It’s become a stretch to call Chief Justice John Roberts a conservative justice, or even a consistent one. On Thursday, Roberts rejected a plea by the State of Michigan and 20 other states to block the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s new air pollution rules.
The states reasoned that the EPA should be blocked from enforcing regulations on power plants because the Supreme Court ruled last June in Michigan v. EPA that the rule was illegal. In that original ruling, the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority, “[The] EPA strayed well beyond the bounds of reasonable interpretation in concluding that cost is not a factor relevant to the appropriateness of regulating power plants.”
But despite those strong words issued less than a year ago, Roberts denied the states' petition.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Monday, March 07, 2016
Ryan: Obama ‘Not Ready’ to Say ISIS is Committing Crimes Against Humanity – ‘We Are'
(CNSNews.com) - Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) praised the Foreign Affairs Committee for passing a resolution declaring that ISIS/ISIL is committing genocide.
“In Syria and Iraq Christians are being executed. Churches and holy sites are being destroyed. Children are being enslaved. The Obama administration is still not ready to say that ISIS and the Assad regime are committing crimes against humanity. We are,” Ryan said at a press conference Thursday.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday declaring actions perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) “constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”
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“In Syria and Iraq Christians are being executed. Churches and holy sites are being destroyed. Children are being enslaved. The Obama administration is still not ready to say that ISIS and the Assad regime are committing crimes against humanity. We are,” Ryan said at a press conference Thursday.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday declaring actions perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) “constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”
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Alaska Senate bans Planned Parenthood from schools
JUNEAU, Alaska – The Alaska Senate officially approved legislation today to ban abortion service providers from teaching sex education in schools, and the measure now moves to the state House.
Sen. Mike Dunleavy introduced Senate Bill 89 to make it a requirement for schools to obtain parents’ permission to educate their children about sex, and give parents the explicit authority to opt their children out of sex ed lessons, standardized testing or other programs, KDLG reports.
Language in the bill also prevents public schools from using educational materials or support from abortion service providers like Planned Parenthood, which instructs over 2,000 students in Alaska each year, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii spokesman Erik Houser told the Associated Press.
The bill passed the Senate on Friday in an 11-7 vote, which was reaffirmed in a 12-7 vote Monday, according to the AP.
Planned Parenthood, meanwhile, seems to be hinting at a potential legal challenge.
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Sen. Mike Dunleavy introduced Senate Bill 89 to make it a requirement for schools to obtain parents’ permission to educate their children about sex, and give parents the explicit authority to opt their children out of sex ed lessons, standardized testing or other programs, KDLG reports.
Language in the bill also prevents public schools from using educational materials or support from abortion service providers like Planned Parenthood, which instructs over 2,000 students in Alaska each year, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii spokesman Erik Houser told the Associated Press.
The bill passed the Senate on Friday in an 11-7 vote, which was reaffirmed in a 12-7 vote Monday, according to the AP.
Planned Parenthood, meanwhile, seems to be hinting at a potential legal challenge.
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House Oversight Committee endorses Obama’s pick for OPM chief
The top lawmakers in the House Oversight Committee asked the Senate Thursday to approve Beth Cobert, President Obama’s pick for director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Chairman Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican, and ranking member Elijah Cummings, Maryland Democrat, said in a letter to Senate leaders this week that they approve of the president’s decision to have Ms. Cobert run the OPM, the federal office that manages civil services for the U.S. government.
“She is a qualified and competent choice to manage OPM, which is in need of strong leadership, and we urge the Senate to approve her nomination swiftly,” the committee members wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat.
Ms. Cobert was appointed as acting director of the OPM in July when the head of the agency, Katherine Archuleta, resigned amid revelations that hackers had compromised more than 20 million personal records of past and current government workers during her tenure.
Mr. Obama nominated Ms. Cobert as the full-time replacement in November, and her interim performance has been praised by OPM Inspector General Patrick McFarland.
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Chairman Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican, and ranking member Elijah Cummings, Maryland Democrat, said in a letter to Senate leaders this week that they approve of the president’s decision to have Ms. Cobert run the OPM, the federal office that manages civil services for the U.S. government.
“She is a qualified and competent choice to manage OPM, which is in need of strong leadership, and we urge the Senate to approve her nomination swiftly,” the committee members wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat.
Ms. Cobert was appointed as acting director of the OPM in July when the head of the agency, Katherine Archuleta, resigned amid revelations that hackers had compromised more than 20 million personal records of past and current government workers during her tenure.
Mr. Obama nominated Ms. Cobert as the full-time replacement in November, and her interim performance has been praised by OPM Inspector General Patrick McFarland.
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Cruz Sells Yoga Mats Urging Trump to 'Breathe'
US Republican presidential candidates have found a rare moment of levity in yoga, but don't expect to see them practicing their stretches together anytime soon.
Voters can, however, buy a yoga mat from Ted Cruz.
Cruz tweeted Friday that his campaign website was selling the mats, following a Thursday debate between the four remaining Republican candidates, in which yoga took center stage.
During the forum, Cruz tore into rival Donald Trump admonishing him to calm down and "breathe, breathe, breathe."
"I am Ted," Trump shot back, as Cruz taunted him again: "You can do it. You can breathe. I know it's hard."
The "Cruz 2016 'Breathe' yoga mat," as the item is called online, is available alongside caps, coffee mugs and baby clothes for sale on the Texas senator's campaign website.
It is emblazoned with the words "Cruz" and "2016."
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Voters can, however, buy a yoga mat from Ted Cruz.
Cruz tweeted Friday that his campaign website was selling the mats, following a Thursday debate between the four remaining Republican candidates, in which yoga took center stage.
During the forum, Cruz tore into rival Donald Trump admonishing him to calm down and "breathe, breathe, breathe."
"I am Ted," Trump shot back, as Cruz taunted him again: "You can do it. You can breathe. I know it's hard."
The "Cruz 2016 'Breathe' yoga mat," as the item is called online, is available alongside caps, coffee mugs and baby clothes for sale on the Texas senator's campaign website.
It is emblazoned with the words "Cruz" and "2016."
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US Sending B-52 Bombers to ISIS Fight
The B-52 Stratofortress will start its first bombing campaign against ISIS in April, the Air Force Times reports. It's not clear how many B-52s or airmen will be involved.
Officials say the aircraft will replace nuclear-capable B-1 Lancers hitting ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria.
