MARC FABER: “I WILL VOTE FOR TRUMP, BECAUSE HILLARY WILL DESTROY THE WHOLE WORLD”

"Look at her nation building in the Middle East, how successful that has been"

Whenever Marc Faber appears in the financial media, in this case Bloomberg TV, one can expect the usual fire and brimstone sermon of how micromanagement of the global economy by central bankers will lead to disastrous results, something which we agree with wholeheartedly and as of two months ago, so did virtually every billionaire at Davos.

More

Kudlow: US Needs 'Tough Guy With Fangs' to Enforce Free-Trade Deals

Newsmax Finance Insider and renowned economist Larry Kudlow says the United States needs a "tough guy" to enforce free-trade agreements and keep other nations, such as China, from stealing American jobs.

“The World Trade Organization has no teeth. We need fangs,” he said. “We need a tough guy who will put some enforcement in there,” he told CNBC on Thursday.

“What you have to do here is enact an enforcement mechanism that will put sanctions on individual companies wherever they are, whether it's China or Mexico, if they are violating the rules — which they do,” Kudlow, a CNBC senior contributor, said.

More

NYC Teacher Fined $300 for Showing Students Beheading Video

A New York City middle school teacher was fined $300 for showing students a video of an Islamic State beheading, according to a published report.

The New York Post reports that Alexiss Nazario, a veteran teacher earning $105,000 a year, showed the video to eighth-graders at the South Bronx Academy for Applied Media during the 2014-2015 school year.

More

Conservative Leader: “The Will Of The People Is Crap”

Mike Huckabee says that “when voters make a decision, you suck it up and accept it.”

The former governor may not know this, but I’m a voter. And my decision is to oppose Donald Trump. So he can suck it up and accept it. This “will of the people” stuff does nothing for me as the will of the people is the very mob rule our founders worked hard to constrain.

Let me show you a few emails from people I’ve gotten in the past few days.

I used to take your message as gospel. however, you have ignored the will of the people and have spoken against trump in your unbiased reporting. please understand that you are dividing the people. please look at the positives. we are tired of the same ole rhetoric. we need a business man to balance the budget and create jobs. please be more impartial.

Then this.

Hearing of Eric Ericsson’s “closed doors” meeting to decide how to defeat DonaldTrump and invalidate the voting public’s right to elect their leadership by trying to figure out how to accomplish THE MACHINE’s goals, of which you are all too clearly a member…….bitterly disappointed.

Do not underestimate the will and power of the people……we are not a figurehead Communist country where we “vote” just to make us feel powerful but the leaders are chosen without public input. You are signing a death warrant to your validity and integrity as a news reporting agency…….and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Then there is this one.

As a staunch conservative I am deeply angered by your absolute arrogance.You seem to think that you get to override the will of the people and that you can decide the outcome of the republican convention. By the way, I’m not an advocate for Trump. Other candidates were definitely my preference. But for you to think that you know better then the people and to disregard the votes of the Americans to impose your will on us. You have some nerve. People like you are the problem.

More

Largest U.S. refinery now belongs to Saudi Arabia

Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco appear to be getting a divorce, breaking up their joint venture in U.S.-based refining assets.

The two companies joined together to create Motiva Enterprises LLC in 1998, a 50-50 joint venture that operated three refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. But Shell and Saudi Aramco have seen their interests head in different directions. "It is now time for the partners to pursue their independent downstream goals," said Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, a senior vice president of Saudi Aramco’s downstream unit.

More

HHS Idea Labs program awards $400,000 to ‘shark-tank’ survivors

While most agencies try to imitate advances in the private sector, the Department of Health and Human Services instead is emulating the process that fuels many recent innovations: startup accelerators.

A startup accelerator is a company that invests in businesses in their earliest stages, funding innovative ideas and offering mentorship to help them get off the ground.

The HHS Idea Lab, the agency’s internal startup accelerator, has two stages: the Ignite Accelerator and the Secretary’s Ventures. The Ignite Accelerator provides employees with funding and mentorship over 6 months to pitch, develop and demonstrate their innovation in a shark-tank-style process. The projects must improve their office, agency or department’s ability to function.

The Secretary’s Ventures is the second stage of the program, where a council made up of HHS leadership selects a limited number of teams who graduated from the Ignite Accelerator and provides increased funding, improved resources and an extended time frame to implement their project on a larger scale.

More

Senate companion bill for 5.3 percent pay raise gets union support

Support for a 5.3 percent pay raise for federal employees is now coming from both chambers of Congress.

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have co-sponsored a companion bill this week to the House’s proposal to boost President Barack Obama’s 1.6 percent raise.

“For too long, federal employees have been undervalued and underappreciated. Whenever deficit reduction comes up, their wages are the first to take a hit,” Mikulski said in a statement. “Federal workers need a real pay increase, not just catch-ups trying to make up for years of pay freezes and diet COLAs. The long overdue pay increase in the FAIR Act is exactly what federal workers in Maryland and around our country need. I’m proud to fight on the frontlines on behalf of federal employee pay, just as federal employees work on the frontlines each and every day for the American people.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and 32 other congressmen last month proposed the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act. The bill would account for a 3.9 percent raise overall and a 1.4 percent raise in lost locality pay. Connolly introduced a 3.8 percent federal pay raise under the same bill name one year ago, but it didn’t go far.

More

Three Presidents

What did Presidents Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower have in common?

This is something that should be of great interest for you to pass around. I didn't know of this until it was pointed out to me.....

Back during the great depression, Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed work.

Harry Truman deported over two million illegal aliens after WWII to create jobs for returning veterans.

