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Archive for April, 2015

Religion and Politics: The Fire Is On the Wire

By: Anne Reed, Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.afa.net/the-stand/the-culture-war/religion-and-politics-the-fire-is-on-the-wire/

“…it is growing more and more evident that “sharing the gospel” and “getting involved in politics” are not just loosely intertwined, but soldered together.”

– Anne Reed

Several years ago, I began to grow weary of the common belief that Christians should not be involved in politics or take any interest in civil government. Many have fallen into this category of thinking because of a secular view of separation of church and state. David Barton of WallBuilders clearly dispels this myth.

To form their argument, many stress God’s sovereignty, clarifying that political leaders are in position because God ordained it. And, well, we should just submit and stay out of it. Some say that we should not be involved with politics because it’s corrupt. That is exactly the reason why we should be there…to take light into the darkness! Maybe our government is so corrupt precisely because we have stayed out of it! Maybe we have been very poor stewards of God’s blessings.

Why would He be in control of every area of life and send us into every corner no matter how dark (prisons, human trafficking situations, sick-filled hospitals, dangerous neighborhoods, the sidewalks of abortion facilities, etc.) and yet not ordain His children to participate in the government He has put in place? And in America, that doesn’t necessarily mean we are required to serve in a political office to be involved.

Was God not sovereign when the Constitution was written giving authority to the people? The Declaration of Independence clearly identifies God as the giver of our rights, and places the responsibility of government on the governed (that would be us):

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness – that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to those ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying it’s foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.

Some believe we need to get off our “high horse” as President Obama recently put it. We absolutely need to humble ourselves, repent and pray! And, we must engage in the culture war that is essentially a fight (not of flesh and blood) to uphold God’s name in our nation. I know that as I’ve become more and more aware of the realities of our day, I’ve also become increasingly aware of my own part as I ignored or slothfully watched the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob painfully dishonored in countless ways. For this, I am ashamed.

When we turn from our old attitudes of indifference and complacency, evidence is seen through our obedience to God and His Word, regardless of what others may think of us or what names they may call us. That is not a pride thing – that is a faithful thing.

And sometimes accusations and attacks come from inside the camp. Those are more painful. Even so, we should produce fruit that is worthy of repentance. He makes us salt and light – not a dim light or flavorless salt! What use are those?

When Jesus left key instructions for His disciples, He knew they would doubt what He was about to say:

When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:17-20 NASB)”

Why do we doubt the authority of Christ? It feels safe when we sit in soft chairs in our comfortably heated and cooled sanctuaries to worship. We can easily sit there in a state of doubt. But to take ourselves into the places of uncertainty is altogether different. We may risk the loss of friends, comforts, and even safety. If we believe Jesus is who He says He is and that He really is with us, we will go and make disciples of all nations, including this one! That means we are to preach the whole gospel – a message that is increasingly offensive.

In light of many currents dragging away our freedoms, it is growing more and more evident that “sharing the gospel” and “getting involved in politics” are not just loosely intertwined, but soldered together. This has proven true by recent lawsuits forcing Christians to get involved in political and legal battles by simply holding true to their Godly convictions.

Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes By Melissa in Oregon have been required to pay $135,000 to compensate a lesbian couple for emotional suffering after they declined to make a cake for their same-sex wedding.

First, let me say this: I’m planning a wedding currently. I ordered the cake just a few days ago. If the baker had told me she couldn’t bake the cake because she didn’t agree with heterosexual marriage, or for whatever reason, I would not have suffered emotionally. I’m not that fragile. I would have called another bakery – simple as that.

But aside from that, homosexual activists were not satisfied with the win or monetary gain unless it destroyed the Klein family financially. When a GoFundMe account was set up, 81% ($109,000) of their $135,000 fine was secured in less than eight hours. GoFundMe acquiesced to pressure and closed the account.

Although we are obviously not experiencing the degree of persecution that other nations endure (sometimes to death), the fire is on the wire (as in the featured photo). And we can no longer hide behind our fears and excuses.

Will God give us a way out? Is it too late for us to return to Godly behavior in our nation? Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan (NASB).”

A Pew research poll conducted in September 2014 presents a somewhat hopeful picture. When asked whether churches and other houses of worship should express their views on day-to-day social and political issues, 49% said yes, and 48% said they should keep out of political matters. This is up from 2010, when 52% wanted churches to keep out of politics, while only 43% wanted churches to express their political views.

In reality, our true hope is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. His Kingdom cannot be destroyed. And we are told in Matthew 10:28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (NASB).” So, regardless, we win. But, I personally long to see a faithful Church stand true to God; that He may be glorified, worshipped and honored.

Samaritan’s Purse has set up a fund to help the Kleins and other Christians recover from religious persecution: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/christian-couple-faces-135000-fine/#donateBottom

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Obama’s Chief Attorney Makes Chilling Admission During SCOTUS Marriage Arguments

Reported by Tony Perkins, on 30 April, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://barbwire.com/2015/04/30/0800-obamas-chief-attorney-makes-chilling-admission-during-scotus-marriage-arguments/

As the President’s chief attorney made stunningly clear, redefining marriage is not — and has never been — the end goal of homosexuals. Silencing dissent is. And you can’t silence dissent without punishing speech and belief — which is apparently what the government has in mind if the Court rules in the Left’s favor.

Looking ahead to a possible constitutional right to same-sex “marriage,” Justice Samuel Alito asked a key question: “In the Bob Jones case, the Court held that a college was not entitled to tax-exempt status if it opposed interracial marriage or interracial dating. So would the same apply to a university or a college if it opposed same-sex marriage?” With chilling honesty, Verrilli admitted, “It’s certainly going to be an issue. I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is — it is going to be an issue.”

Translation: If churches, religious groups, schools, or nonprofits won’t surrender their beliefs on marriage, the government will make it hurt. A lot.

Imagine what’s happening to Aaron and Melissa Klein (slapped with a $135,000 fine for their marriage views) occurring on a national scale through hijacked tax exemptions, Pell grants, loans, and other government contracts. If the Supreme Court finds invisible ink granting a “right” to same-sex “marriage” in the Constitution, it will be a declaration of war on principled objectors. Any nonprofit that holds to a natural definition of marriage — the same definition our own President held three years ago — would have a target on its back. (Or a bigger target, I should say.)

Is it really a stretch, given the IRS’s history of harassment and discrimination against conservatives, to think that it wouldn’t show a “smidgeon” of prejudice? This ruling would give the political operatives at one of the country’s most powerful agencies even more ammunition to punish opposition. Resistance — even principled, seemingly protected resistance — wouldn’t be tolerated. The IRS, which has been weaponized under this administration, will stop at nothing, including stripping tax exemptions, to force acceptance.

Recognizing the damage his admission could do, Verrilli tried to soften the blow by suggesting that “different states could strike different balances.” But if liberals won’t accept the long-held right of the states to regulate marriage, what makes anyone think they would accept it here? Besides, Justice Antonin Scalia fired back, “If you let the states do it, you can make an exception… You can’t do that once it is a constitutional proscription.” Carried to its logical conclusion, the government would be in a position of punishing any non-sanctioned views. This is about controlling beliefs and actions the government doesn’t agree with — which is not only a direct attack on our First Amendment freedoms, but an attack on what it means to be an American. This is what the Left has been searching for: a selective, surgical removal of the conservative voice.

And the disadvantaged, poor, needy populations the Left claims to care about would be the unintended victims. Under this brave new world of “progressive totalitarianism,” as Ed Whelan calls it, churches, Christian media, schools, or groups like FRC wouldn’t be the only ones suffering. People around the world served by Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, and countless others who depend on the generosity and efficiency of their programs would feel that pain. So much for love being love.

As horrifying as Verrilli’s revelation was, the Solicitor General might have done us a huge favor. No one has made a better case for Congress’s Marriage and Religious Freedom Act than the Obama administration just did. Under the bill that conservatives plan to reintroduce, it would be illegal for the government to discriminate against individuals, organizations, and small businesses who believe in natural marriage. The same institutions that Verrilli vows to hunt down — child welfare organizations, private schools, religious universities, relief providers, abstinence groups, military religious contractors, adoption agencies, and political nonprofits — would be spared the government’s crackdown.

If you like your religious liberty, you could keep it. A concept that Tuesday’s proceedings proved is more and more foreign.

Huckabee: SCOTUS ‘cannot overrule God’

By David McCabe

370 Comments

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The Supreme Court “cannot overrule God” on same-sex marriage, likely Republican 2016 presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday night. “I respect the courts, but the Supreme Court is only that — the supreme of the courts. It is not the supreme being. It cannot overrule God,” he said at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, according to CNN. “When it comes to prayer, when it comes to life, and when it comes to the sanctity of marriage, the court cannot change what God has created.”

His comments come just after the court heard oral arguments on the question of whether same-sex marriage bans around the country are unconstitutional.

Huckabee also made light of his inability to speak Spanish before the crowd. “I do not come to you tonight with the ability to speak Spanish. But I do speak a common language: I speak Jesus,” he said, according to CNN.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), another possible candidate, reportedly spoke Spanish during his own appearance at the event.

Huckabee, a former pastor, has long drawn political support from the evangelical community. Next week, he will reportedly make an announcement about whether he is running for president in 2016. If he runs, he will immediately find himself competing for the votes of Christian conservatives with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Other possible candidates, like former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), may also make an appeal to evangelical voters.

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

Out With The Old

April 30, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/out-with-the-old/

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Just a Reminder from the “Thousand Words” File

Occasionally we need to be reminded of some facts. Pictures are still a powerful tool to bring arguments to focus. Here are just a few.

Jerry Broussard of WhatDidYouSay.org

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Riot-Plagued Baltimore Is a Catastrophe Entirely of the Democratic Party’s Own Making

By Kevin D. Williamson — April 28, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417601/riot-plagued-baltimore-catastrophe-entirely-democratic-partys-own-making-kevin-d

A few weeks ago, there was an election in Ferguson, Mo., the result of which was to treble the number of African Americans on that unhappy suburb’s city council. This was greeted in some corners with optimism — now, at last, the city’s black residents would have a chance to see to securing their own interests. This optimism flies in the face of evidence near — St. Louis — and far — Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco . . .

St. Louis has not had a Republican mayor since the 1940s, and in its most recent elections for the board of aldermen there was no Republican in the majority of the contests; the city is overwhelmingly Democratic, effectively a single-party political monopoly from its schools to its police department.
Baltimore has seen two Republicans sit in the mayor’s office since the 1920s — and none since the 1960s. Like St. Louis, it is effectively a single-party political monopoly from its schools to its police department.
Philadelphia has not elected a Republican mayor since 1948. The last Republican to be elected mayor of Detroit was congratulated on his victory by President Eisenhower. Atlanta, a city so corrupt that its public schools are organized as a criminal conspiracy against its children, last had a Republican mayor in the 19th century. Its municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, but the last Republican to run in Atlanta’s 13th congressional district did not manage to secure even 30 percent of the vote; Atlanta is effectively a single-party political monopoly from its schools to its police department.

American cities are by and large Democratic-party monopolies, monopolies generally dominated by the so-called progressive wing of the party. The results have been catastrophic, and not only in poor black cities such as Baltimore and Detroit. Money can paper over some of the defects of progressivism in rich, white cities such as Portland and San Francisco, but those are pretty awful places to be non-white and non-rich, too: Blacks make up barely 9 percent of the population in San Francisco, but they represent 40 percent of those arrested for murder, and they are arrested for drug offenses at ten times their share of the population. Criminals make their own choices, sure, but you want to take a look at the racial disparity in educational outcomes and tell me that those low-income nine-year-olds in Wisconsin just need to buck up and bootstrap it?

Black urban communities face institutional failure across the board every day. There are people who should be made to answer for that: What has Martin O’Malley to say for himself? What can Ed Rendell say for himself other than that he secured a great deal of investment for the richest square mile in Philadelphia? What has Nancy Pelosi done about the radical racial divide in San Francisco?

EDITORIAL: To the People of Baltimore: Stop Making Things Worse

Mychal Denzel Smith, toy radical at The Nation, offered the usual illiterate slogan “f**k the police” and declared of the rioters: “I also hope they break s**t.” Writers at Salon also endorsed violence for its own sake. “I do not advocate non-violence,” Benji Hart affirmed. Most of this can be credited to juvenile posturing, and it should be noted that the rioters in Baltimore mostly are not burning down tax offices or police stations but are in the main looting businesses and carrying out acts of wanton opportunistic vandalism — that’s not a revolt, but a crime spree. Meretricious “black rage” rhetoric notwithstanding, what we have seen in places such as Ferguson and Baltimore is much more ordinarily criminal than political.

But there is a legitimate concern here — from which no one seems to be willing to draw the obvious conclusion: There is someone to blame for what’s wrong in Baltimore.

Would any sentient adult American be shocked to learn that Baltimore has a corrupt and feckless police department enabled by a corrupt and feckless city government? I myself would not, and the local authorities’ dishonesty and stonewalling in the death of Freddie Gray is reminiscent of what we have seen in other cities. There’s a heap of evidence that the Baltimore police department is pretty bad.

This did not come out of nowhere. While the progressives have been running the show in Baltimore, police commissioner Ed Norris was sent to prison on corruption charges (2004), two detectives were sentenced to 454 years in prison for dealing drugs (2005), an officer was dismissed after being videotaped verbally abusing a 14-year-old and then failing to file a report on his use of force against the same teenager (2011), an officer was been fired for sexually abusing a minor (2014), and the city paid a quarter-million-dollar settlement to a man police illegally arrested for the non-crime of recording them at work with his mobile phone. There’s a good deal more. Does that sound like a disciplined police organization to you?

Yes, Baltimore seems to have some police problems. But let us be clear about whose fecklessness and dishonesty we are talking about here: No Republican, and certainly no conservative, has left so much as a thumbprint on the public institutions of Baltimore in a generation. Baltimore’s police department is, like Detroit’s economy and Atlanta’s schools, the product of the progressive wing of the Democratic party enabled in no small part by black identity politics. This is entirely a left-wing project, and a Democratic-party project.

When will the Left be held to account for the brutality in Baltimore — brutality for which it bears a measure of responsibility on both sides? There aren’t any Republicans out there cheering on the looters, and there aren’t any Republicans exercising real political power over the police or other municipal institutions in Baltimore. Community-organizer — a wretched term — Adam Jackson declared that in Baltimore “the Democrats and the Republicans have both failed.” Really? Which Republicans? Ulysses S. Grant? Unless I’m reading the charts wrong, the Baltimore city council is 100 percent Democratic.

SLIDESHOW: Baltimore Riots

The other Democratic monopolies aren’t looking too hot, either. We’re sending Atlanta educators to prison for running a criminal conspiracy to hide the fact that they failed, and failed woefully, to educate the children of that city. Isolated incident? Nope: Atlanta has another cheating scandal across town at the police academy.

Who is being poorly served by the fact that Atlanta’s school systemhas been converted into crime syndicate?
- Mostly poor, mostly black families.
Who is likely to suffer from any incompetents advanced through the Atlanta police department by its corrupt academy?
- Mostly poor, mostly black people.
Who suffers most fromthe incompetence of Baltimore’s Democratic mayor?
- Mostly poor, mostly black families — should they feel better that she’s black?
Who suffers most from the incompetence and corruption of Baltimore’s police department?
- Mostly poor, mostly black families.
And it’s the same people who will suffer the most from the vandalism and pillaging going on in Baltimore, too.

The evidence suggests very strongly that the left-wing, Democratic claques that run a great many American cities — particularly the poor and black cities — are not capable of running a school system or a police department. They are incompetent, they are corrupt, and they are breathtakingly arrogant. Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore — this is what Democrats do.

And the kids in the street screaming about “inequality”? Somebody should tell them that the locale in these United States with the least economic inequality is Utah, i.e. the state farthest away from the reach of the people who run Baltimore.

Keep voting for the same thing, keep getting the same thing.

— Kevin D. Williamson is roving correspondent at National Review.

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Should GoFundMe and Christian Bakers Be Treated the Same? We Ask

Reported by Kelsey Harkness / @kelseyjharkness / April 28, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/28/should-gofundme-and-christian-bakers-be-treated-the-same-we-ask/

Why does GoFundMe, a crowdsourcing website that raises money for a variety of personal causes and life events, get to choose who they do business with, but the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa do not?

After GoFundMe shut down a campaign set up for Aaron and Melissa Klein, bakery owners who were fined $135,000 by the state of Oregon for refusing to make a cake for a lesbian wedding, The Daily Signal posed that question to people in the nation’s capitol.

Standing outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the nine justices heard oral arguments over a high-stakes gay marriage case, advocates on both sides of the debate reacted to GoFundMe’s controversial decision.

Hear their reactions in the video below.

Exclusive: Bakers Facing $135K Fine Over Wedding Cake for Same-Sex Couple Speak Out

Reported by Kelsey Harkness / @kelseyjharkness / April 27, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/27/exclusive-bakers-facing-135k-fine-over-wedding-cake-for-same-sex-couple-speak-out/

It was the first time seeing her bakery since the new owners moved in. “This is really hard,” Melissa Klein said, tears filling up her eyes.

Almost two years ago, Melissa and her husband, Aaron, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, had to close the bakery they built from scratch after declining to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. “I did all the flooring in here—this was a collection agency before we moved the bakery in,” Aaron said, peering through the glass window.

The end began in January 2013, when Melissa was home in Sandy, Ore., taking care of their then-six-month-old twin boys. “It was my day to be at home with the kids and Aaron’s day to be at the shop,” she told The Daily Signal in an exclusive interview. A woman named Rachel Cryer walked into the bakery with her mother for a wedding cake tasting. Aaron, just like he always did, asked for the groom’s name. “I’m sorry, we don’t do cakes for same-sex weddings,” he recalls saying after learning there were two brides.

Aaron and his wife, both Christians, believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. They say that turning down the request wasn’t easy, but not because they were worried about breaking any laws. “I wasn’t even aware at the time that Oregon had anything on the statute that would have prohibited me from turning down the order,” Aaron said.

