» June 18th, 2013
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» June 18th, 2013
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» June 18th, 2013
House passes 20-week abortion ban
Caroline May
The “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” sponsored by Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks, passed by a margin of 228 to 196.
The White House has threatened to veto the legislation and the bill is not likely to be taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“Passage of today’s landmark bill marks the first time in history, in either chamber of the U.S. Congress, that affirmative protection has been extended to unborn children,” Franks said upon the bill’s passage. “It is my prayer that today also marks a day when America finally opens her eyes to the humanity of these little victims and the inhumanity of what is being done to them.”
The bill has been welcomed by pro-life advocates and rejected by the pro-choice community.
“Today, women led the vote and the lobbying on a monumental bill. After the Kermit Gosnell trial, the American people were horrified and demanded action and, today, the House answered by passing the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” Concerned Women for America president and CEO Penny Nance said.
“Gosnell was not an aberration, and we praise the legislators who acted to prevent future babies from the same fate. Now the battle moves to the Senate,” she added, in reference to the Philadelphia abortionist convicted of murder last month.
Upon passage of the bill, National Organization for Women president Terry O’Neill said NOW is “appalled” at the bill’s passage, adding that the GOP’s “war on women” is not over.
“No amount of softening rhetoric or moderate posturing will change the harsh reality that today’s GOP is out of step and out of touch when it comes to women,” she said. “We at NOW are not fooled, and neither are women voters.”
The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks nationwide. After Franks drew fire for a comment he made in committee, that cases of “rape resulting in pregnancy are very low,” a provision was inserted into the bill to make exceptions for rape and incest. The bill also includes an exception if the life of the mother is endangered.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/18/house-passes-20-week-abortion-ban/#ixzz2WcIMAsck
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» June 18th, 2013
Tea Party Patriots: ‘The largest Tea party protest since 2010 is tomorrow’
Conservative activists are planning to storm Capitol Hill on Wednesday for what they are predicting will be “the largest Tea
Party protest since 2010.”
The protest — drawing tea partiers like TV host Glenn Beck and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — is in response to the Internal Revenue Service’s recent admission that it has been specifically targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny.
The gathering on the West Lawn of the Capitol is being called the “Audit the IRS” Rally.
“At noon tomorrow, we are going to tell the world about how the IRS tried to crush the Tea Party movement,” organizers with the Tea Party Patriots organization said in an email to supporters.
“Thousands of volunteers will rally in the largest demonstration of Tea Party support since 2010.”
Others expected to appear at the rally include Republican senators like Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp are also on the schedule.
A number of representatives from local tea party groups who claim to have been unfairly targeted by the IRS are also expected to partake in the rally.
Groups like the Tea Party Patriots, which is organizing Wednesday’s rally, frequently sponsored similar protests in 2010, when the tea party movement was at its height.
Those sorts of rallies are not nearly as frequent anymore. But organizers are betting they can draw a crowd.
“We have been coordinating buses to the very last minute, and the plans for our stage and massive sound system are all set. We need to make sure these Washington cronies can hear us!” the organizers said.
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» June 18th, 2013
Marco Rubio endorses arming al-Qaeda in Syria
by Jason Pye
News broke last week that the Obama Administration decided further its involvement in the Syrian civil war by arming rebels fighting against Bashar Assad’s regime. The development was well-received by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ), two of Washington’s most hawkish politicians. But increasing our intervention in Syria remains a hot topic among conservatives, especially among two who may seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016.
This past weekend at the Faith Freedom Coalition’s conference in Washington, DC, two very distinict foreign policy agendas were put before conservatives. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took a skeptical approach to Syria, explaining that intervention there doesn’t serve America’s interests. And it would seem that Americans overwhelmingly agree with that sentiment.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) endorsed the idea of an active approach to foreign policy, though he didn’t mention Syria specifically. However, he didn’t skip around the issue during an appearance on This Week (emphasis mine):
During an exclusive interview on “This Week,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio criticized President Obama for not intervening sooner in Syria’s civil war, saying the inaction has led to the “worst possible scenario” in the war-torn country.