In 1954 Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexicans. The program was called Operation Wetback. It was done so WWII and Korean War veterans would have a better chance at jobs. It took two years, but they deported them!

If you have doubts about the veracity of this information, confirm it for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback

Operation Wetback - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org Operation Wetback was an immigration law enforcement initiative created by Director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Joseph Swing in cooperation ...

Why, you might ask, can't they do this today?Actually the answer is quite simple. Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower were men of honor not looking for voters.

Reminder: Don't forget to pay your taxes – 20 million ILLEGAL aliens – are depending on it.

A Democrat and a Republican, on the Choices We Face

To the Editor:

I have been reading columnists of The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times as they all — in lock step — excoriate Donald Trump and, by implication, those who support him.

Out here in the hinterland, we evangelicals see things a little differently. We see folks like you as the Establishment. And while it is clear that you do not understand us, we do understand you. You think anyone who would vote for Mr. Trump isn’t very smart.

You scoff at religious-minded Trump supporters as hypocrites. After all, Mr. Trump has been married three times. He does not know that the second book of Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth is known as Second Corinthians, not “Two Corinthians.”

We know he is crass, often cruel and sometimes lacking in oratory refinements. We wish he weren’t so. But we marveled as we watched Mr. Trump demolish the primary tool that has allowed liberalism and secularism to control the debate for decades: political correctness.

Mr. Trump’s posturing, his crassness, his rudeness, his simplistic descriptions of international issues, his demeanor — we see it all. And yet we have decided to vote for him.

For all of Mr. Trump’s faults and sins and deficiencies, he won’t be the first president to have them. That is a basic tenet of Christianity — we know we are all deficient and sinful, and only God’s grace can heal us. We have faith that Mr. Trump will “seek the Lord” when confronted by the awesome duties of leading the greatest country in history.

We are desperate for a change in direction. And in future columns of The New York Times I will be looking for reasons that we should listen to you — part of the Establishment that got us into this mess.

C. ARNOLD McCLURE

Shirleysburg, Pa.

More

Prison-Industrial Complex Morphs Into Treatment-Industrial Complex

Nancy Reagan’s recent death was a reminder of the shallow moralizing of the Just Say No anti-drug campaign she once championed.

Thankfully, attitudes have changed. We’re more attuned to the fact that untreated mental health issues are often a precursor to drug use. Nancy’s slogan to fight peer pressure won’t help much there.


Most people realize that the War on Drugs, begun under Nixon, has failed.

And there’s growing public awareness that we’ve let our jails and prisons become warehouses for people who need treatment — and who needed it long before they took a criminal turn.

More

How To Break Out Of Your Autopilot Work Mentality

As humans, we tend to let ourselves fall into familiar routines – especially while working.

“Any sequence of mental action which has been frequently repeated tends to perpetuate itself,” wrote influential philosopher William James on habit.

Mona Patel, founder and CEO of the New York City firm Motivate Design (www.motivatedesign.com), has seen the many shades of the autopilot work mentality, from severe creative block to those who haven’t even realized they have a problem. Either way, it’s always worth asking whether there’s a better way, she says.

Patel, author of “Reframe: Shift the Way You Work, Innovate and Think,” offers steps that have helped awaken her many Fortune 500 clients.


• Step 1: If you’re stuck or not sure, ask “What if?” Are you treading water? What are your work goals that you haven’t yet achieved? Can you imagine a new way of achieving those goals? If you answer “I can’t,” then it’s time to reframe how you think. “I can’t” predetermines unaccomplished goals, but asking the question “What if?” is the first step to opening the door of possibility.
• Step 2: Start making the “What ifs?” real with your work team. Schedule a meeting and start with a silent warm-up ideation period of three minutes, and then write down as many “What if” ideas as possible. Let people come up with ideas at the same time and write them down, so more vocal people don’t have an advantage. Share the ideas with your team. Lather, rinse and repeat the process for more ideas.
• Step 3: Follow good response practices when ideas are shared. There are helpful guidelines when responding to a group. Saying “plus one” means you have a similar suggestion to one being shared. It streamlines the process and strengthens bonds between those with similar ideas. “Plus love” is a good way to express that you wish you came up with the idea. Hearing “plus love” on a crazy idea encourages you to come up with more crazy ideas and enables the group creatively. “I’m good” is a nicer and more positive way of saying “I don’t have any more ideas.”
• Step 4: Filter your ideas. How much do you love an idea? Does it solve a real need? Will the idea save money and is it feasible? You may have 50 ideas, which you’ll want to whittle down to a single digit. Refine the evaluation by asking how easy or difficult an idea would be to execute. Then consider the “wow” – meaning how much this would impact one’s life, or how much a client would like it.

“It’s one thing to offer a client fresh ideas, but it’s much better to teach them how to discover new ideas for themselves,” Patel say.

5 Steps To Building An Attractive Work Culture For Millennial Talent

As the economy takes a positive turn, a new concern is keeping employers awake at night: culture, including employee engagement and retention. The proof is in the data.

• Eighty-six percent of companies rate work culture a top priority, a 20-percent increase from last year, according toDeloitte.
• Ninety-five percent of job candidates believe culture is more important than compensation, according to Johns Hopkins University fellow Liz Pellet.
• Companies on Fortune’s Best Companies listing are also trending in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work and LinkedIn’s Most-In-Demand Employers.
• Only 32.5 percent of employees are engaged at work, according to Gallup.

“Culture makes the difference between organizations that are able to sustain themselves and those who will give way to their competitors,” says Debora McLaughlin, CEO of The Renegade Leader Coaching and Consulting Group (www.TheRenegadeLeader.com), and author of “The Renegade Leader, 9 Success Strategies Driven Leaders Use to Ignite People, Performance & Profits.”

