NY Times Admits: Cruz Displays ‘Careful Study and Manifest Intellectual Firepower’

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16484246630_08f780c042_bThe New York Times, grudgingly acknowledging that Ted Cruz’s “brand of conservatism is the product of decades of careful study and manifest intellectual firepower,” stated what every true conservative knows: Cruz is not only more conservative than Ronald Reagan; he would be the most conservative in more than 50 years, even more conservative than Barry Goldwater.

The Times notes that Cruz is farther to the right on immigration than Reagan; staunchly pro-life, to the point of protecting the unborn in cases of rape and incest, anti-same-sex marriage, having called for a federal amendment permitting states to avoid performing or recognizing those marriages, a return-to the- gold-standard champion, and a man who wants to abolish the IRS.

The Times notes Cruz’s prescience, pointing out that Cruz “anticipated the rightward tilt of the Republican Party of today, grasping its conservatism even as colleagues dismissed him as a fringe figure.”

Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review, who studied at Princeton University with Cruz, praised Cruz thus: “Nobody has been more assiduous than Cruz at staying on the same page as the conservative base of the Republican Party. That said, it was also the man meeting the moment. He was always a constitutionalist conservative, and then constitutionalism became cool among conservatives.” (Read more from “NY Times Admits: Cruz Displays ‘Careful Study and Manifest Intellectual Firepower'” HERE)

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Trump Speech at GOP Convention in Burlingame Met With Protests

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24949318110_20a9f54a4e_bBy CBS SF Bay Area. The California Republican Party convention kicked off in Burlingame Friday, as a large group of protesters gathered outside ahead of a planned lunch banquet with presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

Trump arrived at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport at 1333 Old Bayshore Highway in Burlingame shortly after noon. CHP officers pulled off the side of Highway 101. The candidate hopped a fence and entered through the back of the hotel.

“That was not the easiest entrance I’ve ever made,” the frontrunner said. “It felt like I was crossing the border actually. I was crossing the border, but I got here.”

(Read more from “Trump Speech at GOP Convention in Burlingame Met With Protests” HERE)

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Anti-Trump Protesters Tangle With Drivers, Police in Costa Mesa

By CBS Los Angeles. Thousands of anti-Trump protesters clashed with drivers and police Thursday evening in Costa Mesa.

Trump was speaking to thousands at a rally at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

The group of about 3,000 protesters gathered just outside in the parking lot of the fairgrounds. They held signs, many of them profane, and Mexican and American flags to protest Donald Trump, the controversial GOP presidential front-runner.

The protest group spilled out into the streets near Fair Drive and Fairview Drive and blocked traffic in several intersections . . .

The group of protesters was described as “very large and very aggressive.” (Read more from “Anti-Trump Protesters Tangle With Drivers, Police in Costa Mesa” HERE)

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After Islamic State Attacks From Brussels to Paris, U.S. Sends Delta Force and Navy SEALs to Hunt Terrorists

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hqdefaultAfter Islamic State terrorists carried out deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris, Egypt and other parts of Africa, the U.S. reportedly sent U.S. special operations forces after those believed to be responsible for planning the acts of terror.

And they were up for the challenge.

So far, Members of Delta Force and Navy SEALs have hunted down and killed 40 “external operations leaders, planners, and facilitators” behind several of the Islamic State attacks, The Daily Beast reported, citing “defense officials.”

The special ops forces’ success has significantly affected the terrorist group’s ability to recruit foreign fighters, according to the report. (Read more from “After Islamic State Attacks From Brussels to Paris, U.S. Sends Delta Force and Navy SEALs to Hunt Terrorists” HERE)

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Cruz’s Father Re-Emerges in Indiana

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8555659909_f6a6955a4b_bAfter negative reporting of his religious views, the Christian evangelist father of Ted Cruz has returned to the campaign trail in an effort to win evangelical voters in Indiana, whose primary Tuesday is regarded by many as the Texas senator’s last hope to keep his bid for the Republican presidential nomination alive.

While the national media largely has been silent about Rafael Cruz’s re-emergence, local reporters in Indiana have covered his various appearances.

WSBT-TV in Mishawaka, Indiana, reported Rafael Cruz created “a lot of excitement” by showing up as a guest of Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence at a Wednesday night fish fry dinner of Kosciusko County Republicans.

On April 8, the Courier-Times in New Castle, Indiana, reported Rafael Cruz stopped by a local restaurant for an event that opened with a prayer from pastor Randy Gross and the singing of “God Bless America” by Christy Stutzman, the wife of Marlin Stutzman, a candidate for the Indiana state Senate.

