll off my back. You can’t debate morality with a liberal. It’s like throwing pearls to swine. You’re wasting your words. People who have a sense of dignity and human compassion do not kill babies. Nazis killed babies. The Roman legions killed babies. The Communist Chinese killed babies. The kind of people who advocate killing babies are the same kind of people who drop the family dog off at the shelter because the animal causes them an inconvenience. The fact that the Obamas had to dredge up a family dog to feed their public image speaks volumes to dog lovers. They don’t have to drag the poor thing to the gas chamber. They leave that dirty business up to shelter workers.

Benghazi: The Cover-up Continues--Secretary of State John F. Kerry just wishes that Congress would stop asking him silly questions about the September 11 murders in Benghazi. Rather than release any facts, he continued the obfuscation of the truth that the Obama Administration will be known for. He chastised members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, insisting that all State Department Officials have testified and that all documents were made available to Congress (minus testimony from the survivors of the murderous attacks, of course.) When pressed to provide a better accounting of events, he told Congress “I do not want to spend the next year coming up here talking to you about Benghazi.” Secretary Kerry relayed the Administration’s mantra to House Republicans when he suggested “Let’s put this behind us.”

(IBD) Sorry, Mainstream Media, No White Tea Partiers Were Involved, Only Islamofascists-- Media Bias: There's palpable dismay at outlets such as MSNBC and Salon that the Boston Marathon bombers were radicalized young men from Chechnya and not angry white males from the vast right-wing conspiracy. Shortly after Monday's tragedy in Boston, David Sirota of Salon Magazine penned a piece titled "Let's hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American." His hopes were dashed when the suspects turned out to be Muslim brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose family origins are in Chechnya, the rebellious Russian region that is a breeding ground for terrorists. In 2002, about 40 armed Chechen separatists took more than 900 hostages at Moscow's Dubrovka Theatre, a siege that resulted in the deaths of 130 hostages and all of the Chechen terrorists.

Will Media Report: Suspected Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Appears to Be Obama Fan? Several posts on what several news organizations have confirmed as the Twitter profile of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev indicate that that the 19-year-old Chechnyan immigrant was a supporter of Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. If that is indeed the case, it does not mean that Obama has any sort of connection with or responsibility for the bombing suspect or his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It does, however, completely reverse the fantasy that many American liberals were openly hoping for: that the bombing suspects might be revealed as Timothy McVeigh 2.0, someone whose very name they could use to smear and deride anyone who stands against their belief system. In other words, one of those “dog whistles” we keep hearing so much about.

Congress Quietly Repeals Insider Trading Ban--While Congress might be stuck in a deadlock on just about every issue imaginable, there’s one piece of legislation that both Democrats and Republicans hate unanimously: the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law passed last year designed to prevent insider trading among lawmakers and government officials by requiring them to post disclosures of their financial transactions online. Both parties and both houses of Congress hated the disclosure portion of the law so much that it was repealed last Friday (4/12/13) without debate—the measure was sent to the President by unanimous consent. The ordeal took about 10 seconds in the Senate and 14 seconds in the House, according to official records.

Allen West: Can we investigate radical Islamic terror now?  Former Florida Rep. Allen West issued a scathing statement on his Facebook page Friday, in response to the ongoing manhunt for one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings. “Let me be very clear. The terrorist attack in Boston and evolving events indicate we have a domestic radical Islamic terror problem in America,” he wrote. “No more excuses. No more apologies. We are in a war of ideological wills and we shall prevail.” He also recounted previous congressional attempts to hold hearings on radical Islamism. “When Rep. Peter King attempted to have hearings on domestic terrorism, he was attacked for being racist,” Mr. West wrote.

DeMint Rejects Immigration Bill Authored By Gang of Eight-- Former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, now head of the conservative Heritage Foundation, is rejecting the “Gang of Eight” immigration legislation released on Wednesday, saying it would be too costly and would reward those who came to the United States illegally with amnesty. Before leaving Congress earlier this year, DeMint was among the most conservative lawmakers in the Senate and he helped establish its growing Tea Party coalition. Among the Tea Party protégés he left behind is Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is a key member of the Gang of Eight and the top spokesman for the immigration compromise. DeMint, however, called the plan championed by Rubio, “incomprehensible.”

House Republicans Jump on Board Obamacare.  Obamacare is forever. The constituencies are lining up to get the free goodies, and Republicans are switching sides. There is a GOP bill to make sure more Americans get access to the program. This was inevitable. Once a social welfare program is set up, it creates vocal constituencies. No matter how loudly the opposition party warned against it, once it is law, the program is permanent. The former political opponents line up to cash in on it: votes. It’s like events leading up to a war. The opponents warn against it, but once the shooting starts, opposition ceases. We will get no relief until the federal government goes belly-up.

Boehner Prefers to Sweep Benghazi Under the Bureaucratic Rug.  Over 100 House Republicans want a full-scale investigation of Benghazi, which means a full-scale investigation of Hillary Clinton’s role in the disaster. John Boehner is not one of them. Boehner thinks a report by various executive branch bureaucrats is all we need. He is having trouble keeping the lid on. There is a revolt brewing. A full-scale investigation of any scandal in government never takes place. The hotter the potato, politically speaking, the less full-scale any investigation will be. Still, it would be fun to see a partial investigation. This would be the question: “How fouled up was the Department of State? Totally, or merely extremely?” So, let us hope that Boehner loses his stand against an investigation. Every hour that Congressmen spend on an investigation, they are not attending hearings on the latest multi-billion dollar boondoggle.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Saudi News Site: Michelle Obama Visited Saudi National in Hospital on Thursday
• Suspect’s Uncle Gives Scathing Interview: ‘They Do Not Deserve to Live on This Earth’
• TheBlaze’s Buck Sexton Explains the History of Islamic Terror Related to Chechnya
• Caught on Video: Intense Police Shootout With Boston Bomber Suspects
• ‘Looked Right At Me’: Victim With Both Legs Amputated Wakes Up From Surgery and Confirms Seeing Bomber

VIDEO:

• This video is a good over-view of Common Core --
• Ron Paul launches Institute for Peace and Prosperity
• Mark Levin grills Marco Rubio on immigration proposal
• John Kerry On Benghazi: "We Got A Lot More Important Things To Move On To"-- REP. DANA ROHRABACHER (R-CA): Mr. Secretary, we think that there was a coverup of some kind of wrongdoing that led this administration to lie to the American people about the nature of the attack immediately after the attack and for a week after that attack. We need to have these questions answered. We need to talk to the people who are on the scene. Can you give us a commitment now that for this administration you will be coming up with the request, the honest request of this investigative committee as to who was evacuated and how to talk to them so we can get a straight answer and an understanding of what happened in Benghazi?

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):


Obamacare Could Mean $3K Incentive to Hire Immigrants--Passage of the new bipartisan immigration reform bill could mean a $3,000 per year incentive for employers who choose a newly legal immigrant over a U.S. citizen. The bill unveiled Wednesday says people who are granted provisional legal status will be treated the same as people “not lawfully present” under Obamacare guidelines, Investor's Business Daily reports. This means that provisionally legal immigrants will not be eligible for Obamacare tax credits or required to pay a tax penalty for failing to get health insurance – and employers won't be fined for not providing them with affordable health coverage

NORTH CAROLINA:
McCrory outlines new strategy for transportation spending--North Carolina will build better transportation projects and create more jobs if it scraps an outmoded formula that was created in 1989 to sprinkle road-building money among different regions of the state, Gov. Pat McCrory said Thursday. His proposed “Strategic Mobility Fund” would still distribute money regionally while carving out a 40 percent share – worth $6.4 billion over the next decade – to tackle traffic congestion and big transportation needs at a statewide level.


Auto insurance bills pass Senate, head to House--One bill lets insurers offer discounts while the other could keep older drivers from being charged the same rate as a 19-year-old.

New voter ID law could cost as much as $3.6 million to implement--The proposed new voter photo ID law could cost as much as much as $3.6 million to implement – the price of providing free photos to those without driver’s licenses, and voter education efforts, state officials said Thursday.

Critics say new bill would "gut" film incentives, cost jobs--WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A bill filed Thursday in the state House is raising concerns about the future of North Carolina's film credit, which many credit with helping to lure productions such as Iron Man 3, Safe Haven and Revolution to the Wilmington area. HB 994, co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Catlin (R-New Hanover) and Rep. Chris Millis (R-Pender), Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) and Rep. Paul Luebke (D-Durham), seeks to make the film production credit non-refundable. According to Millis' explanation, film productions would no longer receive a refund from the state for any income tax credit. Under the proposed bill, the production would instead be entitled to carry the surplus credit forward for the next five years, to use against any future tax liability.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:


Eric Holder: Gun Owners Should “Cower” In Shame Like Smokers--The hot new video at MRCTV.org is 1995 footage of Attorney General Eric Holder, when he was the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In his remarks before the Woman's National Democratic Club, broadcast by CSPAN 2, Holder said people should be ashamed to own guns, just the way that cigarette smokes now "cower outside of buildings" to smoke. "What we need to do is change the way in which people think about guns, especially young people, and make it something that's not cool, that it's not acceptable, it's not hip to carry a gun anymore, in the way in which we’ve changed our attitudes about cigarettes. You know, when I was growing up, people smoked all the time. Both my parents did. But over time, we changed the way that people thought about smoking, so now we have people who cower outside of buildings and kind of smoke in private and don’t want to admit it.” Laughter followed

OTHER NEWS:


Morning Bell: Beware the Internet Sales Tax- The Internet sales tax is back, and it could be the next big vote in the Senate. The proposed law would enable states to force businesses to collect sales tax from customers who live in their state—even when the businesses have no connection to that state. As Heritage President Jim DeMint has said, this violates the classic American principle of “no taxation without representation.” Retailers would be forced to act as tax collectors for states in which they have no voice.

A Representative Republic No More—Congress Quietly Exempts Themselves from the STOCK ACT that was intended to keep CONGRESS MAN from profiting from insider knowledge! Complete Congressional proceedings for this day can be found at http://houselive.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=10013. This segment starts at 2 hrs 52 min 30 sec. Let’s look at the timeline for this legislation:

Fact Check: Marco Rubio Distorts His Bill During Rush Limbaugh Interview
NumbersUSA - For Lower Immigration Levels-- If the Senate is going to pass the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill in the 113th Congress, they're going to need Marco Rubio to sell it to his Republican colleagues. After the bill's introduction yesterday morning, Rubio began his sales pitch last night by appearing on Mark Levin's radio program. But the big sell came today when he tried to convince Rush Limbaugh. Unfortunately for Rubio, Limbaugh didn't bite even with his distorted details. Yesterday, Rubio's staff began an aggressive campaign to dispel any myths that were circulating in the mainstream media. Given his staff's attention to the details of the bill, we thought we should return the favor by providing the same kind of scrutiny to his defense of the bill to Rush Limbaugh. Here's what we found...For starters, Rubio did an about-face from an earlier appearance on Limbaugh's program. On January 29, 2013, he said:

Gosnell Employee: I Saw Ten Babies Breathe Before They Were Killed-- The final prosecution witness against Kermit Gosnell, the abortion doctor on trial for the capital murder of seven babies and one adult patient, was Kareema Cross, a former employee of Gosnell's. Thursday Cross testified that she saw ten babies breathe before Gosnell killed them.

Sen. Paul Questions Secretary Napolitano at Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Hearing--Sen. Rand Paul today attended the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to review President Obamaís proposed FY2014 budget for the Department of Homeland Security. In this budget, President Obama ceases funding for the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program. This program allows pilots of commercial airlines to carry firearms with the intent of deterring events such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Jim DeMint on the Senate's Flawed Immigration Plan--Since the birth of our nation, the United States has recognized the vital role of lawful immigration, as it brings important economic and cultural benefits. We have always been, and will continue to be, a nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws. The “Gang of Eight” bill introduced in the U.S. Senate violates the very rule of law principle that creates opportunity for immigrants and makes America a beacon of hope for the world. Giving legal residency to the 11 million people who came here illegally has one definition: amnesty. Amnesty rewards unlawful behavior and diminishes opportunity and prosperity for lawful immigrants and all Americans.

Obama's Plan To Destroy America Hatched at Columbia University, Says Classmate--President Barack Obama and I were college classmates at Columbia University, class of '83. I know all too well how mindlessly radical and in many cases, anti-American and hostile to capitalism the leftist students and faculty of that institution can be, and Obama was certainly no exception.

Supreme Court Hears Case Arguing Federal Gov’t Power to Rule Citizens ‘From Cradle to Grave’-- Wednesday, April 17, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case of extraordinary impact on the Constitution and the power of the federal government to control every aspect of citizens’ lives. Not surprisingly, it’s a case you’ve never heard of. United States v. Kebodeaux is of such immeasurable importance that if the Obama administration is victorious, it will — perhaps irreversibly — accelerate the consolidation of all power in Washington, D.C. As one commentator observed, should the court decided in favor of the president, he will have “gained total power to rule the lives of US citizens from cradle to grave.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Exclusive: Saudio National Once Considered ‘Person of Interest’ May Be Deported on ‘Security and Related Grounds’
• MSNBC Publicly Shames Senators Who ‘Voted Against Common Sense,’ Warns Of Retribution In 2014
• Allen West Warns Left-Wing Students to Stop Harassing His Wife: ‘This Is Not a Threat, It Is a Promise’

VIDEO:

2nd Guilty Plea In Obama Petition-Forging Scandal--Massive voter fraud has been uncovered in Indiana. But is the punishment severe enough? Find out here!!

NORTH CAROLINA:

Voter ID bill clears second NC House committee--RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A voter ID bill has passed its second committee test in the North Carolina House and is expected to reach the full floor next week. The House Finance Committee endorsed the bill Thursday on a party-line vote after Democrats again proposed amendments to ease restrictions. The one amendment passed would allow a voter who isn't yet registered to obtain free identification with the Division of Motor Vehicles. The bill requires voters to show one of many forms of identification at the polls starting in 2016. Republicans say it is necessary to prevent possible fraud. Democrats say fraud rarely happens and there is no need for new burdens to vote. The House Elections Committee approved the bill

Tell me they are kidding!  The Republican-controlled NC Legislature, today, moved one step closer to a voter ID law that will guarantee systematic election fraud for generations to come. Please pardon that short rant. I’ll close this report with a viable solution, but here is how they allowed their worst critics to ruin the election-reform effort in North Carolina: First, security. The law abandons the secure production process used by the DMV and instead adopts uncontrollable production standards from 17 public universities and 60 community colleges. In addition to forcing every poll worker in our state’s 2,000-plus precincts to become document experts on non-standardized photo ID cards from 77 schools, the workers will also have to spot a fake ID card from any of those schools and deny the voter access to the ballot box.

Burr Has N.C. Second Amendment Backers Stirred Up His switch on cloture has gun groups charging him with flip-flopping-- RALEIGH — Republican Sen. Richard Burr has Second Amendment backers stirred up in North Carolina because of his vote last week for cloture on gun-control legislation in the U.S. Senate. UPDATE: Sen. Burr voted against the Toomey-Manchin amendment today. Following the vote, he tweeted: "The Manchin-Toomey Amendment has failed -- proud to defend law-abiding Americans' #2ndAmdt rights." While Burr joined 15 other Republicans who voted with Democrats on the cloture measure, he said in a statement afterward that he voted that way only to allow a full debate on the issue on April 11.