“Many organizations are talking about culture, but few are aware of the perception of their current culture or how to change it.”

But what do we mean by a company’s culture?

Culture is the values, beliefs and behaviors that give meaning to an organization, McLaughlin says. It provides the filter through which people make decisions, how they work and interact with others. Culture is communicated top-down, through leadership, but is observed bottom-up.

Business leaders face a special challenge with millennials, who have high expectations on work-life balance, professional development, leadership opportunities and a personal requirement that your business provides goods and services proven to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

“Yes, good pay and the ability to receive and provide feedback, including providing their manager with timely performance reviews makes the list too,” McLaughlin says.

McLaughlin offers these tips for creating an attractive, innovative and employer-of-choice culture.

1. Assess your current culture. How does your workforce view your culture? Look at your current online reviews and conduct a cultural assessment with all employees.
2. Research and design the culture you need to have – one that positions you for top talent, retains employees and distinguishes you in the marketplace.
3. Create a roadmap including definitions, stories and a core statement that identifies and describes the culture.
4. Begin the journey; cascade the roadmap throughout your organization through leadership, action groups and communication.
5. Build in a review process to reassess, define and cultivate your distinct culture.

“Somehow, among the spreadsheets and reports, it was easy to forget that organizations are comprised of people, which is at the expense of the company,” McLaughlin says. “Focusing on culture, engagement and retention will not only produce financial results, it will create an environment where performance, positivity and possibility flourish.”

Major Social Security Filing Strategy No Longer Available After April 29

By Alex Sutherland

With today’s volatile markets, political uncertainty, and longer life expectancies, retirees are facing greater challenges to feeling financially secure in retirement.

Because of this, the importance of maximizing Social Security benefits is a top priority for many individuals. Many are worried about the future of Social Security and current presidential candidates are not clear on what they would do.

Effective April 30, Social Security will no longer permit a common and powerful strategy known as File & Suspend. The elimination of this strategy may cost retirees thousands of dollars of Social Security benefits. Here’s how this might affect you.

Recently, at my firm we met with a husband and wife, both age 66, who were planning on waiting to elect their Social Security at age 70. They wanted to take advantage of letting their benefit defer and grow (each year you delay, your benefits grow by approximately 8 percent). Each of their benefits would be approximately $2,800 per month at age 70.

However, using the strategy File & Suspend, they could still defer their benefits until 70, while in the meantime they are entitled to collect spousal benefits of approximately $1,000 per month. That’s an extra $12,000 per year for four years. They will still each collect approximately $2,800 per month at age 70. If they do not take advantage of the File & Suspend option, they would give up about $48,000 of additional income from Social Security.

Ever heard the saying, “Have your cake and eat it too”? File & Suspend allows you to collect spousal benefits AND let your benefits continue to grow at approximately 8 percent per year. It’s the best of both worlds! No wonder so many retirees are taking advantage of this now before it’s too late. After April 29, this strategy is off the table and no longer available.

To be able to File & Suspend you must be 66 or older AND submit your request to the Social Security Administration by this April 29. You can submit your request online, at www.ssa.gov/retireonline. The entire process takes about 15 minutes.

What’s the future of Social Security? The elimination of this strategy was signed into law by President Barack Obama in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. It’s likely more changes may affect Social Security in the future. In the latest Trustee report on Social Security, in 2034 funds are projected to be able to pay only 75 percent of scheduled benefits. Currently, Republican and Democratic presidential candidates haven’t offered specific plans to address the Social Security funding issue.

Bottom line: Understanding your Social Security options is critical to maximizing your benefits now and in the future. Make sure you take advantage of filing strategies before it’s too late. April 29 is right around the corner. Because Social Security strategies, laws and taxation can be complicated, the “do-it-yourself” strategy may be costly to you. But if you do seek the advice of a professional, make sure they are an expert in Social Security benefits and taxation.

Subject: 'Gold Rush' star John Schnabel dead at 96

John Schnabel, one of the stars of the Discovery Channel reality series "Gold Rush" who owned the Big Nugget mine in Porcupine Creek, Alaska, died Friday morning in his sleep, according to his family. He was 96.

Born in Kansas in 1920, Schnabel was during his life a bootlegger who fled to Alaska to escape the authorities and later, a soldier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He married Erma Dire in 1950 and the couple went on to have five children together. He became a gold miner late in life, entering the trade to keep active after undergoing triple bypass surgery in 1986.

More

AF Instructor Convicted of Rape Commits Suicide

SAN ANTONIO -- A former Air Force staff sergeant who was convicted of rape at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland two years ago and sentenced to 20 years in prison died Sunday after apparently hanging himself in his prison cell.

Airman Basic Luis Walker, 28, was found unresponsive in his cell Friday afternoon at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He died at a hospital Sunday evening.

The Army is investigating his death and wouldn't release more details. A source familiar with the case, however, said Walker, who was given the longest prison sentence among instructors convicted in the Lackland sex abuse scandal, was found hanging in his cell.

Walker's wife, Yeimi, declined to comment. The Air Education and Training Command said it notified all 10 of his victims Tuesday of his death as required by the 1994 federal Crime Victims' Act.

One of them, Virginia Messick, said she thinks Walker was overwhelmed with guilt.

More

Congressional Gold Medal Sought for WWII Ghost Army that Duped Nazis

The American GIs who used inflatable tanks and sound effects to dupe the Nazis during World War II could be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Two lawmakers say the Ghost Army's battlefield exploits in the months after D-Day deserve recognition at long last.