The Lancers returned to home bases in the U.S. in January.
More here
Cruz: Media Sitting on Bombshells About Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) said on Sunday that the media is sitting on explosive negative information about front-runner Donald Trump with plans to run it later in the year to tear the candidate apart.
"I think an awful lot of reporters — I can't tell you how many media outlets I hear, you know, have this great exposé on Donald, on different aspects of his business dealings or his past, but they said, 'You know what? We're going to hold it to June or July,'" Cruz said on CBS's "Face The Nation" Sunday.
"We're not going to run it now."
Cruz said the media has given the front-runner "hundreds of millions of dollars of free advertising." Every press conference Trump has is shown on every television station, he said, noting the media helped create this "phenomenon."
"And all of the attacks on Donald that the media is not talking about now, you'd better believe come September, October, November — if he were the nominee — every day on the nightly news would be taking Donald apart," he said.
Cruz called out the media, saying one of the reasons they want Trump to be the eventual nominee is because they know he can't beat Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
More here
"I think an awful lot of reporters — I can't tell you how many media outlets I hear, you know, have this great exposé on Donald, on different aspects of his business dealings or his past, but they said, 'You know what? We're going to hold it to June or July,'" Cruz said on CBS's "Face The Nation" Sunday.
"We're not going to run it now."
Cruz said the media has given the front-runner "hundreds of millions of dollars of free advertising." Every press conference Trump has is shown on every television station, he said, noting the media helped create this "phenomenon."
"And all of the attacks on Donald that the media is not talking about now, you'd better believe come September, October, November — if he were the nominee — every day on the nightly news would be taking Donald apart," he said.
Cruz called out the media, saying one of the reasons they want Trump to be the eventual nominee is because they know he can't beat Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
More here
The Dangerous Connection Between the Middle East and Mexican Smugglers
Months after six Middle Eastern men who entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico were arrested in Arizona state authorities have uncovered an extensive money trail between the Middle East and Mexico. This includes more than a dozen wire transfers sent from the Middle East to known Mexican smugglers in at least two different regions of the Latin American nation, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
A report issued by the AG exposes the disturbing money trail between Mexico and terrorist nations in the Middle East as well as evidence of smuggling routes tying the region to America’s southern border. An excerpt of the AG’s findings was obtained by a local media outlet that published it this week. It states that the Mexican city of Tapachula, a known human smuggling hub located near the Guatemalan border in the state of Chiapas, was the top destination of Middle Eastern money transfers. Nogales, which is situated adjacent to the Arizona border, is the second destination, the investigation found. “Agents conducted a comprehensive geographic analysis of possible terrorist related transactions and/or money transfers involving human smuggling networks,” the state report says.
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Inside Aaron Schock’s fundraising: The Marco Rubio connection
A federal grand jury in Springfield investigating former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., is exploring his relationships with his very best donors.
And one example of the way Schock used his deep Illinois donor base to raise money and expand his influence was a lavish fundraiser in central Illinois last Aug. 19, marketed as “Aaron Schock’s Summer Sit Down 2014.”
The event’s “special guest” was Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who launched his presidential bid in April.
Rubio will be in Chicago on Tuesday for his first major Illinois fundraiser since announcing his White House run; it takes place at 11:30 a.m. at the Union League Club.
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And one example of the way Schock used his deep Illinois donor base to raise money and expand his influence was a lavish fundraiser in central Illinois last Aug. 19, marketed as “Aaron Schock’s Summer Sit Down 2014.”
The event’s “special guest” was Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who launched his presidential bid in April.
Rubio will be in Chicago on Tuesday for his first major Illinois fundraiser since announcing his White House run; it takes place at 11:30 a.m. at the Union League Club.
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Marco Rubio’s Ties to Sketchy Businesses, Drug Dealing and Ponzi Schemes
How Marco Rubio took $50,000 and voted to deregulate a sleazey businessman who cashed in on cocaine and AIDS
The GOP has been on a crazy bender for more than half a century, but even many party officials can see that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are too unhinged for the American people to swallow. Hence, Marco Rubio — who’s no genius but can appear on TV without terrifying a majority of the civilian population — was thrust forward in Iowa by GOP puppeteers as a last-gasp effort to save the party from flat out lunacy.
And it worked. Mr. Rubio finished third in Iowa with 23 percent of the vote, thereby prompting an outpouring of support from Wall Street. He was poised for takeoff in New Hampshire, but to his handlers’ horror he repeated his lines at a key debate like a terrified Bar Mitzvah boy practicing in front of the mirror before tripping on the stage stairs, and was mercilessly pillaged by then-candidate Chris Christie, who said, “There it is everybody. The 25-second memorized speech.”
But Mr. Rubio rebounded in South Carolina and came in second in Nevada, and at this point he’s pretty much the last of the chip-implanted Manchurian Candidates that the GOP establishment can use in their quest to derail Trump.There are just a few small problems.
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The GOP has been on a crazy bender for more than half a century, but even many party officials can see that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are too unhinged for the American people to swallow. Hence, Marco Rubio — who’s no genius but can appear on TV without terrifying a majority of the civilian population — was thrust forward in Iowa by GOP puppeteers as a last-gasp effort to save the party from flat out lunacy.
And it worked. Mr. Rubio finished third in Iowa with 23 percent of the vote, thereby prompting an outpouring of support from Wall Street. He was poised for takeoff in New Hampshire, but to his handlers’ horror he repeated his lines at a key debate like a terrified Bar Mitzvah boy practicing in front of the mirror before tripping on the stage stairs, and was mercilessly pillaged by then-candidate Chris Christie, who said, “There it is everybody. The 25-second memorized speech.”
But Mr. Rubio rebounded in South Carolina and came in second in Nevada, and at this point he’s pretty much the last of the chip-implanted Manchurian Candidates that the GOP establishment can use in their quest to derail Trump.There are just a few small problems.
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BREAKING: Billionaire Announces He's Ending His Presidential Bid
I’ve always been drawn to impossible challenges, and none today is greater or more important than ending the partisan war in Washington and making government work for the American people -- not lobbyists and campaign donors. Bringing about this change will require electing leaders who are more focused on getting results than winning re-election, who have experience building small businesses and creating jobs, who know how to balance budgets and manage large organizations, who aren’t beholden to special interests -- and who are honest with the public at every turn. I’m flattered that some think I could provide this kind of leadership.