Experts downplay hurricane threat to offshore wind farms--The threat of hurricanes along the North Carolina coast shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for developers of offshore wind farms, experts said Wednesday during a panel discussion at the Sustainable Energy Conference in Raleigh. I’ve not yet seen that it’s a showstopper,” Brian O’Hara, president of the North Carolina Offshore Wind Coalition, said during the presentation, which detailed recent updates in the state’s wind power market. “It’s a combination of engineering from manufacturers who are aware of the issue, and risk mitigation from insurance providers.”

OTHER NEWS:

RNC Passes Anti-Common Core Resolution at Their Spring Meeting (Updated)--We just got word so I don’t know the details of the vote, but the Republican National Committee did pass an anti-Common Core resolution at their Spring Meeting in Los Angeles, CA. Here is the original draft I shared earlier this week…

Immigration Bill Contains 'MarcoPhones'--The 844-page immigration reform bill the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” dropped in the dead of night contains a lucrative handout that would give taxpayer-funded free cell phones to some people who live or work near the U.S. border with Mexico.

The Dirty Little Trick Washington Loves To Use On You--Last week, we decoded Obama’s budget proposal for you. This week, we’re taking it a step further – we’re going to explain the language politicians on Capitol Hill use everyday. Seriously, are you ever confused by what you hear from Washington? It’s no surprise if you are. Everyone is. And it’s not our fault. America is a country full of plain-spoken people. Good-hearted people who mean what they say and say what they mean.

Free Healthcare For Illegals Continues The ObamaCare Way-- In 2009, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimated that the yearly cost of providing healthcare for illegal aliens was $10.7 billion. It was a difficult figure to approximate as hospitals are not permitted to ask if an emergency room patient is in the country illegally. After all, should an exact total of monies spent even on the delivery of anchor babies (about $10,000 per “anchor”) become known, it would enrage an American public which Democrats especially hope to keep blissfully ignorant about one of the principle reasons for skyrocketing healthcare and health insurance prices—uncompensated costs.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
htt://www.theblaze.com/

• Decorated Vet Arrested After ‘Rudely Displaying’ His Rifle — and Says Officer Pulled Gun on Him in Front of His Son
• ‘Traditional, Dignified, and Very British’: Pictures and Video from Margaret Thatcher’s Funeral
• Boston News Station: Do These Pictures Show the Second Bomb Before Explosion and a Suspicious Man?
• Ed Henry Uses Gosnell Trial to Grill Jay Carney Over Obama’s Policy Stance on Babies ‘Born After a Botched Abortion’

COMMENTARY:

Washington Examiner Editorial: A new way to talk about tax fairness--Millions of Americans wrote checks to Uncle Sam yesterday for their 2012 federal tax bills. When all the counting is done, the federal government will collect more than $2.7 trillion in tax revenues, the most ever collected by the IRS in one year. Before they signed their checks, though, those same Americans devoted more than 6.1 billion hours preparing their tax records and returns, and they spent more than $168 billion on tax compliance, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, a division of the IRS.

VIDEO:


LibertyNEWS TV - "Reid Rustles Up Gun Votes...But..."-- Gun control and border control - how are they related? Find out in today's LNTV report. And be sure to stay with www.LibertyNews.com for the latest on the Boston bombings.

NORTH CAROLINA:

John Hood Daily Journal: Research Guides Policy Initiatives-- RALEIGH — For a group of people who claim to believe in empirical study and higher learning, liberal politicians and other critics of North Carolina’s new conservative leaders seem remarkably uninformed or contemptuous of the research basis for the policy initiatives now being debated in Raleigh. For example, Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget for public education proposes to convert teacher-assistant positions in second and third grade into funding for some 1,800 new teaching positions. While generating some apocalyptic rhetoric from critics, this proposal is not only imminently sensible but also consistent with decades of research suggesting that adding aides to classrooms other than kindergarten and first grade does not produce measurable academic benefits. In higher grades, tax dollars are best spent on high-quality teachers and educational materials. Outside of a few special-interest groups and political partisans, this fact is widely accepted by education researchers.

Bill would make N.C. redistricting nonpartisan--GREENSBORO — The push is on again to overhaul the way North Carolina draws its voting maps and replace a bitterly partisan exercise with a more independent one. The proposed changes would target gerrymandering — when the party in control at the General Assembly draws maps for voting districts favorable to itself. Republicans, who won control of the state House and Senate in 2010, increased their majorities and flipped the state’s congressional delegation last year with help from maps they drew.

Data shows fewer lack photo IDs--RALEIGH — New data from the State Board of Elections show far fewer voters lack photo identification than critics of a voter ID bill suggest. The new information roughly halves the potential number of registered voters without photo ID from the 612,000 in a January report to about 318,000.

Advocacy group to campaign for NC tax reform-- RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Conservative political group Americans for Prosperity announced Tuesday a $500,000 marketing and advocacy campaign to push tax reform through the North Carolina General Assembly. The group's North Carolina chapter will lead an effort that includes town hall meetings, grassroots organizing and advertising. The effort is meant to encourage action on a Depression-era tax code that ranks the state among the highest regionally in corporate and income taxes, said Dallas Woodhouse, state director. Legislators from both parties have long talked about reforming the state's outdated tax code to make it more competitive. The only comprehensive tax overhaul unveiled so far this session would lower both corporate and individual income tax rates to 6 percent. The combined local and state sales tax that most consumers pay would fall from 6.75 percent to 6.5 percent but would expand to new services that were previously exempted.

House Committee votes for Automobile Insurance Status Quo--The House Insurance Committee heard House Bill 265, Automobile Insurance Regulatory Modernization this afternoon. This bill would have done three important things: 1. Introduce new discount programs for good drivers; 2. Take away the hidden fees good drivers pay to subsidize risky drivers; 3. Introduce free market competition in car insurance rates at the same time keep safeguards for consumers.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2^nd AMENDMENT: 

Weigh in on our funding climate change and furthering the goals of Agenda 21. And if you haven't already, also post your comments on gun control.

Sens. Hagan, Burr differ on background checks--U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan says she will support background checks on most gun sales, calling it “common sense.” Meanwhile, her Republican counterpart, Sen. Richard Burr says he’ll vote against the proposal. Gun control votes are expected this week in the Senate. Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat who is running for re-election next year, says she will not support a measure to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Sheila Jackson-Lee: “Don’t Condemn the Gangbangers. Blame the Guns.”  The NRA’s slogan has been, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Liberals have often mocked it, but they’ve never actually tried to argue that the guns carry the moral responsibility. Until now. Sheila Jackson-Lee, the dumbest human being in Congress, can always be counted on to offer innovative ideas about the Vietnam War (North Vietnam and South Vietnam are living in peace) or her inability to tell the difference between Mars and the Moon. And this time around, Sheila Jackson-Lee put forward the bold theory that the gangbangers who are behind much of the gun violence murder rate shouldn’t be blamed.  While pushing for more gun control legislation on the House floor, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said, “Don’t condemn the gangbangers, they’ve got guns that are trafficked.”

OTHER NEWS:

Obama administration has SLASHED budget for domestic bombing prevention by 45 per cent, says former Homeland Security Assistant Secretary-- Barack Obama's administration has cut the budget nearly in half for preventing domestic bombings, MailOnline can reveal. Under President George W. Bush, the Department of Homeland Security had $20 million allocated for preventing the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by terrorists working inside the United States. The current White House has cut that funding down to $11 million. That assessment comes from Robert Liscouski, a former Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15 that killed three Americans and injured at least 173 others. He told MailOnline that the Obama-era DHS is, on the whole, about as well-positioned as it was during the Bush administration to handle the aftermath of the April 15 bombings in Boston, 'but the Obama administration has continued to cut the budget for offices such as the Office for Bombing Prevention from $20 million started under Bush, to $11 million today.'


The Hill: Boehner’s hand forced on Benghazi-- Speaker John Boehner is trying to head off a GOP rebellion over his handling of the investigation into last year’s fatal attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, by releasing an interim report of evidence by his panel chairmen. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, told lawmakers Tuesday that the heads of the Oversight, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence and Judiciary committees will issue a joint report next week, The Hill has learned.

Byron York: The effect of immigration reform on American workers--Talk about out-of-touch Washington. At a time when the unemployment rate is 7.6 percent -- and would be far higher had not millions of jobless Americans become discouraged and left the workforce -- the topic of debate among many Democratic and Republican lawmakers is how many guest workers should be allowed into the U.S. each year. Should it be 20,000? Ten times that number? How much new labor, most of it unskilled, should come to a country where millions already can't find a job? Those are the issues on the table in the bipartisan Gang of Eight's immigration reform proposal.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• What Misinformation Did the Local Boston Press Conference Clear Up?
• ‘All-Clear’ Given After Scare at LaGuardia Airport
• Muslim Brotherhood Leader Pens Bizarre Boston Bombing Note Pointing to Widespread Conspiracy
• The Unlikely Place the FBI Turned to After the Bombings to Try and Solicit Information
• Axelrod Stunner: Obama May Have Avoided ‘Terror’ Label Because He Was Thinking The Attack Was Potentially Related to ‘Tax Day’
• Cowboy Hat-Wearing Man Helping Boston Bombing Victims Is Father of Fallen Soldier, Peace Activist: Here’s His Story
• Shocking Allegations From Inside Gosnell’s Murder Trial: Dismemberment Fetuses, Dog Food Containers and More

COMMENTARY:

Chuck Norris: America's Founders vs. the IRS-- Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that agents for the Internal Revenue Service are bypassing warrants and sifting through the email and other electronic communications of American citizens. Those documents disclosed that "agents were told they didn't need a warrant to root through emails, texts or Facebook pages of people (the IRS) is investigating," according to Fox News.

David Limbaugh : The World (America) Is Upside-Down, Part 2-- Recently, I wrote a column arguing that the world is upside-down -- by which I meant "our" world, America. Today I offer more exhibits in support of my case that our culture is unraveling. I realize that in today's America, the notion that we should seek to preserve and promote the traditions, values and ideals that this country's founding generation mostly shared is considered not just passé but offensively wrongheaded. Yes, why would we want to perpetuate a once underlying consensus (and the Constitution formulated on it) that gave rise to the greatest nation in world history? Well, many don't, as they level further assaults on our Constitution, our liberty tradition and what used to be our shared values.

VIDEO:

Guilty Plea In Obama Petition-Forging Scandal!  I sure hope Obama is nervous…we are uncovering his fraud piece by piece!!

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

NORTH CAROLINA:

Why We Need Voter Photo ID-- The following was an open letter sent by Lt. Governor Dan Forest. As the General Assembly debates the Voter-Photo ID Bill, you will hear opponents of the bill say that there is little to no evidence that voter fraud is taking place in North Carolina. One only has to look at my race for Lieutenant Governor to see the absurdity of this argument. Out of 4.3 million ballots cast in my race, there were just over 50,000 provisional ballots cast. Provisionals are ballots cast outside of the regular process, in part because the voter went to the wrong polling site or because they were unable to prove they were who they said they were. They are allowed to cast a ballot, but that ballot is not counted until after the election is over when the Board of Elections has more time to scrutinize the ballot.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

OTHER NEWS:

OBAMA WON’T SEND OFFICIAL U.S. ENVOY TO MARGARET THATCHER’S FUNERAL (BUT DID TO TYRANT HUGO CHAVEZ’S)-- In an amazing snub, Barack Obama, who sent an official delegation to Venezuela for tyrannical socialist dictator, Hugo Chavez’s funeral, won’t send one to Great Britain’s Margaret Thatcher’s. This is shocking, but I guess it shouldn’t be (although it still is!). One of Marxist Obama’s first shamefully embarrassing, classless acts as president was to return a bust of the great British leader, Winston Churchill, a gift from Britain to the U.S. which was displayed in the White House. It was such a disgusting act that the Obama propaganda machine originally lied about it, calling the story “100% false.” Finally, they had to admit it was true, but like all decisions made by “Dear Leader” Obama, it was largely ignored by the mainstream media. It should have been a strong warning to Americans about Obama’s ideology. As with all things Obama, his words are a contrary indicator of what he actually does. His official statement about the passing of Baroness Thatcher, included saying, “

The Hill: Immigration — five things to watch for--The size and cost of a long-awaited immigration reform bill scheduled to be introduced on Tuesday are among its most eagerly anticipated details.

The Hill: Gang of Eight to delay rollout of immigration bill after Boston blasts--The Senate’s Gang of Eight will postpone the rollout of comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the wake of two bomb blasts that killed three people at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, according to Senate aides.

Jordanian Muslim leader "happy to see the horror in America" over Boston terror bombings-- "A Mideast counterterrorism official based in Jordan said the blasts 'carry the hallmark of an organized terrorist group, like al-Qaeda.'" "Jordan extremist praises Boston bombing," from the Associated Press, April 16 (thanks to all who sent this in): AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The head of an extremist Jordanian Muslim Salafi group says he’s “happy to see the horror in America” after the explosions in Boston. “American blood isn’t more precious than Muslim blood,” said Mohammad al-Chalabi, who was convicted in an al-Qaeda-linked plot to attack US and other Western diplomatic missions in Jordan in 2003. “Let the Americans feel the pain we endured by their armies occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and killing our people there,” he said early Tuesday.

Diane Feinstein's Husband to Make Millions Selling Government Owned Post Office Properties-- Our Country is run by such Crooked people it can't help itself. I recently learned that the United States has entered into a contract with one firm to sell 56 buildings that currently house U.S. Post Offices. The government has decided that it no longer needs these buildings (many of which are located on prime land in towns and cities across the country). The sale of these properties will bring in billions of dollars and, with that, millions of dollars in commissions for the one Company that is in charge of handling the sale and negotiation of the new leases. What makes this such a matter of concern to me is that the Company that the Government has contracted with to conduct the sales (and the corresponding leases for the new locations of the displaced post offices) is owned by Richard Blum .

U.S. Funding Unsustainable Projects — and Its Own Enemies — in Afghanistan--The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction says the U.S. is funding unsustainable projects, and much of the money may go to the enemy.

GOP Blasts Obama-backed National Education Standards--The increasingly vocal campaign to stop a set of Obama administration-backed national education standards known as “Common Core” from being forced on state governments and local schools got a boost when the Republican National Committee criticized the plan.

Sen. Ted Cruz Slams Obama Over Foiled Power Grabs--Sen. Ted Cruz’s new report slams Obama's lawless attempts to expand executive power, citing six failed efforts since 2012 to increase federal authority.

Trick to buying .223 ammo at Walmart--Go to your local Wal-Mart around 11:00pm. They have ammo, it just flies off the shelf. You need to buy it before it hits the shelf. Trust me....this works. Just be nice! Trucks come in 3-4 times a week, so you may not catch it on the right night, but keep coming back.

The Sequester Is Law, So Obama Will Ignore It--Nixon famously insisted that whatever the President does is legal, by definition. Nixon learned otherwise, but only because the media-government complex ousted him from office. Now with media liberal superstar Obama, all bets are off. As John Glaser writes, “In case you’ve been asleep for the whole of Barack Obama’s first term, here’s one fundamental doctrine that has proven itself to guide his administration: if the President does it, it’s not illegal.”