Shortly after that interaction, Rachel and her then-fiancé Laurel Bowman filed a civil complaint against the Kleins for failing to provide them equal service in a place of public accommodation. Then, a firestorm started.

“A group of people—I don’t know what group of people—but they got together and harassed all of our vendors,” Melissa, 33, said. Their vendors, worried about being driven out of business themselves, took Sweet Cakes by Melissa off their referral list, and asked Melissa to do the same. Without that business, which counted about “65 to 70 percent” of the family’s yearly income, Melissa said they were forced to close the bakery.

That day come on Sept. 1, 2013, one month after the Kleins received an official complaint from the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries on behalf of the now-married Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman-Cryer.

Moving Out

Melissa now works from home, baking one or two cakes each month. Her five kids—Samantha, 16; Ethan, 13; Elijah, 9; and the 2-year-old twins Everett and Michael—provide easy distractions.

To avoid being a place of public accommodation, she can’t do much promotion. “I really haven’t been able to do my cakes … not even close to what I did in the shop,” she said. When Melissa does bake, it’s in her small kitchen, just a few feet away from the garage storing her old ovens, pots and pans as they collect dust.

Aaron, 35, found a new job as a garbage collector.

“From what we were making at the shop, compared to now … our income has dropped drastically,” Melissa said. “It’s about half,” Aaron said. Aaron says he doesn’t expect everyone to agree with his views on marriage.

“This country should be able to tolerate diverse opinions,” he said. “I never once have said that my fight is [to] stop what they call equality. My fight in this situation is religious freedom. It is the ability to live and work by the dictates of my faith without being punished by the government and all Americans should be free to do that.”

The Legal Fallout

The Daily Signal reported on Friday that an administrative law judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries recommended the Kleins be fined $135,000 for the damages they caused for Rachel and Laurel.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries pursued charges against the Kleins on behalf of the now married same-sex couple. The Civil Rights Division of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries is responsible for enforcing the state’s public accommodation law, and the judge who issued Friday’s proposed order works for the bureau. “The administrative agency is not a court—it’s actually under the executive branch, not the judicial branch of the government,” Anna Harmon, the attorney representing the Kleins, told The Daily Signal. “[The case] is heard through the administrative law judge.”

The proposed fine will now go to state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, who can either accept it or adjust the amount in issuing a final order, which is expected to arrive this summer. The Kleins have signaled they plan to appeal the judge’s ruling.

One question concerning the Kleins and their lawyer is why no doctor or medical expert was present during the hearings. To claim $135,000, the couple submitted a list of mental, physical and emotional damages inflicted by the Kleins’ action.

As The Daily Signal previously reported, some of those symptoms include, “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “surprise,” “weight gain” and “worry.”

“There was no expert testimony at the hearing,” Harmon said. “The witnesses at the hearing were the two women who were requesting a cake, one of their mothers, one of their brothers and another family member. There was no doctor, there was no psychologist, no expert testimony at all.”

>>> After Receiving Over $100K in Donations, Bakers Crowdfunding Page Shut Down

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries did not respond to The Daily Signal’s multiple requests for comment. Paul Thompson, the attorney representing the lesbians, also declined to participate in an interview until a final order is issued.

In order to account for $135,000, the state isn’t just going after Aaron and Melissa’s bakery. “The business is gone,” Harmon, their lawyer, said. “They don’t have business assets so when we talk about [the fine] it’s personal,” Harmon added. “It means that’s money they would have used to feed their children that they can’t use anymore.” Aaron said the sum is enough to financially ruin their family.

“The state is now saying that we can award damages above and beyond what you have already suffered … and they have no qualms about doing this,” he said. “It is really showing the state is taking a stance on absolutely obliterating somebody that takes a different stance than the state has.”

Harmon contends the Kleins can win on an appeal, arguing that a cake is more than just a cake. “I know we are talking about cake, but anybody who has watched TV recently knows that cake is more than just flour and eggs and water and sugar,” she explains. “It’s artwork.” It’s designed and created, and that is what the Supreme Court has called speech.”

For Melissa, who spent five years designing all sorts of cakes in her small town bakery, it’s hard to explain without crying. “When I do a cake, the only way I can describe it to people is it’s my canvas,” she said. “I get to create something on this cake and I get to pour myself out onto this cake.” Sweet Cakes by Melissa was a centerpiece of their family, and something that Melissa had hoped to pass on to her five kids. “I actually had the thought of my kids taking over,” she said, as more tears filled up her eyes. Looking back, what she misses most isn’t the bakery, but rather, the moments.

“I know this probably sounds really silly, but when my daughter would be helping out, we’d get into frosting fights,” she said, laughing. “Those were just so much fun. I’d just get her and she’d be covered all over her face.”

The Kleins’ daughter, 16-year-old Samantha, has her own memories of the bakery. She started helping in the family business when she was 10. “It was a part of my childhood,” she recalls. “My mom doing cakes and loving helping her with it. It was a lot of fun.” … “And,” says Samantha, “it was pretty sad to see it go.”

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

Troubled Waters

April 29, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/troubled-waters/

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MOM CATCHES SON ‘RIOTING’: And Commences To Whuppin’ His @ss

Posted on April 28, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://clashdaily.com/2015/04/mom-catches-son-rioting-and-commences-to-whuppin-his-ss/

This is what you call a good mom. Watch what happens when she catches her son dressed up and ready to riot in Baltimore.

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Obama clean energy loans leave taxpayers in $2.2 billion hole

By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times – Monday, April 27, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/27/obama-backed-green-energy-failures-leave-taxpayers/#ixzz3YdzAW4XB

: Nearly $1 billion in loans have already defaulted under the Energy Department program, which included the infamous Solyndra stimulus project and dozens of other green technology programs the Obama administration has approved, totaling nearly about $30 billion in taxpayer backing Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/27/obama-backed-green-energy-failures-leave-taxpayers/#ixzz3Ye07eVQS Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

Taxpayers are on the hook for more than $2.2 billion in expected costs from the federal government’s energy loan guarantee programs, according to a new audit Monday that suggests the controversial projects may not pay for themselves, as officials had promised. Nearly $1 billion in loans have already defaulted under the Energy Department program, which included the infamous Solyndra stimulus project and dozens of other green technology programs the Obama administration has approved, totaling nearly about $30 billion in taxpayer backing, the Government Accountability Office reported in its audit.

The hefty $2.2 billion price tag is actually an improvement over initial estimates, which found the government was poised to face $4 billion in losses from the loan guarantees. But as the projects have come to fruition, they’ve performed better, leaving taxpayers with a shrinking — though still sizable — liability.

“As of November 2014, DOE estimates the credit subsidy cost of the loans and loan guarantees in its portfolio — that is, the total expected net cost over the life of the loans — to be $2.21 billion, including $807 million for loans that have defaulted,” the GAO said in its report to Congress.

The green program loan guarantees were created in a 2005 law and boosted by the 2009 stimulus. The first applications were approved in 2009, and through 2014 the Obama administration had issued some 38 loans and guarantees, covering 34 projects ranging from nuclear power plants to fuel-efficient vehicles to solar panels and wind-generation technology.

The Energy Department said it considers the loan program a success.

“We believe that the data presented demonstrates that the department’s Loan Programs Office is achieving its statutory mission to accelerate the deployment of innovative clean energy projects and advanced vehicle manufacturing facilities in the U.S., while being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars,” Peter W. Davidson, executive director of the loan programs, said in an official reply to the GAO.

Mr. Davidson said the expected loss to taxpayers has dropped some $2.28 billion since the initial estimates, and he predicted that the cost will continue to drop as projects mature and repay their loans. But most of that improvement came from one green vehicle loan where the project’s credit rating improved dramatically, making it far less likely the project would default. Another green vehicle program, Tesla Motors Inc., has already repaid its loan in full, helping the government’s balance sheet.

Indeed, leaving the vehicle loan program aside, the loan guarantees office is deeper in the red than it was initially, by nearly $500 million, chiefly due to defaulted loans.

Across the entire loan program there have been five defaulted loans: two solar panel manufacturers, Solyndra Inc. and Abound Manufacturing Solar LLC; two green vehicle programs, Fisker Automotive Inc. and the Vehicle Production Group LLC; and one energy storage project, Beacon Power. GAO investigators said those technology projects were risky from the start, and each had a shaky credit rating. By contrast, the more than 20 projects up and running that focused on energy generation or transmission have done well, with not a single default, the investigators said.

GAO investigators have been warning for nearly a decade that the loan programs are unlikely to pay for themselves overall. From the beginning, the investigators said because companies knew more about their projects and their own creditworthiness, they had an advantage over the Energy Department. The GAO said the companies were more likely to accept a federal loan guarantee if the Obama administration underestimated the actual risk of a project, leaving taxpayers on the hook.

Most of the loans are still in their infancy, but some are paying off.

As of the end of 2014, the projects in the program have repaid $3.6 billion in principal and another $810 million in interest. The Energy Department says it expects, over the life of the loans, to earn $5 billion in total interest — though that has to be offset against the costs the federal government incurs for borrowing to finance its spending, so that’s not pure profit.

In addition to the risky loans, the program isn’t collecting enough money in fees to cover the costs of administering itself, GAO investigators said, calculating that less than half of the $312 million in administrative costs has been offset by fees.

Part of the problem is that the loan office didn’t even have sufficient staffing until 2011, which meant it wasn’t able to properly assess administrative fees. That problem has been fixed, and the program is getting better at matching fees with costs, the GAO said. “At this time, it is too early to tell whether [the Energy Department‘s] actions will result in sufficient funds to offset [the loan guarantee program’s] future administrative costs,” investigators said.

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Why Today’s Supreme Court Case on Same-Sex Marriage Matters

Jamie Jackson / @JamiePressDC / April 28, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/28/why-todays-supreme-court-oral-arguments-matter/

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will meet for more than two hours to hear oral arguments about same-sex marriage.

So why does this matter? Sarah Torre, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, explains what you need to know about the case.

>>> Don’t Silence the 50 Million Who Voted for One Man-One Woman Marriage

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Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says definition of marriage has stood for ‘millennia’

By Khalil AlHajal MLive.com on April 28, 2015, updated April 28, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2015/04/supreme_court_justice_anthony.html

Plaintiffs from Michigan April Deboer, left, and Jayne Rowse wave to the crowd as they leave the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, April 28, 2015. The Supreme Court is set to hear historic arguments in cases that could make same-sex marriage the law of the land. The justices are meeting Tuesday to offer the first public indication of where they stand in the dispute over whether states can continue defining marriage as

Update: Supreme Court justices press gay rights lawyer early in highly anticipated marriage arguments

Plaintiffs and attorneys celebrate in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, as they exit the court following arguments. The Supreme Court heard historic arguments in cases that could make same-sex marriage the law of the land. The justices met Tuesday to offer the first public indication of where they stand in the dispute over whether states can continue defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman

DETROIT, MI — The Supreme Court justice seen by many as the deciding vote in the nation’s same-sex marriage debate made early comments during highly anticipated oral arguments Tuesday could cause worry among gay rights activists.

Justice Anthony Kennedy said that marriage has been understood as the union of one man and one woman for “millennia-plus time,” according to an Associated Press reporter in the courtroom.

“It’s very difficult for the court to say ‘We know better,'” Kennedy said during gay rights lawyer Mary Bonauto’s presentation of arguments.

The hearing was interrupted at one point by a protester.

Crowd cheers as plaintiffs leave the Supreme Court, in Washington, Tuesday, April 28, 2015. The Supreme Court heard historic arguments in cases that could make same-sex marriage the law of the land.

Five lawyers are expected to spend more than two hours presenting arguments.

Full audio from the session is expected to be released later this afternoon.

The court is considering two specific questions.

The first in relation to cases out of Michigan and Kentucky: “Does the 14th Amendment (equal protection) require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?”

And the second on gay marriage cases out of Tennessee and Ohio: “Does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state?”

Michigan’s case stems from a 2012 lawsuit filed by a Hazel Park lesbian couple who can’t jointly adopt their four children without a legal marriage. April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse were in Washington for the arguments Tuesday. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) planned to host a reception for the couple after the hearings. Legal experts supporting the coupled planned to speak to reporters at 4 p.m.

Many will be listening for clues from Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts to gauge the direction of a ruling expected in June or July.

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President John Adams; Co-Author of our Constitution

I have a shirt with this quote printed on the back of the shirt. When I put it on yesterday, I was prompted to share the quote with you. Why is Imperial President Obama deliberately destroying America’s economy? President John Adams has an idea.

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

If Hillary Were a Republican

April 28, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/if-hillary-were-a-republican/

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Lawmakers pass up chance to read ‘secret’ trade text

By Vicki Needham and Mike Lillis – 04/27/15

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/240050-lawmakers-play-catch-up-with-secret-trade-text

About 40 House members and three senators have asked to view the text of a massive Asia-Pacific trade deal in the three years since it was made available by the White House, according to records obtained by The Hill. The document is at the center of an intense battle between President Obama and liberals in Congress, who have assailed the White House for what they say is a cloak of “secrecy” surrounding the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

A congressional uproar led the Obama administration to relax the rules for viewing the TPP text, which is now kept in the basement of the Capitol and is available to any lawmaker — and their staffers with the proper security clearance — who wants to see it. Liberals have long argued that the White House doesn’t want them to see the TPP details because they would confirm their beliefs that the deal will harm U.S. workers. Some critics, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), are going so far as to call on the Obama administration to release the TPP text to the public.

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But despite those calls, few lawmakers have taken the opportunity to examine the trade pact even with votes looming in the House and Senate on trade-promotion authority (TPA) legislation. Lawmakers have a range of theories about why their colleagues haven’t been rushing to view the text, even after the change in rules that lets them see the TPP at their convenience.

Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, told The Hill that he is not surprised by the numbers because the deal is “still a work in progress.” “It’s not just about reading the text, it’s about having a dialogue with the U.S. trade representative’s [USTR] staff,” he said. Tiberi said he expects more lawmakers will look at the text with the trade debate getting more attention.

Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.), one of two Democrats to support trade promotion authority during a committee vote on Thursday, told The Hill he thinks the number of lawmakers who have reviewed the deal is now probably more than 40. Kind said that he has helped organize dozens of walk-throughs for Democrats to delve into parts of the accord.

“It’s really up to the individual member to determine what level of engagement they want because the text is out there, we have access to it and [Michael] Froman and his team are more than willing to come up and sit down and make sure we have access to it and answer our questions and, at the same time, get our feedback on what we’d like to see,” Kind said. “USTR is encouraging all members to do that,” he said.

But there is still plenty of agitation over the viewing rules.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), a senior member of the Ways and Means panel who voted against the TPA bill on Thursday, said it’s “absolutely ridiculous that you have to go into a secret room” to view the text of the deal. “This is not the Iranian negotiation,” he said Friday by phone. “What the hell is secret about winners and losers?” Rangel said so few lawmakers have viewed the document “because the administration already said what’s not in it.”

Those exclusions include tougher language battling currency manipulation, provisions for workforce training and an infrastructure component to create U.S. jobs — all elements he’s pushing for as part of a larger trade package. “All you have to do is show me the jobs and I don’t even have to go in there to see the rest of it,” Rangel said.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), head of the Congressional Black Caucus, also acknowledged the availability of the document, but lamented the strict rules surrounding its accessibility. “We don’t know what’s in it, it’s a mysterious document. You can’t use your phone and take pictures,” Butterfield said. “I understand from a labor leader that Froman brought it over to the labor leader’s office and put it on the table and said, ‘Look, stop telling people that you don’t have the bill. There’s the bill, and you can look at it — but you can’t make any notes.’ “I don’t know what the mystery’s all about,” Butterfield said. “Show your hand.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who has read most of the TPP text, has said that the changes made last month were a step in the right direction but questioned whether a bipartisan TPA bill does the trick in boosting transparency. “This really is a fast track — seeking to railroad the Trans-Pacific Partnership through while USTR hides from Congress the most important details,” Doggett said at a trade hearing last week. “By removing the congressional steering wheel and brake, this fast-track bill derails a full debate and restricts meaningful access to secret trade deals,” he said.

The debate has redrawn the political battle lines in Washington, with GOP leaders joining forces with the president in the face of strong opposition from liberal Democrats who have routinely been Obama’s strongest defenders. A number of the Democratic critics have cited the failed promises of past trade deals — particularly the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA — as a large reason for their reluctance to support the TPP.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a major critic of trade policy who viewed the text after the rules changes last month, said the White House has drawn a line in the sand. “It’s not to exchange ideas or to rethink how we do things. It’s to tell me how I’m wrong,” he said. “The administration has taken this approach of, ‘You’re either with us or against us on trade.’ “

Over the weekend Obama acknowledged the Democratic rift but held nothing back in his criticism. “It’s the highest-standard trade agreement in history,” Obama said Saturday during his weekly radio address. “It’s got strong provisions for workers and the environment — provisions that, unlike in past agreements, are actually enforceable,” he said. “So this isn’t a race to the bottom, for lower wages and working conditions. The trade agreements I’m negotiating will drive a race to the top.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has sought to downplay the division with Obama, saying the president “believes in all that we want” and insisting she’s not lobbying against the TPA bill he supports.

Still, the pressure is building on Democrats to insist on public release of the TPP, something the White House has argued adamantly against.

“So, now, it’s the case that the president says that he wants the American people to judge this deal based on the facts, but to do that, he’s got to make the deal public,” Warren said recently on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show.” “Otherwise, the American people can’t judge it on the facts. You won’t put the facts out there.”

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California Values Six – Count ‘Em – Six Fish More Than 175,000 People

Posted On26 Apr 2015, By :Instigator News Network

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://instigatornews.com/california-values-six-count-em-six-fish-more-than-175000-people/#ZelDOUtA0R8Dg1Ic.99

According to environmentalists, SIX of these are worth FAR more than nearly 175,000 people! Consider yourself insulted.

