Citing Terrorism Concerns, DHS Beefs Up Security At Federal Government Buildings

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Photo Credit: TownHallLate Tuesday afternoon the Department of Homeland Security announced security will be beefed up at federal government buildings across the country, citing terror concerns and recent attacks in Canada for the increase. The following statement was released by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson:

Today I am announcing that I have directed the Federal Protective Service to enhance its presence and security at various U.S. Government buildings in Washington DC and other major cities and locations around the country. The precise actions we are taking and the precise locations at which we will enhance security is law-enforcement sensitive, will vary and shift from location to location, and will be continually re-evaluated.

The Federal Protective Service is responsible for the protection of over 9500 federal facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration, through which 1.4 million visitors and occupants pass daily.

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Alaska Makes Top Five for Business Tax Climate

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Executive Summary

The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much is collected in taxes by state governments, the Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems, and provides a road-map to improving these structures.

The 10 best states in this year’s Index are:

1. Wyoming
2. South Dakota
3. Nevada
4. Alaska
5. Florida
6. Montana
7. New Hampshire
8. Indiana
9. Utah
10. Texas

The absence of a major tax is a common factor among many of the top ten states. Property taxes and unemployment insurance taxes are levied in every state, but there are several states that do without one or more of the major taxes: the corporate tax, the individual income tax, or the sales tax. Wyoming, Nevada, and South Dakota have no corporate or individual income tax; Alaska has no individual income or state-level sales tax; Florida has no individual income tax; and New Hampshire and Montana have no sales tax.

But this does not mean that a state cannot rank in the top ten while still levying all the major taxes. Indiana and Utah, for example, have all the major tax types, but levy them with low rates on broad bases.

Houston Mayor Has Received Bibles From All Over the Country

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Photo Credit: NewscomHouston Mayor Annise Parker received a surprise after her order to subpoena the sermons of pastors.

Bibles have been sent to her office from all over the country, according to Houston’s KHOU.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Houston’s KPRC “that somewhere between 500 and 1,000 Bibles” had been delivered.

As The Daily Signal previously reported, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee used his show on Fox News to call for Americans to send Parker Bibles.

“I would like to ask every pastor in America, send her your sermons,” said Huckabee. “Everybody watching the show ought to send her a Bible.”

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FBI Created Fake Seattle Times Web Page to Nab Bomb-Threat Suspect

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Photo Credit: GOP USAThe FBI in Seattle created a fake news story on a bogus Seattle Times web page to plant software in the computer of a suspect in a series of bomb threats to Lacey’s Timberline High School in 2007, according to documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in San Francisco.

The deception was publicized Monday when Christopher Soghoian, the principal technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C., revealed it on Twitter.

In an interview, Soghoian called the incident “outrageous” and said the practice could result in “significant collateral damage to the public trust” if law enforcement begins co-opting the media for its purposes.

The EFF documents reveal that the FBI dummied up a story with an Associated Press byline about the Thurston County bomb threats with an email link “in the style of The Seattle Times,” including details about subscriber and advertiser information.

The link was sent to the suspect’s MySpace account. When the suspect clicked on the link, the hidden FBI software sent his location and Internet Protocol information to the agents. A juvenile suspect was identified and arrested June 14.

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Suspicious Cyber Activity at White House Detected

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Photo Credit: REUTERS / Gary HershornSuspicious cyber activity has been detected on the computer network used by the White House and measures have been taken to address it, a White House official disclosed on Tuesday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not say who might have been responsible for the activity on what was described as an unclassified computer network used by employees of the Executive Office of the President.

“In the course of assessing recent threats we identified activity of concern on the unclassified EOP network. Any such activity is something that we take very seriously. In this case we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity,” the official said.

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Alaska Wins With Independence; Stepping Aside for the Greater Good

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Photo Credit: FacebookGov. Sarah Palin

Alaska Wins With Independence; Stepping Aside for the Greater Good

Our family is proud to support Bill Walker to lead Alaska! Bill Walker, Byron Mallott, and their families joined with ours and other Alaskans in Todd’s airplane hangar this week in a show of true Alaskan support, complete with a potlatch brimming with salmon, moose, and caribou hors d’oeuvres. Life-long Alaskans Bill and Byron have proven that they truly have our state’s heart and believe in putting Alaska first and ignoring status quo politics that get in the way of Alaska’s destiny. This is refreshing and productive, and Alaska wins when Team Walker wins! This unity ticket came about when winners of their respective primary races selflessly stepped aside for the sake of Alaska! This is rarely done in politics and proves that this strong independent ticket represents an Alaskan-sized heart, putting people over party machine politics and Alaskans over egos.