Is Barack Obama Mentally Unstable?  Who is Barack Hussein Obama, the man in the White House? Without a doubt, Obama is the most unvetted, unaccomplished, unqualified person to ever to occupy the Oval Office in American history. Do we even know for sure that Obama mentally stable? Dr. Sam Vaknin, the world’s leading expert on narcissism and the author of “Malignant Self Love ,” has said that “Obama’s language, posture, and demeanor and the testimonies of his closest, dearest and nearest suggest that Obama is a narcissist or he may have Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” Narcissists have a grandiose, inflated, messiah like self image and cannot stand to be criticized. Obama’s Christ like view of himself is very clearly revealed in his Democratic nomination victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 3, 2008 in which he tells a worshipping audience, “This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Clearly, this is a delusional statement. At the end of Barack’s Super Tuesday speech in Chicago on February 5, 2008 Obama makes another ludicrous and insane pronouncement telling his followers “We are the ones that we have been waiting for.” This is narcissistic double speak; in translation what Obama is really saying is, “I am the one the world has been waiting for.”

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013--Happy Tax Day!

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Gold Tanks to Lowest Point in Two Years: Here’s What You Need to Know
• ‘Do Not Pick Up the Pencil’: New York Parents Coach Kids to Refuse Common Core Tests

COMMENTARY:

Washington Examiner Editorial: Here come Obama's middle-class tax hikes--President Obama's budget spin-meisters at the Office of Management and Budget deserve nomination for the Biggest Whopper of 2013 Award, thanks to their claim that the chief executive's 2014 budget proposal "represents more than $2 in spending cuts for every $1 of new revenue from closing tax loopholes and reducing tax benefits for the wealthiest." Sounds like smart budgeting, but is that statement true? As the Heritage Foundation's Morning Bell put it, "In a word, no."

MUST SEE VIDEO:  Biggest Killer of Humans

NORTH CAROLINA:

Stam plans to introduce voucher program--House Speaker Paul Stam says the bill will offer a maximum of $4,200 to children who meet income requirements. House Speaker Pro Tem Paul “Skip” Stam plans to introduce a $90 million plan to provide vouchers that will allow many parents to send their children to private schools. The Wake County Republican told the Carolina Journal that the bill will offer a maximum $4,200 “equal opportunity scholarship grant” per child for those who meet income eligibility requirements. The income limits would indicate the vouchers are aimed at low-income families but Stam estimated that 52 percent of North Carolina school children would be eligible for vouchers for the 2013-14 school year, and 65 percent the following year. He said a scholarship could not exceed 90 percent of the cost of a private school’s charges for tuition fees.

N.C. tackles Medicaid reform--RALEIGH ¬— Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration has begun a precipitous climb tackling the reform of one of the state’s most complex and expensive programs: Medicaid. But is that a pinnacle he’s headed for, or a cliff? McCrory’s new secretary at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Greensboro’s Aldona Wos, is gung-ho about overhauling the government health insurance, which serves more than 1.5 million for about $13 billion a year.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:
FULL INTERVIEW: VA Doctor Exposes National Gun Confiscation Program-- In an hour long interview with George Hemminger, and a NY psychiatrist reveals shocking and detailed information of a seemingly insidious, deliberate and concerted effort by governmental auspices to confiscate firearms from veterans via psychiatric evaluations.

War Veteran Arrested for “Rudely Displaying” Rifle--A decorated war veteran on a Boy Scout hike with his 15-year-old son was arrested alongside a Texas country road after a police officer accused him of “rudely displaying” a firearm. Army Master Sgt. C.J. Grisham told Fox News he was illegally disarmed by members of the Temple Police Dept. – even though he held the proper permits to carry his weapons. Grisham and his son were on a 10-mile hike in a rural area populated by wild boars and cougars. He was carrying an AR-15 rifle and a .45 caliber pistol.

American Thinker: Maryland's Second Amendment Nightmare: Coming Soon to a State Near You?  If you want to see how firearm sales can be effectively banned, look no farther than the so-called "free state" of Maryland. Although Maryland's newly promulgated "assault gun" ban and licensing requirements will not go into effect until October, it is already nearly impossible to reasonably purchase a pistol or other "regulated" weapon in the state, and those who do face waiting periods of 50-60 days and increasing daily. After October 1, with additional training requirements (including range time), fingerprinting, and licensing, it's likely that waiting times will increase exponentially, and that would-be legal gun owners will face periods of additional months, or conceivably years, before they can receive a pistol or other regulated weapon (though nevermore a so-called "assault weapon.") Under this scenario, it's hard to see how many gun dealers will remain in business, or why online outfits would bother to sell here (some already don't).

American Thinker: Gun Control Derangement Syndrome--Activists pushing for gun control are peddling contradictions and strange logic. Will the ATF's "No Buy" list be any more accurate than TSA's "No Fly" list? If lists are not accurate or meaningful, background checks won't succeed. Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (R-WV) released a gun-control bill on April 10 that leans heavily on expanding background checks. However, their proposal is only as good as the lists used for the background checks.

The Hill: Wind shifts on gun control--The Senate gun bill that seemed dead a week ago has gathered strong momentum as cracks have emerged in the Republican unity against it.

The Hill: Manchin-Toomey bill inching closer to 60 votes--A bipartisan bill on background checks is inching closer to the necessary 60 votes for passage, but it still has a long way to go.

Manchin-Toomey 'Compromise' Creates $100m Yearly Grants To Bribe States--The Background Check 'Compromise' put forward by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) creates $100 million in grants for "each of fiscal years 2014 through 2017" for the federal government to disperse to states if those states implement the expanded background check system contained in the bill.

GUN OWNER STOPS HOME INVADERS DEAD But media coverage quiet on racial, 2nd Amendment overtones--When a group of black men were planning a home-invasion robbery in Fayetteville, N.C., on Friday, they stuck to an M.O. that had succeeded all over the country, but made one fatal error: They chose the wrong home. The residents of the targeted house were home at the time and armed. After what local authorities report as a “gun battle,” two of alleged robbers died.

Obama’s United Nations Backdoor to Gun Control--Even before his most ambitious gun-control proposals were falling by the wayside, President Obama was turning for help to the United Nations. On April 2, the United States led 154 nations to approve the Arms Trade Treaty in the U.N.

OTHER NEWS:

John Locke, Freedom of Religion & America--I. Who Was John Locke, Freedom’s Greatest Philosopher? Englishman John Locke (1632—1704) is arguably our most influential modern thinker. He is regarded as the leading light of several signal movements, without which the modern era would be inconceivable, including—Classical Liberalism (aka modern Conservatism), Property Rights, the Enlightenment, Libertarianism, Empiricism, Natural Rights, and Freedom of Religion, etc.

Like ObamaCare, it appears the bill will have to pass before anyone knows what is really in it--Immigration Reform: The Truth Challenged and Useful Idiot Sen. Marco Rubio-- Immigration is back in the headlines this week. ABC News is reporting the senators from the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” are expected to unveil their comprehensive immigration bill, on Tuesday. Reportedly the bill is about 1,500 pages in length and “includes a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.” Like ObamaCare, it appears the bill will have to pass before anyone knows what is really in it. Meanwhile Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appeared on the Sunday talk shows to push the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill. Let’s look at what Sen. Rubio said and why he will go down in history as a useful idiot if this bill becomes the law of the land.

White House Website Employs Gun Control Pop-Up Ad--The official White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) now has a pop-up ad for gun control blocking visitors from getting to its homepage. The pop-up ad declares, “Now Is The Time To Do Something About Gun Violence” and “Our voices are louder when we speak together.” It also calls readers to “Learn More” by clicking on a link to an advocacy page where supporters can “Use the simple tool to pre-set a post to Twitter and/or Facebook that will publish simultaneously with thousands of others.”

TPN—Judson Phillips: Endgame--The endgame is the place the liberals want us to be. There is only one thing stopping them from hitting the endgame point. What is it? Republican control of the House of Representatives. What is their endgame point?

American Thinker: Are We Being Compromised by Barack Obama's Murky Past?  Since he first became a presidential candidate, President Obama must have spent millions of dollars in legal expenses to combat dozens of so-called "birther" challenges seeking the original documents pertaining to his birth. As president, he famously issued an electronic document on the White House website in 2011; the document purported to be his long-form birth certificate, though it is apparently a forgery. In addition, he has taken great pains to hide the paper trail of passport records, college transcripts, and other data -- all of which a prospective employer might require of a job applicant.

The Triumvirate of Modern Warfare--Three factors have made possible the modern world’s wars: graduated taxation, the central bank, and the abolition of the gold coin standard. The relationship between central banking and war has been known for at least 400 years. The ability of the Dutch Republic to wage what was in effect a revolutionary war against the Spanish Empire from the 1580s until 1647 was due in large part to the creation of the bank of Amsterdam in 1609. The bank was not inflationary. It operated on the basis of the gold standard. Stable money became the backbone of the revolution.

Media-Enabled Psychopathic Elected Class Launches Full-On Assault--When members of the psychopathic elected class get busy mixing campaigning, legislating sop to their corporatist partners in crime, talking the Constitution out of existence and expanding tyranny from that sewage pit that is our Nation’s capital, the assaults on liberty can seem almost dizzying. Enabled by their propagandists in the mainstream media, they manufacture and then gin up crises, propose freedom-robbing legislation to “save” you from the evils they’ve manufactured and then create yet another crisis to distract you from the last. Their goal is to overwhelm your senses and hit you from all sides, beating you down so that they can move the bar of tyranny gradually but inexorably leftward. They are content with incremental steps. They use gradualism in their self-created maelstrom of chaos.

Left-wing Democrats push Norquist-style no-cuts budget pledge--Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist has been skewered by the media and the left for his Taxpayer Protection Pledge, but now some Democrats seem to be imitating him with a budget pledge of their own. Left-wing Democratic Reps. Alan Grayson of Florida and Mark Takano of California are circulating a letter addressed to President Obama for members of Congress to sign. Signers of the letter pledge to vote against any substantive changes to America’s entitlement programs, including President Barack Obama’s proposal to use a different formula for Social Security cost of living increases. “We will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need,” the letter reads, in part.

Kerry Welcomes Chinese Investment in America's Infrastructure-- Secretary of State John Kerry told the press in Beijing that he discussed with Chinese government officials investing in America's infrastructure. Kerry called the security concerns "very, very few; very, very little." "We welcome Chinese investment in the United States. And a very, very small percentage of investment is subject to a process where we have a security evaluation because of the nature of the business or the particular location. But it’s very, very few; very, very little. And obviously, there are sometimes concerns when there’s a state ownership of a particular business because that raises a different set of considerations," Kerry said, in response to a question about what he said to encourage Chinese investment in America.

Morning Bell: Where Did Your Tax Dollar Go?  Americans are waking up today to the worst “case of the Mondays” they’ll have all year: It’s Tax Day.  Most Americans dread Tax Day, and for good reasons. Beyond the huge tab Americans pay to the government, the tax code is so complex that it’s difficult to figure out what we owe to the IRS. This is a pain for taxpayers and a huge drain on the economy. According to the federal Taxpayer Advocate in its 2012 report, Americans’ cost of complying with today’s complex tax code totaled $168 billion in 2010. That’s almost as large as the impact of the Obama tax hikes in fiscal year 2013, and twice the size of sequestration this year [see chart].

A Gang of Six Plots a Revolt in the House on the Immigration bill--Representative Steve King, a 63-year-old Iowa Republican, is restless and irritated, and it shows. He’s here, stewing in a hearing room in the Rayburn building, because he and his friends in the House’s tea-party bloc feel disconnected from the debate on comprehensive immigration reform. “A number of us have sat back and watched with amazement as some of our colleagues have leapt to erroneous conclusions,” King says, sitting alongside five other staunch opponents of legalization efforts. “But we are where we are with the momentum in the Republican party.” A few blocks away, Senator Marco Rubio and his colleagues on the bipartisan Gang of Eight, who have lately been on the front pages of the national newspapers, are poised to release legislation that will probably include a pathway to legalization for undocumented workers. Rubio’s work on the issue landed him on the cover of Time magazine in February and has stirred talk of a presidential run. Meanwhile, the tea-party Republicans gathered here have received scant coverage, and scorn from liberals on Twitter, for their opposition to the Senate’s plan.

TPN—Judson Phillips: We are about to see a bums’ rush on us. The bums’ rush happens when someone hits you with something so fast that you don’t have time to give it a good look over. The infamous high pressure sales pitch is one of the best examples of the bums’ rush. What are we about to get rushed on and why is it so bad for America?

Eight Reasons for the Media Blackout on Abortionist Kermit Gosnell--On Twitter and FaceBook today, #Gosnell is trending. The reason for the social media buzz is the strange silence of the mainstream media regarding one of the most gruesome murder trials in American history. To put the Kermit Gosnell trial in perspective, consider other famous cases of child-killing. From Susan Smith to Andrea Yates, and most recently the horror of Newtown, we are accustomed to 24/7 news coverage of these types of tragedies.
Obama's 'Hope and Change' Artists Depicts Gun Owners As Satan--Obama's "Hope & Change" Artist Now Depicts Gun Owners As Satan. Leftists Want Americans Disarmed To MURDER Them. This Communist propaganda 'artist' is basically saying that Christians can't be Christians and own guns. Really? Well, the Christian, New Testament says different:

Illegals Mock TX Border Patrol: ‘Obama’s Gonna Let Me Go’--Officials say the number of people entering the U.S. illegally is way up and, tragically, the number of undocumented immigrants who have been found dead in the unforgiving Texas Brush Country is way up, and is on path this year to beat last year’s record for the number of people found dead in the ranch country. Linda Vickers, who owns a ranch in Brooks County, which is Ground Zero for the immigration debate, pins the blame directly on talk of ‘amnesty’ and a ‘path to citizenship’ for people who entered the U.S. illegally. She recalls one man being arrested on her ranch not long ago. “The Border Patrol agent was loading one man up, and he told the officer in Spanish, ‘Obama’s gonna let me go’.”

OFA REGISTERS AS LOBBYIST IN NY DESPITE ANTI-LOBBYIST POSITIONS--Organizing for Action, which has pledged not to take money from lobbyists and says on their website that they will not engage in lobbying, has registered as a lobbying group in New York state, according to public records.

ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA TAKES IN $4.8 MILLION IN FIRST QUARTER DISCLOSURES--President Barack Obama’s advocacy organization Organizing for Action (OFA) raised over $4.8 million from first-quarter donors, including the chairman of a major lobbying firm, wealthy progressives affiliated with the secretive Democracy Alliance, and a member of popular 1990s h

Following Obama’s Lead, Collectivists Are Coming Out of the Closet--collectivism: Any of several types of social organization that ascribe central importance to the groups to which individuals belong (e.g., state, nation, ethnic group, or social class). It may be contrasted with individualism. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the first modern philosopher to discuss it (1762). Karl Marx was its most forceful proponent in the 19th century. Communism, fascism, and socialism may all be termed collectivist systems.  See also communitarianism.

SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• ‘Undocumented Immigrant’ Used on…Fox News?
• Newtown Mother Delivers Obama’s Weekly Address Instead: Don’t Let ‘Our Tragedy’ Become ‘Your Tragedy’ (Pathetic, political exploitation!)