"It is finally time that the American people recognize their ingenuity and selflessness which saved countless American and Allied lives," Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said. "They deserve their due."

King and Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) are sponsoring the "The Ghost Army Gold Medal Act" and the bill has already picked up 30 co-sponsors, The Washington Times reported Saturday.

A companion bill will be introduced soon in the Senate.

More

Invasion of the American Lobsters

Sweden has asked the European Union for help to stop an invasion of American lobsters, saying they could wipe out their European cousins with deadly diseases. The Swedish environment ministry said more than 30 American lobsters have been found along Sweden’s west coast in recent years. It said the American lobster, also known as the Maine lobster, “can carry diseases and parasites … (continue reading)

Romney's Latest Endorsement

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, says he is voting for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz because doing so is the best way to keep Donald Trump from winning the White House.

“This week, in the Utah nominating caucus, I will vote for Senator Ted Cruz,” Romney wrote in a Facebook post. “Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism. Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these.”

Romney, however, said that he’s less interested in Cruz being the nominee and more interested in seeing another Republican getting the nomination at an open convention.


Source: The Daily Caller

ISIS Threatens Facebook and Twitter

Texas Senator, Ted Cruz, is a likely Vice President nomination for Trump, especially since Cruz is likely to be the only Republican candidate to hold out until the end, which would allow Trump to unite the party. The only issue with this scenario would be whether Cruz would accept the nomination... 

More

Source: American Action News

Three Tough Guys for Trump

Dennis Rodman, the NBA legend, was know just as well for his off the court antics -- like befriending N. Korean dictator Kim Jung-un -- as his hard nosed style of play on the court. He took to Twitter to say that "We don't need another politican. We need a businessman like Mr. Trump!" Source: American Action News

More

Got An Older Kindle? Update Your Device By March 22 Or It Won’t Connect To The Internet

Unless you’re happy reading the material that’s on your older Kindle right now forever and ever, you’ll want to heed Amazon’s advice, and quick: some e-readers will need to be updated by March 22, or they’ll lose the ability to connect to the Internet.

Amazon has been emailing Kindle users to remind them and has posted a notice on the company website, but if you’ve been pishtoshing those warnings, you’ll want to listen up before it’s too late. Well, before it’s too late to update the devices automatically.

First, check to see if your device is one of the below:

• Kindle 1st Generation (2007)
• Kindle 2nd Generation (2009)
• Kindle DX 2nd Generation (2009)
• Kindle Keyboard 3rd Generation (2010)
• Kindle 4th Generation (2011)
• Kindle 5th Generation (2012)
• Kindle Touch 4th Generation (2011)
• Kindle Paperwhite 5th Generation (2012)

More

Hillary's Stunning Admission

Liberals Like To Say ‘No One Is Coming For Your Guns’ – They Lied. Meet Ralph Gilbertsen

This is just wrong on so many levels I don’t know where to start. Ralph Gilbertsen is 74 and lives in Minnesota. He is not violent, served honorably in the military, has no criminal record and has a concealed carry permit. They say he has some ‘mild mental condition’. Who knows what that is. The guy believes in UFOs and Big Foot. They say he is a conspiracy theorist. For thinking the government is too powerful and may be watching him, the police confiscated all his guns without a warrant. How is that constitutional? This guy is not a threat to anyone and this is a very dark path that Minnesota is heading down.

From Mad World News:

Police confiscated all of Ralph Gilbertsen’s handguns, even though the 74-year-old man is not a felon or abuser, and he has never used a gun in self-defense. The reason for the confiscation is Gilbersen’s beliefs which aren’t violent by any means. Liberals like to say no one is coming for your guns, but they are coming for your guns.

Gilbertsen lives in Richfield, Minnesota, and he is a concealed carry permit holder and former Marine Reservist. Gilbertsen passed the in-depth background check required to obtain the permit, and he proudly served his country. He has no criminal record and hasn’t threatened violence toward anyone.

He takes a medication for a mild mental disorder, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. He is not a danger to himself or others, and several medical professionals have repeatedly stated that. Nonetheless, the state of Minnesota decided he can no longer have guns, so they confiscated them.

More

How Much Has the Establishment Spent to Defeat Trump?

Early on in this election, the GOP Establishment candidates spent all of their resources attacking one another. Those who are worried about Donald Trump destroying the GOP point to this as one of the reasons for his meteoric rise in the polls.

It appears those days are over. As ABC News reports, the attacks on Trump are ramping up, and the spending is YUGE:

Broadcast advertising dollars aimed at toppling GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trumphas soared 900 percent since his first primary victory in New Hampshire - a total of more than $63 million -- according to an ABC News analysis of CMAG/Kantar Media data.

The total haul aimed at blocking the real estate mogul is now three times as much as what Trump has spent on his whole campaign and twice as much as the behemoth super PAC Right to Rise spent during its tenure supporting Jeb Bush.

And while anti-Trump forces have ramped up their attacks in recent weeks as the prospect of a Trump nomination has gotten more and more likely, Trump has largely continued his string of primary and caucus victories.


Source: AAN

Far Left Protesters SHUT DOWN HIGHWAY Leading to AZ Trump Rally – It’s Looking Bad

Sadly, I predicted this earlier today. In Arizona, where Donald Trump is preparing to hold a rally today, protesters blocked the highway. They literally tied their own necks to their car doors, so they couldn’t be moved. Cops cut their wires one at a time and started towing their cars. What a bunch of fascists. Trump has a right to hold a rally there. He shouldn’t have to put up with this crap. They can peacefully protest it, but they don’t have the right to stop him. Now, a bunch of people won’t get to see Trump. Yeah, that will make things soooo much better. Tensions are going to ratchet up more and more over this kind of behavior.