Andrea Yaeter, reporting for the Courier-Times, noted Rafael Cruz discussed several “hot-button issues in the Republican party including education, gay marriage, abortion, states’ rights and the Supreme Court.” (Read more from “Cruz’s Father Re-Emerges in Indiana” HERE)

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Bernie Sanders: ‘I Don’t Believe in Charities’

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21474194420_27604b6d79_bA 1981 New York Times item quotes Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as saying he doesn’t “believe in charities,” an outlook that one expert says is common in socialism and would destroy civil society.

In September 1981, the Times reported on comments then-Burlington Mayor Sanders made at a charity event:

“For the kickoff of the 40th annual Chittenden County United Way fund-raising drive in Burlington, Vt., the sponsors considered themselves fortunate to have as guests Mayor Bernard Sanders of Burlington and Gov. Richard Snelling of Vermont,” reported the Times . . .

“‘I don’t believe in charities,” said Mayor Sanders, bringing a shocked silence to a packed hotel banquet room. The mayor, who is a socialist, went on to question the ”fundamental concepts on which charities are based” and contended that government, rather than charity organizations, should take over responsibility for social programs,’” the article stated.

Joe Loconte fiercely disagrees. Loconte teaches Western civilization and American foreign policy at The King’s College in New York City. He has also held positions with the Heritage Foundation and the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington. From 2001-2003, he was an informal adviser to the George W. Bush administration’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. (Read more from “Bernie Sanders: ‘I Don’t Believe in Charities'” HERE)

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New Discovery Means More U.S. States Will Face a Risk From Zika

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24253989800_7d73da6586For the first time in the Western Hemisphere, researchers have detected the Zika virus in Aedes albopictus, the mosquito species known as the “Asian tiger,” a finding that increases the number of U.S. states potentially at risk for transmission of the disease.

During the summer months when U.S. mosquito populations are at their peak, albopictus are more ubiquitous than the Aedes aegypti that have been the primary vector of the spread of Zika elsewhere in the Americas. Unlike the aegypti mosquito, which is mostly present in southern United States and along the Gulf Coast, the albopictus has a range as far north as New England and the lower Great Lakes.

The discovery was reported recently by the Pan American Health Organization after researchers in Mexico confirmed the presence of Zika in Asian tiger mosquitoes captured in the state of San Luis Potosi and sent them to government labs for testing.

U.S. health officials say they had anticipated the finding and have already encouraged states within the range of the Asian tiger mosquitoes to prepare for Zika. Scientists had previously identified the Asian tiger as the primary vector for Zika during a 2007 outbreak in the West African country of Gabon. (Read more from ” New Discovery Means More U.S. States Will Face a Risk From Zika” HERE)

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Why Over Half of Prince’s Estate Will Go to the Government

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maxresdefaultIt appears that the pop star Prince may have died without a will, leaving behind a multi-million dollar and growing estate. Although Prince has one full sister and five half-siblings, Prince’s family members will not be his biggest heirs.

Both the federal government and Minnesota’s state government will assess so-called “death taxes” or estate taxes on Prince’s assets, taking away more than half his estate. Between his physical assets—cash, investments, home, etc.—and his future royalties, Prince’s estate has been estimated to be between $300 and $500 million.

If Prince were married, he could have passed on the entirety of his estate to his spouse tax free. However, without a spouse, only $1.6 million of Prince’s estate will be free from Minnesota’s death tax and only $5.45 million will escape the federal death tax.

The combination of Minnesota’s top death tax rate of 16 percent, plus the federal government’s 40 percent rate, means that over 50 percent of Prince’s estate will go to the government.

Had Prince known ahead of time that he would die at such a young age, he may have been able to reduce the government’s reach into his estate through tax planning, but with a fortune as large as his, the government’s claim to his estate was inevitable.

While Prince was probably not all that concerned with the death tax—particularly since his early death was unexpected—he probably didn’t change his behavior all that much in response to the death tax. But most people who pay the death tax are not like Prince—they don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars, and some don’t even have a hundred thousand dollars in cash if their assets are all tied up in the value of their family business.

When the owner of a family business dies without leaving behind a large pile of cash or other liquid assets, the family often has to sell the business to pay the death tax. That can have devastating employment consequences. A 2014 analysis of the death tax by The Heritage Foundation found that its harmful effects on savings, investment, and capital reduces employment by 18,000 jobs each year.

