Hey, Obama! Where's My Mortgage Payment?

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Photo Credit: WNDIn his new full-length documentary film, “There’s No Place Like Utopia,” Joel Gilbert found Peggy Joseph, the Florida voter who became infamous during the 2008 presidential campaign for saying Barack Obama would “pay for my gas and my mortgage.”

Surprisingly, some six years into the Obama presidency, Joseph has turned against the president, disappointed that he did not deliver on his “hope and change” campaign promises.

“Peggy reminded me of Dorothy from ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ who thought the magical wizard would solve all her problems,” Gilbert told WND in an interview.

He provided an excerpt of Joseph in the film.

“When I finally found her address, I knocked on her door and brought her a pair of ruby slippers. When I interviewed Peggy, I was astonished that Peggy explained that she was now anti-Obama. She told me, ‘He was not who we thought or expected him to be.’”

Read more from this story HERE.

WH: Administration’s Foreign Policy Has Improved ‘Tranquility of The Global Community’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP / Jacquelyn MartinWhite House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday the Obama administration’s foreign policies in a number of areas have enhanced the world’s “tranquility” – a word that raised eyebrows as reporters pointed to situations in Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine and the South China Sea.

More than one reporter during Monday’s press briefing referred to a front-page Wall Street Journal article highlighting some of those crises, and citing security strategists as saying “the breadth of global instability now unfolding hasn’t been seen since the late 1970s.”

“How does the White House react to the notion that the president is a bystander to all these crises?” asked Fox News’ Ed Henry, citing the widening gaps between the sides in the Iranian nuclear talks, the conflict in and around Gaza, and the Syrian civil war.

“I think that there have been a number of situations in which you’ve seen this administration intervene in a meaningful way, that has substantially furthered American interests and substantially improved the, uh, you know, the – the tranquility of the global community,” Earnest replied.

ABC News’ Jon Karl quoted Attorney General Eric Holder’s assessment in an interview aired Sunday that the terrorist potential arising from Westerners returning home after fighting in Syria was “more frightening than anything I think I’ve seen as attorney general.”

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Politician Defends Use Of Crystal Meth As Tool To Make Him ‘Better At Job’

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Photo Credit: IJ Review Michael Hartmann, a German Minister of Parliament (MP), is only the latest politician to experiment with hard drugs (see Rob Ford, pictured above) – but he said he used crystal meth only so he could be more efficient as a public official.

The Social Democratic Party member, age 51, admitted to the drug abuse only after being accused by a prosecutor who’d gained evidence from surveillance, according to reports.

Hartmann, the interior policy expert for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), admitted to using the drug for about a month.His lawyer said on Wednesday that 51-year-old Hartmann had hoped the substance would “improve performance” at work.

The lawyer went on to say his client bought and consumed a small amount of crystal meth in autumn 2013, but had not been addicted to it. He’s stressing that psychological tests for addiction have come back negative to the substance.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sullivan Fails to Stand His Ground

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I support the Second Amendment. I have guns and, because we have some lunatics on the loose in this state, I conceal carry. But I didn’t support the so-called “Stand Your Ground” law that allows people to shoot those they fear without trying to retreat first. If you can retreat safely, you should — rather than take someone’s life.

It was a controversial bill that many believed would lead to more violence, so you can imagine my happy surprise when Sarah Palin’s then-attorney general, Dan Sullivan, opposed the bill and helped kill it in 2010. I was impressed that Sarah Palin had actually hired an attorney general willing to stand his ground against insane gun laws.

Maybe bringing in a guy from Ohio or D.C. or Maryland, or wherever Dan is from, to be our chief law enforcement officer — one who had seen first-hand too much gun violence Outside — was going to benefit Alaska.

But now I’m watching as Ohio Dan tries to rewrite the history of his opposition to Stand Your Ground. In a recent radio ad, Sullivan claims, “As Alaska’s attorney general, (I) successfully fought to protect our Second Amendment rights and passed ‘Stand your Ground.’ ”

This claim is just plain false, according to the nonpartisan, Pulitzer Prize-winning website Politifact.com. Come on, Dan, don’t weasel on this. Embrace your decision to do the right thing and kill what really was a bad bill.

As a Marine, Dan Sullivan is a chain-of-command guy. As attorney general, he made sure the troops under him — directors, assistants and others — toed his line. In fact, just last March, in front of a tea party audience, Dan bragged that he was responsible for “everything” done by the Department of Law while he was AG. That’s what makes Sullivan’s lie about Stand Your Ground so blatant.

How do we know he’s running from the truth? For starters, there’s a March 15, 2010, letter to the House Judiciary Committee expressing “serious concern” about House Bill 381, the Stand Your Ground bill. The letter went on to say the law would be “a bad idea for our state.” The letter is signed, “Sincerely, Daniel S. Sullivan Attorney General” and “By John Skidmore Assistant Attorney General.”