We’re not talking about six species of fish here. We are talking about SIX fish in total…

By Dr. Fred

Everywhere you look these days, there are tremendous signs of decay, corruption, and failure throughout the United States. If we simply consider large cities alone, every city that has been controlled by leftists shows serious signs of poverty and decay. Look at Detroit, Oakland, parts of Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City where it appears like these cities have literally been abandoned. In reality and in many ways, they have been.

But then we have the entire state of California, which also appears as though it has been abandoned by thinking people (well, they DID elect Jerry Brown – TWICE!), left to those who can think no more logically than a person addicted to crack. All they want is their next “fix” and it doesn’t matter how they get it. They simply need to get it.

For the politicians who have been running what used to be called the “Golden State,” the same downward trend exists and has become thoroughly entrenched throughout the state. The people in control need their “fix,” which for them, means staying in power; remaining in control. It doesn’t matter that their control results in destroying the landscape and economy of California by over regulation so that, as one example, water is becoming such a precious commodity that if nothing tangible is done, we may well have what appears to be a West Coast version of Mad Max. Instead of gas wars though, the wars will be over water. Think of what the price of water will cost on the black market. I shudder.

The saddest part of all of this is that it could have been so readily avoided. But today’s politician doesn’t think logically or ahead. They only respond to special interest groups. These groups usually only care about one thing – their specific agenda. Radical environmentalists long ago gained enough power to be able to drag politicians to their side of the table. If the politicians didn’t play ball, they might be unseated. So, they play. How do you think people like Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer (retiring – FINALLY!), and a plethora of other left winger politicians have managed to stay in power? You know the answer as well as I do.

Poor Richard’s News is reporting that the people in control of California’s water polices have decided that 175,000 human beings aren’t even worth six fish. As the article points out, we’re not talking about six species of fish here. We are talking about SIX fish in total.

Essentially, here is what is happening.

“National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) only expects 29 out-migrating steelhead a year and that their plan was to release 30,000 acre feet by the end of April to help them reach the Delta.”

So what, you might ask? Well, if you’re asking that, you probably don’t live in California, where I spent 25 years until about five years ago when we decided it was best to pick up our lives, load them into the covered wagon and head east. When we arrived here to Georgia, one of my first stops after settling in was a gun shop (I’ve always hated California’s DOJ approved gun list). While at the gun shop, I mentioned that we had just recently relocated from California. The gentleman behind the counter stuck out his hand and brightly proclaimed, “Welcome to the United States of America!” But I digress…

According to environmentalists, SIX of these are worth FAR more than nearly 175,000 people! Consider yourself insulted.

The problem appears to be that six Steelhead were a bit slow to migrate down to the Delta. In order to help out, so the Bureau of Reclamation ordered South San Joaquin Irrigation District and Oakdale Irrigation District to release some 15,000 acre feet of water to help these six Steelhead make it to the ocean.

What this means is that the amount of water being released into the ocean because of SIX steelhead fish could have provided water for 174,301 PEOPLE for ONE year. If that 15,000 foot acre amount is added to the previous 30,000 feet acres of water released, that total amount of water would service the combined populations of the following cities:

Stockton
Lathrop
Ripon
Escalon
Tracy
Santa Barbara

That’s about 5 BILLION gallons of water! Are you as flabbergasted as I am about this and I don’t even live in California? But I have friends and family who do. I still care about that state.

You just learned that six Steelhead are more valuable than nearly 175,000 PEOPLE. It should make you severely angry, but anger alone is not going to get the job done. You have to oust these lifelong leftists who have set up for themselves a very sweet situation. They are in power and they don’t lack for anything because special interest groups want them to play ball with them. When they do, things are hunky-dory. They need to be voted out, period. Keep at it. Eventually, you’ll win.

But things are never easy in California because the left has had control for so long. The best way to start chipping away at things is at the local level, where you live. Find out who is on your city council and find out where they stand on the issues. What do they think about the water shortage? What are they going to do about it? Are they going to kowtow to Sacramento or are they willing to stand up TO the failed policies of Sacramento? If they won’t, then get someone who will do what is best for the citizens.

If these elected officials do things that are illegal, then citizens should get together and hire an attorney who can legally deal with the problem.

If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you know how I feel about technocrats who are desperately trying to create a technocracy. Controlling things like water is all part of their plan. They wish to over regulate you so you are completely chained by policies that were created by technocrats. These aren’t even LAWS that we’re talking about, but POLICIES.

California is a perfect example of the abuse that occurs when technocrats are in charge. They use politicians to get what they want. They don’t care how it affects you. Their goal is to “save the planet” for future generations. The problem with that is how those regulations affect people living now.

Technocrats don’t care about you. They’re not interested. Their vision is so myopic that if someone died of thirst in front of them, they would simply step over the body and sing about how nature had taken its course. Their hypocrisy is on full display though when they believe that nature can’t deal with SIX fish. They believe they must give nature a helping hand by releasing thousands of foot acres of water for SIX fish, while thousands of people go without water. By the way, that’s “emotional virtue” (aka political correctness, aka Cultural Marxism), at work, which is based not on absolute truth, but on how people feel about things. Feelings change. Truth doesn’t.

Something needs to be done and to the people of California who honestly want beneficial change, my heart goes out to you. Hang in there. You may yet overcome.

Article reposted from www.ForTruthsSake.com with permission.

Watch: The Mayor Of Violence-Torn Baltimore Just Gave Race Rioters This Shocking New ‘Right’

Posted by Norvell Rose April 27, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.westernjournalism.com/watch-the-mayor-of-violence-torn-baltimore-just-gave-race-rioters-this-shocking-new-right/

Protests over the death of a black man who apparently suffered fatal injuries while in police custody in Baltimore grew violent over the weekend. Fox News reports that dozens of protestors were arrested and six officers injured during volatile street demonstrations that saw police cars as well as a number of stores damaged as authorities tried to control the rowdy crowds.

“…a smaller “splinter group” looted a convenience store and threw tables and chairs through storefront windows, shattering the glass. One group smashed the window of a department store inside a downtown mall and, at one point, a protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd.”

Baltimore’s Police Commissioner Anthony Batts indicated that the “very violent agitators” were not residents of the city but came in from the outside to cause trouble. The death of Freddie Gray on April 19th has led to almost daily protests over his alleged mistreatment by police who had taken him into custody a week earlier.

In a news conference over the weekend, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, while calling for calm in the city, made what many consider an astonishing admission about her instructions to police trying to maintain crowd control. It was an instruction that, according to the mayor’s own words, gave protestors protections far beyond their First Amendment rights to free speech.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake told reporters, “We also gave those who wished to destroy, space to do that as well,” thus giving what appeared to be a clear signal to rioters that their destruction of public and private property was a legitimate expression of their anger.

By clicking on the video below, you can watch the mayor’s shocking expansion of the “rights” of race rioters in Baltimore.

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GAYS ADMIT THEY WERE NOT BORN ‘THAT WAY’: Shocking Undercover Video Footage Right HERE

Posted on April 27, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://clashdaily.com/2015/04/gays-admit-they-were-not-born-that-way-shocking-undercover-video-footage-right-here/#

They just affirm what many of us have already believed.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Citizen Journalist, Ryan Sorba recently went undercover in Palm Springs, California, posing as a same-sex marriage activist.

He asked the following question:

“Do you believe being gay is strictly genetic?”

The video enclosed in this email is a montage of clips from interviews in which gays admit that they believe they are gay due external circumstances, such as being sexually abused at an early age or going through other traumatic experiences.

When asked how many interviews Sorba obtained during this venture, he answered, “There are many more to come.”

This video is a crucial component to the upcoming Supreme Court marriage decision because it gives natural marriage proponents what they need to neutralize any personal testimony that being gay is an immutable characteristic such as race.

The video is particularly relevant because in all the past cases in which the courts ruled in favor of overturning state Marriage Amendments, which protected marriage as an institution between one man and one woman, they did so by reasoning that being gay is on the same footing as race and therefore protected by the Due Process Claus of the 14th Amendment. Specifically, they state the oft repeated claim that, ‘gays are born that way’ in order to achieve Suspect Class Status under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In order to be deemed a Suspect Class under the Civil Rights Act a group must meet three criteria.

1. The group must have suffered a long history of discrimination

2. The group must be politically powerless to help themselves

3. The group must have been “born that way”

There is no scientific proof that people are ‘born gay.’ In order to argue that individuals are born that way lawyers have relied on carefully selected personal testimonies. Carefully selected personal testimonies can obviously rely on biased individuals however who have ulterior motives. For this reason I decided to go undercover to find out the truth from gays themselves. I was surprised by how easy it was to get gays to talk openly about the fact that they believe personal experiences were to blame and many of them stated that they had been in love with a women or were originally attracted to women until abuse occurred.

The video confirms that sexuality is not fixed like race or gender. “That’s what we have known all along. The emotions are fluid.” Modern behaviorist psychology has shown that the nervous system is a blank slate. We can be conditioned to feel this way about that, or that way about this. As can be seen in this video, being gay seems to have something to do with unresolved emotional issues.

“I feel for the people interviewed in this video and wish the best for them all. By way of this video, these people have been placed into the cross-fire of the culture war, but I have no regrets. The truth in this case is far too important for America. The truth had to come out of the closet before the Supreme Court heard the case for Marriage on Tuesday. The institution of marriage is far more important than any one of us,” statedSorba.

Contact: OnTheEdgeReporting@gmail.com

View Video for Yourself Below:

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Will Christians be Fitted with Yellow Crosses?

Posted by Matt Barber, on 25 April, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://barbwire.com/2015/04/25/will-christians-be-fitted-with-yellow-crosses/

stock-footage-metallic-cross-golden-abstract-loop-in-hd Amid the cross-country race to election 2016, the secular left’s utter disdain for both our Creator Christ and His faithful followers is fast approaching critical mass. Self-styled “progressives” – that is, America’s cultural Marxist agents of ruin – typically disguise their designs on despotism in the flowery and euphemistic language of “reproductive health,” “anti-discrimination” and “multiculturalism.”

We see this Orwellian newspeak at play right now in Washington, D.C., where congressional Republicans endeavor to prevent, if only timorously, two unconstitutional pieces of legislation from taking effect. The first, the District of Columbia’s so-called “Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act,” would force pro-life groups, including churches and para-church organizations, to hire pro-abortion zealots and other godless rabble-rousers with worldviews and socio-political agendas overtly hostile to the express mission of those churches and organizations.

The second, the farcically mislabeled “Human Rights Amendment Act,” would jettison the longstanding “Armstrong Amendment,” which, as notes the Daily Signal, “was enacted by Congress in 1989 to exempt religious schools in D.C. from being forced into violating their beliefs about human sexuality by ‘promoting, encouraging, or condoning any homosexual act, lifestyle, orientation, or belief.’”

In other words, under this new legislation churches and religious schools will be forced, under penalty of law, to deny the Christian sexual ethic and, instead, promote, encourage and condone homosexual behavior and other pagan sexual immorality.

So much for “human rights.”

Still, while most on the left are careful to mask their totalitarian goals and anti-Christian animus by coating these poison pills in sugar sweet jargon, on occasion one of these God-denying goose-steppers will let down his guard, drop the euphemistic BS, and vomit forth that acidic bile, unfiltered “progressivism.”

The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Tayler is one such goose-stepper. In an April 19 Salon.com screed headlined, “Marco Rubio’s deranged religion, Ted Cruz’s bizarre faith: Our would-be presidents are God-fearing clowns,” “freethinking” Jeffrey, a paragon of paganism, ably puts the “bigot” in anti-Christian bigotry.

In reference to the 2016 presidential candidates who call themselves Christian, Tayler bemoans that these “God-fearing clowns and faith-mongering nitwits [are] groveling before Evangelicals.” He further protests Christians’ “nattering on about their belief in the Almighty and their certainty that if we just looked, we could find answers to many of our ills in the Good Book.”

Right, it’s called the Gospel, Jeffrey. It’s the only hope that either you or any of us has.

“There will almost certainly be no (declared) atheist or even agnostic among the candidates,” he laments. “This is scandalous, given the electorate’s gradual, relentless ditching of religion.”

Gradual? That’s a gaping understatement when one considers that even today over 80 percent of Americans identify as Christian with the vast majority of those who don’t nevertheless acknowledging the transcendent reality of a Creator God. Every man, woman and child understands through both general revelation and human reason that this unfathomably intricate, staggeringly fine-tuned universe didn’t create and fine-tune itself. It’s a tiny minority of angry, self-deluded materialists like Jeffrey Tayler who deny this self-evident truth. Scandalous? Hardly.

Continues Tayler: “With the dapper Florida Sen. Marco Rubio we move into the more disturbing category of Republicans we might charitably diagnose as ‘faith-deranged’ – in other words, as likely to do fine among the unwashed ‘crazies’ in the red-state primaries, but whose religious beliefs would (or should) render them unfit for civilized company anywhere else.”

Sound familiar? Such hubristic elitism is so 1939. It was similarly “faith-deranged,” “unwashed crazies” in Germany who, at that time, were numerically branded “unfit for civilized company.” Shall we Christians be fitted with yellow crosses, Herr Tayler?

Our Darwinian disbeliever then distills the timeless Christian faith to “far-fetched fiction and foolish figments” before launching into a tirade against the left’s favorite candidate to hate, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, while, likewise, knifing twixt the shoulder blades, the richly diverse, 100 thousand-plus student body at Liberty University.

“Cruz pandered fulsomely to the faith-deranged by choosing to announce at Liberty University, that bastion of darkness located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Once administered by the late Jerry Falwell, Liberty promises a ‘World Class Christian education’ and boasts that it has been ‘training champions for Christ since 1971′ – grounds enough, in my view, to revoke the institution’s charter and subject it to immediate quarantine until sanity breaks out.”

Are you getting this? Tayler’s not joking about revoking Liberty’s accreditation and otherwise consigning all faithful Christians to a constructive encampment beyond the margins of functional society. That’s their end-game. That’s the way their boxcars roll.

Neither do our papist friends escape unscathed. Tayler smears the Catholic Church as a “fanatical homophobic cult,” while blaspheming his own Creator. He inquires in litmus of some obscure atheist candidate, “[I]f you are indeed an atheist, will you come out of the closet about it? Will you utter that vilest of stock phrases ‘God bless America!’ to close speeches, thereby lending undue credence to the nonsense notion that an invisible tyrant rules us from on high?”

“Atheists can dream,” he pines. “They can dream of a candidate (and future president) who will, one day, say ‘I do not believe in God. I do not believe in a hereafter.’”

And why not? Russia had its Stalin and China its Mao. Who needs an “invisible tyrant” when we can elect one at the ballot box?

Or didn’t we already do that.

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The LEFT wants facts, but just THEIR facts!

By Joe Messina – Apr 27, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://therealside.com/2015/04/the-left-wants-facts-but-just-their-facts/

This week Hillary’s “misspeaks,” “misleads,” and “what difference, at this point, does it make” sagas continue to be in the news. And I mean, the REAL news.

The news gods may be having a little change of heart. ABC, NBC, CBS, and, yes, even MSNBC have been asking questions and making comments about Hillary’s blatant disregard for the law and her failure to think things through when it comes to taking money from countries and questionable characters. Just when I thought the clouds were going to part and some sanity set in, in steps George Stephanopoulos, a very left-wing journalist, who, after speaking with the author of “Clinton Cash” basically said, “Move along nothing to see here.” His whole premise is that since we have no hard evidence that money changed hands for favors through the White House for the Clinton’s that all is well in OZ.

Well, Mr. Stephanopoulos, all is not well in OZ. And you, sir, are a MAJOR part of the problem. It used to be that journalists gave us all sides of the issue and allowed us to draw a conclusion. They didn’t decide what the truth was and then paint a picture that would lead us to their truth.

This same group of mainstream media people made many assumptions about George W Bush and had no problem accusing him while “misspeaking” their facts as truth.

Mr. Stephanopoulos is floored that anyone would draw any conclusion of wrongdoing starting with Mrs. Clinton’s email issue. She simply made a mistake and since the president knew about it, all is well! Really? Turn the tables and see what would have happened if it was done by a Republican.

Nothing “fishy” about Mr. Clinton getting on average $70,000 for speaking gigs before Hillary became Secretary of State. But after her appointment, all of a sudden he is worth $500,000 to $1.3 million per speaking gig. Did he take a speech writing class? Get better teleprompters? That’s not important. And no worries, most of those were events with some connection to donors.

In the immortal words of Yul Brynner in the “King and I”… “iz a puzzlement.”

Here’s a quick rundown…

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, $25 million to the Clinton Foundation for the betterment of the Clintons.
Australia, $10 million to the Clinton Foundation for the betterment of the Clintons.
Sultanate of Oman, $5 million to the Clinton Foundation for the betterment of the Clintons.
And the list goes on to the tune of $150 million to the Clinton Foundation for the betterment of the Clintons (CFFTBOTC).

Who else? What other legislator? What other past president? What other past legislator has received this kind of money from foreign entities? I’ll save you the time… NO ONE! Donations are made to Presidential Libraries for the purpose of upkeep and purchasing artifacts for the library, not the presidential families. But Georgie says you have nothing that actually ties to an agreement to provide services.

A uranium (shell) company donated big bucks to the CFFTBOTC. Shortly after the donation, coincidentally, Mrs. Clinton changed her mind about the U.S. blocking the uranium mining deal and even encouraged such deals in some of her speeches.

Then, there is the “re-filing” of past tax returns. Since it was brought to their attention that they forgot to include many, if not all, of the Canadian deal-based donations on their reports. Let’s pause here a minute. Hillary says she is a person of integrity and ethics. They have an elite team managing this foundation. How did they miss MILLIONS of dollars in donations with such an experienced team of employees at The Foundation? Not once, not twice, but 4 years in a row! Tax experts say it’s highly unusual for a foundation to refile this many years because of omissions.

Well, not to worry. Hillary stepped down from the foundation’s board of directors this month but her husband, Bill, and their daughter, Chelsea, remain directors. I’m sure she will keep and arm’s length (or at least a bedroom length) away from Bill and the foundation. After all, she has always been honest and up front with us on all issues. Right?