While it’s tempting to think that the government’s reach into Prince’s massive estate isn’t all that harmful to the pop star or his heirs, the death tax has been devastating to many small businesses and the communities in which they operate. (For more from the author of “Why Over Half of Prince’s Estate Will Go to the Government” please click HERE)

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Tennessee High School Teacher Suspended for Showing This Movie in Class

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Japanese_high_school_classroom (2)A Tennessee high school teacher was suspended Thursday after students reported to school officials last week that they were shown an “inappropriate film” in class.

Jackson-Madison Consolidated School District Superintendent Verna Ruffin told The Jackson Sun Wednesday that the film shown in class was “Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)” . . .

The 2011 film was temporarily banned in the United Kingdom and had also been banned for a short time in Australia. It is banned in New Zealand. The film has also been referred to by some as “torture porn,” according to The Sun.

“Upon learning of an alleged movie viewing, the district immediately launched an internal investigation regarding the alleged viewing of an inappropriate film at Jackson Central-Merry High School,” the press release said. “This investigation is ongoing. At the time the incident was reported, the teacher was immediately suspended and remains suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.” (Read more from “Tennessee High School Teacher Suspended for Showing This Movie in Class” HERE)

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Long Before John Boehner Called Ted Cruz ‘Lucifer in the Flesh,’ He Called Him His Lawyer

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maxresdefaultBy Sean Sullivan. It’s doubtful that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be taking political advice from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) in the near future. But legal advice? Well, it’s happened before.

“Ted Cruz used to be my attorney a long time ago. A good guy. I don’t always agree with him, but he’s a good guy,” Boehner told Jay Leno Thursday on NBC’s “The Tonight Show.”

Say what? Yes, the tea party firebrand and the establishment GOP leader who don’t see eye to eye were once on the same team back in the late 1990s . . .

Cruz didn’t stay with Boehner’s case long, reported David Mark of Politix. The legal battle lingered for years. If you’re wondering how it turned out, a federal judge sided with Boehner in 2004. In 2008, the judge awarded Boehner more than $1 million in legal fees. (Read more from “Long Before John Boehner Called Ted Cruz ‘Lucifer in the Flesh,’ He Called Him His Lawyer” HERE)

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John Boehner Calls Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the Flesh,” “Miserable” SOB

By Reena Flores. John Boehner sounded off a litany of insults for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz Wednesday night, labelling the Texas senator “Lucifer in the flesh” and a “miserable son of a bitch.”

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends,” the former House speaker said during a frank on-stage discussion at Stanford University Wednesday. “I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

Boehner, who retired from Congress at the end of October, also let loose on the two other GOP candidates in the race . . .

Later, Cruz slammed the former House speaker and said he had “never worked with John Boehner.

“The truth of the matter is — I don’t know the man,” Cruz said at a press conference in Indiana. “I’ve met John Boehner two or three times in my life. If I have said 50 words in my life to John Boehner I’d be surprised, and every one of them has consisted of pleasantries.” (Read more from “John Boehner Calls Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the Flesh,” “Miserable” SOB” HERE)

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How Wal-Mart and Other Retailers Have Responded to Target Bathroom Policy

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATarget’s announcement last week that it will let customers and employees use bathrooms based on their gender identity set off a firestorm competitors appear to reluctant to enter.

As reported by Western Journalism, nearly one million people have signed a petition (editor’s note: now over one million), to date, pledging not to shop at Target until it changes its policy of allowing men to enter women’s restrooms.

The Faith Driven Consumer encouraged its millions of supporters to #BuycottWalmart in a response to Target’s corporate policy. The organization began the Faith Equality Index last fall, which measures how faith-friendly a company is based on a number of issues including “Christmas” seasonal advertising, the causes the corporation contributes to (whether pro-life, abortion, etc.), and workplace discrimination policies.

“[H]undreds of thousands of consumers around the country are expressing frustration because they specifically feel excluded by Target’s actions and, more importantly, unprotected and unsafe in Target stores. They have reacted by signing up to boycott the retailer,” said Chris Stone, founder of the FDC.

“We believe a BUYcott offers consumers what they actually need and want. If you are unsatisfied with Target, the most effective way forward is a BUYcott — actively doing business with another brand that is a better fit for you. And in this case, that better fit is archrival Walmart,” he added.

Wal-Mart scored significantly higher than Target on the index. Western Journalism reached out to Wal-Mart to determine what its response is to the new Target policy, but so far the company has been mum. (Read more from “How Wal-Mart and Other Retailers Have Responded to Target Bathroom Policy” HERE)

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