But when I look at the data, it’s clear to me that if I entered the race, I could not win. I believe I could win a number of diverse states -- but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency.
In a three-way race, it’s unlikely any candidate would win a majority of electoral votes, and then the power to choose the president would be taken out of the hands of the American people and thrown to Congress. The fact is, even if I were to receive the most popular votes and the most electoral votes, victory would be highly unlikely, because most members of Congress would vote for their party’s nominee. Party loyalists in Congress -- not the American people or the Electoral College -- would determine the next president.
Source: AAN
Obituary for George Chevallier Jr.
George was a graduate of Goldey Beacom Business College and a past president of the Wicomico County Historical Society. He worked for over 28 years and retired in 2003 as a Purchasing Agent for Nanticoke Seafood. He was best known as the foremost historian for Salisbury.
He is survived by 2 sons, Michael Chevallier and his fiancée Dana Messick of Tyaskin, and Jason Chevallier of Salisbury; a step-son, Christopher Helms and his family of Bivalve; 2 granddaughters, Lillian and Olivia Chevallier; a sister, Barbara Bailey of Salisbury; and several nieces.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 11:00 am at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Parsons Cemetery in Salisbury.
The family would like to gratefully acknowledge the wonderful care and support given to Mr. Chevallier by Julia Chevallier, Ashley Lynch and Mary Perry.
Arrangements are in the care of Holloway Funeral Home, PA, 501 Snow Hill Road, Salisbury, MD 21804. Please GO HERE to express condolences to the family.
Rush on Trump
Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Sunday that there's a "much bigger upside than downside" in the Republican presidential candidacy of real estate developer Donald Trump."I think with the case of Trump, there’s a much bigger upside than downside," said Limbaugh while appearing on "Fox News Sunday."Limbaugh also said he believes that the divide between the Republican establishment and conservatives is “longer, broader, wider than I have ever seen it."
But Limbaugh said that despite its divisions, he thinks the Republican Party will eventually settle on a nominee who will be better than the Democratic candidate, regardless of whether it isHillary Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Source: AAN
Indiana Becomes 6th State to Call for Article V Convention of States
(CNSNews.com) -- Indiana became the sixth state to pass a resolution calling for an Article V Convention of States to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution that rein-in federal power.
Senate Joint Resolution 14, which was passed by the Indiana Senate on February 26, easily cleared the Indiana House Monday on a 61-36 vote.
The resolution is “limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints of the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.”
"We just passed $19 trillion in debt at the federal government level," said Indiana state Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle), who sponsored the bill. "It's time for us to get control of our federal government."
In accordance with Article V, Indiana’s application will remain open until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the states (34) pass similar or identical legislation.
So far, five other states – Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee – have passed Article V resolutions.
They were introduced in 37 states during the current session and have passed in at least one legislative chamber in Arizona, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, Mark Meckler, a leader of the Convention of States Project, told CNSNews.com on Tuesday.
More here
Senate Joint Resolution 14, which was passed by the Indiana Senate on February 26, easily cleared the Indiana House Monday on a 61-36 vote.
The resolution is “limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints of the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.”
"We just passed $19 trillion in debt at the federal government level," said Indiana state Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle), who sponsored the bill. "It's time for us to get control of our federal government."
In accordance with Article V, Indiana’s application will remain open until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the states (34) pass similar or identical legislation.
So far, five other states – Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee – have passed Article V resolutions.
They were introduced in 37 states during the current session and have passed in at least one legislative chamber in Arizona, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, Mark Meckler, a leader of the Convention of States Project, told CNSNews.com on Tuesday.
More here
The Establishment is AFRAID of Ted Cruz because he’s REALLY conservative! – Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh joined Chris Wallace to talk about the results of Cruz’s big Super Saturday election night.
Watch below:
Chris Wallace challenged Limbaugh on comparing Cruz to Reagan saying that he was more eager to “smooth around the edges” and bring in people. He also opined that Marco Rubio just doesn’t have a path to victory and says that it’s a result of the perception that he went into Congress on the Tea Party wave and betrayed the cause with the “Gang of Eight” attempt to implement a form of amnesty.
This is not the full interview – we’ll have it posted when it’s available, so go take a nap and then come back.
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Watch below:
Chris Wallace challenged Limbaugh on comparing Cruz to Reagan saying that he was more eager to “smooth around the edges” and bring in people. He also opined that Marco Rubio just doesn’t have a path to victory and says that it’s a result of the perception that he went into Congress on the Tea Party wave and betrayed the cause with the “Gang of Eight” attempt to implement a form of amnesty.
This is not the full interview – we’ll have it posted when it’s available, so go take a nap and then come back.
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US Admiral Proposes 4-Nation Effort to Safeguard Freedom of Navigation in Asian Waters
For the second time in ten days, a senior U.S. official has raised the prospect of joint U.S.-India naval patrols in a region where China’s expanding territorial and military ambitions have raised tensions, and this time the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific suggested widening the proposed cooperation to include Japan and Australia as well.
Addressing a geopolitics forum in New Delhi, U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris referred Wednesday to “quadrilateral” U.S.-India-Japan-Australia cooperation. A strategic dialogue initiative involving the four countries caused waves with Beijing when first attempted during the Bush administration in 2007.
Harris recalled that India, Japan and Australia last year held a first, high-level, three-way dialogue, which addressed topics including maritime security and “freedom of navigation patrols.”
“An idea to consider is perhaps expanding this trilateral to a quadrilateral venue between India-Japan-Australia and the United States,” he said. “We are all united in supporting the international rules-based order that has kept the peace and is essential to all of us.”
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Addressing a geopolitics forum in New Delhi, U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris referred Wednesday to “quadrilateral” U.S.-India-Japan-Australia cooperation. A strategic dialogue initiative involving the four countries caused waves with Beijing when first attempted during the Bush administration in 2007.
Harris recalled that India, Japan and Australia last year held a first, high-level, three-way dialogue, which addressed topics including maritime security and “freedom of navigation patrols.”
“An idea to consider is perhaps expanding this trilateral to a quadrilateral venue between India-Japan-Australia and the United States,” he said. “We are all united in supporting the international rules-based order that has kept the peace and is essential to all of us.”