That whole, Benghazi debacle where she swears they never refused to send help. Oh wait… never mind!
OK, then there is the “I turned over all the correspondence and emails pertaining to Benghazi and my term as Secretary of State” thing. Oh, wait… never mind.
At least she only erased the emails that had to do with her daughter’s wedding, her aunt’s death, her yoga routines, and her personal transactions on the homes they purchased. Yup, all 33,000 of the personal emails. Oh, wait… never mind.
OK then, we’ll just track down the entities and people she probably sent emails to and ask them for them… guess what? The first dozen or so refused to share. Can you see my shocked face?

They’d have you believe that there is nothing to see here. Just step away from the curtain!

You on the left pitched a fit and wanted to see Romney’s tax return because Mr Reid lied about someone telling him Romney didn’t pay taxes. You hypocrites have no outrage over it because as Harry put it. You won!

This stench will continue to grow. She can’t keep lying to cover up all of these messes. And you honest Democrats out there (yes, there are honest ones) if you cover up for her (them) you are just as guilty of all the death and destruction they’ve left in their wake.

The REAL facts show that they are guilty of not caring for America, not caring for women, not caring for the poor or sick, but just caring for the Clintons.

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

I hate America

April 27, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/i-hate-america/

obama-hates-america-period-obama-politics-1344999210

wait-what-liberals-hate-the-pledge-politics-1345208536

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Seething Anger over ISIS

April 25, 2015, by: the Common Constitutionalist

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://commonconstitutionalist.com/current-events/seething-anger-over-isis/

It’s not often I get so angry I can hardly see straight, but this is one of those times – certainly one of the topics that just sets me to think hellish thoughts. This has been going on for a while now, but yesterday morning, Glenn Beck, on his morning radio show reminded me of it. It was regarding a document ISIS released last October or November (2014). The document was an auction price list for captured females to be sold to scumbags ISIS members.

Those to be sold are Yazidi and Christian girls and women from towns ISIS has captured. ISIS fighters would overtake a village or town and force the men and boys to convert. If they refuse, they will be slaughtered, leaving only the girls and women. The females are then rounded up and marched back to the nearest auction site and sold.

For a period there were no set prices, so ISIS members could bid anything they wanted – whatever the “market” dictated. But according to the document “the market to sell women and spoils of war has been experiencing a significant decrease, which has adversely affected ISIS revenue and financing of the Mujaheddin.”

Therefore ISIS leadership decided to impose price controls. They also dictated that anyone violating the controls would be executed.

The United Nations reports that not all children are sold as sex slaves. Some, like those with abnormalities such as retardation or reduced mental capacity are to be used as unwitting suicide bombers. They are chosen because it is unlikely they understand what they are tasked to do. It’s just pure evil!

The price list for sex slaves is as follows. They are classified as merchandise, not girls, women or even human beings – just merchandise.

The prices are posted an Iraqi dinar.

Women age 40 to 50 = 50,000 dinar ($42),
30 to 40 years = 75,000 ($63),
20 to 30 = 100,000 ($84),
10 to 20 = 150,000 ($127), and ages
1 to 9 = 200,000 dinar ($169).

Yes folks – not even infants and toddlers are spared the atrocity.

There is however a limit of three sex slaves per bidder, with exception to foreign sales to Turks, Syrians and Gulf states. That’s where most of the fighters are so naturally they will need more. After a great battle they need to blow off some steam and unwind by raping and savaging young Christian girls.

The document adds that the source of this decision for price controls is the ISIS “Commerce Department.” The Commerce Department? As if they are fixing the price of a bushel of wheat or a pound of sugar. There are currently two full-fledged auction sites. One in Mosul Iraq and one in their capital Raqqa Syria, and there is a constant flow of “merchandise” in both locations.

The women and girls are shrouded from head to toe, shackled together and marched into the marketplace to be auctioned. I have seen video of the proceedings and they are appalling. Cattle are treated better. The wails of the victims to be sold are bloodcurdling.

Over the years, I’ve become more libertarian regarding war and foreign entanglements. Like the founders, I believe if it’s not in our national interest, if it doesn’t concern us directly – stay out of it. Protect the homeland and its citizens – that’s all.

But I believe this particular atrocity transcends national interest. This is a sin against all mankind. It is and will be a stain on our humanity. Frankly, if we, the United States of America, who have the wherewithal to act to stop this don’t do anything, what does it say about us?

I’m not sure what can be done, but I bet there are at least 20 to 30,000 veterans in this country that would be more than happy to go mercenary to stop this. Count me in.

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Islamic News

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INCOMING: Here’s my message to the Muslim Students Association canceling American Sniper

Written by Allen West on April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://allenbwest.com/2015/04/incoming-heres-my-message-to-the-muslim-students-association-canceling-american-sniper-incoming/

american-sniper_612x380_1 It is the highest grossing war movie in U.S. history but — as we’ve reported previously — it is in the target sights of Muslim students. Once again, a showing of “American Sniper” has been cancelled, this time at the University of Maryland, College Park.

As reported by Foxnews.com, “The University of Maryland announced it will postpone indefinitely an upcoming screening of “American Sniper” after Muslim students protested – calling the film Islamophobic, racist and nationalistic.

“American Sniper only perpetuates the spread of Islamophobia and is offensive to many Muslims around the world for good reason,” read a petition launched by the university’s Muslim Students Association. “This movie dehumanizes Muslim individuals, promotes the idea of senseless mass murder, and portrays negative and inaccurate stereotypes.”

“The critically-acclaimed film about the life of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle was supposed to be screened May 6 and 7. It was “postponed” on April 22 by the university’s Student Entertainment Events (SEE). While SEE did not mention the Muslim Students Association’s petition, they referenced a meeting with “concerned student organizations” about the film. “SEE is choosing to explore the proactive measures of working with others during the coming months to possibly create an event where students can engage in constructive and moderated dialogues about the controversial topics proposed in the film,” read a statement from SEE posted on the university’s website. The Muslim Students Association posted a Facebook message praising the university’s capitulation to their demands.”

“Praising the university’s capitulation to their demands” — in other words, the surrender of our freedom of speech and expression. Now, I find it doggone funny that the Muslim Students Association (MSA), an organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, is allowed to operate freely on our colleges and universities in the first place. I furthermore find it unconscionable that this group of 250 who signed this petition would influence the decision on a campus of some 28,000.

However, consider this irony: black students were allowed to freely stomp on the U.S. flag at Valdosta State College and an Air Force veteran who sought to claim the flag for proper disposition was physically restrained by campus police, arrested, and ordered never to step on the Valdosta State campus again.

Are we upside down or what?

Regarding the MSA protest, I’m starting to believe something is up with states that begin with the letter “M.” I know this banning of “American Sniper” has occurred at the Universities of Missouri, Michigan, and now Maryland — where next, U-Mass?

But who are these individuals to tell an American university what can be shown on its campus? I wonder if the movie “Twelve Years a Slave” was shown at the University of Maryland? And if these MSA students believe “American Sniper” is offensive to Muslims it means means they are supportive of Islamic terrorism and jihadism.

If they stand for freedom, liberty, and democracy, they should not be offended. As a matter of fact, Kyle’s exploits came primarily in Al Anbar province — Fallujah and Ramadi — is it offensive to these Muslim students that ISIS, the reconstituted al-Qaida in Iraq, is now driving Muslims from their homes in Ramadi? Then again, MSA is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is affiliated with Hamas and supports Islamic terrorism and jihadism, so maybe the gist of all this is that these Muslim students are upset to see the story of a heroic American who fought against their compatriot jihadist brothers.

Maybe they don’t want the truth to be known about the savage barbarism of their associates. And the University of Maryland SEE and leadership is so cowardly that they succumb to these “demands.”

The President of the University and the SEE should have sent back a simple letter with a one-word response, “Nuts.” Now, the question I have, is there a Coach John Harbaugh on the campus of Maryland, someone who will stand up to these stealth jihadists who would seek to advance their intolerance in order to suppress our rights? And let me ask a very basic question — why are they here in America studying in our schools and universities promoting their beliefs which are counter to our Constitutional Republic?

If they don’t like the fllm then doggone, don’t go see it! But, how dare they make a “demand” and worse, Maryland caved.

“We sincerely appreciate your commitment to exercising your freedom of speech to create an inclusive, just and safe campus community,” MSA wrote. Furthermore the Muslims Student Association said “American Sniper” creates a “dangerous climate for Muslim students and severely devalues the community atmosphere.”

So what the heck does beheading Christians create? What kind of climate exists in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the hotbed of ISIS recruiting? What type of community atmosphere exists for Christians and Yazidis in Mosul?

“Breyer Hillegas, president of the university’s College Republicans, told Fox News that he was furious about the cancellation. “Universities are always trying to satisfy the political correctness police and worry about who they might offend – rather than standing up for principle and the First Amendment of the Constitution,” Hillegas told me. He said the College Republicans had been behind the effort to convince SEE to show the film. “If the university prevents a movie like that from being show – it promotes intolerance and stifles dialogue and debate – and goes directly against the atmosphere that the University of Maryland is supposed to support,” he said.

What do the University of Maryland Campus Democrats have to say on the matter? Crickets. Their silence is deafening — and telling.

So here is my message to the MSA:

I and many other Americans deployed to Muslim countries to bring a chance for liberty and freedom. We lost our brothers and sisters. Some lost their limbs — all gave some, some gave all. And to have you here in our country “demanding” the story of one of our own not be told is offensive.

Your time is running out, as we will not tolerate the intolerant for much longer. You will be crushed and defeated, because in America we just don’t take crap for too long — regardless of the complicit bond you’ve found with progressive socialists — stretching from the White House to the College and University campuses — Islamic fascism will not prevail in these great United States of America.

Two words: Molon Labe!

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

Good News

April 25, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/good-news/

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Homosexuals ransack, tag NC churches with pro-gay slogans

Posted by Michael F. Haverluck (OneNewsNow.com) Friday, April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.onenewsnow.com/persecution/2015/04/24/homosexuals-ransack-tag-nc-churches-with-pro-gay-slogans#.VTrARdh0y00

Homosexual activists trashed two North Carolina churches over the weekend and spray-painted pro-“gay” messages over the church properties, which sustained thousands of dollars’ worth of damages.

A Closer Look Bales Memorial Wesleyan Church in Jamestown, N.C., was the first Christian house of worship to be targeted last weekend by militant LGBT advocates, who destroyed the church’s sign, broke windows and pulled parking signs out of the ground. Not stopping there, the homosexual activists tore up flowers in the parking lot and vandalized the church bus by scratching up its hood and jamming a sign through its front grill, according to the Christian News Network.

On Saturday, members of the Wesleyan church also found their church building covered with broken eggs, silly string, and pro-homosexual jargon fused with hate speech. Some of the spray-painted vandalism written on the outside walls of the Jamestown church included, “Gay’s OK,” “He hates you!” and “God loves [expletive]!”

The next day, “gay” activists struck another church less than 20 miles away in Greensboro with similar rage and destruction. Grace Baptist Church officials were dismayed to find their worship center vandalized Sunday morning with the signature window smashing and egg pelting over its facility. This time, however, silly string was replaced with toilet paper, which covered the church property.

Trademark pro-homosexual slogans were spray painted across the Greensboro church property, as well. The LGBT messaging differed slightly from what was discovered 20 miles down the road. “Straights support” and “God loves gays” were among the slogans tagged upon the church’s outer brick walls. In addition, the homosexual activists included a spray-painted rainbow across the church — the symbol of LGBT community support and membership.

The high cost of ‘tolerance’

The weekend attacks on religious freedom in the Tar Heel State will set both congregations back in time and money to repair the damages.

Bales Memorial Wesleyan Church Pastor Carl Pulliam disclosed to the press that it would cost around $10,000 to repair the damages made by the homosexual activists. The pastor of the Jamestown congregation is confused as to why his church was singled out, especially given the fact that homosexuals are always welcome to join services on its facility.

“I can’t tell you a reason that someone would target this church, particularly because this is a loving church,” Pulliam expressed in a statement he made to the media. “This is not a judgmental place or a place where someone would ever feel provoked to these kinds of acts.”

Pulliam acknowledged the silencing intent behind the attack, but promised that acts of hatred and persecution will not succeed in suppressing the Gospel message at the church. In fact, he says it will have quite the opposite effect.

“Someone meant ill will to this house of worship,” Pulliam explained. “This was done to stop our message. That part didn’t succeed. It actually perpetuates our message.”

Also consistent with the Gospel message, Pulliam shared his conviction of love and forgiveness toward the perpetrators of the attack.

“We’re not angry at them,” Pulliam insisted. “We forgive them.”

We’re all sinners

Grace Baptist Church Pastor Paul Coward didn’t have a complete rundown of the cost of the damages of his church besides the $300 needed to replace a broken window, but he did assess the heart of the problem behind the attack.

“Why would someone stoop so low to vandalize a church? In a word: Sin!” Coward voiced in a Facebook post. “The prophet Jeremiah says that ‘the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things.’”

Despite his condemnation of the attack, Coward pointed out that the vandalism was simply a result of sin, which is prevalent in every man’s heart — Christians and unbelievers, “gays” and straights.

“Yes, it’s true that Satan opposes God and he is probably laughing about this vandalism,” Coward asserted. “But God shows us the destructive sin nature found in all mankind — including each one of us!”

Coward turned the unfortunate incident into a teaching moment to forward the Gospel message as he reiterated the Words of Christ.

“[W]e need to listen to the [W]ords of Jesus from the sermon on the mount,” Coward exhorted in his post before quoting Scripture. “‘But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).’”

Despite both pastors’ forgiving hearts, law enforcement from both Jamestown and Greensboro has launched a criminal investigation to bring the homosexual vandals to justice. As the investigation proceeds, police officials are asking community members to provide them with any information they have that will help identify the perpetrators.

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This Trigger Warning needs its own Trigger Warning

Posted by William A. Jacobson Friday, April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/04/this-trigger-warning-needs-its-own-trigger-warning/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LegalInsurrection+%28Le%C2%B7gal+In%C2%B7sur%C2%B7rec%C2%B7tion%29

Trigger Warning

We’ve written quite a bit about Trigger Warnings since before it became fashionable:

The fragile college student mind is getting more fragile by the day.

As if the normal run of political correctness were not enough, we now have “Trigger Warnings” — the notion that students need to be warned that the material they are about to read in class may “trigger” emotional upset….

Of course, how the trigger is defined says much about the theory behind the movement — it almost always serves left-wing critical race and gender theories ….

The Trigger Warning movement is all about enforcing a conformity of thought by forcing faculty and others to identify and warn about politically incorrect ideas.

The Trigger Warning in the Featured Image was displayed at Oberlin when Christina Hoff Sommers spoke:

Image credit: Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute

UT-Arlington Philosophy Prof. Keith Burgess-Jackson has come up with a Trigger Warning for his Philosophy of Religion class.

He writes:

I’ve decided to include a trigger warning in each course syllabus, beginning this fall. Here is the trigger warning for my upcoming Philosophy of Religion course. What do you think?

What do I think?

I think the precious, fragile souls demanding Trigger Warnings will demand that you put a Trigger Warning on this Trigger Warning.

Here we go:

Philosophy of religion is not for the faint-hearted, the close-minded, the thinskinned, the timid, the hypersensitive, the squeamish, the unintellectual (or antiintellectual), the developmentally arrested, the childish, or the easily offended. If you are traumatized (or even dismayed) by the idea of a punitive (retributive) god, or by the use of masculine pronouns (such as “He,” “Him,” or “His”) to refer to God, or by the mere possibility that God is male (rather than female, androgynous, or asexual), then this course is not for you. If you believe in God but are unwilling to entertain the possibility that your belief is false, then this course is not for you, since we will be examining (and taking seriously) arguments against the existence of God. If you disbelieve in God but are unwilling to entertain the possibility that your belief is false, then this course is not for you, since we will be examining (and taking seriously) arguments for the existence of God. If you are an adherent of a particular religion and believe it to be blasphemous, sinful, heretical, or immoral to think about, discuss, or take seriously other religions, then this course is not for you. If you believe that argumentation in particular or philosophy in general is coercive, masculine, belligerent, or militaristic, then this course is not for you. If you believe that morality is oppressive, sexist, or nothing more than a prop for capitalism or some other economic system, or that the making of moral judgments is “judgmental” (in the sense of being overly or gratuitously critical), then this course is not for you, for we will be examining (and taking seriously) an argument (the so-called Moral Argument) to the effect that the existence of morality (or the fact that we make moral judgments, or the fact that moral judgments or values are objective) supports, implies, or presupposesthe existence of God. If you are distressed or discomfited by the concept of evil, or by the possibility that there is evil in the world, or by the possibility that some people (or their actions) are evil, then this is not the course for you, because we will be asking whether (and, if so, how) the existence of evil (natural or moral) renders the existence of God either impossible or improbable. In short, this course, like any other philosophy course, is for thick-skinned, mature, open-minded, intellectually curious people.

What do you think?

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Clinton Defender Howard Dean Loses Morning Joe

Posted by Aleister Friday, April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/04/clinton-defender-howard-dean-loses-morning-joe/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LegalInsurrection+%28Le%C2%B7gal+In%C2%B7sur%C2%B7rec%C2%B7tion%29

Howard Dean MSNBC

Wow. First David Brock and now Howard Dean. Is there something in the water at MSNBC?

Dean is the former chair of the DNC, a role now filled by our favorite Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. As a long time party loyalist, Dean appeared on Morning Joe yesterday and attempted to downplay new scandalous revelations regarding the Clintons.

Hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough could barely contain their skepticism.

David Rutz of the Washington Free Beacon:

Mika Tires of Howard Dean’s ‘Jihad’ for Clintons: ‘The Facts Are The Facts’

The New York Times reported Thursday that the Clinton Global Initiative accepted millions of dollars from a Russian oil company when the State Department, then headed by Hillary Clinton, was approving a deal that would give Russians control of the company Uranium One and bring Vladimir Putin “closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.” The charges are part of Peter Schweizer’s book Clinton Cash.