As reported by the Daily News, Sullivan now claims “it’s not my letter,” that it was written by a “staffer,” he had no idea about it and disagrees with it. President Harry Truman, also a military man, famously had a sign on his desk that said, “The buck stops here.” Apparently, Dan left his sign back in Ohio.

So let’s assume Sullivan managed his department in such a way that he had no idea what his assistant attorneys general were writing to the Legislature under his signature. Surely he knew what testimony they were giving to the Legislature on high-profile legislation, right?

So wouldn’t he have known that Anne Carpeneti, an assistant attorney general, Legal Section, Criminal Division, Department of Law, was requested to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on March 15, 2010, “to offer us the point of view of the Department of Law”?

Carpeneti started her testimony by saying, “I represent the Criminal Division of the Department of Law.” She apologized for the late delivery of the March 15 Sullivan/Skidmore letter, explaining, “We were working on it all morning.”

She went on to testify: “We are confused and concerned about this bill … The way the department reads this bill, it would really contribute to violence in this state.” She testified again on March 29, 2010, before the House Judiciary Committee. She noted that the Department of Law “still has concerns” about the bill.

The bill passed out of the committee and advanced to the House Finance Committee. Before Finance, on April 8, 2010, Carpeneti again testified that the law department was concerned that HB 381 would increase violence in Alaska. Nonetheless, HB 381 passed the House, 32-8, that same day.

As the discussion moved to the Senate, the Department of Law sent Susan McLean, the director of the Criminal Division of the Department of Law, to testify before the Judiciary Committee. On April 16, 2010, she pulled no punches, forcefully declaring, “I want to make our position very clear here, which is, we are opposed to the law.” The bill died a few days later. The bill didn’t become law until three years later — long after Dan Sullivan had left the Department of Law.

Does Dan really expect us to believe he had no idea Assistant Attorney General Skidmore was writing under his name that HB 381 was a “bad idea”? That Assistant Attorney General Carpeneti was testifying before multiple committees about the Department of Law’s “concerns” about promoting violence? That his Criminal Division director testified that the department flat out opposed the law?

What does this tell us about Dan Sullivan’s ability to run a department of state government? Did the Department of Law simply go rogue while supposedly under his control? I don’t think so. I think the real question is:

Does U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan have the integrity to tell Alaskans the truth and suffer the consequences?

The answer seems to be no. Sullivan is trying to deceive Alaskans, and he appears willing to turn anyone who gets in the way into a speed bump.

Oh, there’s one more document Dan hasn’t explained. It’s a “fiscal note,” dated March 30, 2010, detailing the expected costs of the Stand Your Ground bill: $400,000 a year for two new attorneys because “this bill will make prosecution of homicide cases more difficult … and it will probably result in more jury trials.” The note was “Approved by: Daniel S. Sullivan, Attorney General.”

To quote Dan’s former boss, Sarah Palin, “How ’bout ya quit makin’ stuff up.”

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster. You can hear her show, “The Last Word,” Monday through Friday 4-6 p.m. on KOAN 95.5 FM and 1080 AM and 1480 We Act Radio in Washington, D.C., and on Netroots Radio.

This article was published in-full on Restoring Liberty with permission from the author.

Advisor: Obama, NSA Use Internet to Silence Critics Like Tea Party (+video)

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Photo Credit: APThe Obama administration is expanding its online data search of Americans to find potential civil unrest — like the 2010 Tea Party movement — and squash it before they take root, a prominent financial advisor has warned clients.

David John Marotta compared the administration’s efforts to those used by former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover against his critics and 1960s activists. “Targeting activists isn’t anything new. J. Edgar Hoover made it his life’s work. What has changed is the vigor with which the government has assumed its own activism against certain groups,” he said.

“If you wonder why the National Security Agency is collecting so much online traffic information, it is because you can use such metadata to determine patient zeroes in the intellectual pandemic of beliefs like the Tea Party movement. The idea is that, if they could identify the potential origin of such movements, they could eliminate the threat merely by silencing the source,” he wrote on his blog.

Marotta, based in Charlottesville, Va., often blogs for Forbes.

Read more from this story HERE.

Clashes in Paris as Thousands March Against Israel Offensive

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Photo Credit: AFP / Kenzo TribouillardClashes erupted in Paris on Sunday as thousands of people protested against Israel and in support of residents in the Gaza Strip, where a six-day conflict has left 168 Palestinians dead.

Several thousand demonstrators walked calmly through the streets of Paris behind a large banner that read “Total Support for the Struggle of the Palestinian People”.

But clashes erupted at the end of the march on Bastille Square, with people throwing projectiles onto a cordon of police who responded with tear gas.

The unrest continued early Sunday evening as police announced six arrests had been made.

A small group tired to break into two synagogues in central Paris, a police source told AFP.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Spokesman Ignores Critics, Says Admin Is ‘Absolutely’ The Most Transparent Ever

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Photo Credit: REUTERSNew White House spokesman Josh Earnest went on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” Sunday to discuss his new role as press secretary, and declared that Barack Obama is “absolutely” the most transparent president in United States history.