WEBSITES TO CHECK OUT:

• Robert Muller World Core Curriculum
• One stop shopping for Common Core information? Many have written with links to groups trying to stop Common Core.  http://truthinamericaneducation.com/ deserves a lot of your valuable time in discerning the truth about this pernicious issue.
• Think it couldn't happen here? Take a look at what's afoot in Maryland.

VIDEO:

• White House Civil War--What if the FBI was working against the President of United States? What if it was the FBI, not a single agent as reported, but an agency-wide operation that was behind leaking information to the GOP establishment about David Petraeus’ affair with Paula Broadwell? What if it was part of an “October Surprise” to pile on top of the September 11 Benghazi consulate attack debacle in order to derail Obama’s chances of winning the 2012 election?
• This Is How Individuals Solve Problems!! An organization in Houston, Texas is giving free shotguns to people in high-crime areas!
• Border Insecurity: Citizens Track Surge Of Illegal Immigration! Wake up, America!!
• Sebelius: We can't prepare for immigration reform, 'hands full' with Obamacare--Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said her department has its "hands full" with the implementation of the health care law and cannot prepare for any immigration reform bill's impact on health insurance costs (April 12, 2013).

NORTH CAROLINA:

Common Core Study Bill Filed in North Carolina--H733 was filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives. The bill’s purpose is to establish a committee of 20 members to study the Common Core State Standards and their impact in North Carolina. State Representatives Larry Pittman (R-Concord), Hugh Blackwell (R-Valdese), Rob Bryan (R-Charlotte) and Michael Speciale (R-New Bern) are the primary sponsors. If this bill passes the committee will study items such as: (1) The estimated cost of implementing the CCSS in K 12 Mathematics and K 12 English Language Arts since approval by the State Board of Education in June 2010, including costs associated with at least all of the following: a. The purchase of instructional materials that are aligned with the CCSS; Professional development and training provided to school personnel; The changes to schools’ and local administrative units’ technological infrastructure (including computer hardware, software, bandwidth, security, etc.) necessitated by adoption of CCSS and assessments.

House Bill Would Free Auto Insurers To Set Rates--RALEIGH — The bill that Rep. Jeff Collins, R-Nash, promoted during Tuesday’s meeting of the House Insurance Committee would allow auto insurance companies to set their own rates. Currently, rates are set by the N.C. Rate Bureau. Insurance companies could continue going through the rate bureau if they chose. But sponsors of the bill suggested that they wouldn’t.

ObamaCare: The key to “sock”-ing it to Kay Hagan--Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Kay Hagan was one lucky gal in 2008. At the time, she was a state senator — little known outside of Greensboro and Guilford County — whose biggest achievement had been co-chairing the state senate budget committee with Walter Dalton. She benefited from the incompetence of the McCain for President campaign and the Dole for Senate reelection effort. Hagan was also blessed by (1) NY Senator Chuck “You” Schumer and his financial assistance, as well as (2) the well-oiled machinery of the Obama 2008 campaign and all of its walking-around money dumped on the state. Chuck’s bucks and Big Barry’s coattails swept ol’ Kay past her opponent, a long time resident of DC’s Watergate Hotel, and guaranteed her a six-year stay in DC. Six years have passed, and our junior senator has developed quite a reputation as the favorite “sock puppet” of New York’s junior senator. Her voting record has pretty much mirrored Schumer’s. Her allies at McClatchy and WRAL have — this close to her reelection campaign — seen how this might be a problem outside Guilford, Wake, Durham and Orange counties. These propaganda organs are breaking their necks to paint Princess Pantsuits as a moderate. Harry Reid is apparently letting Hagan slide a little — in order to protect her politically at reelection time. She voted against some recent Obama budget proposals.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Texas Democrat: Total Gun Ban Coming Soon-- Austin is the state capital of Texas. It has a population of about 820,000 people and is governed by a seven person city council, a mayor and six councilmen/women. The council positions are lined up in ‘Places” with Place 2 being next in line for the mayor’s job if anything happens to the mayor. Currently, former firefighter Mike Martinez holds council Place 2 and is considered by many to be a strong candidate to take over the mayor’s position. His political party affiliation is listed as non-partisan, but there is no doubt that Martinez is a Democrat through and through by his seven years on the city council.

OTHER NEWS:

Jane Fonda Tells Veterans to ‘get a life’-- Jane Fonda is a disgusting traitor. She should have been hung for treason and this attempt to disparage a great conservative should be met with utter contempt.  Here is the facebook boycott group too: Boycott Hanoi Jane Playing Nancy Reagan.  Check it out!

Obama to Sacrifice Asian Missile Defense Systems in Exchange for China’s Help With North Korea--Secretary of State John Kerry offered concessions on Asian missile defense systems in exchange for China’s help with North Korea.

The Boston Globe reported: Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and offered a concession on missile defense meant to elicit China’s help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant and nuclear armed North Korea. In a news conference after meetings with China’s top leaders, Kerry said the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if North Korea abandoned its nuclear weapons program.

Impeach Eric Holder, Repeat Offender--“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” – Harry Truman, in a speech opposing communism. Attorney General Eric Holder has again shown his true colors – his disdain for America and her laws. Recently, he took action against the German Romeike family, which is seeking asylum in the United States after being forced to flee the country or risk losing their five children to the German government. Germany was attempting to force the Romeikes to put their children in public school against their religious beliefs in a terrifying repeat of history.

If I Were A Killer-- This is just a hypothetical story, Of someone, let’s just say it’s me, I’d gain acceptance for my murderous ways, By stalking a defenseless prey.
I’ve been reading some horrific accounts about the demonic medical practice of Abortion. I’m going to spare everyone the gory details because I can’t bear to even get through a few sentences without wanting to fall to the ground in shame and disgust. I just want to know – how in the world did we let this happen? How is it that the miracle of life has been so thoughtlessly and so brutally interrupted (often merely for the sake of convenience)? What a wretched society we’ve become – the blood of the pre-born innocents is on our hands!

Constitutional Balance Of Power--Wisdom comes with age because older people have lived experiences and learned from them. And yes, the young can have wisdom – but only because they’ve been forced to live a lifetime in their short years. This is one reason the U.S. Constitution is by far the finest centralized governing framework ever written. The body of the Constitution was written with wisdom by delegates desiring alignment, coordination, and synergy among the various member Nation-States (the Union). To prohibit the emergence of totalitarianism, the delegates designed the framework to include the distribution of power among three check–and-balance branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

IRAN WARNS OF WORLD WAR III--General: Country's army has finger on the trigger. Iran ratcheted up its vitriol against Israel and the United States over the weekend, warning that an attack on the Islamic regime’s nuclear facilities could lead to global war. The rhetoric eerily matched that currently coming out of North Korea against its perceived enemies.

TPN—Judson Phillips--CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection act is heading to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote this Wednesday.
Everyone needs to call their Member of Congress and tell them to vote against this. CISPA is basically a recycled version of the SOPA bill that was soundly defeated last year. Figuring it could split the opposition, some Congressmen added legal immunity for corporations and their employees to the bill to make it attractive enough that some of the opponents of SOPA would not oppose CISPA. Why is this bill so bad?

HOMESCHOOLERS ALARMED BY PLANS TO TRACK STUDENTS--'Big Brother' mentality 'has no place in a free society'. The nation’s leading homeschooling organization is warning parents that the federal government is advancing its aim of identifying and tracking students throughout their school careers, from birth through college graduation. In an online statement, William Estrada, director of federal relations for the Home School Legal Defense Association, acknowledged statistics on student achievement are helpful to researchers and parents. But there’s really no need for the government to track such data, he insisted.

Report: Senate Democrats Blocking Resolution Honoring Thatcher--Senate Democrats are holding up a resolution to honor former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died on Monday at age 87, a Heritage Foundation affiliate reports. The resolution was to pass late Wednesday in the Democratic-controlled upper chamber, said Katherine Rosario of Heritage Action for America. The group is a sister organization of the Heritage Foundation. Meanwhile, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution honoring Thatcher, The Daily Mail reports. It was introduced by Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia.

State Dept. changes story on latest killing of diplomats--The State Department has acknowledged that five Americans killed in Afghanistan, including 25-year-old diplomat Anne Smedinghoff, were on foot when they were caught in the blast of a suicide bomber, and not in an armored vehicle as officials told bereaved relatives earlier this week.

As identity thieves thrive, IRS 'moving backward'--Believe it or not, there is something even worse than having to prepare your tax return. It's finding out that someone else already filed a return in your name, under your Social Security number, to collect a fraudulent refund. And that's just the beginning of your troubles.

What Constitutional Rights Should a 10-year-old-give up? It sounds like a confusing question. The rights enumerated in the Constitution are not debatable. They are our rights. But in one elementary school, a teacher asked students to take a piece of paper and write their willingness to give up some of their constitutional rights in order to be more "safe and secure." What is going on in our schools?

How to Murder the Innocent, Defenseless, and Undefended—and Make Big Bucks Doing It! “He was supposed to puncture the lower back of the baby’s skull and insert a tube to suck out its brains before it was fully delivered. Instead, he just delivered the baby alive and then killed it, which is illegal. ...[He] killed live, viable, moving, breathing, crying babies. He killed them by cutting their spinal cords after their mothers had delivered them…” —Tom McLaughlin “The Women’s Medical Society”

'EVANGELICALS COULD BE PUT ON WATCH LIST, DENIED GUNS'--The head of the Family Research Council is looking at "inflammatory rhetoric" by Army officials who've called evangelicals, Catholics and orthodox Jews threats to America and Congress' efforts to require background checks for gun purchases, and he warns it's time to join the dots. Will the government create a watch list? Will you be on it?

Mark Levin Says a Powerful Republican (*cough* John Boehner *cough*) is Trying to Silence Him--Biff Spackle emails the following transcript of Mark Levin's opening monologue tonight. Levin didn't name Boehner specifically, but only the Speaker is responsible for committee assignments. Well, it's come to my attention that there's a Republican Congressman out there who doesn't like what I've been saying. It's come to my attention that there's a Republican Congressman out there, a fairly powerful one, who doesn't like what I've been saying about him. And you know what this Republican congressman wants to do about it...? He wants our major affiliate in his district to remove this show.

Sick – School Assignment Asks Students to Think Like a Nazi, Argue Why Jews Are Evil--A creative writing assignment at Albany High School asks students to make an argument as to why they would be loyal to a pretend Nazi official. The assignment was given to three separate classes, and to their credit, one third of the students refused to complete the assignment. Via the Times Union: Think like a Nazi, the assignment required students. Argue why Jews are evil. Students in some Albany High School English classes were asked this week as part of a persuasive writing assignment to make an abhorrent argument: “You must argue that Jews are evil, and use solid rationale from government propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Third Reich!”

Students were asked to watch and read Nazi propaganda, then pretend their teacher was a Nazi government official who needed to be convinced of their loyalty. In five paragraphs, they were required to prove that Jews were the source of Germany’s problems.

Immigration bill to be released day before hearing--The “Gang of Eight” senators will release their immigration bill on Tuesday, just one day before the only scheduled hearing, according to news reports, bolstering GOP charges that advocates are planning to rush the controversial bill through the Senate before the public knows what is in it. The bill is to be released April 16, according to a Friday report by The Associated Press. The next day, before other senators have time to understand what is in the complex bill, Vermont Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy is slated to hold an April 17 hearing with one witness, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano.


FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Libertarian Party Accepts Bitcoin Donations (And Guess Who Owns Millions of Dollars Worth of the Digital Currency)
• Coulter and Hannity Rip Democrats Over Gun Control: ‘Your Proposals Are Going to Lead to More Dead Kids’
• Officials Intercept Explosive Sent to Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio — Here Are the Details
• Man Who Stole Obama’s Teleprompter, Podium Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison
• Gosnell Trial: 15-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Helped Kill Live Babies at Hellish Pa. Abortion Clinic

COMMENTARY:

TPN—Judson Phillips: It is time to depose John Boehner--This is not the first time that Tea Party Nation has called for Boehner’s removal as Speaker. John Boehner has a consistent pattern of surrender. The symbol of Boehner’s office is his freshly laundered white flag. Now Boehner is preparing to take actions that will destroy the conservative movement and possibly America. What is Boehner doing?

Katie Pavlich: Welcome to Gunsite Academy: Revealing the Truth About the AR-15--Over the course of the next week, I'll be spending my time at Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona learning the ins and outs of the AR-15 and pistol handling. For those of you who don't know what Gunsite Academy is, let me give you an introduction. We teach Marksmanship – how to hit what you aim at. However, Gunsite goes beyond this simple discipline to include the principles of Gun-handling and Mind-set. This we call the Combat Triad. We offer multiple levels of instruction in handgun, carbine, shotgun, bolt action rifle and precision rifle. Each discipline is informed by the Combat Triad. Each Instructor at Gunsite is someone who has served in Law Enforcement, the military or both. Each Instructor is fully imbued with the doctrine and tradition of our school.

Michelle Malkin: Object Lesson: "Temporary" Amnesty Never Dies--Does America lack "compassion" and "humanity" for uninvited foreigners? Quite the contrary. While open-borders activists rail against "injustice" and demand new "pathways to citizenship," official U.S. policy rewards countless line-jumpers with permanent residency and taxpayer-subsidized benefits. Case in point: the massive "Temporary Protected Status" (TPS) program run by the Department of Homeland Security. In theory, as the DHS website describes it, the Secretary of Homeland Security "may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately." Those conditions include hurricanes, environmental catastrophes, civil war, epidemics and other "extraordinary and temporary conditions."

John Ransom: What Sequester?  Unemployment Claims for Federal Workers Drop as D.C. Housing Values Reach “Highest Point in History”-- Amidst the rejoicing that “only” 346,000 “seasonally adjusted” people filed for unemployment benefits last week- that’s 353, 973 actual people without the seasonal adjustment- the government admits that in the latest weekly jobs report that fewer federal workers filed for unemployment claims this year than last. The Department of Big Labor says that in 2012, during the same weekly period as reported this week, 1,159 federal employees filed for unemployment claims while this year only 1,139 federal employees filed for claims. That’s some sequester, huh.

Ann Coulter: Liberals Go Crazy For The Mentally Ill-- Obama has been draping himself in families of the children murdered in Newtown. MSNBC's Martin Bashir suggested that Republican senators need to have a member of their families killed for them to support the Democrats' gun proposals. (Let's start with Meghan McCain!) In a bizarre version of "A Christmas Carol," CNN's Carol Costello fantasized about "a mother who lost her child," showing up and knocking on Sen. Rand Paul's door, saying, "Please don't do this!"

Larry Elder: Five Decades of Lies Help Dems Create Monolithic Black Vote-- As recently as 1956, nearly 39 percent of blacks voted Republican in that year's presidential election. After the Civil War, Abe Lincoln's Republican Party easily carried the black vote -- where blacks were allowed to vote. Unwelcome in the Democratic Party, most blacks voted Republican and continued to do so through the early part of the 20th century. It wasn't until 1948, when 77 percent of the black vote went to Harry Truman, who had desegregated the military, that a majority of blacks identified themselves as Democrats. Yet, as a percentage of the party, more Republicans voted for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than did Democrats. For his key role breaking the Democrats' filibuster and getting the act to pass the stalled Senate, Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen, a conservative from Illinois, landed on the cover of Time magazine. President Lyndon Johnson called Dirksen "the hero of the nation." The Chicago Defender, then the country's largest black daily newspaper, applauded Dirksen's "generalship" for helping to successfully push through the bill.