Dean, rather than directly address the Clintons’ latest problem, went after Schweizer for taking money from “billionaires” who “support Ted Cruz,” essentially arguing that anything his book revealed should be dismissed because of his conservative political leanings.

Yet, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough pointed out outlets such as the New York Times and others were doing legitimate reporting off the accusations in Schweizer’s work.

“So forget the author at this point,” Brzezinski said. “If the facts are true, we need to pursue that. You can go on your little jihad against the author, but it’s not going to change the facts. The facts are the facts.”

Watch the exchange:

Dean also recently lashed out at a New York Times reporter on this subject, calling the Times sloppy.

Evan McMurry of Mediaite:

NY Times Reporter Snaps at Howard Dean for Calling Paper ‘Sloppy’

New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters wasn’t taking guff from former DNC chair Howard Dean on Morning Joe Thursday morning.

Dean was there to defend Hillary Clinton against charges leveled in a new book and reported out by the Times that the Clinton Global Initiative took undisclosed funds from a Russian oil company as that company was securing State Department approval for deals in the U.S. The article is part of access deals secured by the Times and others to Peter Schweizer’s Clinton Cash. Clinton surrogates have spent the past few days criticizing Schweizer as a conservative ideologue funded by right-wing Clinton opponents.

“In general New York Times has been sloppy,” Dean said. “Particularly their political writers. I use the Times as an example in journalism classes, because by the fifth paragraph in any political story…they’re substituting their judgment for news.”

Pass the popcorn, please.

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Bonus Politically INNCORRECT Cartoon – Post Earth Day

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Earth Day

BOOM: Students Man Up And Support AMERICAN FLAG, Suck On That Haters!

Posted on April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://clashdaily.com/2015/04/boom-students-man-up-and-support-american-flag-suck-on-that-haters/#

This is refreshing to see. These students come together to display the flag properly and support it.

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Hippie Who Founded ‘Earth Day’ Murders Girlfriend and Stuffs Her in Trunk: Then it Gets Weird.

Posted By Michael Becker — April 23, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://joeforamerica.com/2015/04/yesterday-earth-day-started-earth-day-celebrations/

The very first Earth Day took place at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia forty-five years ago and on the stage of that celebration was a young man named Ira Einhorn. Wow – bet he was a really considerate and concerned citizen of Mother Earth, right? … well, not so much it turns out.

By that day Einhorn had made a name for himself as Philadelphia’s “head hippie” and claimed that he was a founder of Earth Day. No member of the Progressive movement has ever disputed that.

So who was Ira Einhorn? – from Katie Pavlich at Townhall:

A self-proclaimed environmental activist, Einhorn made a name for himself among ecological groups during the 1960s and ’70s by taking on the role of a tie-dye-wearing ecological guru and Philadelphia’s head hippie.

With his long beard and gap-toothed smile, Einhorn — who nicknamed himself “Unicorn” because his German-Jewish last name translates to “one horn” —advocated flower power, peace and free love to his fellow students at the University of Pennsylvania. He also claimed to have helped found Earth Day.

But the charismatic spokesman who helped bring awareness to environmental issues and preached against the Vietnam War — and any violence — had a secret dark side.

When his girlfriend of five years, Helen “Holly” Maddux, moved to New York and broke up with him, Einhorn threatened that he would throw her left-behind personal belongings onto the street if she didn’t come back to pick them up.

Maddux was found 18-months later stuffed into a trunk in Einhorn’s closet. Einhorn was arrested and released on bail.

An interesting side note to this story is that the defense attorney who got Einhorn out on bail was none other than fellow hippie Arlen Spector – who no doubt knew what an incredible flight risk this cancerous sociopath was.

Sure enough, once out on bail Einhorn jumped bail, hit the road and spent decades hiding all over Europe. Twenty-three years later, Einhorn was exposed, arrested and extradited to the US. He stood trial for murder, was convicted, and is currently serving a life sentence.

He testified in his own behalf, claiming his ex-girlfriend was murdered by CIA agents who framed him for the crime because about the agency’s paranormal military research.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the founder of Earth Day.

The people celebrating Earth Day today are frankly, no less nutty than Ira Einhorn. For example, there was a huge rally celebrating Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington.

Here’s how the revelers left the mall.

And then there’s this all-time classic. Bill Nye, the Science Guy, celebrated Earth Day with President Obama.

Television personality and climate change activist Bill Nye was skewered online for announcing an Air Force One flight with President Obama on Earth Day.

“Heading down to DC to catch an #EarthDay flight on Air Force One tomorrow with the President. We’re going to #ActOnClimate,” Mr. Nye wrote on Twitter late Tuesday. The two men will fly across the country to discuss the Florida Everglades climate change’s effect on the economy.

As Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, frequently says, “I’ll start caring about things like Earth Day when the people who are trying to shove environmentalism down my throat start acting like it’s important.”

The president and flaky old Bill burned nearly 10,000 gallons of jet fuel in Air Force One on their little trip.

FLASHBACK 1977: Earth Day Co-Founder Composts Dead Girlfriend

Here’s an inconvenient truth about the self-described founder of a Earth Day: He murdered and composted his girlfriend. Environmental activist and self-proclaimed Earth Day co-founder Ira Einhorn had a dark side. NBC News reported in 2011 that Einhorn was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Helen Maddux and stuffing her “composted” body inside a trunk. Einhorn jumped bail and spent 23 years evading authorities and hiding out all over Europe. Finally, he was caught and extradited to the U.S. from France, where he was put on trial and convicted of murder. He is currently serving a life sentence.

About the Author; Michael Becker

Michael Becker is a long time activist and a businessman. He’s been involved in the pro-life movement since 1976 and has been counseling addicts and ministering to prison inmates since 1980. Becker is a Curmudgeon. He has decades of experience as an operations executive in turnaround situations and in mortgage banking. He blogs regularly at The Right Curmudgeon, The Minority Report, Wizbang, Unified Patriots and Joe for America. He lives in Phoenix and is almost

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Clinton Foundation Caught Straight-Up Lying To New York Times Reporter [VIDEO]

Posted By Alex Griswold On 04/23/2015

Article reblogged from The Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/23/clinton-foundation-caught-straight-up-lying-to-new-york-times-reporter-video/

In a preview of Fox News’ upcoming special on the allegations that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traded political favors for donations to the Clinton Foundation, The New York Times reporter Jo Becker revealed that the Clintons straight-up lied to her about whether Bill Clinton had attended a key meeting. (VIDEO: Josh Earnest Dodges 10 Consecutive Questions About Clinton Foundation)

One of the revelations in the Times piece is that Bill Clinton played a key role in the insuring acquisition of key uranium mines from the Kazakh state-owned uranium mining company Kazatomprom to Canadian millionaire Frank Giustra. After the transaction, Giustra gave over $30 million to the Clinton Foundation.

But when Becker asked for details about a meeting between the three men, the Clintons denied it ever happened. “When I first contacted both the Clinton Foundation, Mr. Clinton’s spokesman and Mr. Giustra they denied any such meeting ever took place,” she told Fox News.

“But then when we told them, well, we already talked to the head of Kazatomprom who not only told us all about the meeting, but actually has a picture has a picture of him and Bill at the home in Chappaqua that he proudly displayed on his office wall, they then acknowledged that yes, the meeting had taken place.”

See Video Highlight Below:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/1cbOe90AUmU?feature=player_embedded“> v02

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Straight pride fliers removed from YSU campus

By Gerry Ricciutti Published: April 23, 2015, / Updated: April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://wkbn.com/2015/04/23/straight-pride-fliers-removed-from-ysu-campus/

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Leaders with the Student Government Association at Youngstown State University said they decided to act quickly this week when posters showed up on campus promoting “Straight Pride” week next month. The posters (see picture of edited poster below) contained profanity, which our station has blurred for viewers. The posters promote the event as a way of not showing the differences between students.

Campus leaders said while they believe the posters were meant more as satire, especially since no names were associated with them, they determined the flyers went too far with their message. “When you are talking about minority activism, it is very easy that if you are in the majority to say ‘well, this sort of activism is not necessary. This sort of zeal in your activism is over the top.’ For minorities who experience discrimination, that is not the case,” Student Government Vice President Jacob Schriner-Biggs said.

After consulting with the Vice President of Student Life, it was decided to take the posters down, not necessarily because of its topic but because of the coarse language. “We have to be careful with the whole free speech issue. But then if you actually read through it, it seemed like it went way further than a free speech issue. There were swear words and took it a little further than the average free speech should go,” Student Government President Michael Slavens said.

Once students received permission to remove the flyers, they were all down within a matter of hours. If those behind the posters can be identified, any disciplinary action will ultimately be up to university administrators.

The Student Government Association Executive Committee released a statement on the fliers, which said in part:

It has been brought to the attention of several SGA Executive Board members that “Straight Pride” posters have been hung across campus, seemingly in response to LGBTQIA efforts to promote diversity and foster a culture of acceptance on campus. Though SGA respects the free speech of all YSU students, these postings were not authorized, contained vulgar language, and, unfortunately, miss the point of minority activism.

See Video below:

http://up.anv.bz/latest/anvload.html?key=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“> v01

EDITED sample of poster below:

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

“This is one of the BEST Political Cartoons so far this year. – JB”

Follow The Blood Money

April 24, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/follow-the-blood-money/

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The Supreme Court Will Turn the Bible into Mein Kampf

By: Bryan Fischer; Posted: Thursday, April 23, 2015

Bryan Fischer Host of “Focal Point” More Articles

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.afa.net/the-stand/government/the-supreme-court-will-turn-the-bible-into-mein-kampf/

“Anyone who thinks I am exaggerating has not been paying attention.”

The Supreme Court will entertain oral arguments on natural marriage versus sodomy-based marriage on April 28. It will issue its ruling in June. If the Supreme Court imposes same-sex “marriage” on the United States in June, it will turn the Bible into Mein Kampf, every Bible-believing pastor and Christian into Bull Connor, every church into Bob Jones University, and the entire First Amendment into confetti. This is because the only way the Court can find for “marriage” based on what Massachusetts law still calls “the abominable and detestable crime against nature” (you can look it up) would be to treat homosexuality as the biological equivalent of race, and deserving of the same protections.

Anyone who opposes the normalization of homosexuality will be lumped by the Supreme Court together with the Nazis, the KKK, slaveholders, and Aryan supremacists. The Bible, because it regards homosexual conduct as an “abomination” and as something “dishonorable, contrary to nature, (and) shameless” (Romans 1:26-27) will become the equivalent of Mein Kampf.

The Bible will be classified as hate speech from beginning to end, and it will not be long before efforts will be made to ban it in school and public libraries and to forbid the study of it anywhere on college campuses. Most German libraries today carry only heavily redacted versions of Mein Kampf, and it won’t be long before pressure is brought to bear to do the same with the Bible.

Bull Connor was the Democrat sheriff in Birmingham who famously turned fire hoses and police dogs on those pressing for racial equality. If homosexuality is deemed by the Supreme Court to be the equivalent of race, all sincerely devoted followers of Christ will immediately be accused by definition of being as racist, mean-spirited, and bigoted as Mr. Connor.

Bob Jones University, because it banned interracial dating, was stripped of its tax exempt status on the grounds that the United States should make no concessions and grant no favors to racist institutions. Every Bible-believing church in America will be tarred with the same brush. Loud, insistent calls will soon be made to strip tax exempt status from every church and every non-profit ministry which will not embrace homosexuality.

In Sweden, pastor Ake Green narrowly escaped two years in prison for preaching a sermon on the Bible’s view of homosexuality from his own pulpit in his own church. A street preacher in the UK was recently arrested and detained for declaring that homosexuality is a sin. He was even scolded by the judge for using the wrong verse from Leviticus in his preaching. As a judge, he felt himself perfectly entitled to dictate to this preacher the very content of his sermons. It won’t be long before similar pressure will be brought to bear here in America.

Christian radio stations and networks will eventually be stripped of their tax-exempt status. And since the airwaves are considered the property of the American people, the FCC will soon be pressured to take Christian programming off the airwaves altogether on the grounds that the people’s airwaves cannot be permitted to spew hate, racism and bigotry. Already in Canada, Christian programming is not allowed to deal with the subject of homosexuality at all under threat of termination.

The First Amendment will become empty words on a meaningless page, and its lofty protections of freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly will no longer be available to servants of the Cross. Anyone who thinks I am exaggerating has not been paying attention.

It truly is a parade of horribles, and the parade may begin next Tuesday. Our prayer is no longer “May God save the United States and this honorable Court” but rather “May God save the United States from this honorable Court.”

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Are Nationalized Police on the Horizon?

Written by Selwyn Duke Wednesday, 22 April 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/20719-are-nationalized-police-on-the-horizon

“Dawn of National Police Force,” read the Tuesday Drudge headline. The story in question, in New York’s Daily News, concerns proposed federal guidelines for the New York Police Department — overseen by a central-government-appointed “monitor” — and formulated in the wake of the 2013 ruling that the department’s stop-and-frisk practices are “unconstitutional.” What concerns many, however, is that this intrusion represents movement toward something certainly unconstitutional: federal control of local police.

As the News reported, the guidelines range from the innocuous to the perhaps insidious, from a reminder that “most people are good, law-abiding citizens” to injunctions such as “Don’t be racist” and “Do not engage in racial profiling,” though sex and age profiling are apparently okay (The New American treated this in-depth yesterday). And while one could imagine that “Bolshevik” Bill de Blasio’s NYC needed little help crafting politically correct police standards, “help” they are certainly getting. As the News wrote:

The monitor, Peter Zimroth, asked Manhattan Federal Judge Analisa Torres on Monday to approve the stack of new training materials that will be presented to the class of cadets graduating in June. He included in filings more than 75 PowerPoint slides that delve into the nitty-gritty of police work, detail constitutional stop-and-frisk practices — and give remedial directions.

But can federal involvement in local police truly be considered a remedy? Or is it a cure worse than any disease that might exist?

Of course, the guidelines’ defenders might point out that “the material was developed in collaboration with the NYPD and City Hall,” as the News wrote and Zimroth claimed. But critics worry that this federal intrusion is the camel’s nose inside the tent.

Or, perhaps, further inside the tent. As The New American’s Alex Newman wrote last month, the feds had already set in motion an organized plan to insinuate themselves into local police departments: Under the guise of “restoring trust” between communities and police departments that have been militarized by the federal government, the Obama administration’s Justice Department announced this month that it had selected six U.S. cities to serve as pilot sites, to develop and deploy federal guidance for local police….

The plan, which is controversial because it is in line with Obama administration goals to further nationalize and federalize local law enforcement, …will use U.S. taxpayer dollars to deploy “experts” and “researchers” charged with training officers to act in a manner that the DOJ deems just — in essence doing the bidding of the Obama administration.

… The first six cities to be targeted as pilot sites will be Birmingham, Alabama; Fort Worth, Texas; Gary, Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Stockton, California.… However, other police departments are also in the cross hairs. According to the official announcement, an unspecified number of “police departments and communities that are not pilot sites” will also be targeted for more DOJ “training” and “technical assistance.”

But what’s wrong with training and technical assistance, especially if it’s freely accepted? The issue concerning critics is that destructive changes are more effectively made not via revolutionary change, but evolutionary change. Suddenly seize power and you may spark a revolt; aggregate it incrementally and people may barely notice and can, over time, be eased into a subordinate position — it’s the phenomenon of the proverbial frog slowly cooked in the pan of water.

Note that the desire to centralize police power has already been expressed. In response to the tragic shooting of a black man by a South Carolina police officer, Al Sharpton — who has visited the White House approximately 85 times, which includes one-on-one meetings with Obama — recently called for “national law on policing.” Also note that during the fiasco in Ferguson, Missouri, Attorney General Eric Holder said that his DOJ was “prepared” to dismantle the town’s police department “if that’s what’s necessary”; the idea was that its duties would be assumed by a larger entity such as the state police.

So how could law enforcement be nationalized incrementally? Here’s the process critics fear:

Offer federal “help” first to large statist cities, as they’re more amenable to big-government “remedies.” But make your programs available to any municipality that will have them.
Knowing that “he who pays the piper calls the tune,” get them addicted to federal funding and then threaten to withhold it if they balk at Washington intrusion. Gradually increase the federal control via incremental regulation creation.
Using incidents such as the Ferguson shooting as a pretext, orchestrate a plan whereby smaller departments are absorbed by larger ones; continue this process until, for the most part, only large law-enforcement entities exist.
Once these large departments are dependent on federal money and are already operating based on federal guidelines, it’s one more small step to nationalize them completely. And given man’s imperfection, there will always be Ferguson-type incidents to use as a pretext for further control.

Yet this really constitutes a loss of control — by the people. After all, if you don’t like your local police’s policies, next election you can vote, as the case may be, for a different sheriff or a mayor who’ll appoint a better police commissioner. But when your police are controlled by Washington politicians, who are chosen by the 100 million or so Americans who vote in national elections, the will of the 15,000 people in your town is essentially rendered meaningless.

One of the illogical and unexamined aspects of the knee-jerk instinct to federalize matters as remedy is it presupposes that a bureaucrat 1,000 miles away will somehow be more just than a bureaucrat one mile away. Why? How does it make sense that an official whose name you may not know and from whom you might not be able to get even an e-mail response will be more attentive to your needs than someone who lives in your community, shops at the same stores, and whom you can approach face to face any business hour? Why assume that an official elected by you and your neighbors will be less sensitive to your needs than an official elected by everyone else?

Of course, it’s clear why a control-hungry federal politician would want to centralize powers. But when average citizens exhibit such an instinct — an emotional predisposition — a psychological explanation is warranted.

One factor suggesting itself is “Familiarity breeds contempt” or, as Jesus put it, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town.” It’s as with what I learned in my professional tennis days: The fellows I practiced with — even though they were lesser players — would be more of a threat in tournaments than other competitors of the same level. To the strangers it might be, “I’m playing the number-three seed (drum roll)”; to my practice partners it was, “I’m playing Selwyn.” Because they knew the human side to me, I just didn’t seem as imposing. Likewise, people don’t take those in their own town whom they address by their first name as seriously as strangers in Washington whom they address formally in correspondence.