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Ben Carson to Lead National Christian Voter Campaign
Ben Carson, who this week backed out of Thursday night's GOP debate after saying he did not see a "political path forward" following his low Super Tuesday primary results, will on Friday announce he's taking a new path forward as National Chairman of My Faith Votes, an organization formed to get out the Christian vote.
"Nothing is more important to me than my personal faith, and it is my faith that motivated me to be involved in the political process to begin with," Carson said in a statement on Friday, just hours before he was to take the stage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C.
However, while Carson stepped back from his campaign on Wednesday, he has not officially announced its end, but that announcement will likely come in his CPAC address.
During his address, Carson is to announce his new role and his leadership in a movement that hopes to motivate the 25 million American Christian registered voters who did not cast ballots in the 2012 election to vote this year.
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"Nothing is more important to me than my personal faith, and it is my faith that motivated me to be involved in the political process to begin with," Carson said in a statement on Friday, just hours before he was to take the stage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C.
However, while Carson stepped back from his campaign on Wednesday, he has not officially announced its end, but that announcement will likely come in his CPAC address.
During his address, Carson is to announce his new role and his leadership in a movement that hopes to motivate the 25 million American Christian registered voters who did not cast ballots in the 2012 election to vote this year.
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Subject: Trump Taps Something That's Long Been Ignored
If Super Tuesday proved anything, it’s that a large number of American voters will, indeed, pull the lever for Donald Trump — and for valid reasons. No, we haven’t suddenly jumped on the Trump Train (and don’t expect us to any time soon), but it’s clear Trump has found a trigger point among many voters. And he’s hitting it with incredible consistency.
“My market is the people in the country who want to see America be great again,” Trump explained. “It’s very simple. That’s a lot of people. That’s not broken down by age, or race or anything.”
While it’s all too easy to judge Trump supporters by the candidate they follow, Trumpmania’s real appeal goes much deeper than political theater — and it’s worth understanding.
As much as we despise politics via class stratification, that’s where we must begin. For it’s working-class Americans — blue-collar, lacking political power and without friends in high places — who believe they have at last found an ally, an advocate, a voice in the man who proudly claimed to “love the poorly educated.”
In an astute explanation of “Trump’s America,” Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute writes of “the emergence of a new upper class and a new lower class and … the plight of the working class caught in between.” Populating the new upper class are the elites — politicians, professors, cultural icons, business moguls. They shape policy, wield power, and are heard simply by nature of their status.
The new lower class includes those “who have dropped out of some of the most basic institutions of American civic culture, especially work and marriage.”
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“My market is the people in the country who want to see America be great again,” Trump explained. “It’s very simple. That’s a lot of people. That’s not broken down by age, or race or anything.”
While it’s all too easy to judge Trump supporters by the candidate they follow, Trumpmania’s real appeal goes much deeper than political theater — and it’s worth understanding.
As much as we despise politics via class stratification, that’s where we must begin. For it’s working-class Americans — blue-collar, lacking political power and without friends in high places — who believe they have at last found an ally, an advocate, a voice in the man who proudly claimed to “love the poorly educated.”
In an astute explanation of “Trump’s America,” Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute writes of “the emergence of a new upper class and a new lower class and … the plight of the working class caught in between.” Populating the new upper class are the elites — politicians, professors, cultural icons, business moguls. They shape policy, wield power, and are heard simply by nature of their status.
The new lower class includes those “who have dropped out of some of the most basic institutions of American civic culture, especially work and marriage.”
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Marco Rubio haunted by allegations over Florida 'slush fund' and spending
As speaker of state House of Representatives, 2016 White House hopeful was accused of using conservative action committee dollars for private expenditure
It is an episode that Marco Rubio had hoped was long forgotten – a federal investigation and top-to-toe examination of the Florida GOP’s financial trickery at the end of the last decade that saw the state’s party chairman jailed for grand theft and money laundering and another senior Republican facing corruption charges.
Rubio, who was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009, emerged unscathed as agents from the US attorney’s office, Internal Revenue Service, FBI and the Florida department of law enforcement examined a number of senior party figures.
But now that he is running for president, and enjoying a popularity surge that placed him top of the crowded field of Republican White House hopefuls in last week’s CNN/ORC poll, questions over Rubio’s fiscal propriety appear to be coming back to haunt his campaign. Opponents will seize on his misuse of a party-issued credit card, and separate accusations that he treated hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations to two conservative action committees he established before he became speaker as a personal slush fund.
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It is an episode that Marco Rubio had hoped was long forgotten – a federal investigation and top-to-toe examination of the Florida GOP’s financial trickery at the end of the last decade that saw the state’s party chairman jailed for grand theft and money laundering and another senior Republican facing corruption charges.
Rubio, who was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009, emerged unscathed as agents from the US attorney’s office, Internal Revenue Service, FBI and the Florida department of law enforcement examined a number of senior party figures.
But now that he is running for president, and enjoying a popularity surge that placed him top of the crowded field of Republican White House hopefuls in last week’s CNN/ORC poll, questions over Rubio’s fiscal propriety appear to be coming back to haunt his campaign. Opponents will seize on his misuse of a party-issued credit card, and separate accusations that he treated hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations to two conservative action committees he established before he became speaker as a personal slush fund.
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Subject: Priebus: Contested Convention Is Unlikely
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is disregarding the idea of a settling the GOP presidential nominee with a contested convention.
"I think the odds of a contested convention are very small. I've been saying that for a long time," Priebus said Friday during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
"It’s a strategy people can use, but look, I would suggest that it's better to win races and accumulate delegates.”
When pressed, Priebus estimated that there's an "85 or 90 percent" chance that a candidate garners enough delegates to clinch the nomination before the convention.
The statements came a day after 2012 nominee Mitt Romney called on voters to stop front-runner Donald Trump from getting the GOP nomination, warning he would damage the party.
More here
"I think the odds of a contested convention are very small. I've been saying that for a long time," Priebus said Friday during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
"It’s a strategy people can use, but look, I would suggest that it's better to win races and accumulate delegates.”
When pressed, Priebus estimated that there's an "85 or 90 percent" chance that a candidate garners enough delegates to clinch the nomination before the convention.
The statements came a day after 2012 nominee Mitt Romney called on voters to stop front-runner Donald Trump from getting the GOP nomination, warning he would damage the party.