NORTH CAROLINA:

NC Senate overwhelmingly approves 75 mph speed limit--The Senate made fast work this week of Sen. Neal Hunt’s proposal to raise the top speed limit on North Carolina highways to 75 mph. If the House agrees, the higher speeds will be allowed on expressways where state Department of Transportation engineers agree that it is a good idea. North Carolina would become only the second state on the East Coast, after Maine, and the 17th in the country to let some drivers go 75 mph.

Booze and a Boat Breed Bipartisanship--Nothing brings Democratic and Republican senators together like some time alone on a yacht, says Sen. Mark S. Kirk. Speaking to reporters about his work on firearm background checks and other gun-related legislation, the Illinois Republican told a gaggle of reporters that credit for bipartisan efforts in the Senate are in part thanks to visits to the Black Tie, a vessel that is partially owned by Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va. “You guys really ought to go out to National Harbor and see the Black Tie, which has been much of the reason for much of the bipartisan cooperation around here,” Kirk said. Kirk said Sens. Kay Hagan, a North Carolina Democrat and Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, are frequent visitors. Asked about the menu at the gatherings, Kirk didn’t say much, though he indicated some booze might be consumed. “Sometimes alcoholic beverages might be served and ties might … get loosened,” Kirk said.

More N.C. firms drop health insurance as costs soar-- A new study suggests rising health care costs have taken a particularly large toll in North Carolina, where the number of residents who receive health insurance through their employers has dropped sharply over the past decade. The portion of North Carolinians under age 65 with employer-sponsored insurance declined from 69 percent in 2000 to 56 percent in 2011, according to the report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.


Will NC be next?

Booze and a Boat Breed Bipartisanship--Nothing brings Democratic and Republican senators together like some time alone on a yacht, says Sen. Mark S. Kirk. Speaking to reporters about his work on firearm background checks and other gun-related legislation, the Illinois Republican told a gaggle of reporters that credit for bipartisan efforts in the Senate are in part thanks to visits to the Black Tie, a vessel that is partially owned by Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va. “You guys really ought to go out to National Harbor and see the Black Tie, which has been much of the reason for much of the bipartisan cooperation around here,” Kirk said. Kirk said Sens. Kay Hagan, a North Carolina Democrat and Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, are frequent visitors. Asked about the menu at the gatherings, Kirk didn’t say much, though he indicated some booze might be consumed. “Sometimes alcoholic beverages might be served and ties might … get loosened,” Kirk said.

More N.C. firms drop health insurance as costs soar-- A new study suggests rising health care costs have taken a particularly large toll in North Carolina, where the number of residents who receive health insurance through their employers has dropped sharply over the past decade. The portion of North Carolinians under age 65 with employer-sponsored insurance declined from 69 percent in 2000 to 56 percent in 2011, according to the report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2^nd AMENDMENT: 

I LOVE IT: Gun Rights Group Demands Universal Background Checks for All Elected Officials--And at the end, I have an additional and complementary suggestion. “If politicians want universal background checks, we should start with them,” said Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.   He pointed to recent political scandals in the New York Legislature, which just passed a new restrictive gun control law, where a state senator and state assemblyman were arrested last week, as “one small example.”

TOOMEY ADMITS HIS LEGISLATION WOULD NOT HAVE STOPPED NEWTOWN
House GOP shows little appetite for Senate gun control measure--Growing momentum in the Senate for new gun-control legislation has failed to flow down to the House, where just a handful of House Republicans have embraced a deal to expand background checks for firearm purchases. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and multiple Republican members of the Pennsylvania delegation are backing a compromise brokered by the Keystone State’s Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that advanced in the Senate on Thursday.

The Absurdity of ‘Universal’ Background Checks--Those who favor “universal” background checks on gun buyers make some ridiculous arguments. For example, opponents correctly point out that gun buyers with criminal intent will always find channels that require no background check. Gunrunning is among the oldest professions, and the black market will always be with us.

Gun Permit List Given to Feds--One of the arguments against the current gun-control legislation in the Senate is that some of its provisions would create a centralized gun registry in order to traffic “illegal” firearms. Some of the bill’s proponents, of course, say that there is nothing to worry about and that the government having such a list doesn’t endanger the lawful or their privacy.

Lee, Paul, Cruz: Senate to Vote on Gun Bill No One Has Read--This morning the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to the firearms bill (S.649). It is expected that the Toomey-Manchin provision announced yesterday will replace the current language regarding background checks. Yet, as of this morning, not a single senator has been provided the legislative language of this provision

Video: Toomey Admits His Legislation Would Not Have Stopped Newtown

OTHER NEWS:

Federal Housing Administration's Poor Loan Making--The Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) share of loans in serious delinquency has risen by 6 percent since 2011 and 12 percent of all FHA-insured mortgages in serious delinquency in 2012 were originated after 2010

Median Household Income Now Less Than What Government Spends Per Household--If you add up all the money the government is spending and divide that amount by the number of households in the United States, you get a figure that now exceeds the median amount of money those households collectively earn.

WH: I do think at a certain point you’ve saved enough money--President Obama, the man who once said that “at a certain point you’ve made enough money,” reportedly also believes that there’s a point at which people have saved enough money. “Under current rules, some wealthy individuals are able to accumulate many millions of dollars in these accounts, substantially more than is needed to fund reasonable levels of retirement saving,” the White House budget proposal says, per Talking Points Memo, while proposing a cap on retirement savings.

Byron York: Rush through Senate will kill trust in immigration reform--When it is finally unveiled next week, the immigration reform proposal crafted by the Senate's bipartisan Gang of Eight will be long -- possibly 1,500 pages -- and complex, and it will call for far-reaching changes in important areas of American life. One would think the leadership of the Senate might want to talk about it. Not so. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a longtime supporter of immigration reform, has vowed to push the bill through his committee "with all deliberate speed." When Sen. Marco Rubio, perhaps the key Republican in the Gang, called on Leahy to hold "multiple" hearings on the bill, Leahy flatly turned him down. The committee will hold just one more hearing on the bill, Leahy declared.

President Obama's tobacco tax hike: Is it about health or cash?  President Obama's proposal to nearly double the federal tax on cigarettes, portrayed by the White House as a way to improve public health, is nothing more than a smoke screen to raise money, critics say. (It really makes me mad! I smoke and that is MY CHOICE, and I should not be further penalized just so Obama can buy more votes with free daycare AND start indoctrinating our childer sooner!  Will you speak up when they tax your fast food??? or sodas???)  Obama wants to increase the federal cigarette tax from $1.01 to $1.95 a pack and use the $80 billion in new revenue it would generate to expand preschool programs. However, analysts questioned whether the administration can both deter smoking while making money from smokers.

The Democratic Party is the most successful criminal organization in American history--You seldom see those two words in the same sentence, except when a Democrat is convicted of ethics violations or — as occasionally happens — pleads guilty to felonies. The Democratic Party is the most successful criminal organization in American history, and the amazing thing is that they haven’t yet stolen everything that’s not nailed down. But have patience, they’re trying as hard as they can. Anyway, the bungling dimwits thought they’d uncovered a Republican scandal, namely Mitch McConnell’s discussion of the fact that Ashley Judd is as nutty as a Snickers bar, information they obtained by means of electronic eavesdropping by a couple of “progressive activists,” which phrase is apparently a Kentucky synonym for criminals:

FORENSIC PROFILER: OBAMA WANTS 'TOTAL GUN CONTROL'--He 'has never been constrained by the Constitution'. Whatever state lawmakers or members of Congress come up with for new gun bans, limits, regulations and restrictions, remember that Barack Obama wants “total gun control.” That’s according to a forensic profiler who worked on the disappearance of Natalie Holloway and the double-murder case against O.J. Simpson. Andrew G. Hodges, M.D., who wrote “The Obama Confession: Secret Fear, Secret Fury,” explained in an analysis of the president’s statements for WND that Obama’s words suggest the unconscious message that “one day the government’s coming for our guns.” Hodges previously said Obama’s statement “I am not a dictator” actually meant, “I am the dictator president,” and concluded Obama unconsciously confessed to stealing the 2012 election.

'DISABLED' OUTNUMBER WORKERS IN U.S. MANUFACTURING-- Bankruptcy now looming for another social help program-- The stories are many, and this is just one: It seems there was a psychiatrist who reported about a woman who was “disabled” when a casino money cart fell on her leg in Reno. She still managed to play basketball, crawl about under her car, carry heavy groceries and tote luggage around. But she developed a limp and used a cane just in time for a hearing on her disability benefits.

Paul Ryan: Republicans must stay strong on abortion to win elections-- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) argued in a speech to activists Thursday night that robust opposition to abortion rights is crucial to the GOP's political chances. Ryan's remarks to the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List gala were his most extended on abortion since the 2012 election cycle, when several GOP candidates lost following controversial remarks on abortion and rape.

House lawmaker questions IRS over email search policy--The chairman of a House subcommittee is demanding more information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about its practice of searching the emails of suspected tax fraudsters. In a letter to the IRS on Thursday, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), chairman of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Oversight, asked for the IRS to explain when it believes it can search emails without a warrant and how many searches it has conducted since 2010. He asked the agency to provide all internal memos and guidelines on its email search policy.

American Thinker: Common Core: Nationalized State-Run Education--Common Core, the new federal education standards, may look delicious; but before you take a bite out of the apple, it might be a good idea to know a razor is inside. Like all Orwellian euphemisms, "Common Core" is not about innocent ideas like the word "common" or the term "core." The phrase "Common Core" is used to hide the real aspects of an education policy which if articulated openly would never be taken seriously, let alone be implemented.

Morning Bell: Obama’s Fake Budget Marketing Exposed--President Obama is marketing his new budget by saying it has “more than $2 in spending cuts for every $1 of new revenue.” Is this true? In a word, no.  In fact, his spending increases and advertised spending cuts cancel each other out—leaving only a massive tax increase. The President cancels sequestration’s spending cuts—therefore raising spending—by the same amount that he reduces spending. When that’s done, all that’s left is a $1.1 trillion tax hike.

REAL AGENDA OF ACLU EXPOSED AT LAST, Revelations blow lid off plan forged by communist founders-- The American Civil Liberties Union has planned a “war on God” from its beginnings, claims a new book by New York Times bestselling author Jerome Corsi, a scheme born from the group’s foundation, steeped in communist goals. Corsi told WND history may have conveniently forgotten the ACLU’s original objective, but his new book, “Bad Samaritans: The ACLU’s Relentless Campaign to Erase Faith from the Public Square,” digs up what the ACLU doesn’t want you to remember.

State of Missouri bans Agenda 21; What would Harry Truman Say? I wonder what Missouri's favorite son, Harry Truman, would think of his home state now. There he is, the first leader to sign the UN Charter in 1945. Now, in 2013, Missouri has banned Agenda 21, the United Nations document that promotes sustainable development. (more on Agenda 21 here) But Republican representatives and Senators think it is much, much more: John Celock writes in the Huffington Post: "Agenda 21, a lot of people think it is a conspiracy theory, but it is a real book," state Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) said. "It deals with property rights and our food source. It deals with our ability to produce food and employ agricultural methods." Fitzpatrick, along with Rep. Lyle Rowland (R-Cedercreek), the bill sponsor, argued that the U.N. is pushing the sustainability plan to take away property rights. Rowland said land decisions should not be made by the U.N., but by the state.

Jeremiah Wright's Daughter Charged With Fraud--The daughter of President Barack Obama's controversial former pastor was indicted on Wednesday on charges of money laundering and lying to federal authorities, a U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman said. Jeri L. Wright, 47, the daughter of Jeremiah Wright, was accused of participating in a fraud scheme led by a former suburban police chief and the chief's husband that involved a $1.25 million state grant, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield. Wright, of the Chicago suburb of Hazel Crest, was charged with two counts of money laundering, two counts of making false statements to federal officers, and seven counts of giving false testimony to a grand jury.


THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• DHS Cancels Purchase Request for…Bagpipes and Drums?
• Ben Carson Steps Down as Johns Hopkins Graduation Speaker After Gay Marriage Firestorm
• Video Captures Apparent Scuffle with Police After Man Tries Filming Citation for Smoking on the Sidewalk: Cell Phones Can Be ‘Converted Into Weapons’
• Obama Is Set to Become the First President to Ever Do This
• Gun Manufacturer Will Leave Connecticut Over Gun Control Legislation: ‘A Call to All Involved in Our Industry to Leave This State’

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

Beating Obamacare: Strategies That Work--Some businesses are cutting full-time people to part time. Others are going to pay the $2,000 a year fine. Result: no health care insurance. Nancy Pelosi thought she could get health care for all. She got Obama to front the program. He did, but she clearly was the ramrod behind it. It has not worked. The coverage still is not there for all the people who thought they were going to get it. Instead, they lost their full-time jobs. Pelosi did not think this through. It involved simple economic reasoning. “When the price of anything increases, less of it is demanded.” The price of full-time workers rose.

NORTH CAROLINA:

More N.C. firms drop health insurance as costs soar--A new study suggests rising health care costs have taken a particularly large toll in North Carolina, where the number of residents who receive health insurance through their employers has dropped sharply over the past decade. The portion of North Carolinians under age 65 with employer-sponsored insurance declined from 69 percent in 2000 to 56 percent in 2011, according to the report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. That change left 220,000 fewer residents with health insurance. Only four states had a larger percentage drop.

Bill would bar sex-selection abortions in NC--Several North Carolina House Republicans want to make it unlawful for abortion providers to knowingly perform the procedure on a pregnant woman if the gender of the fetus played a significant factor in seeking the abortion. The legislation submitted before Wednesday's bill filing deadline would prohibit sex-selection abortions. Abortion providers could be sued or face civil fines reaching $100,000. Litigation could be initiated by the pregnant woman, her relative or another doctor.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Gun Filibuster Thwarted, Debate Just Beginning--“The hard work starts now,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just declared. The most important vote in Congress so far this year for President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda was relatively anticlimactic. The Senate voted just a few minutes ago, 68-31, to overcome the filibuster launched to prevent any discussion at all of gun control legislation, well more than the 60 votes required because more than one-third of Republicans broke with the party mainstream and supported at least having a full debate.


Ammo Rationing Is Here--Ammunition is in such short supply (at today’s prices) that police departments in east Texas are not able to buy it. Officers are not issued ammunition. They have to buy their own. There is something strange with a market when any item becomes so scarce that rationing is required. Under normal circumstances, the manufacturer would simply hike prices in order to reduce demand and also increase profits. There is something abnormal with the price system in a particular line of production when an item is in such short supply that there are people lining up to buy it, and the stores that sell it have run out.

OTHER NEWS:

Here’s Who Got Early Release of Federal Reserve Minutes--The public can get a unique glimpse of the corporate, trade association and Capitol Hill insiders who regularly deal with the Federal Reserve from an email list of those who were accidently sent early a copy of the minutes of the Federal Reserve March meeting. The Federal Reserve made the list public. The email is an example of the regular communication that goes on between government agencies and those seeking to obtain the best intelligence on government policy matters.