Then there’s the “bigger is better” phenomenon. When you’re a child and there’s a problem, you go to someone big (an adult) to sort matters out. Of course, grown-ups are only helpful in this regard because they’re bigger (hopefully) in maturity. This disparity doesn’t in principle exist when all concerned are adults; in this case, going to big government is akin to a child going to a big age-mate for remedy: There’s no reason to suppose he’s bigger in wisdom and a better counselor. But he might be better at sorting things out with his fists and at bullying you.

Of course, many could view this childlike reaction as childish. But remember that we’re talking about instincts here, which are formed during the early years and are frustratingly resistant to change. Thus the saying, “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.”

Whatever the explanation, the threat posed by the instinct to centralize power reflects anything but childlike innocence. In fact, nationalizing American police has long been a communist goal, as Alex Newman explained in his piece. And with sheriffs across the nation refusing to enforce unconstitutional federal (and state) gun laws, this goal is understandable. After all, you can’t get a whole nation to sing your tune if freelance musicians are roaming the countryside.

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Is the Second Amendment Essential to Liberty?

Wed, April 22, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://townhall.com/video/is-the-second-amendment-essential-to-liberty-n1988980

When the Founders wrote the Bill of Rights in 1789, they wanted to secure a right that they believed was ancient…the right to defend oneself. But in recent news, that right has become more and more controversial (even the ATF wanting to ban some types of ammunition).

Please watch the report below;

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Many Clinton charity donors also got State Department awards under Hillary

By Sarah Westwood | April 23, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/many-clinton-charity-donors-also-got-state-department-awards-under-hillary/article/2563476

Twenty-two of the 37 corporations nominated for a prestigious State Department award — and six of the eight ultimate winners — while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State were also donors to the Clinton family foundation. The published donor records of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation don’t give exact dates or amounts of its contributors, but it is possible to create a general timeline for when many of the corporations donated and when they were either nominated or selected for the award.

Silicon Valley giant Cisco was the biggest foundation contributor nominated in 2009, giving the Clinton charity between $1 million and $5 million. The company then won the award in 2010 when eight of the 12 finalists and two of the three winners had donated to the foundation.
The other Clinton contributor to win that year, candy-maker Mars, Inc., had given between $25,000 and $50,000. Coca-Cola was the most generous foundation donor to be honored as a finalist in 2010, giving a $5-10 million donation.
TOM’s Shoes, a 2009 winner for its work in Argentina, donated between $100,000 and $250,000.
The other 2009 winner, Trilogy International Partners, gave between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Overall, seven of the 10 finalists in 2009 were foundation donors.
Seven of the 12 finalists for the award in 2011 gave to the charity. One of the winners, Procter & Gamble, had contributed $1-5 million. The other 2011 winner, Sahlman Seafoods, does not appear to have been a donor.
Tiger Machinery, a 2011 finalist, is the Russian dealer of Caterpillar, Inc. tractors and other heavy equipment. Caterpillar gave between $1,000 and $5,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
Intel, another Silicon Valley giant, was nominated for an award each year of Clinton’s time in office, winning the award in 2012. The technology company donated between $250,000 and $500,000.
Five of the eight finalists and one of the two winners were foundation donors in 2012. A finalist that year, Esso Angola, is an international subsidiary of Exxon-Mobil, a prolific contributor to the Clinton Foundation. Exxon-Mobil gave between $1 million and $5 million.

Each of the companies listed appear to have made at least a portion of their donations before 2013. However, the Clinton Foundation’s vague listings prevent a more thorough review.

Kerry Humphrey, spokesman for the department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, said “senior representatives” from multiple federal agencies selected winners from among those nominated by U.S. embassies for “corporate excellence” abroad, including “demonstrating respect for human rights” and “promoting respect for the environment.”

The early days of Clinton’s second presidential campaign have been overshadowed by widespread criticism from across the political spectrum of foreign donations to the former chief U.S. diplomat’s family foundation, as well of her use of a private email and server to conduct government business while Secretary of State. She then unilaterally destroyed an estimated 30,000 emails she claimed were personal.

A forthcoming book by Peter Schweizer called Clinton Cash purports to show “a pattern of financial transactions involving the Clintons that occurred contemporaneous with favorable U.S. policy decisions benefiting those providing the funds.”

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White House: American, Italian hostages killed in US strike

Published April 23, 2015 ~ FoxNews.com

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/23/white-house-american-italian-hostages-killed-in-us-counterterror-operation/

An American and an Italian held hostage by Al Qaeda were accidentally killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation earlier this year, the White House said Thursday, in a stunning and tragic admission. The White House also revealed that two American terror operatives were killed, but the revelation that hostages died — in an apparent drone strike — is leading to what President Obama called a “full review.”

: Killed American hostage Warren Weinstein

Obama, speaking from the White House, expressed “grief and condolences” for the deaths of the hostages, American development expert Warren Weinstein and Italian national Giovanni Lo Porto.

“As president and commander-in-chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations — including the one that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni,” Obama said. “I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families.”

The White House said both men were “accidentally killed” in the operation in January. A senior defense official told Fox News the hostages were killed in a drone strike. “No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy,” the White House said in a statement. “The operation targeted an Al Qaeda-associated compound, where we had no reason to believe either hostage was present, located in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the White House said.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that compensation payments would be made to Weinstein and Lo Porto’s families, though he did not say how much.

The White House revealed that two Americans working with Al Qaeda were killed, as well. Ahmed Farouq, an American Al Qaeda leader, was killed in the same operation in which the hostages died. American-born Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn was killed in January in a separate incident, according to the White House. The White House says Farouq and Gadahn were not targeted in the operations, and the U.S. did not have specific information indicating their presence at the sites.

Weinstein, 73, was an American contractor working in Lahore, Pakistan, when he was snatched outside his home on Aug. 13, 2011, by Al Qaeda operatives. The Maryland resident and professor at State University of New York at Oswego was later seen in four “proof-of-life” videos, the most recent of which was released in December 2013. In that video, Weinstein appeared in a tan track suit with a wool cap and pleaded with the U.S. to come to his aid.

“And now, when I need my government, it seems that I have been totally abandoned and forgotten,” Weinstein says, apparently reading from a script. “I again appeal to you … to negotiate my release,” he said on the tape.

In a written statement, Weinstein’s wife, Elaine Weinstein, said “there are no words to do justice to the disappointment and heartbreak we are going through.”

“We do not yet fully understand all of the facts surrounding Warren’s death, but we do understand that the U.S. government will be conducting an independent investigation of the circumstances. We look forward to the results of that investigation,” she said. “But those who took Warren captive over three years ago bear ultimate responsibility. I can assure you that he would still be alive and well if they had allowed him to return home after his time abroad working to help the people of Pakistan.”

“Warren Weinstein did not have to die,” Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said in a written statement. “His death is further evidence of the failures in communication and coordination between government agencies tasked with recovering Americans in captivity – and the fact that he’s dead, as a result, is absolutely tragic.”

Gadahn, 36, the first widely known American to join Al Qaeda, grew up in Orange County, Calif., in a family with Christian and Jewish roots. He converted to Islam at age 17, and began studying Islam at the Islamic Society of Orange County. Gadahn reportedly moved to Pakistan in 1998, where he married an Afghan refugee and later joined Al Qaeda. In 2001, he cut off contact with his family in California, and in the years following the 9/11 attacks, became a prominent spokesman for the terrorist group, appearing under the name “Azzam Al-Amriki” with Al Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Usama bin Laden in videos justifying and threatening further attacks.

In 2006, Gadahn was placed on the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Rewards for Justice Program list of wanted criminals and indicted by a California federal grand jury on charges of treason. In a 2007 Internet video called “Al Qaeda Video Warning to U.S. by American Adam Gadahn,” the homegrown radical imposed a list of demands on America, including an end to all support for the “bastard state of Israel.”

“Your failure to heed our demands and the demands of reason means that you and your people will – Allah willing – experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11, Afghanistan and Iraq.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

Sleepless In DC

April 23, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/sleepless-in-dc/

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That’s What Christians Do Now!

By: Don Wildmon; Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Don Wildmon Founder of AFA/AFR More Articles

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.afa.net/the-stand/the-culture-war/thats-what-christians-do-now/

“Where were the Christians? Why, they were in church. All these things are for someone else to deal with.”

– Don Wildmon

(The following first appeared in the August 1999 issue of the AFA Journal)

That’s What Christians Do Now

Christian apathy in the face of cultural collapse

In 1973 the Supreme Court said it was OK to kill unborn babies. Since then, we have killed more than the entire population of Canada. And it continues. A woman’s choice? Half of those who have died in their mothers’ wombs have been women. They didn’t have a choice. It is called abortion.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

First it was in dingy, dirty theaters. Then, convenience stores. Then, grocery stores. Then on television. Now it is in the homes of millions via the Internet. It is called pornography.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

They called it no-fault. Why should we blame anyone when something so tragic happens. Haven’t they already suffered enough? Half of the marriages in American end this way. The children suffered. The family broken down. It is called divorce.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

At one time it was perversion. We kept it secret. We secured help and hope for those who practiced it. Now it is praised. We have parades celebrating it, and elected officials give it their blessing. Now it is endowed with special privileges and protected by special laws. Even some Christian leaders and denominations praise it. It is call homosexuality.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

It used to be an embarrassment. A shame. Now a third of all births are to mothers who aren’t married. Two-thirds of all African-American children are born into a home without a father. The state usually pays the tab. That is why we pay our taxes, so that government can take the place of parents. After all, government bureaucrats know much better how to raise children than parents do. It is called illegitimacy.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

At one time it was wrong. But then the state decided to legalize it, promote it and tax it. It has ripped apart families and destroyed lives. But just look at all the money the state has raised. No longer do we have to teach our children to study and work hard. Now we teach them they can get something for nothing. We spend millions encouraging people to join the fun and excitement. Just look at the big sums that people are winning. They will never have to work again! It is called gambling.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

Not long ago, Christians were the good guys. But now any positive image of Christians in movie or on TV is gone. We are depicted as the bad guys – greedy, narrow-minded hypocrites. The teacher can’t have a Bible on her desk, but can have Playboy. We don’t have Christmas and Easter holidays – just winter and spring break. We can’t pray in school, but we can use foul language. It’s called being tolerant.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

Yes, all these things came to pass within 30 years. Where were the Christians? Why, they were in church. All these things are for someone else to deal with. Times have changed. Involvement has been replaced with apathy.

But don’t blame me. I didn’t do anything. I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now!

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Ann Coulter Letter: Still No Reports of “Hillary Fever” Outbreaks

By Ann Coulter | Wednesday Apr 22, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://humanevents.com/2015/04/22/still-no-reports-of-hillary-fever-outbreaks/?utm_source=coulterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Still No Reports of "Hillary Fever" Outbreaks

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said Friday that she won’t fret if former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decides not to run for president in 2016 because, heck, there’s still Joe Biden. Wasserman Schultz said in an interview taped for C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” airing Sunday, “We have a vice president of the United States, certainly, who could be a standard-bearer.” “We have a deep bench of potential candidates, whether it is Secretary Clinton, Vice President Biden, or any one of a number of candidates.??

I gather from the increasing hysteria of the feminists that Democrats are beginning to rebel at having a loser of a presidential candidate being foist upon them, in the person of Hillary Clinton. </p>

The same way the national tea party leaders are a thorn in the side of the Republican Party, constantly challenging incumbent Republicans with untested candidates who then go on to lose to Democrats (in Delaware, Indiana and Nevada, and nearly in Kentucky, Kansas and Mississippi), the feminists are a thorn in the side of the Democrats, saddling them with utter mediocrities like Hillary.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Sen. Patty Murray are, objectively, two of the least appealing human beings ever elected to any office. (That sentence still works even without the words “elected to any office.”) But God help the Democrats if they tried to replace Schultz as chair of the Democratic National Committee or Murray as secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Slate magazine is even demanding that Murray be made Senate minority leader as a sop to the feminists. (I think they have a good point!)

Now, to satiate the feminists, the Democrats seem to be stuck with Hillary as their presidential nominee.

No one really likes Hillary. Ask Bill. Like Toni Morrison’s novels, most people just pretend to like Hillary just so liberals will leave them alone.

She’s a bore. She has the warmth of an Arctic ice floe. She hates people, and they hate her. She makes children cry and puppies shy away from her. Nobody wants to watch her wallow around in those neon pantsuits for the next five years.

But no Democrat dares state the obvious.

Although her base of support is infinitesimally shallow, it is quite shrill. Feminists on TV are shocked that people are allowed to criticize Hillary in a way they were not allowed to criticize the angel Obama. Park Avenue matrons with their own fancy degrees from places like Smith and Wellesley rave about how smart Hillary is as a way of calling themselves smart

All Democrats are required to pretend that Hillary is the most amazing, brilliant, accomplished woman who’s ever lived — or be found guilty of a crime against feminism.

Hillary’s main claim to fame is that she was married to the horny hick, and then stood by him when he was impeached for the most embarrassing sex scandal in history.

By feminist logic, that meant Hillary was owed the presidency. Quid pro ‘ho

But, then, the office THAT BELONGED TO HER was snatched away when Democrats dumped Hillary in 2008 for their new trophy wife, Barack Obama. We’re growing apart, Hillary. Obama makes me feel alive! Can’t you be happy for me?

So naturally, now feminists are madder than a wet hen. It’s hard to imagine any ticket short of Hillary-plus-Elizabeth that will satisfy them this time around.

Hillary’s long list of accomplishments consists of: (1) being cheated on as first lady; (2) being handed a Senate seat from a heavily Democratic state, where she accomplished nothing legislatively (other than her vote for the Iraq War, which I think was terrific!); and (3) being appointed secretary of state, whereupon she participated in one foreign policy disaster after another.

Everyone senses the enormous vacuum in the Democrats’ presidential field, but no one is allowed to mention it. The absence of a weighty Democratic candidate is almost frightening to me, as a responsible American, the same way I once supported Hillary over Obama. (Hillary 2008: Half the irresponsibility, with all the fecklessness!)

Now there’s blood in the water as more and more Democrats begin to wonder whether their party really has to nominate this dud. Aren’t Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Patty Murray enough to placate the National Organization for Women?

The sharks are circling:

There’s the book about the Clinton Foundation’s accepting enormous donations from foreign governments, while Hillary was secretary of state — which The New York Times and The Washington Post have exclusive deals to cover.

There’s the fact that the Clinton Foundation seems to have been little more than a personal cash cow for the Clintons and their friends, with $400 million out of $500 million going to pay “employees” of the foundation, plus another $25 million for employees’ travel, and only $75 million, or 15 percent of the total haul, being used for anything vaguely related to “charity.” The Clinton Foundation makes Al Sharpton’s National Action Network almost look legit.

There’s the murder of our ambassador in Benghazi, Libya, on Hillary’s watch, and her shrieking comment on the bloodbath to a Senate committee: “WHAT DIFFERENCE, AT THIS POINT, DOES IT MAKE!” (You’re about to find out, Hillary.)

There’s Hillary’s email scandal, in which she violated the law by destroying public records in her custody (18 USC 2071) and demonstrated that the smartest woman in the world is not only arrogant and corrupt, but incredibly stupid.

Category:

Political

State Dept. contractor allegedly paid by Chinese agent to spy on Americans – yet no charges filed

By Catherine Herridge, Published April 22, 2015, FoxNews.com

Newly unsealed court documents obtained by Fox News show a State Department contractor allegedly was paid thousands by an individual thought to be a Chinese agent in exchange for information on Americans — but despite an FBI probe, the Justice Department declined to prosecute. A November 2014 FBI affidavit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, shows the bureau investigated the contractor for her admitted contact with individuals she believed to be Chinese intelligence officers. The affidavit from agent Timothy S. Pappa states the translator, Xiaoming Gao, was paid “thousands of dollars to provide information on U.S. persons and a U.S. government employee.”

According to the documents, she admitted these meetings took place in hotel rooms in China for years, where she reported on her “social contacts” in the U.S. to an individual who went by the name of “Teacher Zhao.” The detailed affidavit even goes on to say the translator briefly lived, “for free,” with a State Department employee — who held a top-secret clearance and designed high-security embassies, including the U.S. compound in Islamabad, Pakistan. The State Department employee, who was not named, initially told the FBI he didn’t discuss his job with Gao, but later changed his statement.

According to the documents, Gao also told the FBI — during interviews in 2013 — that she once told “Teacher Zhao” about the travel plans of an American and ethnic Tibetan. This person told the FBI he ended up being interrogated by Chinese intelligence officers during a trip to Tibet, and a member of his family was imprisoned. Yet the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., which oversaw the case, recently declined to prosecute, allowing the documents to be unsealed. The office offered no further comment. The FBI also is saying nothing beyond the court documents that were filed to search a storage unit in suburban Washington, D.C.

On its face, a former senior Justice Department official said the decision not to prosecute is perplexing, because the case was unlikely to reveal investigative sources and methods.

“It’s not clear to me, based on the court files that were unsealed, how a prosecution of this person could possibly have compromised U.S. intelligence gathering,” Thomas Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general under the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News. “If it jeopardizes or threatens to disrupt relations with another country, so be it. That you have to draw the line somewhere, and that we need to send a message that this sort of conduct and activity simply will not be tolerated.”

The State Department confirmed Xiaoming Gao worked for the Office of Language Services over a four-year period beginning in June 2010. This would have covered the tenures of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and sitting Secretary John Kerry. “She was employed as a contract interpreter until February 2014, is not employed here anymore. And so any additional questions on this, I’d refer you to the FBI,” spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

When told the FBI was referring Fox News’ questions back to State, Harf responded: “I’m referring you back to them.”

The documents do not fully explain Gao’s side of the story.

Emails and phone calls to the consulting firm, which the translator listed on the web as her employer, have gone unanswered. Fox News extended an invitation to discuss the allegations. No attorney of record was filed with the court.

