White House Weighs Broad Gun-Control Agenda in Wake of Newtown Shootings

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The White House is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation’s gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration’s discussions.

A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.

To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses. White House aides have also been in regular contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I), an outspoken gun-control advocate who could emerge as a powerful surrogate for the Obama administration’s agenda.

The Biden group, formed last month after the massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school that killed 20 children and six adults, plans to submit a package of recommendations to President Obama this month. Once Obama’s proposals are set, he plans to lead a public-relations offensive to generate popular support.

“They are very clearly committed to looking at this issue comprehensively,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, who has been involved in the discussions. The proposals under consideration, he added, are “a deeper exploration than just the assault-weapons ban.”

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Kicking the Can in 2013: Congress Doing What It Does Best

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It seemed like a good idea at the time. After Christmas, my wife, Betsy, and I planned to head south to this lovely barrier island in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Our plan included celebrating New Year’s quietly with as many of our kids, their kids and our friends as possible and then returning to Virginia.

It was supposed to be the antithesis of Times Square. Like so many of the best-laid plans of mice and men, it didn’t turn out quite as expected.

Only six of our grandchildren made the trek south, because so many of them had this year’s version of Spanish influenza, bubonic plague or both. The kickoff for 2013 didn’t turn out much better for the rest of our countrymen. The new year is now under way — and if the next 51 weeks go anything like the first episode, this 13th annum of the 21st century is going to be a doozy.

As we kissed off 2012 with a sip of Champagne, the U.S. Congress was in the process of raising our taxes. Politicians from both parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate told us they were making “Bush-era tax cuts permanent” for “99 percent of Americans” while increasing taxes on “the top 1 percent.”

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Iranian death squads in America

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Reza Kahlili, a double agent who worked for the CIA Directorate of Operations and spied with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has warned that Iranian death squads are presently in America.

Kahlili released their report last month but news of this is now being picked up several sources including Act for America and being spread among their supporters stating that Iran has infiltrated a team of Quds Force terrorist leaders into the United States to attack from within in 2013, according to a source Kahlili said.

Although the mainstream media ignored this news report and was missed by many, Act for America presented Kahili’s news report on their website on Thursday.

Kahili said, “The source within the office of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic regime, said the team is to create instability in America through terrorism should the U.S. fail to accept the regime’s illicit nuclear program, increase sanctions, confront Iran militarily or intervene in the Syrian civil war.”

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Inmates Use Newspaper’s Gun Map to Threaten Guards

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The entirely predictable consequences of the Journal News’ decision to publish a map of gun-owners marches on…

“Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco, who spoke at a news conference flanked by other county officials, said the Journal News’ decision to post an online map of names and addresses of handgun owners Dec. 23 has put law enforcement officers in danger.

“They have inmates coming up to them and telling them exactly where they live. That’s not acceptable to me,” Falco said, according to Newsday.

Robert Riley, an officer with the White Plains Police Department and president of its Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, agreed.

“You have guys who work in New York City who live up here. Now their names and addresses are out there, too,” he said adding that there are 8,000 active and retired NYPD officers currently living in Rockland County.”

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DC Double Standard: David Gregory Gets Pass on Ammo Law but Vet Got Jail Time

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The Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) inquiry into whether NBC’s David Gregory possession on national TV of an illegal 30-round “high-capacity” magazine has been ongoing for three weeks. Meanwhile, U.S. Army veteran James Brinkley is still grappling with the fallout from his arrest last year on the same charge.

Mr. Brinkley’s story is just one example of at least 105 individuals who, unlike Mr. Gregory, were arrested in 2012 for having a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds.

On Sept. 8, Mr. Brinkley says he intended to drop his wife and young children at the White House for a tour and then head to a shooting range to practice for the U.S. Marshals Service test. Just like Mr. Gregory, Mr. Brinkley called MPD in advance for guidance on how he could do this legally. Mr. Brinkley was told that the gun had to be unloaded and locked in the trunk, and he couldn’t park the car and walk around.