Mandatory National Sex Education Proposed--No more parental control! No more voluntarism! No more out-of-wedlock birth! Do these follow? No. The opposite follows. But that does not stop this guy, who writes for the Huffington Post, the journal that puts the jerk into knee-jerk liberal. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says one in five births to U.S. teens ages 15-19 is not a first child. The data comes from 365,000 teens who gave birth in 2010 and shows that 67,000 of those were the teen mom’s second child. It’s time we revisit sexual education in America’s schools and make it a part of the curriculum in every middle school and high school.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Hannity Explodes at Former Obama Adviser After He Tries to Defend Obama’s Music Party: ‘You’re on Drugs! You Can’t Be Serious!’
• ‘He Misrepresented the Training Material’: Colorado State Patrol Goes After Sheriff Who Alleged Anti-Christian Training Session
• Professor Under Investigation for Allegedly Forcing Students to Make Anti-Gun Posters
• Troubling Photos Suggest Some Egyptian Police Stood By While Mob Attacked Christian Cathedral, Burned Bible
• Calif. Tax Bill Seeks to Punish Boy Scouts’ for Gay Ban, Targets Group’s ‘Unfortunate Discriminatory and Outdated Practices’
• Read Veteran Teacher’s Witheringly Scornful Resignation Letter: ‘I Am Not Leaving My Profession…It No Longer Exists’

COMMENTARY:

John Ransom: The Unintended Consequences of Intended Consequences--As the worldwide federalization of everything from Cypriot banks accounts to morning after pills continues to sweep across the globe, I’m reminded of a conversation I had with a former general officer. In 2007, as we talked about what went wrong in Iraq, he told me: “We had a plan to invade Iraq. They didn’t use it. It was almost as if they purposefully screwed it up.” His actual language was stronger, but so it went.

Todd Starnes: Army Email Labels Christian Ministries as 'Domestic Hate Groups'-- A U.S. Army officer sent an email to dozens of subordinates listing the American Family Association and Family Research Council as "domestic hate groups" because they oppose homosexuality -- and warned officers to monitor soldiers who might be supporters of the groups. “Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from LTC Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values, don’t just walk by – do the right thing and address the concern before it becomes a problem.”

Washington Examiner Editorial: Feds waste $95 billion on duplicative programs-- How many federal agencies does it take to do catfish safety inspections? At least three, according to the Government Accountability Office, which on Tuesday released its 2013 report on fragmentation and duplication of federal programs. This year's report -- there were two previous editions of the report first requested by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. -- documents an estimated $95 billion in duplicative programs that waste precious tax dollars. That brings the three-year total of potential savings documented by GAO to $295 billion.

VIDEO:
Mark Levin EXPLODES!!: "An Up And Down Vote On The 2nd Amendment Is Unconstitutional!"

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

5 Ways Obamacare Will Fail--Whether you’re ready for it or not, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known collectively as Obamacare, is going to be fully implemented in less than nine months. The blatant rising costs of health care in this country, compounded by the successful implementation of socialized health care from our neighbors to the north, pre-empted President Obama and lawmakers to vote for change in 2010. Yesterday, in fact, I examined five ways that this bill will improve the scope of health care in this country.

NORTH CAROLINA:

Hundreds of NC citizens lobby state legislature on variety of causes--Hundreds of people came to the legislature Tuesday, motivated by what lawmakers have done and what they are planning to do. These citizen-activists papered legislative offices with fliers and brochures, making their views known on everything from voting rights to midwife licenses.

Stam To Unveil Expansive School Voucher Plan--RALEIGH — House Speaker Pro Tem Paul “Skip” Stam proposes to spend $90 million the next two years providing “equal opportunity scholarship grants” to low-income students for private education, an initiative he says will save the state money. New State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey backs the proposal.

Welfare changes move through NC General Assembly--RALEIGH — A pair of bills that would require welfare recipients to undergo drug tests and criminal background checks advanced Tuesday in the North Carolina General Assembly. A House bill that received bipartisan support on the full floor requires all county Department of Social Services offices to perform background checks to bar applicants and recipients with outstanding warrants or other active violations from welfare and food stamp programs.

The Civitas Quiz—The Racial Justice Act has been the subject of heated debate in the General Assembly. How much do you know about the law and the efforts to reform it?

McCrory says he backs Republican-written voter identification bill-- Gov. Pat McCrory says he supports a voter ID law making its way through the General Assembly. McCrory said Tuesday following a meeting with the Black Legislative Caucus that he plans to sign a bill requiring photo identification at the polls. The caucus has stood firmly against the bill, arguing it disenfranchises poor and minority voters who are more likely to lack photo ID.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Obama calling senators to talk gun vote--President Obama has been calling Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday to discuss the gun-control vote, a White House official said. Obama is expected to reach out to between half a dozen to a dozen senators in all, the official said. The White House would not provide the call list, so it’s unclear whether Obama is reaching out to Republican senators who have promised to filibuster gun-control legislation.

The Hill: Reid plows ahead on gun control legislation--Democrats are confident they have the votes to bring gun control legislation to the Senate floor this week. But getting the votes to pass the bill later this month will be much harder.

Guns: The Left's True Aim, and How to Thwart It--We must not lose focus on the end goal of progressives regarding guns. Make no mistake; regardless of what they say, their ultimate goal is confiscation of all guns in America. And a "universal background check" will get them closer to this nirvana than the banning of a few selected weapons ever could. To understand progressive methodology, let's use another similar issue: the gay marriage agenda. Say the current definition of "marriage" as it has been for thousands of years is represented by "A" on a continuum of A to Z, with "Z" being the left's ultimate goal. Asking for "Z" now would be a major overreach (and "Z" is much farther than just gay marriage), so progressives ask for "N," which is just enough of a stretch to make people push back only a little.

Barack Obama Couldn't Care Less about Dead Children-- President Barack Obama is firmly committed to pushing an anti-gun agenda. He's so steadfast in his conviction that he was willing to fly, on his $180K per hour magic carpet, the families of the children and school workers that perished in Newtown, Connecticut all the way to Washington DC. After breakfast, Sandy Hook family members participated in a mini anti-gun-violence, sympathy-fueled arm-twisting session where, in an effort to persuade reluctant senators to sway his way on the issue of gun control, the grieving were exploited.

OTHER NEWS:

International Baccalaureate World Schools: The Radical Transformation of America’s Classrooms--Liberal education has been very successful in this country because nobody challenged the progressive educators and their agenda. We are waking up to the unraveling of our society caused by this liberal education and wondering, what happened. Could it be too late to reverse the damage? Conservative news outlets are pointing out the obvious—our children have been indoctrinated into socialism for 33-40 years and this indoctrination is finally bearing fruit. We have bred a nation of young, entitled citizens who do not like to work, do not like to read or study anything too involved or complicated that exceeds Twitter’s 140 words, do not take responsibility for their actions, exhibit righteous indignation if their demands are not met, claim racism and hate speech if others disagree with them, and are afraid of their shadows.


"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Silence of the Lambs in America-- In present-day America, we are being bombarded with increasingly dire headlines about the condition of our nation. Common elements among these headlines of domestic disorder and discontent are reports of unbridled government overreach into our lives, from much-publicized gun control laws, warrantless searches and seizures, to the perverse and absurdly shameful degradation of our human dignity at the hands of the TSA and the DHS. Today, we are facing an assault on our freedoms for which those who lived before us have shed their blood, entrusting us with the gift of an indivisible nation under God. Yes, under God.

Early analysis: Obama's 2014 budget numbers are based on bad math, phantom revenues, imagined spending cuts and a middle-class tax hikes--The Obama administration released an outline of its fiscal 2014 budget today promising that the president's budget 'reduces the deficit and puts the Nation on a sound fiscal course.' 'Every new initiative in the plan is fully paid for, so they do not add a single dime to the deficit,' the White House pledges. An initial walk through the budget proposals released overnight to reporters, however, suggests that Republicans in Congress will need some convincing.

The Revolution Continues: Ron Paul Trademarks His Own Homeschool Curriculum--The indefatigable Ron Paul is certainly keeping busy these days. In truth, since his departure from the Republican presidential primary last year, we haven’t really heard much from him. But at least now we know why: the former congressman’s been spending his days designing and refining his own unique, libertarian-themed homeschool curriculum. Fox News has more: 
Ron Paul is retired from public office but has found a new way to spread his libertarian message – an online, home-school program that is based on the “history of liberty” and teaches the “biblical principles of self-government.”

The Revolution Continues: Ron Paul Trademarks His Own Homeschool Curriculum--The indefatigable Ron Paul is certainly keeping busy these days. In truth, since his departure from the Republican presidential primary last year, we haven’t really heard much from him. But at least now we know why: the former congressman’s been spending his days designing and refining his own unique, libertarian-themed homeschool curriculum. Fox News has more: Ron Paul is retired from public office but has found a new way to spread his libertarian message – an online, home-school program that is based on the “history of liberty” and teaches the “biblical principles of self-government.”

The Hill: Obama to unveil $1.058T budget--President Obama’s budget to be released on Wednesday would leave the nation with a $744 billion budget deficit in 2014 despite new entitlement cuts and tax hikes.

MSNBC 'COMMUNITY KIDS' HOST WORSHIPPED WITH OBAMA--MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry worshipped with President Obama at the controversial Trinity United Church in Chicago, WND has learned. Harris-Perry was also an associate of Obama's when both taught at the University of Chicago in the early 2000s, and she eventually became a regular commentator on Obama to the news media.

Publius Huldah Explains Why Islamists Don’t Have the Right to Build Mosques, Proselytize Or Institute Sharia Law In America-- Publius Huldah, a retired attorney, Constitutional scholar and a gracious contributor to Freedom Outpost, addressed the Act for America Chapter in Fayetteville, Tennessee recently and demonstrated that the First Amendment does not give Islamists the right to build mosques, proselytize, and institute Sharia law in the United States. She also took time to point out that multiculturalism is not and that Islam is not a peaceful religion.

Why the United States is a Dying Country--Recently Rush Limbaugh opined that the United States is a dying country. For many years that reality has been painfully obvious to those of us who immigrated to the United States having experienced first-hand the suffering inherent in the near total destruction of a nation which inevitably occurs as the end-product of immorality, despotism and radical ideology.

American Colonialism-- Prominent African-American economists such as Walter Williams have shown that the New Deal programs of FDR, the "Great Society" programs of LBJ, and the "income redistribution" initiatives have failed to achieve their stated goals of improving the lives of poor minorities in urban areas. This paper proposes an additional explanation for the persistence of urban minority poverty: that Democrats have created urban "colonies" of minorities in order to exploit them for their votes and Federal benefits.

Cruz report rips Obama’s ‘attempts to expand federal power’--President Obama’s attorneys have lost six cases by unanimous vote in the Supreme Court since 2012, prompting Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to issue a report describing how federal power would have...

TPN—Judson Phillips: The flexibility of Barack Obama-- Does anyone remember Barack Obama's great promise of the campaign of 2012? He did not make a promise to America nor to Americans. He did not make a promise to fellow politicians. Unlike so many of his promises, he is keeping this one. His promise was to Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Mark Levin: "The Republican Party Is Going To Split, And There's Going To Be Two Parties"-- On the Monday night broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Mark Levin warned the Republican party will split unless RNC chairman Reince Priebus and House Speaker John Boehner are thrown out.

Police Association Asks Columbia to Fire Weather Underground Terrorist Kathy Boudin-- James J. Kelly, the President of the Rockland County Police Benevolent Association has penned a letter to the Rockland County Times in which he asks Columbia University to dismiss Weather Underground terrorist Kathy Boudin.

Hydraulic Fracturing Could Jumpstart Economy--During the last few years, hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as "fracking," has received attention more for its potential environmental impacts than its benefits. Public attention has incorrectly focused on the dangers instead of the economic benefits, say Kevin Hassett and Aparna Mathur of the American Enterprise Institute. Fracking was first used in the 1940s but recently became more profitable as other technologies, like horizontal drilling, made many reserves of oil and natural gas economically viable.

OBAMA NOMINATES THREE, INCLUDING CONTROVERSIAL DEMOCRAT, TO LABOR BOARD--President Barack Obama nominated two Republicans and one Democrat to the National Labor Relations Board Wednesday on the eve of a House vote that would defund the board over unconstitutional recess appointments.

RUBIO IN 2010: I'LL NEVER SUPPORT AMNESTY--Rarely viewed video includes hard-line pledge against immigration plan. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., one of a handful of names being offered as a potential GOP candidate for the White House in 2016, is working on an immigration reform plan that critics say may include some sort of offer of legitimacy for those who already have broken U.S. laws and are inside its borders illegally. Or amnesty.

Report answers common questions about controversial Common Core standards, JLF education expert tackles 35 issues related to 'massive changes' in public schools--New public school standards dubbed the Common Core are generating questions for parents and taxpayers across the nation, including North Carolina. A new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report aims to answer many of those questions. "Unfortunately, readily accessible information about the Common Core is often hard to come by," said report author Dr. Terry Stoops, JLF Director of Research and Education Studies. "That's the reason for compiling this Common Core primer. North Carolina taxpayers should use it as a first step in an ongoing effort to assess the massive changes underway in our public schools." Stoops' report addresses 35 topics in a question-and-answer format, starting with the most basic: What is the Common Core State Standards Initiative? "The Common Core State Standards are a series of grade-by-grade educational standards," the report explains. "In 2014, the state plans to add tests that correspond to the standards."

COLORADO SHERIFF'S SHOCKING EXPOSÉ: COLORADO STATE POLICE, HOMELAND SECURITY PREPARING TO TARGET CHRISTIANS, TEA PARTIERS-- Remember April of 2009, just four years ago, when Janet Napolitano's Department of Homeland Security was caught labelling Tea Partiers as 'domestic terrorists in an unclassified report? How about July of 2012, when a DHS-funded study from the University of Maryland called 'people reverential of individual liberty' terrorists? You may remember that we discussed it at the time. This has been going on for quite some time. And this isn't the first time that our movement has caught law enforcement being taught to target Christians, but it's the most disturbing, considering the current, massive effort currently underway by America's Marxists to ensure the Sandy Hook massacre doesn't 'go to waste,' and to disarm the American people.

The Amount of Hidden Debt Will Stun Taxpayers--Taxpayers around the country will soon be grappling with massive amounts of debt they had no idea they were responsible for. The hidden debt is the result of $7.3 billion in promises that were made by state legislators but never approved by taxpayers, says Steven Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Illinois is now facing a lawsuit charging that state officials made misleading remarks about the state's pension system and failed to disclose the enormous amount of unfunded obligations.

The Federal Reserve's Expanding Regulator Umbrella--Despite its lackluster performance in preventing the 2007 crisis, Congress delegated more powers to the Federal Reserve, the nation's century-old central bank known for its monetary policy responsibilities. As a result, the Federal Reserve now has too much regulatory power, say Hester Peirce and Robert Greene of the Mercatus Center. The Federal Reserve System consists of the seven-member Board of Governors, supported by a staff of 2,400, and 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks with their own boards of directors and a combined staff of more than 15,500.