More here
Marco Rubio: Poor Little Rich Boy Runs Into Real Estate Trouble
When it comes to sheer brazen corruption, chicanery and dishonesty there is one candidate who stands head and shoulders above everyone else and that is the right-wing Cuban-American and Tea Party darling Senator Marco Rubio of—naturally—the great State of Florida.
Mr. Rubio’s entire public image—the child of poor Cuban immigrants fleeing the repression of Castro’s Cuba who pulled himself up by his bootstraps and even now is a simple José Sixpack and family man—is less tethered to reality than The Wizard of Oz. For example, in his autobiography, An American Son: A Memoir, Mr. Rubio describes how he allegedly grew up poor and mowed the grass and walked dogs to make a bit of spare change. Technically this may be correct, but most poor kids don’t get paid by relatives heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and whose pets double as guard dogs for a drug cartel, as was the case with young Marco, a federal indictment shows. (See these articles for more on young Marco’s upbringing.)
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Cruz: Brokered convention would lead to voter 'revolt'
Ted Cruz poured cold water on the calls to stop GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump during a brokered convention, warning that there could be hell to pay with the grass roots if they believe their will is being disregarded.
"Any time you hear someone talking about a brokered convention, it is the Washington establishment in a fevered frenzy, they are really frustrated because all their chosen candidates, their golden children, the voters keep rejecting," Cruz said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
"So they seize on this plan of a brokered convention, and the D.C. power brokers will drop someone in who is exactly to the liking of the Washington establishment. If that would happen, we would have a manifest revolt on our hands all across this country."
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"Any time you hear someone talking about a brokered convention, it is the Washington establishment in a fevered frenzy, they are really frustrated because all their chosen candidates, their golden children, the voters keep rejecting," Cruz said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
"So they seize on this plan of a brokered convention, and the D.C. power brokers will drop someone in who is exactly to the liking of the Washington establishment. If that would happen, we would have a manifest revolt on our hands all across this country."
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Senator Marco Rubio DRUG SCANDAL Exposed!
According to a bombshell report, Rubio has a long history of corruption tied to his work as a lobbyist and Speaker of the Florida state legislature.
One of Rubio’s best friends and closest political supporters is Congressman David Rivera (R-FL), who is under investigation by the FBI.
Federal investigators have until next year to bring charges against Rivera about his ties to shady deals, including a $100,00 bribe from a gambling executive, and a secret transfer of $1 million from the corrupt dog track betting industry. These donations helped direct Rivera and Rubio’s votes in favor of well-connected families who wanted exclusive gambling rights.
But the most damaging part of the report details Rubio’s massive contributions from a criminal who is now in prison for helping launder drug money from South America:
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Cruz on Bringing Back Manufacturing Jobs: 'Get Rid of All the Taxes'
When asked "what specifically would you do to bring manufacturing jobs back to America," Sen. Ted Cruz called for less regulation and getting rid of "all the taxes."
First he criticized the "left-wing policy" that he said has "utterly decimated" a city like Detroit.
"You know, Henry Ford revolutionized automobile manufacturing and brought automobiles to the middle class. During World War II, Detroit provided -- funded the arsenals of democracy to help us win World War II.
"In the 1960s, Detroit was the Silicon Valley of America. It had a population of 2 million people, had the highest per capita income in the country. And then, for 50 years, left-wing Democrats have pursued destructive tax policies, weak crime policies, and have driven the citizens out.
"This city now has just 700,000 citizens. There are vacant homes, one after the other after the other. Crime has been rampant, and it is an outrage. And let me say to folks in the media: That is a story that the media ought to be telling over and over again, the destruction of left-wing policies and the millions who have hurt because of it."
Debate moderator Chris Wallace cut in: "I'll give you 30 seconds to try to answer my question. What specifically would you do to bring manufacturing jobs back to Detroit and to train the residents here to do those jobs?"
More here
First he criticized the "left-wing policy" that he said has "utterly decimated" a city like Detroit.
"You know, Henry Ford revolutionized automobile manufacturing and brought automobiles to the middle class. During World War II, Detroit provided -- funded the arsenals of democracy to help us win World War II.
"In the 1960s, Detroit was the Silicon Valley of America. It had a population of 2 million people, had the highest per capita income in the country. And then, for 50 years, left-wing Democrats have pursued destructive tax policies, weak crime policies, and have driven the citizens out.
"This city now has just 700,000 citizens. There are vacant homes, one after the other after the other. Crime has been rampant, and it is an outrage. And let me say to folks in the media: That is a story that the media ought to be telling over and over again, the destruction of left-wing policies and the millions who have hurt because of it."
Debate moderator Chris Wallace cut in: "I'll give you 30 seconds to try to answer my question. What specifically would you do to bring manufacturing jobs back to Detroit and to train the residents here to do those jobs?"
More here
Federal Appeals Court To Reconsider Maryland Gun Control Law
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court will reconsider a Maryland ban on semiautomatic high-capacity assault weapons.
The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/1Sp4U5Z) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit announced Friday that it’ll rehear a case involving the state’s 2013 ban, which prohibits the possession or sale of over 45 types of assault weapons. The law remains in effect.
A divided panel of the court cast doubt last month on the legality of Maryland’s ban, which was passed after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
The decision would have sent the gun control law back to a lower court for review, but instead a majority of eligible judges voted to revisit it this spring.
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The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/1Sp4U5Z) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit announced Friday that it’ll rehear a case involving the state’s 2013 ban, which prohibits the possession or sale of over 45 types of assault weapons. The law remains in effect.
A divided panel of the court cast doubt last month on the legality of Maryland’s ban, which was passed after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
The decision would have sent the gun control law back to a lower court for review, but instead a majority of eligible judges voted to revisit it this spring.
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Massive Sweden-Bound Haul Of Grenades And Automatic Weapons Seized
A Turkish citizen, a Swede and a man from Serbia have been arrested after a massive shipment of grenades and automatic weapons destined for Sweden was uncovered.
Grenade attacks linked to migrant gang warfare have become a familiar occurrence in parts of Nordic nation. There were 30 grenade explosion in Malmö in the first half of 2015, and 25 explosions in the city in 2014.
A car containing 59 hand grenades and five machine guns, along with ammunition and magazines, was intercepted at a customs check Slovenia this week. The weapons were concealed in various locations around the vehicle.
The principal suspect is a 32-year-old Serbian man, who was arrested along with a 25-year Swede and a 17-year-old who is a citizen of both Turkey and Finland.