“It behooved us to kind of identify whether there was elements there within Syria fighting against Assad that we could work with, reasonable people that wouldn’t carry out human rights violations, and could be part of building a new Syria. We failed to do that. This president failed to do that,” Rubio told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
“The fact that it’s taken this White House and this president so long to get a clear and concise policy on Syria has left us with the worst possible scenario right now,” Rubio added.
“So now your options are quite limited. Now the strongest groups fighting against Assad, unfortunately, are al Qaeda-linked elements. That doesn’t mean that they all are, but it certainly — this group has become the most organized, the best armed, the best equipped. Our options are now really narrower than they were a few months ago,” he said.
As noted, furthering our involvement is a terrible idea. America has no interest in Syria and our involvement will do little more than help install a new government with ties to Islamic radicals who will be openly hostile to the United States. One need only look to Libya and the assault on the American outpost in Benghazi for a recent example of that.
Additionally, American taxpayers shouldn’t be funding a group that is identified as a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda. CNN reported yesterday that the situation may be more dire than Rubio and other realize (emphasis mine, once again)
Al Qaeda’s affiliate inside Syria is now the best-equipped arm of the terror group in existence today, according to informal assessments by U.S. and Middle East intelligence agencies, a private sector analyst directly familiar with the information told CNN.
Concern about the Syrian al Qaeda-affiliated group Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the al-Nusra Front, is at an all-time high, according to the analyst, with as many as 10,000 fighters and supporters inside Syria. The United States has designated al-Nusra Front as a terrorist group with links to al Qaeda in Iraq.
That assessment is shared by some Middle Eastern intelligence agencies that have long believed the United States is underestimating the Sunni-backed al Qaeda movement in the country, according to a Middle East source.
The situation is Syria is concerning, but it’s not worth getting ourselves involved in the affairs of another country when there is no real or immediate threat to the United States, nor is it worth arming a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda.
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» June 18th, 2013
Tea Party Group Announces Alternative Reform Plan to Senate Immigration Bill
More:
Yet another Tea Party group has come out publicly against the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill, as TheTeaParty.net has announced its opposition to the legislation and published online an alternative plan for immigration reform.
“The granting of citizenship is the most solemn honor this country can confer,” TheTeaParty.Net founder Todd Cefaratti said in a statement obtained by Breitbart News. “It is not something that ought to be used to score political points or to win the next election.”
“Before the American people extend this gift they must be assured that verifiable border security has preeminent priority. The Senate bill currently does not have it,” he explained. “Americans will not be bullied, intimidated and steamrolled into accepting this legislation.”
“We have proposed a conservative alternative at secureamericanow.us for which we will be rallying Congressional support in the coming days.”
The group said in its release it will be briefing members of Congress on the alternative immigration reform plan in the coming days and weeks.
TheTeaParty.Net’s chief strategist Niger Innis added that he thinks the “Senate amnesty bill is a non-starter.”
“But instead of just saying we’re against something, we have put forward eight principles that we believe are the necessary pillars of an America First Immigration alternative,” Innis said. “Over the coming days we will be meeting with conservative Senate and House members about getting them to support the plan.”
“We will not be bullied by a Harry Reid-Chuck Schumer agenda that undermines the Constitution by ramming through a bill that the American people do not support,” Innis promised. “The only way to stop a bully is to confront them.”
Many other Tea Party organizations, like Tea Party Patriots, have already announced their opposition to the Gang of Eight bill. More than 150 of them banded together in recent months to sign a letter sent to members of Congress announcing their ardent opposition to the legislation.
TheTeaParty.net did not sign that letter at the time and was fighting suggestions from the office of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) that it may support the legislation.
Politico previously erroneously claimed that TheTeaParty.net was among groups that had become an “ally” of the Gang of Eight. Politico later quietly edited the story after Breitbart News discovered the groups it claimed supported the bill had not expressed support for the legislation. Rather, the groups had me with Rubio’s team to get his take on the bill before they made a decision.