The statement came in a sit-down, taped interview with host Brian Stelter in a line of questions over the “adversarial” relationship the administration has with the press and a recent letter from the Society of Professional Journalists that demanded the White House become more transparent in its work.

“Some would say it may be more adversarial because you are all withholding more than ever,” Stelter said. “Have you seen this letter this week from the Society of Professional Journalists? 40 press groups all saying the president should be more transparent.”

Earnest quickly shot back that journalists wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t send letters demanding more transparency.

“Look, I think the president’s record stands up to any of the records of his predecessors,” Earnest replied. “They’re all journalists. The day that they sit back and say, ‘we don’t need to write a letter, the White House is telling us everything they’re supposed to,’ is the the day they’re no longer doing their jobs.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Goodlatte: Obama Has Power to Stop Immigration Crisis

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Photo Credit: Nate Beeler, The Columbus DispatchBy Rep. Bob Goodlatte Goodlatte.

There is a tsunami hitting our nation’s southern border. Unaccompanied children, teenagers and families from Central America – largely from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – are arriving in unprecedented numbers at ports of entry in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. They are making a dangerous journey through Mexico and then walking miles across a hostile border environment, assisted by smugglers, and coming to the United States in violation of the law.

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees and writes our nation’s immigration laws, I led a bipartisan delegation to Texas last week to examine this crisis and seek solutions on how best to stop it. During our visit, we toured federal facilities and met with those dealing with this problem firsthand at the border, including law enforcement officers and federal officials from the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services. Here are some of the key facts we learned on our trip.

Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were quite clear that the vast majority of Central American minors who travel alone cite joining their parents who are already in the U.S. illegally as their primary reason for coming, not fleeing violence. Additionally, these parents often had a role in smuggling the minors into the U.S. While I was on a ride-along with the Border Patrol along the Rio Grande River, I witnessed the apprehension of a mother and child from El Salvador and a 15-year-old boy from Honduras. The boy said he came to reunite with his mother, who has been in the U.S. since he was 6. Both said they were coming here in violation of law, but like many others, do not believe the administration will send them back home.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: APObama’s DREAM Act by Executive Action Results in an Immigration Nightmare

By Cameron Smith.

There is little disagreement that our current system of immigration is outdated and cumbersome. For example, we have arbitrary caps and categories, lengthy backlogs on visa and citizenship applications, and a process that remains difficult to navigate without legal assistance.

These structural and administrative failures create an incentive for illegal immigration. It is telling that so many immigrants find that paying exorbitant amounts of money to dangerous human smugglers is preferable to America’s legal system of immigration.

Unfortunately, the number of immigrants, especially children, opting for the perilous illegal journey is becoming an increasing problem, thanks to President Obama’s refusal to enforce immigration laws with respect to “young people who were brought to the United States as young children.”

After legislators declined to enact the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) in the 112th Congress, President Obama initiated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on June 15, 2012. He did not bother to issue an Executive Order or White House memorandum regarding the decision. He simply directed Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to draft guidance on applying “prosecutorial discretion” with respect to a certain class of younger immigrants without legal status.

Read more from this story HERE.

Governors Group Skirts 'Radioactive' Common Core

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Photo Credit: TownHall Reviled by staunch conservatives, the common education standards designed to improve schools and student competitiveness are being modified by some Republican governors, who are pushing back against what they call the federal government’s intrusion into the classroom.

The Common Core standards were not on the formal agenda during a three-day meeting of the National Governors Association that ended Sunday, relegated to hallway discussions and closed-door meetings among governors and their staffs. The standards and even the words, “Common Core,” have “become, in a sense, radioactive,” said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican whose state voluntarily adopted the standards in 2010.

“We want Iowa Common Core standards that meet the needs of our kids,” Branstad said, echoing an intensifying sentiment from tea party leaders who describe the education plan as an attempt by the federal government to take over local education.

There was little controversy when the bipartisan governors association in 2009 helped develop the common education standards aimed at improving schools and students’ competitiveness across the nation. The standards were quickly adopted by 44 states.

Read more from this story HERE.

Jailed Marine’s Attorney says Arrest ‘Tainted’ by Human Rights Violations

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Photo Credit: Fox News The attorney for the Marine being held in a Mexican prison on gun charges told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren Thursday that the case is “tainted by several human rights violations.”

A Mexican federal judge sent Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi back to prison Wednesday after he made his first official courtroom appearance since being locked up more than three months ago for accidentally crossing the border with guns in his pickup truck.

Fernando Benitez, Tahmooressi’s lawyer, told Fox News Thursday he believes the entire case against his client has been tainted because of the way it was handled by Mexican authorities, and should be dismissed.

“Right now we have a lot of evidence that the arrest is tainted by several serious human rights violations,” Benitez said on “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.” “The further we go into evidence, into that topic, the more clear it will become I believe.”

Benitez said the violations occurred during the time Tahmooressi was held at the customs point of entry, but said he was not at liberty to discuss them in detail.

Read more from this story HERE.