The $100 Bill: Black Market Money Around the World--I have been writing about this for almost 40 years. America’s currency is used mostly outside the USA. Currency withdrawn from the U.S. banking system that is not re-deposited shrinks the M1 money supply. It reverses the fractional reserve process. It shrinks the money supply.   At the 1974 Austrian scholars’ conference held at South Royalton, Vermont, I argued that black markets, contrary to popular Austrian School opinion, do reduce inflation. Black markets lead to currency transactions that are illegal. People withdraw currency to participate in these illegal markets. This shrinks the money supply, which therefore reduces both monetary inflation and price inflation. I was not taken seriously, I think. But it’s true.


TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2013

WEBSITE OF THE DAY:
Solutions for Preparedness--The Preparedness Site with a Difference

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Conn. Father’s Stunning Claim: Son’s School Is Teaching That Americans Don’t Have the Right to Bear Arms
• Chris Matthews Sneaks a 2016 Hillary Clinton Presidential Run Into Eulogy of Thatcher
• More and More Women Are Buying Guns — Here’s Why
• In Oklahoma, a Dem Lawmaker’s Joke Has Led to an Interesting Idea Championed by Republicans
• Rick Santorum’s Dire Warning on Gay Marriage
• The Stunning 355-Page Mega Report That Reveals the Radical Curriculum at One American College (And How a Golf Game Gone Awry Led to It All)

COMMENTARY:


Mychal Massie--Daily Rant: Bob Beckel Tries To Recast Racist Liberals--My opinion of liberals was reinforced last week as I was channel surfing late one evening and happened upon Bob Beckel blustering about Dr. Ben Carson. As many of my regular readers are aware, I do not watch Fox News, but happening upon Beckel at that moment froze my finger just as it readied to click the channel button on the remote control. Dr. Carson had accurately referenced elitist white liberals as being “the most racist people out there.” That was enough to set Beckel off. He objected to Dr. Carson’s assertion, and launched into a screed accusing him of being ignorant of history. But, Dr. Carson is not ignorant of history – rather it is Beckel who is attempting to deny history.

TPN—Alan Caruba: Am I a Dangerous Extremist? Are You?- -If you should suddenly cease to find my commentaries, I will either have passed away or have been detained by agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Defense Department and taken to an undisclosed location for the crime of having been an “extremist” and a danger to the nation. In April 2009, the Washington Times published an article reporting that “The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in ‘rightwing extremist activity’, saying that the economic recession, the election of America’s first black president, and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.”


VIDEO:

• OBAMA: All countries are close allies!!  Barack Obama and the US has a lot of close and strong allies in the world. And all small countries punches above their weight according to the president. From the show Detektor, Danish
• Boone, NC—Eustace Conway needs all the North Carolina help he can get, please share this video with your groups/email lists. This is a situation that should get a few folks to start thinking about the implications of a feudalistic society and the concepts of property rights and ownership.

NORTH CAROLINA:

Grand Jury Wants Perdue Donor Investigated--Fulenwider accused of paying salary for convicted campaign aide--A Wake County grand jury Monday suggested one of Democratic former Gov. Bev Perdue's donors obstructed justice by violating campaign finance laws. In a presentment (PDF download), the grand jury asked Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby to investigate Charles Michael Fulenwider, a Morganton owner of fast-food restaurants and other concerns, who has been named in other campaign irregularities involving Perdue's re-election efforts.  The presentment stated that Fulenwider, who had maxed out his donations for Perdue's 2008 re-election campaign, "contributed or loaned" an additional $32,000 to the Perdue campaign committee to compensate a Perdue campaign aide, Julia Leigh (or Juleigh) Sitton of Morganton. The money was funneled through a company operated by Perdue's campaign finance director, Peter Reichard. The contributions were not reported to the State Board of Elections.

McCrory wants nonprofit to lead econ development--Gov. Pat McCrory proposed Monday the creation of a private nonprofit corporation to spearhead North Carolina's economic development and tourism efforts that he says will make the state become more competitive in the economic development game with other states. McCrory and Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker used the backdrop of a Burlington fabric maker to unveil the concept of a North Carolina Economic Development Corp., which would receive state funds and take over many current Commerce Department responsibilities. The legislature would have to sign off on the corporation, which also would award the state's monetary economic incentives to companies wanting to set up shop or remain in the state.

Dirty Politics on Dix Hill--The mission statement of Dix306.org, a lobbying group pushing to preserve a lease struck in December between the Perdue administration and the city of Raleigh, reads, “Our goal is to save all 306 acres of the Dorothea Dix Campus for a World Class Destination Park for future generations.” What sounds like a noble, selfless, forward-looking vision is in fact a bunch of hooey. A Senate bill that would renegotiate this sweetheart deal has drawn lots of attention, as Democrats accuse Republicans of trashing the state’s ability to negotiate in good faith. At a March 21 committee hearing, Raleigh broadcaster, property developer, and liberal activist Jim Goodmon launched into a patronizing lecture, chastising Republicans for their alleged double-dealing. Senate Rules Committee Chairman Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, then threw a tantrum and seemed ready to jump Goodmon.

N.C. lawmakers make push to loosen gun restrictions--Brown-eyed people are more likely than blue-eyed people to pack a gun in North Carolina. Much about the nearly 400,000 concealed pistol permit holders here – including their names, addresses, weights and, yes, even eye colors – is a matter of public record. But state lawmakers are trying to change that.

NCICL Calls State ABC System An Illegal Monopoly--Gov. Perdue commissioned study calling for end of state control of liquor sales--A legal-issues think tank is calling for privatization of the state’s ABC stores, even suggesting that the current government-controlled system might violate the N.C. Constitution’s ban on monopolies. “To tolerate a government-sanctioned monopoly by any entity, including the state itself, is ‘contrary to the genius of a free state,’ according to the common sense of our Constitution,” writes Jeanette Doran, executive director of the nonprofit N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, in a recent report. Doran goes on to conclude in her report that if the state is allowed to monopolize liquor sales with the justification that it is protecting public health, then there would be little to keep it from monopolizing other products or services, such as health care, or commodities, including gasoline or food.

Hagan Manager Is Known for Tackling Tough Races--Sen. Jon Tester’s victory in Montana last year solidified Preston Elliott’s standing as one of Democrats’ most talented Senate race operatives — and it put him at the top of the party’s list of staff for its toughest contests this cycle. Elliott will manage a top GOP target, Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, in 2014, continuing his trend of working for the most vulnerable Senate Democrats over the past two cycles. He directed the coordinated campaign for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada in 2010 and worked on some of the most competitive races as a deputy political director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2008.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Senate Democratic leaders face decisions on push for criminalizing private transfers--Senate Democrats are approaching decision time on whether they should try to get Republican support for expanding background checks for firearms sales or will follow the shakier path of pursuing the cornerstone of President Barack Obama's gun control effort on their own.


Video: MrColionNoir: How to Stop MASS SHOOTINGS

Video: Proof Gun Control Is 100% B.S.

Reid Proposal: 5 Years Prison for Not Reporting Missing Firearm--Under Senator Harry Reid’s (D-NV) gun control bill (S. 649), if somebody steals your firearm or you lose it, you can go to prison for up to five years if you have not reported the theft or loss to local police and to Attorney General Eric Holder within 24 hours. The provision merits ridicule for treating as a felon someone who misplaces a firearm and does not report it to the police and the federal government fast enough. Section 123 of the Reid bill adds a new provision to section 922 of title 18 of the U.S. Code:

States Look to Tax Legal Buyers of Guns, Ammo to Pay for Violence-- Cook County, Ill., this month began collecting a $25 tax on gun purchases, and at least six states are considering new taxes on firearms or ammunition as a way to help pay for the consequences of gun violence. The Cook County tax applies to purchases in Chicago's suburbs, but not the city. The tax is expected to raise $600,000 a year, which will help pay for indigent gunshot victims' medical care at county-run Stroger Hospital. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, a Democrat, says 30% of the hospital's trauma patients have gunshot wounds and it costs about $52,000 for initial treatment for each.

Communism Survivor Blasts Gun Control: 'You Don't Know What Freedom Is'

Guns Make a Risky Filibuster Gambit for GOP--Senate Republicans will be deliberating over lunch Tuesday just how far to push one of the most politically risky filibusters they have contemplated in many years. Guns hold such a unique spot in the political and cultural climate that it’s a tossup to predict that will happen. But assessing all the usually relevant factors leads to a pretty easy conclusion that the wiser course is to stand down and permit a wide-ranging debate on the legislation at hand. Public opinion is solidly in favor of the background check expansion at the heart of the bill. Public opinion is even more overwhelmingly opposed to governance by obstructionism. President every sign of staying in the bully pulpit to pound on both those themes for as long as it takes. Eleven relatives of kids and teachers murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary have come to the Capitol, TV crews in tow, to rekindle the public’s outrage at those killings and to get in the faces of who would stop the debate before it even gets started.

Sandy Hook Parent Blasts Gun Control, Breaks Down in Tears During Emotional Interview With Megyn Kelly (and She Breaks Down, Too)--gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary, to discuss the ongoing gun control debate. The interview became so overwhelmingly emotional at one point that Mattioli broke down in tears while Kelly struggled to keep it together. The grieving father explained that he is “broken” and “devastated” by his son’s death. However, gun control is not the solution, he said. “I feel it’s a false premise. Gun control works for people who abide by the laws,” he added. “Criminals who conduct most of the gun crime don’t care about the law.”

OTHER NEWS:

Gang of 8 Republicans Reject Senate Conservatives' Request for Immigration Proposal Briefing--The Republican members of the bipartisan Senate “Gang of Eight” have passed the deadline for Senate Judiciary Committee ranking GOP member Sen. Chuck Grassley’s request for a briefing on their coming immigration reform bill. Last week, Grassley (R-IA) and his conservative committee colleagues Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote to “Gang of Eight” senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), John McCain (R-AZ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), asking them to champion a transparent immigration reform process complete with thorough hearings examining each facet of any legislation those “Gang” Republicans and their Democratic counterparts develop. Obama Overrides Congress to Buy $690 Million Worth of Russian Choppers for Afghan Air Force-- Apparently America has too many jobs so Obama will be spending taxpayer money to support Russia’s defense industry on behalf of Afghanistan. And he’s doing so over the bipartisan objections of Congress from both the right and left and a ban on buying them written into the NDAA. The US Department of Defense said Thursday it plans to sidestep a Congressional ban to purchase 30 helicopters from Russian state-owned defense firm Rosoboronexport, despite objections from US lawmakers who allege that the firm has equipped the Syrian government to commit brutal crimes against civilians.

Proof the Our Government is Corporation--All Corporations are required by law to provide a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and all Cities, Counties and State governments as well as the Federal government comply with the law by publishing a CAFR every year. The Federal Reserve and the Internal Revenue Service are also Federally chartered Corporations that are owned by foreign investors.

Why There’s a Backlash against Common Core--The federal government has spent billions to move Common Core forward, and it has put billions more on the line. Unfortunately, parents, teachers, tea-party activists, and governors have every reason to believe Common Core represents major, unprecedented federal intervention into education. In a speech to the National Governor’s Association in 2010, President Obama stated: I want to commend all of you for acting collectively through the National Governors Association to develop common standards that will better position our students for success. And today, I’m announcing steps to encourage and support all states to transition to college and career-ready standards on behalf of America’s students. First, as a condition of receiving access to Title I funds, we will ask all states to put in place a plan to adopt and certify standards that are college and career-ready in reading and math.

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013
WEBSITE OF THE DAY: Girls Just Wanna Have Guns with Regis Giles
See her story on FOX: http://clashdaily.com/2013/03/fox-friends-pro-gun-chick-kicks-anti-gun-punks-to-curb/

NORTH CAROLINA:

H 494 and the Restoration Movement--Our GOP legislative leadership needs to get with the program--Thom Tillis may have just killed his chances of becoming North Carolina's next U. S. Senator. Depending on how some other current trends play out, Tillis may find that H 494 may very well drive a stake through the heart of his run for the Senate. Here's how we see that possibility playing out. These are unusual days in American history. We have a president who has effectively annihilated the U. S. Constitution. If you have any doubt about the truthfulness of that statement simply click here and here. The inescapable conclusion any intellectually honest person must come to is that traditional precedents established and adhered to for years no longer are "the law." Moreover, what is equally clear is that both the Federal judiciary and the Congress are totally impotent to "preserve and defend the Constitution, either as textually written or as interpreted by judicial precedent."

Medicaid changes could complicate mental-health reform--Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposal to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program is likely to throw a monkey wrench into the managed-care organization initiative for behavioral health that began in earnest statewide just four months ago. The focal point of McCrory’s plan is putting three to four for-profit companies or nonprofit agencies in charge of all aspects of the state’s $13 billion Medicaid program – physical, behavioral and dental. The program serves more than 1.5 million North Carolina residents, most of whom are poor children, older adults and the disabled.

NC Republicans try to beat past tax reform dangers--Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory brimmed with optimism early this year about prospects for passing a North Carolina tax code overhaul that most agree has been needed for decades. Still, they didn't predict smooth sailing. General Assembly members had seen previous Democratic governors and lawmakers fall short on reform. They couldn't work out hundreds of details or overcome opposition from interest groups that didn't want to get taxed more or lose their prized loopholes. "The biggest challenge is whether political leaders have the will to adopt tax reform," said tax expert Sabra Faires, a former longtime legislative and state government staff attorney. "Past administrations haven't had that will, despite repeated studies on the need for it."

Stand up for your cause: Tips on how to advocate (The GOP controls NC gov't now, so the News & Record now thinks readers need 'tips on how to advocate'...)-- GREENSBORO — In 2012, 12,390 registered lobbyists spent $3.3 billion influencing elected representatives, says the Center for Responsive Politics. With numbers like that, you might wonder how your voice can be heard. Here are some tips and resources to give you a better chance at getting your representatives to listen. Getting started: l) Get educated. Enroll in a community college class in the subject area. Communicate with experts. 2) Learn to distinguish credible Internet information from opinion.

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President, NRA: Standing Guard--Gun Owners and Gun Vendors Take A Stand--Across this nation, gun stores are virtually empty. There is simply no ammunition to be had. Backorders are running into the late Fall or next year, or maybe never. Gun sales are higher than at any time in history: more than one million in one month. And first-time gun buyers are exercising their right to keep and bear arms in unprecedented numbers. All of this adds up to a massive civil rights protest the likes of which America has not seen before. It is political spontaneous combustion. And I guarantee what we are seeing at the cash box will be repeated at the ballot box in 2014 if Congress votes for any gun control.

OTHER NEWS:



TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• MSNBC host thinks your kids are her kids & vice versa
• Can Average Citizens Really Save Lives in Active-Shooter Situations? Here’s What Experts Found
• Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Dies at 87
• Revealed: Alleged Democratic Scheme to Gerrymander Florida

SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Connecticut Gov. Savages Wayne LaPierre: ‘This Guy Is So Out of Whack, It’s Unbelievable’
• 25-Year-Old U.S. Diplomat Killed in Afghanistan Attack — First Diplomat Killed Since Benghazi
• Gabrielle Giffords Slams ‘Scare Tactics’ and ‘Misinformation’ in Call for Universal Background Checks
• Israel Supporters Strike Back Against Anti-Israel Hackers by…Hijacking the Hackers’ Website

NORTH CAROLINA:

NC Republicans try to beat past tax reform dangers--Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory brimmed with optimism early this year about prospects for passing a North Carolina tax code overhaul that most agree has been needed for decades. Still, they didn't predict smooth sailing. General Assembly members had seen previous Democratic governors and lawmakers fall short on reform. They couldn't work out hundreds of details or overcome opposition from interest groups that didn't want to get taxed more or lose their prized loopholes. "The biggest challenge is whether political leaders have the will to adopt tax reform," said tax expert Sabra Faires, a former longtime legislative and state government staff attorney. "Past administrations haven't had that will, despite repeated studies on the need for it."