“We are going to hear him out, rather than rely on the liberal media interpretation of his legislation,” Innis told Breitbart News at the time. “Reports that we have agreed to support the Gang of Eight bill are utter make-believe.”
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» June 18th, 2013
Secret Service Invades Home Of Obama Critic Over Twitter Followers
Tom Francois was visited by the Secret Service merely because he posted anti-Obama messages for his “large” Twitter following to read.
Obama with secret service
By Tara Dodrill Off The Grid News June 17, 2013
I am sick and tired of looking out the window to see if Old Glory is still flying to reaffirm my shaky belief that I still reside in America. Francois never threatened the president; he simply lambasts and lampoons his actions, facial expressions, and unconstitutional policies. The most thin-skinned president in the history of the Republic has proven once again that he has nothing but disdain for the First Amendment.
The Secret Service agents arrived at the home of Tom Francois and asked if they could come inside and take a look around. Noting that he had nothing to hide and not wanting to see his things tossed about if the agents were forced to wait for a warrant, the avid political cartoon creator let the men inside. Francois maintains that while he loathes Barack Obama’s policies, he has never threatened his being in any way, shape, or form. I scanned hundreds of Francois’ tweets (which were the cited reasons for the Secret Service agents arriving on the blogger’s porch), and saw nothing violent—just the same angst felt by millions of Constitution-loving patriots.
Francois was reportedly told by the Secret Service agents that his large Twitter following was a concern. While Tom does have a sizeable number of followers, his numbers do not make him anywhere near a household name – perhaps that is what President Obama was trying to prevent.
The Secret Service agents asked Francois to sign an Authorization to Review Medical and Mental Health Records form after a search premises document was signed. Tom signed the forms simply to facilitate matters so future visits would not be necessary. While the decision was both pragmatic and understandable, an American citizen should not feel compelled to share their medical and mental health records with the government simply because they exercised their First Amendment rights in front of 11,692 Twitter followers.
While the blogger’s signature was still drying on the intrusive documents, he was asked if he ever left his home state or traveled to Washington, D.C. The next question will not come as a shocker considering the current political climate. Secret Service agents asked Tom Francois is he owned any guns. President Obama apparently does not like either the First Amendment or the Second Amendment, and would probably be thrilled if we could just throw out the entire Constitution. A multitude of liberals feel the text the greatest nation in the world was founded upon is merely an outdated document anyway, so why would a Socialist-leaning president even bother to follow the freedom-ensuring dictates?
According to Tom Francois, Secret Service agents asked him if he had any intentions of “whacking” President Obama. The political cartoonist had this to say in response and during an Examiner interview:
“Of course not. I wish him no harm. I disagree with his policies and actions and I make no bones about it. It’s my First Amendment right and I intend to exercise it. I flat out told them I have never threatened Obama’s life! Yes, I despise him as you can plainly see, but I have that right! They actually admitted and agreed with me that I hadn’t threatened Obama. Yes, I am extremely critical of Obama in my posts, but I never cross the line and threaten his being. Ever. It’s just the idea of Obama’s Secret Service intruding on my life when they knew I wasn’t really a threat.”
The FBI reportedly compiled a thick file comprised of screenshots of Tom Francois’ Twitter posts. The agents also wanted to see the gun which a background check had already revealed Tom owned. When asked if they were loaded, Francois gave the same answer that any gun owner would utter, “What good are guns if they aren’t loaded?”
According to Tom, the Secret Service had this to say when he asked about why he was being harassed:
“They were concerned that since I have a large Twitter following, the things I said could be acted upon by some nut case out there! What the hell? They turned my life upside down for that?”
Francois also maintains that one Secret Service agent told him to be mindful of his actions, that “stepping over the line” means they will be back for his guns. Despite how much I loathe everything President Obama stands for, I would agree that any person who threatens the life of the president deserves to be in jail and have their world turned upside down – but only when such a violent threat has been made. A sarcastic cartoon posted on Twitter does not even come close to reaching a warrantless search or gun confiscation warning threshold.
