Dr. Ben Carson to Remain John Hopkins Commencement Speaker Despite Comparing Homosexuality to Bestiality, Pedophilia

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Johns Hopkins University will keep neurosurgeon Ben Carson as its commencement speaker despite his offer to withdraw after his controversial comments about same-sex marriage, the Washington Blade reports.

Carson sparked outrage when he appeared on Fox News March 26 and compared the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to bestiality and pedophilia.

A petition signed by a majority of the School of Medicine graduating class said Carson was an “inappropriate choice” for commencement speaker. Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins who has become a conservative darling since a speech earlier this year criticizing President Barack Obama and gay marriage, said on MSNBC he was ready to withdraw as speaker, but the school said he was still scheduled.

The Blade, citing an anonymous source, said the school would make an announcement about Carson later this week. Johns Hopkins would neither confirm nor deny the report.

“We are engaged in active discussions with members of our community, including faculty members and students, to determine the best way forward with regard to our medical school graduation,” Johns Hopkins director of media relations Kim Hoppe told HuffPost in an email.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Apologizes For Sexually Harassing Attorney General

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Photo Credit: Ben Margot

By Michael D. Shear. President Obama late Thursday night called Kamala Harris, the California attorney general, and apologized to her for telling a group of wealthy donors that she is the “best-looking attorney general in the country.”

Read story on Obama’s remark towards CA AG HERE.

Mr. Obama made the comment on Thursday morning at a fund-raiser outside San Francisco. He praised Ms. Harris as being “brilliant,” adding, “she is dedicated and she is tough” before commenting on her looks.

There was a quick reaction on social media sites, with some people accusing Mr. Obama of being sexist and others defending his comment as harmless.

But the president’s aides apparently knew the potential for political damage. Soon after Air Force One returned Mr. Obama from his West Coast fund-raising trip, he called Ms. Harris and apologized, according to Jay Carney, the White House press secretary.

“You know, they are old friends and good friends,” Mr. Carney said, “and he did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general’s professional accomplishments and her capabilities.” Read more from this story HERE.

Obama’s ‘best-looking’ remark was sexist

By Ruben Navarrette Jr. It’s a good thing that Barack Obama is only the president of the United States and leader of the free world, and that he doesn’t have a really important job like television sportscaster.

Because in that other role, as we learned a few months ago, a man is simply not allowed to publicly compliment a woman on her good looks without getting in big trouble.

Just ask Brent Musburger. In January, after the BCS National Championship game, the ESPN commentator came under fire in the media and blogosphere. At issue: off-handed comments that Musburger made about University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend, Katherine Webb.

ESPN issued an apology, saying that the 73-year-old veteran sportscaster “went too far” in his commentary. In an interview with the New York Times, Michigan State University journalism professor Sue Carter called what Musburger said “extraordinarily inappropriate.” On the sports news website, BleacherReport.com, Jessica Isner suggested that his remarks were, at the least, “weird and creepy.”

It went on and on.

So what did Musburger say back then that was so terrible? As the camera focused on Webb, a former Miss Alabama, in the stands, the sportscaster turned to his co-announcer Kirk Herbstreit, a former quarterback at Ohio State University, and said: “You quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women. What a beautiful woman.” Read more from this story HERE.

Federal Judge Orders that Morning After Pill Be Given to Young Girls Without a Prescription or Parental Consent

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A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, has ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the morning-after birth control pill available to people of any age without a prescription.

The order overturned a 2011 decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to require a prescription for girls under 17.

The FDA said it couldn’t comment on an ongoing legal matter. But the U.S. Justice Department indicated an appeal of the ruling was under consideration. “The Department of Justice is reviewing the appellate options and expects to act promptly,” department spokeswoman Allison Price said.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended last year that oral contraceptives be sold over the counter in an effort to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the United States. Opponents of prescription requirements say prescriptions can delay access to the drug.

