Witnesses Warn House Panel: US Is in a ‘Constitutional Crisis’

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photo credit: ‘caveman chuck’ cokerMultiple witnesses told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that Congress is in danger of ceding all of its power to the presidency if it continues on the path it is on.

“We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis with sweeping implications for our system of government, constitutional lawyer Jonathan Turley told the committee. “For Congress not to act borders on self-loathing.”

“If you want to stay relevant as an institution, I would suggest that you not stand idly by and let the president take your power away,” testified Elizabeth Price Foley, a law professor at Florida International University.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, heads the committee and told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, “It didn’t start with Obama.”

Read more this story HERE.

Planned Parenthood Told Them Their Abortion Was Risk-Free, Now They Can’t Have Children (+video)

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Photo Credit: LifeNewsBy Brad Mattes.

There’s a group of women Planned Parenthood doesn’t want to talk about. In fact, they won’t even admit they exist. They’ll gladly usher vulnerable women into their abortion chambers. But when those very same women experience physical or psychological effects of their abortion, they’re considered an anomaly.

They don’t fit the façade the abortion industry has carefully built for public consumption. According to the Planned Parenthood website, there are no long-term risks associated with abortion. They reject any link between abortion and breast cancer. They deny that women may experience intense psychological consequences. And they claim there’s no relationship between abortion and infertility, miscarriage or future premature birth. Call it misleading, neglectful or deceptive, Planned Parenthood’s marketing is intentionally designed to point women in one direction—in favor of abortion.

The ramifications for women’s health and future fertility are huge. Planned Parenthood cites that in the US, an estimated 4 out of 10 women facing an unplanned pregnancy will choose abortion. That means millions of women are post-abortive. What’s important to note is the impact may not be felt immediately. Many women experience an initial sense of relief. In their minds, their “problem” has been taken care of. Later, when issues do surface, she may not make the connection that there’s a link to her abortion experience. These women then suffer from what seems to be unexplained physical or mental conditions.

A study from Norway shows that abortion can be tied to long-term psychological distress. For five years, researchers followed women who had miscarriages and women who had abortions. What they discovered was that women who suffered a miscarriage, experienced more anxiety and depression early on. But abortion was associated with increased anxiety two years and five years after the event.

Pro-abortion activists want you to believe that abortion is “safe.” Not true. And when things go wrong, it can be physically devastating. Planned Parenthood in Birmingham, Alabama was sued when a botched abortion left a young woman infertile. Roberta Clark came to have a “safe and legal” first-trimester abortion. An ultrasound was performed and the worker concluded that she was eight weeks, four days pregnant with an intrauterine pregnancy. A pelvic exam was given confirming the same diagnosis.

Read more this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Susan WalshPlanned Parenthood Produces Video Promoting Bondage and Sadomasochism to Teens

By Barbara Hollingsworth.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE)–which received more than $2.75 million in government funding in 2012–has produced and posted online a video specifically aimed at teenagers that promotes bondage and sadomasochism (BDSM) and proposes “rules” to follow when engaging in these activities.

“People sometimes think that those who practice BDSM are emotionally scarred or were once abused—not true, it’s a total myth,” the host of the video, Laci Green, informs its intended audience of teens.

“BDSM relies upon and creates trust,” she says.

In a message published at the beginning of PPNNE’s 2012 annual report, PPNNE President Meagan Gallagher described the genesis of the project that produced the video on bondage and sadomasochism.

Read more this story HERE.

Chain Cites ‘Copyright Law’ in Refusing to Print Images of Bible Verses, Woman Says

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Photo Credit: Kelly TaylorA Mississippi woman says she waged a nearly three-week battle to get pictures of Bible Scripture printed, after the photo department at a national chain store insisted that her images of Gospel inspiration violated copyright laws.

Kelly Taylor, 46, of Gulfport, told FoxNews.com her local Walgreens refused to process two prints of Scripture verses she had ordered online, first blaming it on a “technical issue,” then explaining it was due to copyright law — which has never applied to the Good Book.

“I was in total shock; it just dumbfounded me the whole day,” she said. “I feel this is an attack on Christians.”

After a clerk told her the order had been deep-sixed, Taylor got an explanation by way of an automated email.