From Gateway Pundit:

FAR LEFT ACTIVISTS SHUT DOWN THE HIGHWAY LEADING TO THE TRUMP ARIZONA RALLY TODAY–
NO TRUMP SUPPORTERS ARE ALLOWED THROUGH – WILL MISS RALLY

The protesters parked their trucks across the highway to block traffic.

Police are towing the trucks now.

More

16 US Ships That Aided Japan Still Contaminated With Radiation

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa -- Sixteen U.S. ships that participated in relief efforts after Japan's nuclear disaster five years ago remain contaminated with low levels of radiation from the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, top Navy officials told Stars and Stripes.

In all, 25 ships took part in Operation Tomadachi, the name given for the U.S. humanitarian aid operations after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11, 2011. The tsunami, whose waves reached runup heights of 130 feet, crippled the Fukushima plant, causing a nuclear meltdown.

In the years since the crisis, the ships have undergone cleanup efforts, the Navy said, and 13 Navy and three Military Sealift Command vessels still have some signs of contamination, mostly to ventilation systems, main engines and generators.

"The low levels of radioactivity that remain are in normally inaccessible areas that are controlled in accordance with stringent procedures," the Navy said in an email to Stars and Stripes. "Work in these areas occurs mainly during major maintenance availabilities and requires workers to follow strict safety procedures."

More

Dude, you joined ISIS for a chick? Seriously?

People are really, really dumb, in case you didn’t know that.

A confused American-born man who connected with the terror group before changing his mind admitted that he made a “bad decision” in an interview with an Iraqi Kurdish TV station that aired Thursday night.

Mohamad Jamal Khweis of Virginia said he met an Iraqi woman with ties to terrorists in Turkey and she arranged travel into Syria as they made their way to ISIS-controlled Mosul, Iraq.

In the heavily-edited interview, 26-year-old Khweis said that he was moved into a house with dozens of other foreign fighters. He said it was difficult to live in Mosul under strict conditions, and whined about not being allowed to smoke.

“I didn’t agree with their ideology,” he said. “I made a bad decision to go with the girl and go to Mosul.”

More

Subject: Carter Nominates 1st Female Combatant Commander

Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson was named by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Friday as the nominee to head Northern Command, which would make her the first woman leader of a combatant command in the history of the U.S. military.

Carter also said that Army Gen. Vincent Brooks, now head of U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), had been chosen to take over command of U.S. Forces Korea. He would replace Army Gen. Curtis M. "Mike" Scaparrotti, who has been named to become the next NATO Supreme Commander and head of European Command.

At a breakfast session with Politico, Carter said that President Obama had signed off on approving the nominations of both Robinson and Brooks.

More

What do restaurants do when you send food you’ve ordered back to the cook?

If you’re going to object to the quality of your food, you may not want to reconsider at cheap fast-food restaurants. Here is the skinny.

One man who worked for a popular burger chain, where “the majority of the staff were between the ages of 15 and 18”, explains that complaining to a teenager is “the wrong thing to do.”

He said: “I was there for over three years and I’ve seen (and tried to even stop, to no avail) the following (stop reading if you have a weak stomach).”

1. A daddy long legs spider seared into a burger. As well as the obvious cruelty involved in this, daddy long legs and burgers are things that should NEVER go together.

2. Different types of body hair being purposely added. We don’t want to know where this body hair is being plucked from.

3. Sneezing and then wiping the nose with a bun (then calling it a Bacon Double Sneeze Burger)

More

Lawyers, Trolls and COWS…An Interview with Assemblywoman Michele Fiore

Author’s Addendum: I would like to at add some of my thoughts to this article. There has been a huge reaction of fellow patriots who are worried about being indicted and arrested. Please know that, so far, there have been NO substantiated arrests this weekend to indicate that they are moving forward in this manner. If you hear of any, please email me immediately with the details at Jason@oathkeepers.org and/or post them to the comments of this story. I thought it was important to get this information out sooner rather than later as it was coming from a trusted, reliable source and had the possibility of impacting so many of us (including myself and so many of my friends). But in the end it is just information, not intelligence. So at this point we must treat it as hear say. Again, if this does go live, please let me know and I will get it out there ASAP. Until then, I would urge everyone to remain calm and steadfast. Fear is what they want us to be feeling. I apologize for putting it out before it has been more thoroughly vetted, the last thing I want to be is a fear monger.

In Liberty,

Jason

More

By The Numbers

States Won To Date

Go Figure

LISTEN: Leaked Hillary Audio Reveals Her REAL Plan for Guns Once Elected

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is coming for your guns.

Oh, don’t expect her to say that during a campaign speech covered by the media or in an op-ed in The New York Times. But when she’s among friends and doesn’t realize she’s being recorded, she’s apparently a little more open about her plans.

The Washington Free Beacon recently obtained an audio recording of Clinton’s remarks to what was obviously a liberal, anti-gun crowd at a “small private fundraiser in New York” — which is the only kind of crowd to be found at a Clinton fundraiser in New York, most likely.

More

How Can You Feel Good About Yourself If You Vote For Hillary?

As the Republican Party has gone to war with itself over Donald Trump’s morality and fitness for the presidency to such an extent that it has produced a #nevertrump movement, it’s hard to miss the fact that there is no #neverhillary movement on the Left even though she’s a loathsome figure. Granted, there are plenty of enthusiastic liberals who prefer the authentic, untainted embrace of an open socialist to the scripted foulness of Hillary Clinton, but at the end of the day, almost all of them are okay with her.