The men have been charged with aggravated larceny and handling automatic weapons. The 25-year-old also stands charged with serious drug offences.
According to the prosecutor at the International Public Prosecution Office in Stockholm, the weapons offence are particularly serious and should be seen “as part of an operation that has taken place systematically, with the intention… and extensively.”
More
Grenade attacks linked to migrant gang warfare have become a familiar occurrence in parts of Nordic nation. There were 30 grenade explosion in Malmö in the first half of 2015, and 25 explosions in the city in 2014.
A car containing 59 hand grenades and five machine guns, along with ammunition and magazines, was intercepted at a customs check Slovenia this week. The weapons were concealed in various locations around the vehicle.
The principal suspect is a 32-year-old Serbian man, who was arrested along with a 25-year Swede and a 17-year-old who is a citizen of both Turkey and Finland.
The men have been charged with aggravated larceny and handling automatic weapons. The 25-year-old also stands charged with serious drug offences.
According to the prosecutor at the International Public Prosecution Office in Stockholm, the weapons offence are particularly serious and should be seen “as part of an operation that has taken place systematically, with the intention… and extensively.”
More
The Government is Funding Our Enemies- How You Can Stop it
The Obama administration cleared the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan last month. But Paul is invoking the obscure Arms Export Control Act of 1976 in a bid to shoot down the sale with a resolution of disapproval.
"Over the last few years we have seen that Pakistan is an uncertain ally when it comes to cooperating with the United States,” Paul said in a statement. “As I travel in Kentucky, I meet countless individuals who are struggling to survive in this economy, we have no business sending hundreds of millions of dollars overseas."
The last time the Senate voted on such a resolution, according to Paul’s aides, was in 1986, when then-Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) forced a roll call on banning sales of certain missiles and defense services to Saudi Arabia.
Is America Giving Immigrants Paid Tropical Vacations?
The Obama administration has tried hard to deter the crush of migrants arriving from Central America in recent years. It has pressed Mexico to crack down on migrants passing through its territory, while women and children who managed to cross the American border have been held in detention facilities.
Source: New York Times
Conservative Crackup?
The Founder of the Blaze is an enthusiastic supporter of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and he's opposed the nomination of New York billionaire Donald Trump from the beginning. But as the likelihood of a Trump candidacy has become more real, Beck has ratcheted up his rhetoric.
This week, he went too far:
During a monologue Friday about Donald Trump’s Thursday night debate performance, radio host Glenn Beck said that if he “had a knife, the stabbing just wouldn’t stop.”
Beck’s co-host, Stu Burguiere, told The Daily Caller Friday — after this article’s publication — that, despite the appearance of a threat against Trump, Beck was instead playfully threatening to murder his own co-host.
Beck began the segment by stating his amazement at how conservatives across the country aren’t up in arms over Trump’s debate behavior.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I was sitting in” Cruz or Rubio’s shoes, Beck stated. “I can’t say it that way. If I were on the stage, I would have said, ‘have you been listening to him tonight? Have you been listening to what I say about him? I believe these things.'”
At that point, Burguiere began to rib Beck for the “sitting in shoes” analogy.
Beck went on: “If I was close enough and had a knife, the stabbing just wouldn’t stop.”
We know that Beck has a flare for the dramatic, but this is a bridge too far.
Source: AAN
Former Dem Presidential Candidate Weighs In On Hillary and Trump
Co-host Willie Geist asked Webb if he would support Clinton for president.
“I’m not suppporting anybody right now,” Webb said. “No, I would not vote for Hillary Clinton.”
When asked if he would vote for Donald Trump, Webb said he was unsure who he would support.
Source: Washington Free Beacon
Delegate Carl Anderton On Week #8
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Trump on Immigration: 'There Always Has to Be Some Tug and Pull and Deal'
(CNSNews.com) - Donald Trump has portrayed himself as an immigration hardliner, but now he's showing flexibility on the issue. "I will say...in terms of immigration -- and almost anything else -- there always has to be some, you know, tug and pull and deal," Trump said on the Fox News debate stage Thursday night.
Trump also said "there is nothing wrong" with Sen. Marco Rubio's call to bring illegal immigration under control first, then see what the American people are willing to do about the 11 million aliens currently in the country.
Trump started his campaign by insisting he would deport the millions of illegal aliens in this country, allowing only the "good ones" to come back in. He also said he would build a big, beautiful wall on the southern border.
In response to debate moderator Megyn Kelly, Trump said he had a "very nice meeting" with the New York Times editorial board in January, some of which was off the record. "And I think being off the record is a very important thing. I think it's a very, very powerful thing," he said.
But some of what Trump said during off-the-record moments has leaked.
So Kelly asked Trump if he really is backing off his firm stance on immigration..
Trump also said "there is nothing wrong" with Sen. Marco Rubio's call to bring illegal immigration under control first, then see what the American people are willing to do about the 11 million aliens currently in the country.
Trump started his campaign by insisting he would deport the millions of illegal aliens in this country, allowing only the "good ones" to come back in. He also said he would build a big, beautiful wall on the southern border.
In response to debate moderator Megyn Kelly, Trump said he had a "very nice meeting" with the New York Times editorial board in January, some of which was off the record. "And I think being off the record is a very important thing. I think it's a very, very powerful thing," he said.
But some of what Trump said during off-the-record moments has leaked.
So Kelly asked Trump if he really is backing off his firm stance on immigration..
UMES, Wellness Farms team up over medical marijuana
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — The University of Maryland-Eastern Shore is teaming up with a company that wants a license to grow medical marijuana.
Some said the unique collaboration will help the school and the community, but others aren't so sure.
The only traffic light in downtown Princess Anne in Somerset County directs few vehicles. Unemployment is high and new business prospects are uncertain.
Asked how desperate the area is for jobs, Princess Anne resident Kimberly Schoolfield said, "I think pretty desperate. They need more. There are a lot of fast-food restaurants. That's all that's really around here."
"There's enough vacant buildings to hold a three-ring circus in. The two busiest places in town are the dispensary and the funeral home," said Van Muir, of Princess Anne.
The Somerset County director of economic development approached the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore with a unique proposition: The research arm of the school should partner with Wellness Farms, a medical marijuana grower who applied for a state license.
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Some said the unique collaboration will help the school and the community, but others aren't so sure.