“Hello Kelly! Due to a technical issue we were unable to process your print order at this time,” the email read. “For more details, contact a photo team associate — they’re happy to help! Just have your order number handy.”

Read more this story HERE.

Obama Tells Pentagon: Plan for Full Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan

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Photo Credit: NATONATO defense ministers began two days of talks in Brussels on Wednesday, frustrated by yet another unmet target date for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign a bilateral security agreement pivotal to any ongoing foreign troop presence in the country beyond year’s end.

Signing of the BSA is a prerequisite for the concluding of a separate status of forces agreement between Afghanistan and NATO. Its member states had hoped for clarity before this week’s Brussels meeting, but the ministers will now discuss “the way forward in Afghanistan” without knowing whether the Alliance will in fact have a future role there.

On the eve of the meeting, President Obama, in a phone conversation with Karzai, effectively conceded that the mercurial Afghan leader will not sign the BSA before he leaves office after April elections; advised him that the U.S. was now preparing for a full troop withdrawal by the end of 2014; but also left open the possibility of signing the document “later this year” – that is, with Karzai’s successor – thereby allowing a proposed post-2014 counter-terror and training mission to proceed.

“However, the longer we go without a BSA, the more challenging it will be to plan and execute any U.S. mission,” the White House said in a summary of the phone call. “Furthermore, the longer we go without a BSA, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 U.S. mission will be smaller in scale and ambition.”

The BSA, designed to govern the presence of any U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond the Dec. 31 end of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force mission, was drawn up over many months of often difficult negotiations, and approved by a gathering of tribal elders last November.

Read more this story HERE.

WH Celebrates 4 Million Enrollees in Program that Forces Everyone to Join

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Photo Credit: Reuters By Rick Moran.

As I’ve written previously, the “news” that so many million Americans have signed up for Obamacare is meaningless. It’s the law. If you don’t sign up, you pay a fine. Why this is considered a big deal – 4 million Obamacare enrollees – is a function of politics, not reality.

The Hill:

Approximately 4 million people have purchased insurance through the ObamaCare exchanges, President Obama told volunteers at an Organizing for Action summit in Washington on Tuesday.

“We now have more than 4 million Americans who have signed up for quality, affordably health insurance,” Obama said. “Four million. That’s on top of the 3 million young people who have been able to get covered staying on their parents plan… you’ve already made sure people all across America are getting better coverage.”

The announcement, which came with just five weeks left in the early enrollment period, means some 700,000 have enrolled in ObamaCare so far in February. Earlier this month, the Obama administration said just under 3.3 million people had selected coverage through the end of January.

But the number of people who have actually purchased coverage is likely significantly lower. Analysts estimate that as many as 20 percent of enrollees haven’t paid their first month’s premium, meaning roughly 800,000 of that 4 million do not actually have insurance coverage.

Read more this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: REUTERS/Kevin LamarquePoll: Uninsured opposition to Obamacare reaches all-time high

By Sarah Hurtubise.

Americans without health insurance have never seen Obamacare is such a negative light.

Kaiser Family Foundation’s monthly health tracking poll found that in February, 56 percent of the uninsured view the Affordable Care Act unfavorably.

The percentage of uninsured with a positive view reached its lowest point since Kaiser began tracking reactions in March 2010 when Obamacare was passed into law. Just 22 percent of uninsured Americans have a generally favorable opinion about the law.

This pessimistic outlook isn’t all that surprising. Health industry experts have found that exchanges are more often than not selling coverage to those that were previously insured. According to reports, majority of exchange customers either had their previous coverage cancelled due to Obamacare regulations or switched over willingly to access premium subsidies.

Read more this story HERE.

Convicted Terrorist Worked as Obamacare Navigator in Illinois

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Photo Credit: National Review A terrorist from Jordan briefly worked as an Obamacare navigator in Illinois while authorities remained unaware of her conviction for involvement in a deadly grocery store bombing and two other attacks.

Rasmieh Yousef Odeh was convicted in Israel for her role in several bombings, including the 1969 attack on an upscale Shufersol grocery store, which killed two Hebrew University students who had stopped in to buy groceries for a hiking trip in the Jerusalem hills. Leon Kanner and Eddie Joffe were killed by a bomb hidden in a candy box tucked on a shelf, which also injured nine or 10 others, according to a website maintained by the Israeli government to commemorate terror victims.