The consent to search form Secret Service agents presented to Tom Francois allowed the men to search his computers, software, hardware, cell phones, date storage, and recording devices. The NSA could have saved the president’s men some time and just handed over all of Francois’ communications, since they have a massive facility filled with nearly all the same information on every single American citizen.
The privacy intrusion and trampling on the First Amendment did not end at Tom’s home. The Secret Service agents also paid a visit to his 22-year-old daughter’s house. The young woman was reportedly terrified about, not just what was unfolding in front of her, but for the safety of her father. The political cartoonist’s daughter stated that the agents told her that all the information would be turned over to Eric Holder, because he has the final word on what to do—if anything.
Yes boys and girls, if you or any other Americans listen to or view your non-threatening anti-Obama sentiments, you too could have Secret Service agents pounding on your front door. I hate, literally hate, that President Obama’s actions and policies have forced me to write (on numerous occasions) articles which can cast dedicated heroes like the Secret Service and police officers in a negative light. These brave men and women should never be ordered to undertake unconstitutional endeavors which put them at odds with their oath and the American people. The land of the free is becoming a tyrannical police state under the watchful guidance of the Obama administration.
http://intellihub.com/2013/06/17/secret-service-invades-home-of-obama-critic-over-twitter-followers/
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» June 18th, 2013
Obama giving $155 million in humanitarian aid to Syrians
By Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the United States would boost humanitarian aid to Syria and urged other nations to do more to help the United Nations, which is struggling to assist some 4 million people in the war-torn country and more than 700,000 who have fled it.
Obama said he authorized an additional $155 million in aid for food, medical care and clothing for Syrians and refugees, bringing the U.S. total to $365 million. He issued a video statement on youtube.com with Arabic subtitles speaking directly to Syrians.
Obama has been criticized for not doing more to aid rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, even as the humanitarian cost of the conflict has skyrocketed and Western nations worry about the growing clout of Islamic militants among the rebels.
Obama has said he has wrestled with whether a U.S. military intervention in Syria’s 22-month-old civil war would help resolve the bloody conflict or make things worse. The United Nations said more than 60,000 people have died in the uprising.
On Tuesday, he said the aid would help bring food and clean water to Syrians. “It means immunizations for 1 million Syrian children,” Obama said in a statement. “American aid means winter supplies for more than half a million people in Aleppo, Homs and Dayr az Zawr.”
The United Nations has said it needs about $1 billion to help refugees and another $519 million to help people inside Syria but on Monday it had raised only 3 percent of that target.
“Today I also call on the international community to do more to help these Syrians in need and to contribute to the latest U.N. humanitarian appeal,” Obama said.
The United States is the largest single aid donor in the crisis but the assistance has been provided quietly, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
“It is a cruel fact that human aid providers and recipients are being deliberately targeted in Syria,” Carney told reporters. “Our priority is to get American aid to those who need it without endangering them or our humanitarian partners.”
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bill Trott)
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE90S0XD20130129?irpc=932
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» June 18th, 2013
Ted Cruz Set to Infuriate the Left With Immigration Bill Amendment
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Monday announced his intention to file another amendment to the so-called “gang of eight” immigration bill that is facing tough opposition from some GOP lawmakers.
“I’ll file amendment to immigration bill that permits states to require ID before registering voters & close this hole in [federal] statutory law,” Cruz wrote via his official Twitter account.
Cruz has consistently opposed the immigration bill, voting against its advancement in the Senate three times and has shown no signs of flipping on the legislation.
Cruz previously attempted to amend the bill to remove the path to citizenship provisions for illegal immigrants. As previously mentioned, the Texas Republican’s latest amendment would require states to require ID before registering voters.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states cannot require would-be voters to prove they are U.S. citizens before using a federal registration system designed to make voting easier. The justices voted 7-2 to throw out Arizona’s voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship in order to use a registration form produced under the federal “Motor Voter” voter registration law.
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» June 18th, 2013
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