Fox News’ Matt Dean contributed to this report

Catherine Herridge is an award-winning Chief Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) based in Washington, D.C. She covers intelligence, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a London-based correspondent.

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Political

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Exclusive — GOP Pollster: Scott Walker’s Bold New Pro-American Immigration Position ‘Winning Hand’ Against Hillary Clinton

by Matthew Boyle, 21 Apr 2015, Washington, DC

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/21/exclusive-gop-pollster-scott-walkers-bold-new-pro-american-immigration-position-winning-hand-against-hillary-Clinton/

Andy Manis/AP Photo

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s new populist pro-American worker position on immigration is “absolutely the winning hand” against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a general election should he decide to run for president and wins the GOP primary, GOP pollster Kelly Anne Conway of The Polling Company told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Conway said of Walker:

The left will try to caricature him as union-busting, as anti-worker. This gives him the opportunity to say ‘if you’re for amnesty, you’re anti-worker. What I am is pro-worker. It is anti government corruption. Having public sector union members expect Wisconsin taxpayers pay 100 percent of their benefits, that wasn’t fair.’ It’s a matter of fairness. Allow him to explain all of that as pro-worker not anti-worker and if he can do that he’ll be fine. Also, this gives him a distinction among a Republican field that’s getting increasingly crowded. This allows him to be seen as a working-class, populist hero—a working class governor who’s a natural populist, it’s just a natural fit. I don’t know if Mitt Romney could have pulled this off. Then you fast forward and you think of this idea versus Hillary Clinton—if she even has anything to say on immigration—this is the winning hand. This is absolutely the winning hand.

Walker this week rolled out a newly strengthened position on immigration, one that focuses on protecting American workers’ job prospects and wages from a massive influx in either legal or illegal immigration. Conway said this wasn’t a flip-flop, but a “natural transformation” on a difficult issue by Walker, in line his “pro-worker, pro-fairness mantra that propelled him to win three elections in four years and propelled him to national recognition in the conservative movement.” Conway has done significant polling on this issue, polling that has been subsequently confirmed by everyone from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to Gallup and more. Conway said:

2016 will be a process of elimination. Instead of saying which one or two are going to get the most support, the question really is which ones will be left standing a year from now. The one thing I can guarantee you as to who those will be is that they will all be on the right side, on the pro-worker side—the American worker side—of immigration. There will be absolutely nobody who has supported amnesty, there will be nobody talking about a path to citizenship who is a credible presidential nominee. The thing is we’ve been active in these early states really with polling and focus groups. When you look at the numbers from that poll [from last August], that’s nationwide data. This issue is that much more magnified and amplified among Republican primary and caucus-goers in these early states. It is top shelf issue and they see it melding together fairness, opportunity, pro-worker, pro-American, economic stimulus for the local areas.

Conway continued by noting that voters “literally see this as the right way to go” and, while she thinks “Gov. Walker was being dogged a little bit by his past of a Ted Kennedy like immigration plan, it’s an incredibly bold move but an incredibly smart move as well, because it puts him more in line with where Republican primary and caucus voters in early states are on this issue.” She went on to say:

It will be a top three-to-five issue and it will play well in the debate. Marco Rubio would be in second place right now if it were not for his being on the wrong side of this very recently. If you look at the straw poll we did at CPAC and you look at other polling we’ve done since, nationwide and in these early states, we don’t just ask Republican primary voters and caucus goers what are your number one and number two issues. We also ask them do you have any deal breakers and the biggest deal breakers for Republican primary voters right now are if you expanded Medicaid through Obamacare, if they embrace amnesty or comprehensive immigration reform which is the same thing to them, or if they embrace Common Core. The top two—it’s not gay marriage by the way, and it’s not if you’re going to raise taxes—the top deal breakers right now for Republican primary voters are if you expanded Medicaid through Obamacare and you favor a comprehensive immigration reform slash amnesty position on immigration.

For Walker—the guy who took on organized labor in their own backyard and won—Conway argues that this new populist position on immigration is “a natural fit.” She also says that it’s likely to help him not just in the Republican primary but in the general election:

It is one of those rare issues that is a clear winner in both the Republican primaries and caucuses, and then in the general election as well. Our polling shows independents and even many Democrats support newly created jobs going to U.S.-born Americans and legal immigrants. It has bipartisan support because job losses are bipartisan. Support for a pro-American immigration policy has earned bipartisan support because job losses have been bipartisan in nature. In fact, many of these private sector union households have lost their jobs in construction and manufacturing and a lot healthcare based job losses because of Obamacare. Everybody is feeling the pinch either as a direct stakeholder or second hand surrogate and worried about job losses and this is one of the biggest solutions. If I’m looking for a job, why are we giving preference to non-U.S.-born workers?

Conway added that self-identified liberals are the only people among whom there is not a majority of voters who want politicians to have Walker’s position. Democrats, Republicans, independents, and conservatives all support his position. Conway added:

While I’m sure Gov. Walker is not doing this as a Republican primary ploy—it seems like a real change of heart while reviewing the data and thinking through the realities of job losses in his home state, in the rust belt area and indeed across the country—the only people who disagree are liberals. Democrats are on board, Republicans and conservatives are on board so are independents. If you look at the data, only liberals say Obama should go it alone on amnesty and liberals are less likely than Democrats, Republicans and independents pro-American immigration policy. But so what? That’s 18 percent of the country. Whoopee.

Part of the reason why Conway thinks the political class—everyone from the liberal media to the Institutional Left to the establishment right to even some liberal GOP senators—is attacking Walker is because he’s exposing several false inside-the-beltway premises about immigration:

It is a completely and utterly false premise that somehow agreeing to comprehensive immigration reform and supporting Obama’s amnesty will somehow win Republicans back votes. I would point out to all the establishment types descending on Gov. Walker that they’re on the wrong side of the issue for many reasons. Look at what happened in 2014. In 2014, Republicans did not pass comprehensive immigration reform and they won big. They bolstered their majority in the House, won the Senate, several governorships and legislatures. And they improved their rates among Hispanics by 8 percent over Mitt Romney in 2012, so it blew out of the water this false premise that to win Hispanic votes we must go for comprehensive immigration reform and look the other way when Obama does executive amnesty and not try to defund it.

Specifically to Sen. John Thune (R-SD)—who attacked what Walker said without attacking him directly, joining a bandwagon led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)—Conway noted that what Walker is saying would poll much better than what Thune is saying when it comes to immigration:

If you put Gov. Walker’s statements and Sen. Thune’s statements side-by-side, Walker’s statements are much more popular to the majority of Americans. Why? People are tired of hearing the arrogant and elitist and fantasy of a few billionaires and the quotes like illegal immigrants are doing jobs that Americans won’t do. Americans are saying ‘I want a chance to do those jobs but I want to do them for more than $5 an hour under the table.’ There are many Americans who do want to do those jobs and the vast majority of Americans who do should be given the opportunity to compete for those jobs.

Conway expects that if Walker is elected president, he’ll actually stick to his guns and implement an immigration policy that serves the national interest along the lines of what Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has been calling for:

That’s his track record and if he wants to be a two-term president he will. If he continues emphatically on this track with his change of heart to be pro American worker, he will go ahead and implement it because it’s a job creator. You have Republicans running around saying ‘we’re job creators, we’re job creators.’ Great. This is the ultimate job creator: The ability to allow Americans, which includes by the way high-skilled two and four year college graduates and a lot of these American jobs are not coming back toward manufacturing, construction, retail. For these men and women, the idea that they lost their job and they now have to compete for a replacement job with illegal immigrants who are willing to take $5 an hour under the table. I think he can be a real hero to working men and women and it seems to me that this is a natural expansion of his pro-worker, pro-fairness mantle that has helped him win elections among working class men and women—three elections in four years—but also try to further the national conversation on this issue.

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General

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Earth Day (Lenin’s Birthday) Is All About Communism

Posted ConservativeByte.com April 22, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/earth-day-lenins-birthday-is-all-about-communism/

earthdaylenin

Liberals deny the one has anything to do with the other. Even if it was a coincidence, the two share practically identical worldviews. Check it out:

I’m sure you will be hearing on the news, or maybe seeing in your neighborhood, some kind of event honoring Earth Day, which has been celebrated every year since 1970. But what most people don’t realize is that this tree-hugging holiday was first celebrated on what was the 100th birthday of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.

Brian Sussman of KSFO has more on the real origins of the annual Lenin Birthday Celebration(aka Earth Day).

Continue reading on maroonedinmarin.blogspot.com (see below)

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://maroonedinmarin.blogspot.com/2015/04/earth-day-lenins-birthday-is-all-about.html

Earth Day (Lenin’s Birthday) Is All About Communism

The initial concept was conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WS). Nelson was Congress’ leading environmentalist activist, a sort of pre-incarnate Senator Barbara Boxer in drag. He was also the mastermind behind those ridiculous teach-ins which were vogue in the Sixties and early Seventies. During the teach-ins, mutinous school instructors would scrap the day’s assigned curriculum, pressure their students to sit cross-legged on the floor, and “rap” about how America was an imperialist nation, and converse about why communism really wasn’t such a bad form of government—it just needed to be implemented properly.

Nelson’s teach-in efforts were aided by a young man named Denis Hayes. Hayes was student body president while at Stanford, and well known for organizing anti-Vietnam war protests. Hayes heard about Senator Nelson’s teach-in concept and eventually helped Nelson institute the practice nationwide.

Rounding out the troika was Professor Paul Ehrlich of Stanford. In 1968 Ehrlich authored the Malthusian missive, The Population Bomb, in which he infamously spouted wild allegations which included equating the earth’s supposed surplus of people with a cancer that needs to be eradicated: “A cancer is an uncontrolled multiplication of cells; the population explosion is an uncontrolled multiplication of people…We must shift our efforts from treatment of the symptoms to the cutting out of the cancer. The operation will demand many apparently brutal and heartless decisions,” he wrote.

In 1969, following a much-hyped oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast, an overblown patch of fire on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, and the drug-induced vibes cast across the nation via the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, Senator Nelson met with Ehrlich and reportedly said, “My God—why not a national teach-in on the environment?” Hayes was brought in to play a pivotal role with organization and implementation. After careful consideration a name and date for the event were chosen: the inaugural Earth Day would be celebrated April 22, 1970—the late Russian dictator Vladimir Lenin’s Centennial birthday.

Environmentalists have always admired Lenin. He was the first disciple of Karl Marx to capture control of a country, and the opening act of his seven-year reign commenced with the abolition of all private property—a Marxist priority. Despite overseeing a bloody civil war, a devastated economy and a citizenry without hope, Lenin made it a priority to implement his signature decree, “On Land.” In it he declared that all forests, waters, and minerals to be the exclusive property of the state, and he demanded these resources be protected from use by the public and private enterprise. Selling timber or firewood, mining minerals, or diverting water for farming was strictly prohibited.

While Nelson and Ehrlich were already known as non-traditional crackpots, Hayes was that and more. In a New York Times article published the morning after the first Earth Day headlined, “Angry Coordinator of Earth Day,” young Hayes bragged that five years earlier he fled overseas because “I had to get away from America.” Hayes was so committed to his anti-capitalist cause that he made sure his organization did not even produce Earth Day bumper stickers, “You want to know why?” he explained to the Times, because “they go on automobiles.”

Earth Day has never been a celebration of the beauty and bounty of this awesome terrestrial ball. Instead it’s always been an assault on man. During the first decade of Earth Day observances people were proclaimed the polluter. By the Eighties the event’s organizers cast mankind as the tree killer, and, with the Nineties, humans evolved into the animal species annihilator. The global warming scare never really became popular until the late Nineties, and when it did, it provided compatriots at the Earth Day headquarters with the ultimate hook to hang their red berets: humans, particularly Americans, were now screwing up the entire planet’s climate.

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Political

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon

A Harry Fight

April 22, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://conservativebyte.com/2015/04/a-harry-fight/

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Political

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‘They Are Satan’s Church’: Famed Pastor’s Tough Message for Christian Denominations Condoning Homosexuality

Jul. 14, 2014 Posted by Billy Hallowell

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/14/they-are-satans-church-famed-pastors-tough-message-for-christian-denominations-condoning-homosexuality/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons

Famed pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, recently reacted to denominations that have taken more liberal approaches to gay marriage, among other issues, telling TheBlaze that “they have no allegiance to the Bible.”

Pastor John MacArthur (Grace to You)

MacArthur, author of “Being a Dad Who Leads,” said that these denominations — like Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which recently voted to allow same-sex nuptials — and their associated seminaries have been skirting scriptural tenets for decades. He patently described them as “false churches” that fail to teach biblical truths. “They have no allegiance to the Bible,” he said. “You go back to every one of those seminaries … for a century [they] have been deniers of biblical authority, they have no relationship to scripture, they are the apostate church, they are Satan’s church.”

And when asked whether Christianity on the whole is on the decline, MacArthur said that one must be careful when assessing the faith, as there are major differences between “true,” “cultural” and “institutional” Christianity.

MacArthur said that cultural Christianity in America dates back to the founding fathers who “knew you couldn’t compel people to goodness” unless there was belief in a higher power. The preacher said that this form of Christianity, which is in decline, isn’t necessarily connected to a church or institution, but that it sets values thatare embraced by people from various groups.
- “Cultural Christianity … is dying at a warp speed … when you have an election when the platform is sin — in the last election for the the Democratic platform was pro killing children and pro homosexuality,” MacArthur said. “The young generation has bought into the corruption and lack of ethics morals by media entertainment [and] educators.”
In contrast, MacArthur said that institutional Christianity takes a more physical form, comprising faith systems and houses of worship that he believes are essentially in flux and ever-changing. “Institutional churches ebb and flow, denominations ebb and flow. They are made up of true believers and false believers — the genuine and the diluted,” he said. “There is a sense in which there’s always going to be an ebb and flow in the institutional church.”

Pastor John MacArthur (Image via John MacArthur/Facebook)

But “true” Christianity is a different institution entirely — one MacArthur carefully distinguished, as it is centered upon Jesus Christ and the church he believes God built. Unlike cultural Christianity, he said it will always be there and will not ebb or flow like institutional churches.

MacArthur went on to challenge pastors, churches and Christians to stand up and be bold and he cited Romans 1 in the Bible to describe what he believes is happening culturally in America. “Romans 1 describes exactly what is happening in America … it defines the wrath as God giving them over, giving them over, giving them over,” he said.

But the preacher noted that there is hope in God and that it’s still possible for Christians to stand up and help draw people to the Lord.

Find out more about MacArthur here.

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Political, Religion, Spiritual

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Children Forced to Scream Vulgarities in NH Elementary School

Posted by Scott Osborn — April 20, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://joeforamerica.com/2015/04/children-forced-scream-vulgarities-nh-elementary-school/

Ms. Christi Michaud, principal of Hallsville Elementary school ordered it to happen. Children being forced to scream profanities during an anti-bullying exercise held at the school in Manchester, N.H. angered a set of parents so much that they pulled their children from the school. Meetings are being planned, officials are being called, and a petition is being signed to encourage some consequences. (<~~Sign It!) 315×236.jpg

Many of the children protested, saying that they did not want to read the swears (such as “F#@K YOU!”, “You Gay Whore!”, and “You F@#KER!”) out loud. But they were told that they had to do it.

Parent Keith Katsikas reports in a note on his FB page:

“Many of the children protested, saying that they did not want to read the swears (such as “F#@K YOU!”, “You Gay Whore!”, and “You F@#KER!”) out loud. But they were told that they had to do it. The only option those kids were given was to pick a different paper, but they had to do it. They were not given the option to just sit down and not participate.”

When does the madness end? When do the schools remember that they are not raising our children? When will they remember that they cannot just do anything they want with other peoples children?

According to MyFoxBoston, school officials are meeting with Mr. Katsikas Monday morning.

I could retell the story, but parent Keith Katsikas tells it so well. We will let him..then comment!

According to students, and confirmed by at least one teacher, these are the events that took place in Mr Ryder’s 4th grade classroom on April 15, 2015, at approximately 12:30 pm:

It was right after lunch. The children were settling into the seats, preparing for the rest of the school day activities, when a stranger enters the room. The students have never met or seen this women before, but the teacher welcomed her in. Her name was Laurie Evens, and she was from Webster Guidance. Her purpose was to teach a lesson on bullying. The woman proceeded to setup her display: a life-size paper man that she taped to the wall, a small blue basket, and a handful of paper clippings.

The woman passed out the small pieces of paper to the class and told the young children that they had to write down insults, hurtful things that someone has said to them, and if it contained swears, that’s all right. She then collected the pieces of paper from the students into her blue basket and mixed them up.

“Now, I’m going to pick one of you, and when I pick you, you will have to come take a slip of paper from the basket.” She told the children that they had to read whatever was written on the paper out loud, so the entire class could hear. “Say it like you mean it,” she declared. The children had to yell the vulgarities at the life-size paper man. The woman then instructed the children to rip a piece of the paper man off: like his hand, his finger, an ear, etc… She then proceeded to demonstrate by pulling a piece of paper out of the basket, shouted the phrase at the paper man, and ripped off one of his fingers. She then turned to the class and picked the first child to get up to do the same.

Many of the children protested, saying that they did not want to read the swears (such as “F#@K YOU!”, “You Gay Whore!”, and “You F@#KER!”) out loud. But they were told that they had to do it. The only option those kids were given was to pick a different paper, but they had to do it. They were not given the option to just sit down and not participate.

: Manchester’s Hallsville Elementary School, seen in this vintage postcard was built in 1891.

After all of the children had yelled vulgarities at the paper man and had ripped the man to pieces (only his head was left stuck to the wall), the woman then told the children that they had to go back up, in the same order that they went to swear at the paper man, and tape the pieces they had ripped off back on and then apologize for what they had said. When the children had finished taping the paper man back together, it looked a mess (as one might expect). It wasn’t even recognizable.

The stranger left the class, leaving the Frankenstein’s monster of a paper man taped to the wall for the children to look at the rest of the day.

The 4th grade teacher, Mr Ryder, was very pleased with the lesson and expressed is pleasure to his young impressionable students before moving on to another lesson.