The Illinois Department of Insurance quietly revoked Odeh’s certification as a Navigator In-Person Counselor on November 24, explaining in a disciplinary report that the decision was “based on an investigation which revealed that she had been convicted in Israel for her role in the bombings of a supermarket and the British Consulate in Jerusalem and failed to reveal the conviction on her application.”

The Illinois DOI conducts background checks on navigators. National Review Online obtained the comprehensive Federal Bureau of Investigation background report for Odeh, which does not note any past criminal offenses.

According to the director of insurance’s Oct. 25, 2013, revocation letter, the Department of Insurance found out about Odeh’s history after the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan, notified the public about her prior convictions.

Read more this story HERE.

Court Orders Anti-Muslim Film to Be Pulled From YouTube

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Photo credit: tinou baoAn appeals court on Wednesday ordered Google to remove from its YouTube video-sharing website an anti-Islamic film that had sparked protests across the Muslim world.

By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Google’s assertion that the removal of the film “Innocence of Muslims” amounted to a prior restraint of speech that violated the Constitution.

The plaintiff, Cindy Lee Garcia, had objected to the film after learning that it incorporated a clip she had made for a different movie, which had been partially dubbed and in which she appeared to be asking: “Is your Mohammed a child molester?”

In a statement, Google said: “We strongly disagree with this ruling and will fight it.”

Cris Armenta, a lawyer for Garcia, said she is delighted with the decision.

Read more this story HERE.

Troop Movements Indicate Russia May Be Prepping For Invasion of Ukraine

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Photo Credit: Washington Times U.S. intelligence agencies are stepping up their spying on Russia’s military amid concerns that Moscow is preparing to use force against Ukraine in the wake of the pro-democracy revolution in Kiev.

Earlier this week, intelligence agencies reported that two Ural-4320 trucks full of armed Russian troops were observed arriving in the Black Sea port of Yalta. Photographs made by a Ukrainian civilian were posted online as the troop transports entered a Russian military facility in Yalta, on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.

Other activities in recent days have included the movement of armored personnel carriers observed at Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in nearby Sevastopol.

U.S. officials said the purpose of the troops is not known, but speculation centers on the possibility of the troops being used as part of an advance force for a future Russian military operation.

U.S. intelligence agencies also are tracking possible covert infiltration of Russian Spetsnaz commandos. One concern is that Moscow will provoke a conflict by using the undercover commandos to attack ethnic Russians and then launch an invasion under the guise of protecting those Russians.

Read more this story HERE.

Russian Spy Ship Docked in Havana; No Reason Given

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Photo Credit: ReutersA Russian warship was docked in Havana Wednesday, without explanation from Communist Cuba or its state media.

The Viktor Leonov CCB-175 boat, measuring 91.5 meters (300 feet) long and 14.5 meters wide, was docked at the port of Havana’s cruise ship area, near the Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

The Vishnya, or Meridian-class intelligence ship, which has a crew of around 200, went into service in the Black Sea in 1988 before it was transferred seven years later to the northern fleet, Russian media sources said.

Neither Cuban authorities nor state media have mentioned the ship’s visit, unlike on previous tours by Russian warships.

Read more this story HERE.

Inspector General: EPA Officials Actively Obstructed that Crazy Fraud Investigation

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Photo Credit: dantekgeekWhat’s worse than a high-ranking Environmental Protection Agency official defrauding the agency over the course of twelve years by taking lengthy unexplained absences, doing very little actual work, stealing nearly one million dollars in the form of pay, bonuses, and airfare he didn’t deserve, and getting away with it all by cultivating an enigmatic reputation and telling his superiors (including now-EPA chief Gina McCarthy) that he was performing joint government work for the CIA vaguely related to climate change?

Other EPA officials actively obstructing the investigation into the whole mess, that’s what. The WFB reports on a letter from the EPA inspector general to Sen. David Vitter released on Wednesday, wherein the IG describes how several agency employees tried to get in the way of getting to the bottom of the ordeal:

EPA employees threatened Inspector General investigators, refused to cooperate, and handed out non-disclosure agreements to other employees to keep them from being interviewed, EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins Jr. wrote in response to a request for information by Vitter on the case.

Read more this story HERE.