Let me ask a question the mainstream media is always happy to ask about Republicans, but never asks about its preferred candidates on the Left: What does it say about you as a person if you besmirch yourself by voting for Grandma Benghazi?

Here’s a woman who lies so often that her name has practically become synonymous with deception. Unlike her husband, who was such an artful liar that people wanted to believe him when he wasn’t telling the truth, Hillary is ham-fisted about it. She tells obvious lies that everyone from the media to her enemies, to her friends know are lies right from the beginning.

How do you vote for a woman so dishonest that she claims her daughter was jogging around the World Trade Center on 911 or said with a straight face that she landed under sniper fire in Bosnia? When she lies about having her own email server and about putting our national security at risk by having huge numbers of classified emails sent to it, how do you respect yourself when she gets caught lying about it over and over again?

Once again, you can read it all here.

Sheriff David Clarke: Immigration Protesters Against Trump at Rallies Are ‘a Conglomeration of Misfits’

Saturday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends Weekend,” co-host Tucker Carlson interviewed Milwaukee Co., WI Sheriff David Clarke about protesters that show up at political rallies for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump to express their disapproval for his immigration positions.

According to Clarke, those protesters are “conglomeration of misfits.”

“The daily press has misidentified them from the beginning and they do so intentionally,” Clarke said. “The liberal mainstream media is nothing more than a propaganda wing for the Democrat Party. I identified these individuals for who they really are well over a year ago. I call them anarchists. It’s a conglomeration of misfits. You have rowdy juveniles, you have cop haters, you have university students, you have organized labor and there’s a spattering of well-intentioned people who are being used in this and are being put out front to put on a good face. This is a dangerous movement. It is a totalitarian movement.”

“They only understand one thing, Tucker,” he added. “And that is force. And I am talking about reasonable force by law enforcement. But I’m also talking about law-abiding citizens standing up for their constitutional right and not have their constitutional right trampled on at these rallies. I’m not encouraging them to start the fight, but I’m one of those that comes from the school, if the fight is inevitable, hit first, and hit hard.”

More

INCLUDING THE OCEAN FLOOR, THE FEDS OWN MUCH MORE LAND THAN YOU THINK

76.9% of total land in the United States is government owned

The Importance of Economic Calculation

In “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth,” Ludwig von Mises challenged the socialists to explain how economic calculation could be performed in a socialist economy absent prices. Mises concluded that economic calculation in a socialist economy is impossible, therefore socialism is impossible.

Mises wasn’t saying that you couldn’t have a socialist society, he was saying that it’s not an economy, in the sense that decision makers are economizing regarding their decisions about the allocation of resources.

Socialism, at the time, was defined as a system where the state owns the means of production. The state owns the natural resources and the capital, such as the factories necessary for use in the production process. Given this state ownership, the resources are not being traded in any market and since there are no markets for the resources there are also no market prices for the resources.

More

Is This The Key to GOP Victory?

Republican leaders who don’t think Donald Trump will fare well in the general election might examine the updated primary turnout statistics as a prediction clue. Largely due to Trump’s candidacy, in 15 of the 19 states that have so far held primaries in conjunction with Democratic contests, more people have chosen to vote on the Republican side, and in record numbers.

Turning the clock back to 2008, it was possible to see the burgeoning support base for then-candidate Barack Obama based upon his success in Democratic primaries. His advantage was largely tied to him exciting new people and motivating them to vote.

Eight years ago, confining our analysis only to the 19 states that have held 2016 primaries in which both parties have held electoral events, 60.5% of the people from those elections chose to cast a ballot in the Democratic primary. Using this strong backing as a launching pad into the general election, then-Senator Obama went forward to win a convincing general election victory, capturing 53% of the national popular vote compared to Arizona Sen. John McCain’s (R) 46 percent.

So far, the numbers in the 2016 primaries are strikingly similar, yet to the benefit of the opposing party. The most glaring factor is the turnout trend’s total about face. Using the same 19 states that have already held primary elections, an even 57% have chosen to participate in a Republican primary this year, almost the exact inverse of what occurred eight years ago.

A factor that should worry both former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I/D-VT) is that Democratic turnout was higher in 2008 than 2016 in all of these states but Michigan.

The 2008 Wolverine State vote was badly skewed, however. Then-Sens. Barack Obama and John Edwards were not on the state’s primary ballot. Because the Michigan Democratic Party had broken national committee rules by moving its primary, the Democratic National Committee leadership penalized their affiliate half of its delegate allotment. In protest of Michigan’s actions, neither Obama nor Edwards entered the state primary. Therefore, these major candidates’ absence from the Michigan campaign obviously depressed turnout to an unusual degree.

Does the increased voter participation number signal a Republican general election victory? Obviously, it is too early to tell but the fact that GOP turnout is up in every state over 2012, and substantially so in some places – 286% increase in Virginia, 169% in Arkansas, 96% in Texas, 92% in Ohio, and more than double in North Carolina, for example – is clearly a good sign for the challenging party. Conversely, as a sampling carrying negative overtones, over one million less people voted in the Ohio Democratic primary this week than when comparing to ’08.

Whether or not the possibility of a divisive brokered convention tampers these positive Republican grassroots trends remain to be seen, but the participation factor at this point in time likely signals a much stronger GOP general election performance than for the past two election cycles.


Source: AAN

Left Wing Radicals vs. Free Speech

A group of organized left wing radicals with no regard for free speech stopped a Donald Trump rally today the only way leftists know how. Through sheer force:

Trump protesters were blocking vehicles leading into Fountain Hills in advance of Donald Trump’s campaign stop Saturday morning.