The only traffic light in downtown Princess Anne in Somerset County directs few vehicles. Unemployment is high and new business prospects are uncertain.
Asked how desperate the area is for jobs, Princess Anne resident Kimberly Schoolfield said, "I think pretty desperate. They need more. There are a lot of fast-food restaurants. That's all that's really around here."
"There's enough vacant buildings to hold a three-ring circus in. The two busiest places in town are the dispensary and the funeral home," said Van Muir, of Princess Anne.
The Somerset County director of economic development approached the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore with a unique proposition: The research arm of the school should partner with Wellness Farms, a medical marijuana grower who applied for a state license.
More
Arizona Atty. Gen. Finds Money Trail Between Middle East, Mexican Smugglers
Months after six Middle Eastern men who entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico were arrested in Arizona state authorities have uncovered an extensive money trail between the Middle East and Mexico. This includes more than a dozen wire transfers sent from the Middle East to known Mexican smugglers in at least two different regions of the Latin American nation, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
A report issued by the AG exposes the disturbing money trail between Mexico and terrorist nations in the Middle East as well as evidence of smuggling routes tying the region to America’s southern border. An excerpt of the AG’s findings was obtained by a local media outlet that published it this week. It states that the Mexican city of Tapachula, a known human smuggling hub located near the Guatemalan border in the state of Chiapas, was the top destination of Middle Eastern money transfers. Nogales, which is situated adjacent to the Arizona border, is the second destination, the investigation found. “Agents conducted a comprehensive geographic analysis of possible terrorist related transactions and/or money transfers involving human smuggling networks,” the state report says.
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A report issued by the AG exposes the disturbing money trail between Mexico and terrorist nations in the Middle East as well as evidence of smuggling routes tying the region to America’s southern border. An excerpt of the AG’s findings was obtained by a local media outlet that published it this week. It states that the Mexican city of Tapachula, a known human smuggling hub located near the Guatemalan border in the state of Chiapas, was the top destination of Middle Eastern money transfers. Nogales, which is situated adjacent to the Arizona border, is the second destination, the investigation found. “Agents conducted a comprehensive geographic analysis of possible terrorist related transactions and/or money transfers involving human smuggling networks,” the state report says.
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Donald Trump Calls On Marco Rubio to Drop Out of GOP Race
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump celebrated a projected win in the Louisiana primary on Saturday night and called on Marco Rubio to drop out of the race.
"Marco Rubio had a very bad night," Trump said at a press conference Saturday night. "It's time now for him to drop out of the race."
Trump added, “I would love to take on Ted one on one. That would be so much fun."
The Republican frontrunner also unabashedly said, "So far, everyone who has attacked me has gone down."
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"Marco Rubio had a very bad night," Trump said at a press conference Saturday night. "It's time now for him to drop out of the race."
Trump added, “I would love to take on Ted one on one. That would be so much fun."
The Republican frontrunner also unabashedly said, "So far, everyone who has attacked me has gone down."
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Release of Clinton Documents Delayed After State Department Discovers ‘Thousands’ of Unsearched Records
The State Department’s recent discovery of thousands of unsearched records from Hillary Clinton’s tenure has delayed several public records lawsuits and could keep many of the documents out of the public sphere until next fall.
The watchdog groups Citizens United and Judicial Watch, which are suing the State Department for Clinton-related records, are two plaintiffs that have been affected by the discovery. The State Department said the new documents could take months to process, a time period that extends well beyond its court-ordered deadlines.
Citizens United said the State Department has yet to explain how the electronic files were overlooked for the past two years, raising questions about whether this was a stonewalling effort. The group is seeking records related to Clinton donors Gilbert Chagoury and Rajiv Fernando.
“With this 11th hour revelation, the State Department has missed its court-ordered deadline to finish the production of documents in this case,” said David N. Bossie, president of Citizens United. “These newly discovered records could impact document production in other Citizens United FOIA lawsuits as well as cases involving other plaintiffs.”
More here
The watchdog groups Citizens United and Judicial Watch, which are suing the State Department for Clinton-related records, are two plaintiffs that have been affected by the discovery. The State Department said the new documents could take months to process, a time period that extends well beyond its court-ordered deadlines.
Citizens United said the State Department has yet to explain how the electronic files were overlooked for the past two years, raising questions about whether this was a stonewalling effort. The group is seeking records related to Clinton donors Gilbert Chagoury and Rajiv Fernando.
“With this 11th hour revelation, the State Department has missed its court-ordered deadline to finish the production of documents in this case,” said David N. Bossie, president of Citizens United. “These newly discovered records could impact document production in other Citizens United FOIA lawsuits as well as cases involving other plaintiffs.”
More here
Bill Would Change Furniture-Buying Rules For Governors
ANNAPOLIS (AP) -- Maryland lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a bill that would prevent departing governors from buying furniture from the executive mansion at a discount.
The bipartisan measure is scheduled for a vote Friday in the House of Delegates.
The bill was filed after former Gov. Martin O'Malley and his wife paid nearly $10,000 before he left office last year for 54 pieces of furniture that initially cost taxpayers about $62,000 eight years earlier. The Maryland Department of General Services sold the furniture after the pieces were declared "junk."
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The bipartisan measure is scheduled for a vote Friday in the House of Delegates.
The bill was filed after former Gov. Martin O'Malley and his wife paid nearly $10,000 before he left office last year for 54 pieces of furniture that initially cost taxpayers about $62,000 eight years earlier. The Maryland Department of General Services sold the furniture after the pieces were declared "junk."
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Clinton Campaign Writes Checks to Planned Parenthood
Hillary Clinton paid Planned Parenthood thousands of dollars using campaign funds.
The Democratic frontrunner’s federal financial disclosures reveal that America’s top abortionist received four separate payments from the Clinton campaign. The payments were filed as reimbursements for “staff time” for volunteering and get out the vote efforts, as Clinton attempted to beat back the insurgent campaign of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in Iowa.
Clinton and Planned Parenthood did not return requests for comment about the specific nature of the payments.
Planned Parenthood performs more than 300,000 abortions annually and generates 40 percent of its annual revenues through the government. The billion-dollar organization receives about $500 million from taxpayers each year through Medicaid funds and other grants. It received a large funding bonus from foreign policy agencies overseen by Clinton during her tenure as secretary of state, collecting more than $100 million for overseas services to the USAID.