When does the madness end?

Every day a new story appears about some school that has severely crossed the line. When will these schools learn? They will learn when we start showing up at school board meetings en masse demanding resignations. They will learn when thousands of Americans contact the schools and district offices demanding resignations.

Principal Christi Michaud needs to be fired. As I have said before, NOT for this incident, but for the ineptness that allowed this to happen in the first place. She needs to find a non child related job because she is lacking that little “Common Sense” switch in her head that not only says, this is out of line, but that it will emotionally effect a student and adversely affect the school and the district. I publicly call for her resignation. I ask that you do as well!

This situation has caused grief among families, in the classroom, in the school, in the district, and in the community.

Here is some contact information for the school and district. Make you opinion known!

School: 603-624-6332 cmichaud@mansd.org

District: Chairman of the School Board Mayor Ted Gatsas (603) 624-6500 (603) 668-1233 mayor@manchesternh.gov

Board Members contacts can be found here.

Dr. Debra Livingston Superintendent superintendent@mansd.org

Karen Burkush Assistant Superintendent Office of Student Services kburkush@mansd.org

David Ryan Assistant Superintendent Curriculum & Instruction dryan@mansd.org

Contact District staff at (603) 624-6300

Manchester School District Social Media:

Twitter: @mansd_nh

Facebook: ManchesterSchoolDistrict

The latest according to Kyle Olson at EAGnews:

Superintendent Debra Livingston of the Manchester school district sent EAGnews this statement:

We are investigating the parents concerns. The investigation is not yet complete. When it is, we will meet with the parent first.

We will just have to see the outcome!

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Education

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Iran: Yeah, We’re Not Going to Allow Any Inspections at Military Sites

Posted by Guy Benson | Apr 21, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2015/04/21/iran-yeah-were-not-going-to-allow-any-inspections-at-military-sites-n1987848

: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

With disastrous nuclear negotiations with Iran set to resume in the coming days, please consider the following stories. First:

International nuclear inspectors will be barred from all Iranian military sites under any deal with world powers, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guard said Sunday, setting up a possible standoff as negotiators try to reach a final deal. Gen. Hossein Salami, the Guard’s deputy leader, told Iranian state television that allowing foreign inspection of military sites is tantamount to “selling out,” raising the stakes as talks between Iran and the six-nation group are to resume April 22 in Vienna. “We will respond with hot lead (bullets) to those who speak of it,” Salami said. “Iran will not become a paradise for spies. We will not roll out the red carpet for the enemy.” … A fact sheet on the framework accord issued by the U.S. State Department said Iran would be required to grant the U.N. nuclear agency access to any “suspicious sites.” Iran has questioned that and other language in the fact sheet.

Second, we’re now confronting our “peace partners” in another theater. Their export of terrorism continues unabated, and is not addressed in the nuclear framework:

Third, more belligerence from Ayatollah “Death to America” Khamenei:

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told military commanders on Sunday the United States had created the “myth” of nuclear weapons to portray Iran as a threat, hardening his rhetoric before nuclear negotiations resume this week. Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, has supported the nuclear talks but continues to express deep mistrust of the United States. “They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic Republic is a source of threat. No, the source of threat is America itself, with its unrestrained, destabilizing interventions,” Khamenei said in a televised address to a hall of several hundred military commanders.

Fourth, another brutal, authoritarian finger in America’s eye:

Iranian authorities are charging The Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, with espionage and three other serious crimes, including “collaborating with hostile governments” and “propaganda against the establishment,” according to his lawyer in Tehran. Providing the first description of the precise charges against Rezaian since his arrest nine months ago, the lawyer said that an indictment alleges Rezaian gathered information “about internal and foreign policy” and provided it to “individuals with hostile intent.” The statement, issued from Tehran by Rezaian’s attorney, Leila Ahsan, was provided to The Post by the family of the imprisoned reporter.

Fifth, capitulation:

President Barack Obama on Friday left open the door to “creative negotiations” in response to Iran’s demand that punishing sanctions be immediately lifted as part of a nuclear deal, even though the initial agreement calls for the penalties to be removed over time. Asked at a White House news conference whether he would definitively rule out lifting sanctions at once as part of a final deal aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, Obama said he didn’t want to get ahead of negotiators in how to work through the potential sticking point. He said his main concern is making sure that if Iran violates an agreement, sanctions can quickly be reinstated — the so-called “snap back” provision.

Recall the logistical hurdles to “snap back” sanctions, which would likely require the blessing of countries like China (currently building an oil pipeline with Iran) and/or Russia (selling Iran an advanced weapons system). Also recall Obama’s assertion that the sanctions haven’t worked, making their potential reintroduction a rather toothless consequence for Iranian malfeasance. The Wall Street Journal’s editors are justifiably concerned that Obama is willing to cut virtually any deal with Tehran at this stage:

Give Ayatollah Ali Khamenei credit for knowing his opposition. Two weeks ago the Supreme Leader declared that Western sanctions had to be lifted immediately as a condition of a nuclear deal. And sure enough, on Friday President Obama said Iran would get significant sanctions relief immediately upon signing a deal. The Ayatollah knows that Mr. Obama wants an agreement with Iran so much that there’s almost no concession the President won’t make. So why not keep asking for more? Keep in mind that the talks began with the U.S. and its European partners demanding that Iran dismantle its nuclear program. But to persuade the Ayatollah to accept the recent “framework” accord, Mr. Obama has already conceded that Iran can keep enriching uranium, that it can maintain 5,060 centrifuges to do the enriching, that its enriched-uranium stockpiles can stay inside Iran, that the once-concealed facilities at Fordow and Arak can stay open (albeit in altered form), and that Iran can continue doing research on advanced centrifuges. All of these concessions are contrary to previous U.S. positions, and we’re no doubt missing a few. But none of that was enough for the Ayatollah, who quickly asserted two new deal-breaking objections: immediate sanctions relief, and no inspections under any circumstances of Iran’s military sites…These latest events reinforce a conclusion that the Iranian talks are heading toward a deal that confers Western blessing on Iran as a nuclear-threshold state. Tehran will retain the facilities and means to develop a bomb at the moment of its choosing. The main question now is how many more concessions the Ayatollah will squeeze from a U.S. President he believes is desperate for a deal.

Setting aside those two deal-breaker demands from Iran and the enormous concessions already made, President Obama has all but admitted that the regime could follow the deal’s terms to the letter, and still emerge as a nuclear threshold state as soon as Western-imposed restrictions begin to expire in 13 years. In what possible sense is any of this acceptable? Flashback:

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International Politics

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A Newcomer to Populism? Hillary Clinton Campaign Begs to Differ

By AMY CHOZICK, April 21, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/us/politics/hillary-clintons-quest-to-prove-her-populist-edge-is-as-strong-as-elizabeth-warrens.html?referrer=&_r=1

: Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Keene, N.H., on Monday, spoke with David Stabler, president of Whitney Brothers, a manufacturer of children’s furniture. Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist for The New York Times

CLAREMONT, N.H. — In her first week as a 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed to channel another high-profile Democrat. “The deck is stacked in their favor,” Mrs. Clinton said of the wealthy and powerful. “My job is to reshuffle the cards.” The line echoed a phrase that helped make Senator Elizabeth Warren the populist icon of her party. “The game is rigged,” Ms. Warren often says. “Rigged to work for those who have money and power.”

Before that there was Mrs. Clinton’s tribute to Ms. Warren in Time magazine. “She never hesitates to hold powerful people’s feet to the fire,” Mrs. Clinton wrote in the issue honoring the top 100 influential people.

For anyone who wondered what kind of economic message Mrs. Clinton would deliver in her campaign, the first few days made it clear: She is embracing the ideas trumpeted by Ms. Warren and the populist movement — that the wealthy have been benefiting disproportionately from the economy, while the middle class and the poor have been left behind. And the policies Mrs. Clinton is advancing, like paid sick leave for employees and an increase in the minimum wage, align with that emphasis.

But now, the former secretary of state must convince voters that she is the right messenger for the cause of inequality, not simply seizing on it out of political expedience. Nothing stings her inner circle more than the suggestion that their candidate is late to these issues. Mrs. Clinton was the original Elizabeth Warren, her advisers say, a populist fighter who for decades has been an advocate for families and children; only now have the party and primary voters caught up. “I don’t know why we have this semicollective amnesia about her past positions,” said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and Mrs. Clinton’s policy director in 2008. “She’s following no one on these issues.”

But affirming Mrs. Clinton’s sincerity as a populist, especially given her reputation for caution and careful consideration of political moves, is proving an uphill battle. The assessment by Bloomberg Politics after Mrs. Clinton’s first campaign stops was that she is “terrified of the left.”

: Senator Elizabeth Warren, left, and Hillary Rodham Clinton at a hearing for John Kerry’s confirmation as secretary of state in 2013. Christopher Gregory / The New York Times

It is easy to forget that for years, Mrs. Clinton weathered criticism that she was too liberal, the socialist foil to her husband’s centrist agenda. Economists in the Clinton administration referred to the first lady and her aides as “the Bolsheviks.” In Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, she positioned herself as the populist candidate to the left of Barack Obama on several economic issues, angering some of her Wall Street donors and earning broad support among organized labor and working-class voters.

Advisers have lists at the ready outlining Mrs. Clinton’s calls as early as 2007 to eliminate the so-called carried interest loophole, roll back the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, impose tighter regulations on derivatives and place limits on chief executives’ compensation. “Let’s finally do something about the growing inequality that is tearing our country apart,” Mrs. Clinton said during her campaign, appearing at the Take Back America conference, a gathering of liberal groups, in June 2007. “The top 1 percent of our households hold 22 percent of our nation’s wealth. Enough with corporate welfare. Enough with golden parachutes. And enough with the tax incentives for companies to shift jobs overseas.”

A 16-page dossier, titled “Hillary Clinton: A Lifetime Champion of Income Opportunity” and assembled by a close friend and adviser to Mrs. Clinton, calls Ms. Warren a “footnote.” The document, provided to The New York Times, presents 40 instances in which Mrs. Clinton took the same stance as Ms. Warren on issues — from organized labor to tax increases on the wealthy — in some cases years before the senator’s ascent in the national spotlight.

But that was then and this is now, when everything Mrs. Clinton does will be viewed through the lens of a party under the influence of Ms. Warren and her blistering critique of the financial sector.

Robert B. Reich, a secretary of labor during the Clinton administration who has advised Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, said the comparison with Ms. Warren “personalizes it far too much.” … “This is a broad-based movement to take back our democracy and make the economy work for everybody instead of a small group at the top,” he said.

For seven years, Mrs. Clinton has been out of domestic policy, and in that time the populist movement caught fire. In the years Mrs. Clinton served as secretary of state and since she left the State Department in early 2013, she has become more associated with the centrist policies of the Bill Clinton years than with policies of raising taxes on the wealthy and increasing government services that have become widely adopted on the left. “This perception comes because she wasn’t involved in the discussion for so long,” Anita Dunn, a Democratic strategist, said of Mrs. Clinton. Because, she added, in the White House “she had this reputation as being the very left-wing, liberal, Elizabeth Warren type.”

During the same period when Mrs. Clinton was absent from domestic debates, the policies of the Bill Clinton years have been recast. In her 2008 campaign, Mrs. Clinton touted the prosperity of the 1990s. Today, the trade deals, Wall Street deregulation, and deficit reduction Mr. Clinton oversaw are often blamed as contributing to the current divide between a tiny sliver of the wealthiest and the vast majority of Americans.

“I remember when Bill Clinton was running in 1992 and his line was ‘putting people first,’” said Dean Baker, an economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “He just didn’t follow through on that,” and instead emphasized deficit reduction and trade deals, he added.

On Friday, Mrs. Clinton subtly distanced herself from the trade policies associated with the 1990s. In response to a trade agreement reached Thursday by Republican and Democratic leaders, her spokesman, Nick Merrill, said Mrs. Clinton believes that any trade deal should protect American workers, raise wages and create jobs in the United States. “The goal is greater prosperity and security for American families, not trade for trade’s sake,” Mr. Merrill said in a statement.

Mrs. Clinton will begin to present more specific policy proposals next month. In the meantime, she has expressed support for an increase in the minimum wage, paid family medical leave and closing corporate tax loopholes.

In a meeting with economists this year, Mrs. Clinton intensely studied a chart that showed income inequality in the United States. The graph charted how real wages, adjusted for inflation, had increased exponentially for the wealthiest Americans, making the bar so steep it hardly fit on the chart. Mrs. Clinton pointed at the top category and said the economy required a “toppling” of the wealthiest 1 percent, according to several people who were briefed on Mrs. Clinton’s policy discussions but could not discuss private conversations for attribution.

Still, Mrs. Clinton will pitch that “toppling” with a very different style than Ms. Warren, a bankruptcy expert whose populist message has been laser-focused on holding Wall Street accountable. Mrs. Clinton will present proposals for changes in the tax code as a way of also investing in education, infrastructure and communities.

Mrs. Clinton “wakes up asking how she can accomplish real things for families, not who she can attack,” said Gene B. Sperling, an economic adviser in the Clinton and Obama administrations. He added, “When she shows that fighting populist edge, it is for a purpose.”

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Political

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Watch: Reporter Gets Fed Up With State Dept. Spokeswoman During Press Conference and Calls Her Out

Apr. 20, 2015, Pete Kasperowicz

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/20/watch-state-dept-spokeswoman-dodges-questions-from-frustrated-reporters-three-times-in-21-minutes/

The first incident happened when one reporter asked Harf how State is able to stop Iran’s destabilizing behavior in other Middle East countries without engaging with Iran on this issue. Harf said State has sanctions and other tools, but said she agrees with the reporter that “it’s a challenge.” (Watch below)

http://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c4534937“> v01

When the reporter protested that he never said it’s a challenge, and implied Harf was dodging his real question, Harf interrupted:

“You don’t think it’s a challenge?”

The exasperated reporter replied, “I’m not here to answer your questions, I’m here to try to get answers to mine.”

Tensions rose again after reporters started asking Harf to confirm whether reports are true that Iran could gain immediate access to as much as $50 billion in frozen assets once the final Iran nuclear deal is signed.

Harf initially said, “that’s not true,” and stressed that all forms of “sanctions relief” would not take effect until Iran fully implements its nuclear commitments under the deal. That goes against a Wall Street Journal report, which said Iran would get access to billions right from the start, once the deal is signed.

When asked if it could be possible that Iran might be able to receive any money once the deal is signed, she dodged by saying it’s a hypothetical that seemed unlikely. But after several questions, she was finally asked whether Iran would get any sort of “signing bonus” just for agreeing to the final deal. Harf seemed to indicate she didn’t actually know, and said she would have to check.

“I’m happy to check again with our team and take another look at the story,” she said.

“Because that is a different thing…” the reporter started.

“I just said I’m happy to look into it,” she shot back. “I understand very well, Matt, the frozen assets that are out there. I think we’re going to move on.”

Near the end of the briefing, Harf was asked about reports that a contract interpreter for the department had been charged with bilking the department out of thousands of dollars. According to Claims Journal, Bersabed Boling, a Spanish-language interpreter, was charged with theft for claiming car mileage and “patient appointments that never happened.”

But Harf refused to say whether the department has opened any investigation into the matter, and declined to answer any other questions.

“For any additional questions on this, I’d refer you to the FBI,” Harf said.

“The FBI is referring us back to State however,” the reporter asked.

“Well, I’m referring you back to them,” she said.

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Perspectives; Thoughts; Comments; Opinions; Discussions

Archive for April, 2015

By: Anne Reed, Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2015

“…it is growing more and more evident that “sharing the gospel” and “getting involved in politics” are not just loosely intertwined, but soldered together.”

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Reported by Tony Perkins, on 30 April, 2015

Translation: If churches, religious groups, schools, or nonprofits won’t surrender their beliefs on marriage, the government will make it hurt. A lot.

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Huckabee: SCOTUS ‘cannot overrule God’

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Out With The Old

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Occasionally we need to be reminded of some facts. Pictures are still a powerful tool to bring arguments to focus. Here are just a few.

Jerry Broussard of WhatDidYouSay.org

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By Kevin D. Williamson — April 28, 2015

Keep voting for the same thing, keep getting the same thing.

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Reported by Kelsey Harkness / @kelseyjharkness / April 28, 2015

Exclusive: Bakers Facing $135K Fine Over Wedding Cake for Same-Sex Couple Speak Out

Moving Out

The Legal Fallout

>>> After Receiving Over $100K in Donations, Bakers Crowdfunding Page Shut Down

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Troubled Waters

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Posted on April 28, 2015

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By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times – Monday, April 27, 2015

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Jamie Jackson / @JamiePressDC / April 28, 2015

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By Khalil AlHajal MLive.com on April 28, 2015, updated April 28, 2015

Update: Supreme Court justices press gay rights lawyer early in highly anticipated marriage arguments

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If Hillary Were a Republican

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By Vicki Needham and Mike Lillis – 04/27/15

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Posted On26 Apr 2015, By :Instigator News Network

We’re not talking about six species of fish here. We are talking about SIX fish in total…

Stockton

Lathrop

Ripon

Escalon

Tracy

Santa Barbara

That’s about 5 BILLION gallons of water! Are you as flabbergasted as I am about this and I don’t even live in California? But I have friends and family who do. I still care about that state.

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Posted by Norvell Rose April 27, 2015

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Posted on April 27, 2015

“Do you believe being gay is strictly genetic?”

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Posted by Matt Barber, on 25 April, 2015

In other words, under this new legislation churches and religious schools will be forced, under penalty of law, to deny the Christian sexual ethic and, instead, promote, encourage and condone homosexual behavior and other pagan sexual immorality.

So much for “human rights.”

Right, it’s called the Gospel, Jeffrey. It’s the only hope that either you or any of us has.

Sound familiar? Such hubristic elitism is so 1939. It was similarly “faith-deranged,” “unwashed crazies” in Germany who, at that time, were numerically branded “unfit for civilized company.” Shall we Christians be fitted with yellow crosses, Herr Tayler?

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