Three protesters were arrested, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

"We had a little problem," Arpaio told the crowd gathered in Fountain Hills. "Demonstrators were trying to disrupt.Three of them are in jail. If they think they’re going to intimidate you the next president of the U.S., it’s not going to happen."

The protesters parked their cars in the middle of the road, unfurling banners reading "Dump Trump" and "Must Stop Trump," and chanting "Trump is hate." Traffic was backed up for miles, with drivers honking in fury.

Protesters were chanting, "Donald Trump, shut it down, Phoenix is the people's town."

It's one thing to disagree with Trump. Our free society provides every opportunity for people who disagree with a particular point of view to engage it in the marketplace of ideas. But the radical left can't be bothered with that. Because enforcing their orthodox PC beliefs is more important than the truth, their aim in nearly every situation is to make sure that speech they disagree with doesn't get a proper hearing. This isn't just juvenile, it's bad for society.


Source: AAN

OBAMA ASKS FOR A PAY RAISE

Obama demands a higher presidential pension and more benefits!

President Obama is asking for more money for when he leaves office, according to his latest budget requests.

As a future former president, Obama will benefit from his proposed hikes in the pensions and other lifetime benefits given to living ex-presidents in his budget requests for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

“The President’s FY2017 budget request seeks $3,865,000 in appropriations for expenditures for former Presidents, an increase of $588,000 (17.9%) from the FY2016 appropriation level,” according to areport from the Congressional Research Service published Wednesday. “The increase in requested appropriations for FY2017 anticipates President Barack Obama’s transition from incumbent to former President.”

More

What Would the First 100 Days of a Trump Presidency Look Like?

The first 100 days of a presidency is a conventional yardstick of how effectively the Commander in Chief will lead. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump may secure the delegates needed to become the party’s nominee. If elected in November, his first 100 days in the Oval Office would definitely be measured.

Though not a precise determinant, according to an article by US News and World Report’s Ken Walsh:

The underlying truth is that presidents tend to be most effective when they first take office, when their leadership style seems fresh and new, when the aura of victory is still powerful, and when their impact on Congress is usually at its height. There is nothing magic about the number, and many presidential aides over the years have complained that it is an artificial yardstick. But it has been used by the public, the media, and scholars as a gauge of presidential success and activism since Franklin D. Roosevelt pioneered the 100-day concept when he took office in 1933.
According to Cambridge historian Anthony Badger’s book FDR: The First One Hundred Days, "The first hundred days of the New Deal have served as a model for future presidents of bold leadership and executive-legislative harmony."

A Trump presidency would be anything but harmonious. I posted on Facebook and Twitter: “Imagine the first 100 days of a Trump presidency. What would happen? Ready...GO!”

Here are some of the responses (one of the bullet points was privately messaged to me via Facebook):
Nothing that he promised would…Build a wall, repeal Obamacare, bring companies back to the U.S., tear up the nuclear deal with Iran, end China's currency manipulation, make deals with Congress "in 10 minutes," "bomb the s--- out of ISIS," restore America's relationship with Russia, the list goes on and on...
A nation divided/total chaos
Excuses would be made to lock up or silence journalists that disagreed with him
bipartisan impeachment for first amendment violations and evading checks and balances
There'd be the "herds of locusts"
After the great liberal migration to Canada it was amazing how fast America became great again
“Mass hysteria” (Ghostbusters reference) The first two bullet points would likely happen. Locking up and silencing journalists goes against the First Amendment. The last point might be an exaggeration. Regardless, this sketch from Saturday Night Live last November is not likely to become a reality: “prosperity is at an all time high” with ISIS obliterated and Russia withdrawing from Ukraine after Trump calls President Vladimir Putin a loser, according to a report by Secretary of State Omarosa.

In all seriousness, it is improbable any policy would be accomplished over the first 100 days of a Trump presidency. The Washington Post’s Ed Rogers summarizes it best:

Constitutional fights with Congress, demonstrations that could quickly escalate to riots, allies who would be embarrassed to be seen with an American president, a U.S. military that has its doubts and could need to take some actions on its own to prevent the worst from happening, and enemies abroad who will aggressively try to take advantage of a narrow-minded, ignorant egomaniac — it all seems plausible. It sounds harsh, but it is not an extreme hypothetical of what the Trump presidency could bring.
If elected, the first 100 days of the reality TV star in the White House would be highly episodic politically.


Source: AAN

You Might Be...

By Jeff Foxworthy:

If plastic water bottles are okay, but plastic bags are banned, — you might live in a nation (state) that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots. WE DO LIVE IN SUCH A DUMB COUNTRY!!

If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for entering and remaining in the country illegally — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or to take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you MUST show your identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor, or check out a library book and rent a video, but not to vote for who runs the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If the government wants to prevent stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds, but gives twenty F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If, in the nation’s largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not one 24-ounce soda, because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If an 80-year-old woman who is confined to a wheelchair or a three-year-old girl can be strip-searched by the TSA at the airport, but a woman in a burka or a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If a seven-year-old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher is “cute” but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government regulation and intrusion while not working is rewarded with Food Stamps, WIC checks, Medicaid benefits, subsidized housing, and free cell phones — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you pay your mortgage faithfully, denying yourself the newest big-screen TV, while your neighbor buys iPhones, time shares, a wall-sized do-it-all plasma screen TV and new cars, and the government forgives his debt when he defaults on his mortgage — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If being stripped of your Constitutional right to defend yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

Ellen Sauerbrey Writes: So you don't want to vote for Trump?