Planned Parenthood has been especially active during this campaign season. In January it made the unprecedented decision to endorse Clinton in the Democratic primary. The campaign began paying the group’s political arm shortly after the donation.It paid nearly $1,000 to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on Jan. 10 followed by payments of more than $500 on January 16, $1,000 on Jan. 22 and nearly $2,300 on Jan. 23. All told the campaign paid Planned Parenthood more than $4,800 in January.
Even before the official endorsement, Clinton received financial support from the organization, collecting more than $20,000 from executives and employees of the national organization and its regional affiliates—20 times more money than the rest of the presidential field combined.
More here
The Democratic frontrunner’s federal financial disclosures reveal that America’s top abortionist received four separate payments from the Clinton campaign. The payments were filed as reimbursements for “staff time” for volunteering and get out the vote efforts, as Clinton attempted to beat back the insurgent campaign of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in Iowa.
Clinton and Planned Parenthood did not return requests for comment about the specific nature of the payments.
Planned Parenthood performs more than 300,000 abortions annually and generates 40 percent of its annual revenues through the government. The billion-dollar organization receives about $500 million from taxpayers each year through Medicaid funds and other grants. It received a large funding bonus from foreign policy agencies overseen by Clinton during her tenure as secretary of state, collecting more than $100 million for overseas services to the USAID.
Planned Parenthood has been especially active during this campaign season. In January it made the unprecedented decision to endorse Clinton in the Democratic primary. The campaign began paying the group’s political arm shortly after the donation.It paid nearly $1,000 to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on Jan. 10 followed by payments of more than $500 on January 16, $1,000 on Jan. 22 and nearly $2,300 on Jan. 23. All told the campaign paid Planned Parenthood more than $4,800 in January.
Even before the official endorsement, Clinton received financial support from the organization, collecting more than $20,000 from executives and employees of the national organization and its regional affiliates—20 times more money than the rest of the presidential field combined.
More here
Don’t stop worrying about oil
This article appears in the February 29, 2016 issue of National Review.
Two years ago, in January 2014, oil traded around $100 per barrel. Today, oil trades around $30 per barrel, a level unvisited in over a decade, and consumers have been tanking up with $1.50-per-gallon gasoline.
The collapse in oil prices has come after a surge in U.S. production. This has led many to theorize that the U.S. has finally dislodged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from its position of dominance. Historically, the OPEC cartel has managed production to keep prices high, even when, as is happening today, a weaker global economy exerts downward pressure on them. Its apparent failure to do so at this moment has led some to forecast low energy prices as far as the eye can see. Accord ing to this line of reasoning, U.S. production will undercut any attempt by OPEC to raise prices, as American oil will flood the market and drive the price down when OPEC attempts to raise it.
As the nearby chart illustrates, such optimism is poorly grounded. To contextualize this most recent development in the oil market, we gathered data on oil production between 1965 and 2014 from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The data measure oil production in barrels produced per year. For each of the years, the chart shows the share of world oil produced by OPEC, the U.S., and the countries that were members of OPEC during the 1973 OPEC oil embargo (Algeria, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela).
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Two years ago, in January 2014, oil traded around $100 per barrel. Today, oil trades around $30 per barrel, a level unvisited in over a decade, and consumers have been tanking up with $1.50-per-gallon gasoline.
The collapse in oil prices has come after a surge in U.S. production. This has led many to theorize that the U.S. has finally dislodged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from its position of dominance. Historically, the OPEC cartel has managed production to keep prices high, even when, as is happening today, a weaker global economy exerts downward pressure on them. Its apparent failure to do so at this moment has led some to forecast low energy prices as far as the eye can see. Accord ing to this line of reasoning, U.S. production will undercut any attempt by OPEC to raise prices, as American oil will flood the market and drive the price down when OPEC attempts to raise it.
As the nearby chart illustrates, such optimism is poorly grounded. To contextualize this most recent development in the oil market, we gathered data on oil production between 1965 and 2014 from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The data measure oil production in barrels produced per year. For each of the years, the chart shows the share of world oil produced by OPEC, the U.S., and the countries that were members of OPEC during the 1973 OPEC oil embargo (Algeria, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela).
More
Homeschooling through High School mtg Mar. 7, Salisbury
When: Monday, March 7th at 7pm
Where: Salisbury Bible Fellowship 1500 Court Plaza Lane
If you currently homeschool and want to meet with other experienced parents, please join us.
If you are interested in possibly homeschooling your children and have questions, please join us.
Feel free to bring a friend or pass the invitation along to anyone interested!
Please RSVP if you are planning to attend to jnjseip@verizon.net.
Subject: Larry Hogan's Sister Passed Away
We send our deepest condolences to his family. It is impossible to comprehend the exceptional nature of this man’s personal triumph over these heavy and unrelenting challenges.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Saturday that his sister had died, the latest in a year of personal trials for the first-term governor diagnosed with cancer last June.
“My heart is broken,” Hogan said. “My only sister passed away this morning. Mary Theresa Lazarus was the best big sister anyone could ever ask for.”
Lazarus, 66, died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — a rare, degenerative, brain disorder that affects about 1 in 1 million people per year worldwide — according to Hogan spokesman Matt Clark.
Hogan said Lazarus was a married mother of three and grandmother of eight.
“I was always so proud of her,” the governor said. “She was a wonderful wife to her husband Bob, and an incredible mother of my niece Becky, my nephews Keith and Kevin and the greatest grandmother of her eight grandchildren.”
Please keep the family in your prayers. You may send condolences to Governor Larry Hogan, 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Saturday that his sister had died, the latest in a year of personal trials for the first-term governor diagnosed with cancer last June.
“My heart is broken,” Hogan said. “My only sister passed away this morning. Mary Theresa Lazarus was the best big sister anyone could ever ask for.”
Lazarus, 66, died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — a rare, degenerative, brain disorder that affects about 1 in 1 million people per year worldwide — according to Hogan spokesman Matt Clark.
Hogan said Lazarus was a married mother of three and grandmother of eight.
“I was always so proud of her,” the governor said. “She was a wonderful wife to her husband Bob, and an incredible mother of my niece Becky, my nephews Keith and Kevin and the greatest grandmother of her eight grandchildren.”
Please keep the family in your prayers. You may send condolences to Governor Larry Hogan, 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401.
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