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

The Founders and the 2nd--One of the best educational articles anywhere on the original meaning of the 2nd Amendment. The Constitution, properly understood, is clear that there are NO permissible restrictions on the right, however much the politicians may think they are “common sense” or “reasonable.”

OTHER NEWS:

MSNBC, Maddow Attack--Nullification is NOT radical. Unlimited power is.

12 Republican Senators Support Rand Paul on Gun-Control Filibuster-- After last month’s filibuster of the Obama administration’s new drone policy, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has received a lot of attention from both libertarians and Republicans. With Senator Reid looking to introduce new gun legislation soon, Senator Paul isn’t afraid to use the same method to get his opinions out there. Late last month Senators Paul, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz all sent a letter to the Senate Majority leader. The letter threatened to filibuster the new proposed bill that would expand background checks and crack down on interstate gun trading. But on Monday Rand Paul and 12 other GOP Senators will send a follow up letter showing their support for a potential filibuster. According to Politico,

SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

VIDEO:

• Obama’s Wants America To Be The Largest Muslim Country In The World--Obama also said earlier that the US was not a Christian nation, though there is an 80% demographic that considers itself Christian.
• ONE OF THE LOWEST POINTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY--Bonus Army: US military attacks demonstrating American War Veterans. Think the military, acting on orders from a broken federal gov't, won't march against it's own??  Hard to believe this happened 80 years ago.
• Bureaucrats ‘Physically Attack, Block’ Pro-Life Protesters

OBAMACARE (ObamaTax):

Obama’s HHS Mandate Disrespects Catholics Everywhere--The HHS initiative is anti Catholic in its inception and its implementation. The Obama administration has demonstrated its disdain for Catholics and religious freedom in general. The initiative is a disgrace for what it intends to do. Anyone who looks at the situation through an objective lens can see that this administration is trying to impose its will on Christians and especially Catholics. The government exists at the will of the people, and yet this administration constantly tries to pull the wool over our eyes as if we were children who cannot see through their obvious attempt to usurp our right to practice our religion as it has been prescribed for more than 2000 years

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:
Quick Video: The Truth About The UN “Arms Trade” Treaty-- The NRA is on top of this!


OTHER NEWS:

Obama: Militaristic Peace Prize Laureate--Back in 2009, 11 days after becoming the first illegal alien to hold the office of President, Barack Hussein Obama, citizen of Indonesia, was nominated for (and shortly thereafter awarded) the Noble Peace Prize. It appears to have been awarded on the basis of his skin color and his uber-liberal, leftist outlook on life, the universe, and everything. It certainly was not based on anything he had done, or what he would do in the future. When Obama took power, one of the big issues he ran on was that our actions had made the Islamic world hate us. This has been the position of the radical left, too, that 9/11 was brought upon us by our arrogance and militaristic interference in the affairs of Islamic countries in various parts of the world. Obama, The Messiah, The One, vowed to change that by, it turns out, arrogance and militaristic interference in the affairs of Islamic countries in various parts of the world. The instances are many, but let’s look at a few of the most egregious.

Obama Wants To Limit Retirement Accounts--Complaining that “some wealthy individuals are able to accumulate many millions of dollars in these accounts,” the Obama administration announced a plan to cap the total sum of any individual’s retirement accounts at $3 million. Stashing cash beyond that point, the administration insists, builds sums “substantially more than is needed to fund reasonable levels of retirement saving.” The administration’s argument seems to be based on the use of the word “million,” implying that only nasty rich people would want to accumulate such a hoard. But is that true? How much is enough for “reasonable levels of retirement saving.”

Dr. Carson Is A Man Of Honor--There are many successful liberals, so why do so many of them wish to subsidize failure for the poor instead of showing them how to succeed? Is it because they need the poor and downtrodden to remain that way so that they can get the victims to vote the way they want them to? Once the insidious specter of welfare is introduced, many people on the cusp of poverty are encouraged to stay there so they can keep on collecting the benefits that can amount to more than $80,000 in some cases. Not bad if you can get it.

Exposing A Mass Amnesty’s Ultimate Results: 100 Million Immigrants--The First Basic Law of Human Stupidity asserts without ambiguity: always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation. At first, the statement sounds trivial. Closer scrutiny reveals its veracity. No matter how high are one’s estimates of human stupidity, one is repeatedly startled by the fact that: people whom one had once judged rational and intelligent turn out to be unashamedly stupid. Additionally, day after day, with unceasing monotony, one is harassed in one’s activities by stupid individuals who appear suddenly and unexpectedly in the most inconvenient places and at the most improbable moments. (Source: Carlo M. Cipolla, Professor of Economics, UC Berkeley). Eight stupid U.S. senators, known as the “Gang of Eight” huddle to ensure the destruction of the United States of America. Their gracious amnesty of 20 million illegal alien migrants now working and living in our country, will, in the end—result in an additional 100 million immigrants within the next three decades. Those are the scientifically projected figures by Fogel/Martin in their “US Population Projections.” (Source: www.fairus.org )

DHS Finally Responds to Senate Demand for Ammo Info but its Numbers Don’t Pencil Out--Last fall, Senator Coburn sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding an explanation by the end of November for the agency’s reported purchase of massive quantities of ammunition. Yesterday, Dr. Coburn released correspondence that he finally received from DHS purporting to explain the purchases. First, here’s what was disclosed by DHS: As of November 2012, it had over 263 million rounds of ammunition on hand. The agency said it was purchasing an additional $37 million of ammunition in this fiscal year, but did not give the actual number of rounds. Using the prior year’s cost per round of approximately 35 cents, it appears that DHS is adding another 105 million rounds on top of the 263 million on hand, minus rounds consumed in training and operations this fiscal year.

Obama: Pelosi Will Regain Speakership--President Barack Obama attended two fundraisers on Wednesday on San Francisco’s “Billionaires’ Row” and said it would be a “whole lot easier” to govern if House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) became House Speaker after 2014. Obama even said he expected Pelosi “is going to be once again the Speaker of the House.” The President attended fundraisers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) at the homes of Tom Steyer, who is pushing Obama to more aggressively back “climate change” bills, and Ann and Gordon Getty. Democrats need to win 17 seats to take back the House in 2014, and Obama is prioritizing that goal, since the Republican-controlled House remains his primary legislative obstacle. While Democrats accomplished little while they held control of the House and a Senate supermajority from 2009-2010, the President may pursue a more aggressive legislative agenda with control of both houses now that he does not have to face his own reelection in 2016.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

TODAY ON THE BLAZE:
http://www.theblaze.com/

• Fla. Planned Parenthood Responds to Furor Over Lobbyist Who Seemingly Defended ‘Infanticide’
• Transgender Man Who Gave Birth to Three Babies Unsuccessfully Begs for a Divorce in This Odd Legal Conundrum
• Where Is the Former Weather Underground Radical Who Spent 22 Years in Prison for Robbery That Left 2 Cops Dead? The Answer May or May Not Surprise You
• Here’s What GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz Found at the U.S.-Mexico Border in Arizona

COMMENTARY:

Thomas Sowell: Guns Save Lives-- We all know that guns can cost lives because the media repeat this message endlessly, as if we could not figure it out for ourselves. But even someone who reads newspapers regularly and watches numerous television newscasts may never learn that guns also save lives-- much less see any hard facts comparing how many lives are lost and how many are saved. But that trade-off is the real issue, not the Second Amendment or the National Rifle Association, which so many in the media obsess about. If guns cost more lives than they save, we can always repeal the Second Amendment. But if guns save more lives than they cost, we need to know that, instead of spending time demonizing the National Rifle Association.

NORTH CAROLINA:

Road Worrier: Coastal legislators push for elimination of all NC ferry tolls-- Norman Sanderson survived his freshman year in the state House of Representatives somehow, even after he voted to impose tolls on his fellow ferry commuters in Craven and Pamlico counties. Now a first-term senator, Sanderson has updated his position on the state’s plan to jack up the rates for three coastal ferries whose riders already pay tolls, and to start charging riders on two river ferries that have always been fare-free: He is against it, now.

Rep. Jones: Vote For Iraq War Was Political, Not Principled-- RALEIGH - North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones of Farmville is writing a book about his actions related to the Iraq War, which he says he initially voted for out of concern for the next election, not because he believed the conflict served the national interest. The Carteret County News-Times reports that Jones, a Republican who represents North Carolina's third district, is working with a former Washington Post reporter on the manuscript. Jones told the newspaper the book will explain that his initial vote in support of the war was made out of concern for the next election and that it conflicted with what he believed in his heart. He said he did not believe Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction but that many of his constituents did.

Refocused N.C. transportation program should emphasize merit-based project selection, long-range planning, maintenance, economic growth--New report offers 20 recommendations that would save $21 million a year. RALEIGH -- A revamped North Carolina transportation program should include merit-based project selection, an increased emphasis on road maintenance, and a funding solution for Interstate 95. Those are among the 20 immediate recommendations set out in a new Policy Report prepared for the John Locke Foundation. The report's authors note their recommendations would require no new revenue. "In total the 20 recommendations would save about $21 million annually and would substantially realign and refocus the transportation program on needed and affordable activities," said lead author Dr. David Hartgen, professor emeritus of transportation studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and president of the Hartgen Group.

AFP Launches Stop the Green Energy Tax Website--Americans for Prosperity-NC fights to lower power bills by stopping green energy mandates, radical environmental extremists. RALEIGH, NC – Republican lawmakers leading the General Assembly have a responsibility to save North Carolina families from needlessly high electricity prices by freezing Green energy mandates designed by radical environmental extremists to purposely inflict North Carolina citizens with higher energy prices, according to Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina, State Director Dallas Woodhouse. Americans for Prosperity – North Carolina, the state’s leading advocate for economic freedom, has called on members of the North Carolina House of Representatives to support House Bill 298 – the Affordable and Reliable Energy Act. This bill, if passed, will rollback and cap the renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) mandate set in a law signed by former Governor Mike Easley in 2007. The RPS mandate states that by 2021, the state’s investor-owned utilities must provide 12.5 percent of their energy from “green” renewable sources.

State lawmakers join fight over Jesus prayer before meetings--ROWAN COUNTY, NC (WBTV) --The fight for prayer in "the name of Jesus" before Rowan County Commission meetings is now headed to state lawmakers after a joint resolution was submitted to the North Carolina General Assembly. House Joint Resolution 494, called the Rowan County Defense of Religion Act of 2013, was filed on Monday by Republican Representatives Carl Ford and Harry Warren. Warren represents Rowan County and is in his first term. Ford represents Rowan and Cabarrus counties. He was on the Rowan County Commission when the American Civil Liberties Union first raised the objection to sectarian prayers at meetings more than a year ago. The resolution, which would back county commissioner's use of sectarian prayer in meetings, is co-sponsored by nine other Republican Representatives from across the state.

NC’s decline in economic freedom; the race to replace Hagan--The libertarian Mercatus Center at George Mason University recently published its ratings of all the states based on the degree of freedom their respective citizens enjoy. North Carolina’s economic performance rebounding from the Great Recession has been quite poor. And it is no coincidence that, according to Mercatus, we rank #25 among the states from a fiscal standpoint; #21 in economic freedom; #23 for property rights; and #27 for tax burden. Most interestingly, thirteen states moved ahead of us during the period from 2001 through 2011:

GUN CONTROL AND THE 2nd AMENDMENT:

Obama Urges Quick Adoption of Arms Trade Treaty by UN General Assembly-- Despite failing to be adopted by consensus vote on last Thursday, the Arms Trade Treaty’s (ATT) civilian disarmament agenda marches on. In an interview with The New American in advance of Thursday’s ill-fated final plenary session of the conference at UN headquarters deliberating the Arms Trade Treaty, a member of the U.S. delegation said the they were prepared to vote in favor of adoption of the gun grab.

Mark Kelly Warns GOP Sens: Don’t Filibuster Gun Control--Gabby Giffords’ husband Mark Kelly appeared on Fox News Sunday on March 31 to warn GOP Senators not to filibuster universal background check legislation as it proceeds toward a vote in the Senate. During the week prior to Kelly’s warning, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), all vowed to “oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for additional gun restrictions.”

OTHER NEWS:

America's Economic Depression in 5 Charts-- This is not what economic recovery looks like. This is, however, what an economic depression looks like. First, the American workforce is far smaller than it was before the 2008 economic collapse, even though the number of Americans of working age has increased by several millions.

Backstabbing Schumer Negotiates “Immigrant Prevailing Wage” To Solve His Immigration Failures--Democrat Senator, Chuck Schumer of New York, has over 30 years of sleazy experience in the art of political espionage. Schumer has a well documented history of voting to weaken immigration laws and contributing to the explosion of illegal immigration and drug trafficking crime plaguing America today. Yet once again, he wants Americans, and his naïve Senate colleagues, to take him at his word that this time he is going to get it right and honor his commitments. Let us take a gander at Senator Schumer’s honorable record on U.S. Immigration and Border enforcement policies and his new “immigrant prevailing wage” agenda.

Hannity Guest EXPLODES. Rips Out Earpiece... Black Conservatives Have No Freedom Of Speech? Sean Hannity's Monday night show got heated... to say the least. Inviting on radio host Leo Terrell and Niger Innis, national spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality, the Fox News host sought to debate the media treatment of Dr. Ben Carson, who's become a conservative hero of sorts since spoke "truth to power" at the National Prayer Breakfast. The panel quickly descended into chaotic shout-fest, however, with Terrell eventually ripping out his earpiece in frustration.

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy? Ya know, Caroline eyed as possible, ya know, Japan Ambassador, Ya know--The daughter of the late President Kennedy has met with the White House as a contender for the Japan Ambassador. I hope she learns to speak in a formal setting because as history has shown us Kennedy gets caught up on the "Ya Know" a lot! Back in 2008 Caroline Kennedy was a Senate hopeful. Her interviews skills left, ya know, something to be desired, ya know!

Army’s $900 Million in Warehouses Full of Useless Vehicle Parts-- The Pentagon got caught by the Defense Department’s Inspector General’s office. Again. This time it was for a military vehicle called the Stryker. It has $900 million in spare parts in just one warehouse. It keeps thousands of these vehicles in warehouses around the nation. It has so many Strykers that it lost track of them. The gear is outdated. Example: $57 million in outdated infrared equipment.

White House defends brain research initiative’s $100 million price tag--The cost of President Barack Obama's new $100 million BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) announced Tuesday is far outweighed by the benefits gained, the White House argued later in the day. The initiative—a subject the president first referenced during his State of the Union address in January—would support technologies that map the brain in order to gain greater understanding of a variety of diseases. The hope is this will lead to new cures, prevention and treatment, as well as fuel the economy. "The potential here is enormous. And the investment here is relatively small compared to the potential," White House press secretary Jay Carney said at Tuesday's press briefing, responding to questions about the program's cost.