In 2011, Teva Women’s Health Inc., maker of Plan B One-Step, had asked the FDA to make the drug available without prescription to all sexually active girls and women. Sebelius overruled the FDA’s recommendation, saying, “I do not believe enough data were presented to support the application.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Admin Spends $21,000 on Basketball Equipment

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Ever since the election of the Best Left-Handed Shameless Gunner-in-Chief, America’s relationship with basketball has strengthened. The sport has a mystique. America has been hypnotized into thinking Obama Election Day pick-up games are somehow more competitive than MJ’s Bulls vs. Isiah’s Pistons.

At least the Oval Office just plays pick-up. The Departments of Interior and Transportation have caught the basketball fever so bad, they’ve dropped more than $20K on rebounding machines. Several rebounding machines. Meanwhile, the most the Department of Education spends on hoops is time wasted on Arne Duncan rebounding POTUS air balls.

Now, DOI and DOT haven’t spent their money on some run-of-the-mill rebounding machine. The Shoot-A-Way is a popular apparatus used by teams at all levels of basketball. In fact, two out of the final four use the Shoot-A-Way. Louisville,the favorite for this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion, owns eight. Only the best for our most superflous government agencies.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs inside the Department of the Interior spent close to $15,000 for Shoot-A-Ways, in 2009 and in 2012. Salazar’s 2012 order of a Shoot-A-Way was issued to Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Ok. That’s $5,232 in U.S. tax dollars spent on teams in 2012-2013 that went 8-12 and 4-9.

Read more from this story HERE.

Emails: Democrats Illegally Gerrymandered Florida

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Florida Democrats coordinated with national party organizations and consultants in early 2012 to gerrymander congressional districts despite a state ban on such activities, emails obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show.

The top state and national party leaders, including Florida congressmen Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ted Deutsch, and Alecee Hastings, signed off on the gerrymandered maps, according to the emails released during court discovery in Romo v. Scott, a legal challenge to redistricting maps that the GOP-controlled state legislature approved in 2012.

“For several months the Florida Democratic Party has engaged in a legal fight over redistricting in Florida,” Florida Democratic chair Rod Smith wrote to a representative of the Teamsters Union in March 2012. “We believe that Florida can be turned from red to blue if we are successful in our efforts.”

Democratic consultant Brad Wieneke described the gerrymander in one email chain on Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, which Slate has called the 23rd one of “the most gerrymandered congressional districts” in the country and which Wasserman Schultz represents in Congress.

“They want to scoop as many Jews out of Tamarac and Sunrise as they can,” Wieneke wrote. Redistricting maps produced by Democratic consulting firm NCEC Services were shared with attorneys at Perkins Coie, general counsel for the DNC, the emails show.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russian Bomber Roulette: Russian Strategic Bomber Conducts Practice Strikes on U.S. Missile Defenses in Asia

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A Russian bomber recently carried out simulated cruise missile attacks on U.S. missile defenses in Asia, raising new questions about Moscow’s goal in future U.S.-Russian defense talks.

According to U.S. officials, a Russian Tu-22M Backfire bomber on Feb. 26 simulated firing air-launched cruise missiles at an Aegis ship deployed near Japan as part of U.S. missile defenses.

A second mock attack was conducted Feb. 27 against a ground-based missile defense site in Japan that officials did not identify further. The Pentagon operates an X-band missile defense radar on the northern tip of Japan that is designed to monitor North Korean missile launches and transmit the data to missile-firing ships.

The bomber targeting comes as Russia is building up forces in the Pacific by modernizing submarines and building a spy ship specifically for intelligence-gathering against U.S. missile defenses.

Officials said it was not clear why the Russians conducted the practice strikes. However, the simulations may indicate Moscow has targeted its offensive ballistic missiles on Japan or U.S. military bases in the region.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Budget to Include Cuts to Programs in Hopes of Deal

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President Obama next week will take the political risk of formally proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his annual budget in an effort to demonstrate his willingness to compromise with Republicans and revive prospects for a long-term deficit-reduction deal, administration officials say.