Some who profess to be conservative talk about taking actions that will help elect Hillary Clinton – sitting out the General election, forming a third party, or even voting for Hillary if they don’t like the Republican nominee.    When the primaries have determined our nominee,  I will be four square behind that person, whoever it is.  Why?  Because I want to preserve our country and our Constitution.   This is not just another election.  The path we are on will be irreversible with another four years of a leftist President.  It will determine whether we remain a free society or go down the road to socialism

Yes, Donald Trump has lots of faults but it is pretty clear to me that his basic instincts are conservative. I recognize that we don't know how he would govern.  But there is no doubt where Hillary Clinton will take the country and most important where she will take the Supreme Court.  If she is President her nominees will doom the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution and her policies will expand the reach of government into every aspect of society..  She has already told us that.  In the article below, my friend Bill reminds us of some of Hillary’s past record of judgment and experience.  She must not be allowed to take control of our government.

People ask: “How can you vote for Trump – when he is so crude?” I thought about that, and this is what I came up with. Purple is my least favorite color. Visualize this: I’m standing on the balcony of an apartment on the 10^th floor of a high-rise apartment building. The building is on fire, and my only escape is to jump into a net being held by firemen. Great – except the net is purple! Now I can jump into that purple net or I can yell down to them “Go get a blue net or I ain’t jumping.” Or I can take the sidewalk – Hillary is the sidewalk!!! – I’ll take thepurple net – every time!!!             

When it comes to who to vote for, Hillary wants us to consider her “judgment and experience”. I too want everyone to consider her true ‘judgment and experience’.

It was her ‘judgment’ to install an unsecured illegal server in her bathroom at home in Chappaqua, New York to keep the proper authorities in the dark about what she was doing as Secretary of State. This placed every man, woman and child in America in unnecessary jeopardy. And it placed every spy we have around the world in grave danger. Because on her “unsecured illegal server”she had the Spy’s code name and their real name.

Hillary bragged that her “unsecured illegal server” was protected 24/7 by the Secret Service. She could have had 1000 Secret Service men guarding her “unsecured illegal server” and someone in Tehran, Pyong Yang, Beijing or Moscow could hit a little button starting a little ‘beam’ on its way to America – right to Chappaqua – weave its way though those 1000 Secret Service men – through the front door – into the bathroom – into the “unsecured illegal server”– extract all the information on the “unsecured illegal server” – left the bathroom – weaved its way through those 1000 Secret Service men – and carried all that information back to whoever it was that sent the beam on its way. And not one of those 1000 Secret Service men would have known about it unless the beam flushed the toilet on its way outJJJ

Subject: Session Week #10 By Delegate Carl Anderton

Session Week #10 Tomorrow is “crossover day” of the 436th Maryland General Assembly. Crossover is the date by which bills must be approved by either the House or Senate to be guaranteed consideration in the other chamber. As such, this past week both legislative bodies continued their feverish pace. On the House side, we added multiple legislative sessions as well as a floor session on Saturday. This past Tuesday the "Wicomico County Board of Education referendum bill" (HB1352) was heard in the House Ways and Means Committee. It would allow the voters to participate in a referendum to choose how the school board is selected. The three choices would be: Keep the selection as it is- with Governor Appointments. Change to a hybrid with five members chosen at the ballot box and two appointed locally. Switch to a fully elected school board with every member being chosen by the voters. We passed the bill out of the House during our first Saturday legislative session yesterday by a vote of 134-1! You may have read that the Senate version of the bill previously passed their chamber. Now both bills will crossover to the other for consideration. We remain cautiously optimistic of the ultimate passage of the bills.      (The final vote tally for HB1352 known as the, "Wicomico County Board of Education Referendum Bill") While the Saturday session was productive and we were able to pass the school board bill, it also meant that our team was unable to participate in the Fruitland Easter Parade. We were there last year and had a great time meeting everyone. I look forward to attending in the future. Saturday night I was able to make it back from Annapolis in time to attend the 86th Annual Wicomico Farm Bureau Banquet. It was great to see all of our local farmers and their families. Congratulations to Malinda Hurley on being named the 2016 Wicomico Farm Bureau Ambassador! Blan Harcum, Jr and Beechnut Farms also received a well-deserved award for their 25 years of hosting over 65,000 children, parents, and teachers on their dairy farm in Mardela Springs.    (Paul and Michelle Chesnik were two of the famers who attended the 86th Annual Wicomico Farm Bureau Banquet) This week I'll be meeting with Maryland Department of the Environment Ben Grumbles and attending an economic development breakfast with Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the county CAFO meeting Tuesday night, but I am sending my Legislative Director Bunky Luffman so our office will be represented.  The Board of Public Works will be considering a request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit Program Open Space funding to construct improvements to Schumaker Park. The parking lot is in need of attention and would be resurfaced, along with curbing and sidewalk repairs. The total cost of the project is $80,000 with the requirement that the County would have to pay a 10% match. The park is home to one of the most frequently used picnic pavilions in Wicomico County. In addition, it offers a walking trail, playground, freshwater pond, and a disc golf course. It is a great place to gather with friends and family and I am hopeful that we’ll be able to secure the funding and address the needs of the park. Keeping in constant communication with a perpetually open door is our way of #makingithappen. We will continue to advocate for the Eastern Shore, poultry farmers, and our Shore way of life. I appreciate that you have taken the time to read our newsletter and thank you for your support. Please contact our office with any ideas, issues, or concerns that you have. We’re here to work for you. Blessed to be your voice in Annapolis, Carl