Unlike Mr. Gregory, Mr. Brinkley followed the police orders by placing his Glock 22 in a box with a big padlock in the trunk of his Dodge Charger. The two ordinary, 15-round magazines were not in the gun, and he did not have any ammunition with him.

As he was dropping off his family at 11 a.m. on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. Brinkley stopped to ask a Secret Service officer whether his wife could take the baby’s car seat into the White House. The officer saw Mr. Brinkley had an empty holster, which kicked off a traffic stop that ended in a search of the Charger’s trunk. Mr. Brinkley was booked on two counts of “high capacity” magazine possession (these are ordinary magazines nearly everywhere else in the country) and one count of possessing an unregistered gun.

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The Rush to Amnesty: Five Reasons to Slow Down

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photo credit: mexicanos sin fronteras

The November election results frightened Republican leaders. They were especially spooked by the number of Hispanic votes they didn’t get. Accordingly, many prominent Republicans are saying that “comprehensive immigration reform” is inevitable and should be passed right away.

In other words, they’re calling for a massive amnesty. But these GOP leaders are as wrong as wrong can be. Amnesty won’t solve any of the GOP’s problems and will create several new ones.

Here are the top five reasons Republicans should reject amnesty.

Reason 1: Amnesty will not stop or slow down illegal immigration.

Sometimes amnesties make sense. For example, in the 1970s American draft dodgers who had fled to Canada rather than fight in Vietnam were given blanket amnesty. The war was over and it was time to repair the damage. Nobody else was going to be crossing the Canadian border for that reason.

But giving amnesty to America’s 12 million illegal aliens doesn’t make sense. Although the recession slowed border crossings way down a few years ago, illegal immigration is increasing again now that the construction industry is recovering. The number of illegal aliens in this country will soon increase to 13, then 14, then 15 million. Giving them amnesty will only encourage more illegal immigration. Why? Because people in other nations will see (again!) that America will give amnesty to anyone who can get into the U.S. and stay here for a few years.

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Ex-Officer Is First From C.I.A. to Face Prison for a Leak

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WASHINGTON — Looking back, John C. Kiriakou admits he should have known better. But when the F.B.I. called him a year ago and invited him to stop by and “help us with a case,” he did not hesitate.

In his years as a C.I.A. operative, after all, Mr. Kiriakou had worked closely with F.B.I. agents overseas. Just months earlier, he had reported to the bureau a recruiting attempt by someone he believed to be an Asian spy.

“Anything for the F.B.I.,” Mr. Kiriakou replied.

Only an hour into what began as a relaxed chat with the two agents — the younger one who traded Pittsburgh Steelers talk with him and the senior investigator with the droopy eye — did he begin to realize just who was the target of their investigation.

Finally, the older agent leaned in close and said, by Mr. Kiriakou’s recollection, “In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that right now we’re executing a search warrant at your house and seizing your electronic devices.”

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GOP Increasingly Ready for Government Shutdown

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The appetite for a government shutdown is growing among Republicans, who had shied away from one during the debt and spending fights in the last Congress but now say one may be needed.

Several high-profile senators this week began laying the groundwork for a shutdown, saying that it may be necessary in order to restore “fiscal sanity” on the federal budget.

“I think the last time we saw a shutdown, the fact that Republicans were willing to stand together — on fiscally conservative principles — ended up producing a result that was responsible and that benefited the country and that ultimately produced enormous economic growth,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, a freshman Republican from Texas.

Fellow Texan Sen. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the chamber, wrote an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle on Friday saying a partial shutdown may be needed to show Congress is serious about cutting spending.

“It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain,” he wrote.

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Governor’s Plan for Emergency Food Stockpile Hits Bump

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Alaska’s plan to stash stockpiles of emergency food in case the state is cut off from supplies by a disaster has hit a bump.

The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs this week canceled its solicitation for proposals after receiving just one response, which was rejected. Department procurement officer Jolund Luther said Friday that the company that responded could not come up with a performance bond, which would have ensured the project was seen to its completion if the contractor went bankrupt or out of business.

Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state’s emergency preparedness division, said officials remain committed to the plan and will look for ways to improve the solicitation before moving forward again.

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