In a significant shift in fiscal strategy, Mr. Obama on Wednesday will send a budget plan to Capitol Hill that departs from the usual presidential wish list that Republicans typically declare dead on arrival. Instead it will embody the final compromise offer that he made to Speaker John A. Boehner late last year, before Mr. Boehner abandoned negotiations in opposition to the president’s demand for higher taxes from wealthy individuals and some corporations.

Congressional Republicans have dug in against any new tax revenues after higher taxes for the affluent were approved at the start of the year. The administration’s hope is to create cracks in Republicans’ antitax resistance, especially in the Senate, as constituents complain about the across-the-board cuts in military and domestic programs that took effect March 1.

Mr. Obama’s proposed deficit reduction would replace those cuts. And if Republicans continue to resist the president, the White House believes that most Americans will blame them for the fiscal paralysis.

Besides the tax increases that most Republicans continue to oppose, Mr. Obama’s budget will propose a new inflation formula that would have the effect of reducing cost-of-living payments for Social Security benefits, though with financial protections for low-income and very old beneficiaries, administration officials said. The idea, known as chained C.P.I., has infuriated some Democrats and advocacy groups to Mr. Obama’s left, and they have already mobilized in opposition.

Read more from this story HERE.

Kelsey Grammer as "Boss" Comes Back on Blu-Ray to Portray Politics in Chicago

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When the brilliant television series Boss didn’t get renewed for a third season, superstar Kelsey Grammer didn’t hold back when he voiced his opinion that politics was behind the decision.

“Boss” featured Grammer as the all powerful, amoral/corrupt Tom Kane,Mayor of Chicago, who knew how to keep the city running by political patronage, outright corruption and making offers you better not refuse.

Grammer, an unapologetic republican, has publicly stated his conservative political leaning has made him a target in Hollywood and might have something to do with the shows cancellation. He also thought his politics had something to do with his Emmy snub last year, after he earned a Golden Globe for the role.

But the Starz Network, who brought the show to the screen, said that declining audience numbers were behind the decision to cancel the show after only two seasons.

Grammers acting was superb and showcased his talent that transformed him from the likable character he played in “Cheers” and “Frazier,” into a ruthless politician in “Boss.” He deserved the Golden Globe for his acting ability and fans also thought he deserved the Emmy as well.

As Mayor, he secretly suffers from a debilitating brain disease which must be kept from his enemies as well as his allies…they remind you of what it would be like to hold a rabid wolf by the ears. Finding the right drug treatment keeps him publicly on an even keel, but just below the surface he is plagued by demons which the disease manifests.

His wife Meredith, brilliantly played by Connie Nielsen, (Starred in Gladiator) is just as addicted to the reins of power as her husband. She can be as cold and ruthless as Grammer in order to maintain that power. But the marriage is more a political partnership than a real marriage and there is little, if any love between them.

Their daughter Hannah, is a 20 something drug addict, a product of the loveless marriage of convenience. Hannah Ware, plays the role perfectly as she rebels against the facade her family has created. She delves into the world of drugs and has a love affair with a low level drug dealer affiliated with Chicago gang violence.

The cast of characters in the show are gritty and realistic and portray a corrupt world of politics that probably is uncomfortably close to the truth, for many of Americas big cities.

Boss season 2 is available on Blu-Ray and DVD starting April 9 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

Rand Paul: Defense of Marriage Act Defenders are Going to 'Lose that Battle'

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that conservatives fighting to uphold the federal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman are going to “lose that battle.”

Paul suggested in an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) that marriage should be defined by the states, rather than federally.

“If we keep it that way, maybe we can still have the discussion go on without making the decision go all the way one way or all the way the other way. Because I think, right now, if we say, ‘Oh, we’re only going to have, we believe in a federally mandated one-man-one-woman marriage,’ we’re going to lose that battle, because the country’s going the other way right now,” he said.

The Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Paul’s comments reflect the opinion shared among many libertarians, that defining marriage should be left up to the states. But conservative activists, and many GOP lawmakers, have defended the act, arguing it protects traditional marriage.

Read more from this story HERE.