Bill’s blue collar history and professional experience in practicing law fit perfectly with policies to move our state forward by developing our abundant natural resources. He and Byron are proven fiscal conservatives who know state government’s recent practice of deficit spending will halt development and make us dependent on a dysfunctional federal government.

The Last Frontier’s destiny as the nation’s leader in energy development, which will lead to Alaskan independence while helping secure our union, can only be fulfilled with decisive leadership that puts our residents first. The ability to move us forward by empowering a thriving private sector takes unifying action. Too many long-awaited projects and challenges – like the National Guard scandal – are made worse because of indecisive leadership, and that’s debilitating. We can’t afford to put development on the back burner while other states and nations surpass our opportunities, and we can’t sweep ethics problems under the table.

Unfortunately, in desperation to halt Team Walker’s momentum, lies are running rampant. Sadly, one such lie is about their faith. Don’t believe the million dollar Outside money ads perpetuating misrepresentations; just ask the guys themselves where they stand. For example, on the issue of respecting a culture of life, a pro-family group is grossly misrepresenting Bill’s position. He is unapologetically pro-life. Groups, individuals, and incumbent politicians telling you otherwise are untruthful, and that says everything about their character. Shame on people who know better and are in positions to counter lies but turn a blind eye instead. This kind of politics of personal destruction is why our country is hurting; adding to the pain are attempts here in Alaska to destroy a good man. Participants in this do not deserve your support.

I’m proud of the ethics reform my administration ushered in, and I know Bill and Byron will re-start and build on that with an independent spirit beholden only to the people of Alaska, not to any political party. Nothing’s been handed to these guys. They’ve worked alongside us all over the state in true Alaskan spirit and know the value of a good job. They want that for every Alaskan family! So our diverse family, enjoying years of connections with both candidates, take a stand for Bill and Byron’s unity team. It’s time to get our state back on track to fiscal discipline so we can grow with the surplus Alaska had enjoyed under my administration.

Please support Walker/Mallott on November 4th. Alaska First! It’s time.

Police say NY Man Beheads Woman Before Jumping in Front of Train

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Photo CRedit: MY Fox NYPolice were investigating a brutal murder-suicide on Long Island late Tuesday in which authorities said a man beheaded an elderly woman before jumping in front of a commuter train.

The New York Post reported that the woman was killed in her Farmingdale, N.Y. apartment at approximately 8 p.m. local time Tuesday. The man then dragged the woman’s body out into the street, where he kicked her head approximately 20 feet before jumping in front of an eastbound Long Island Railroad train approximately 25 minutes later. Police said his body was found about a mile from the apartment.

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Ex-CBS Reporter: Federal Agency Bugged My Computer (+video)

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Photo Credit: The O’Reilly FactorBy Kyle Smith and Bruce Golding.

A former CBS News reporter who quit the network over claims it kills stories that put President Obama in a bad light says she was spied on by a “government-related entity” that planted classified documents on her computer.

In her new memoir, Sharyl Attkisson says a source who arranged to have her laptop checked for spyware in 2013 was “shocked” and “flabbergasted” at what the analysis revealed.

“This is outrageous. Worse than anything Nixon ever did. I wouldn’t have believed something like this could happen in the United States of America,” Attkisson quotes the source saying.

She speculates that the motive was to lay the groundwork for possible charges against her or her sources.

Attkisson says the source, who’s “connected to government three-letter agencies,” told her the computer was hacked into by “a sophisticated entity that used commercial, nonattributable spyware that’s proprietary to a government agency: either the CIA, FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency.”

Read more from this story HERE.

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Confirmed: Sharyl Attkisson’s Computer Was Hacked, Heavily Monitored By The Federal Government

By Katie Pavlich.

Last year Former CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson, who is known for incredible work on Operation Fast and Furious, Benghazi and other White House scandals, noticed her computers at work and at home were acting strange. She suspected someone had hacked into her computer, specifically into a desktop in her home due to the machine turning on and off by itself at all hours of the night. An initial review of the hard drive revealed that her computer had in fact been compromised, but it wasn’t known at the time who did it. The intruder into her system didn’t take any financial information and it was clear they were looking for something else.

The news of Attkisson’s computer problems came shortly after we found out the phones and emails of Fox News reporters James Rosen (and his parents) and William LaJeunesse were monitored. Rosen’s movements were also monitored by government officials and he was named as a criminal co-conspirator in an affidavit from the Department of Justice to a judge. All three reporters, LaJeunesse, Rosen and Attkisson work on stories typically unfavorable to the administration (and all three have also scrutinized former administrations, including those headed by a Republican).

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Anti-Gun Billionaire: 'We Need More School Shootings'

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Photo Credit: WNDIt didn’t take long for some progressives to exploit the tragic shooting at a Washington State high school last Friday, as they used it in an attempt to gain support for a ballot initiative requiring expanded background checks on all gun transfers in the state.

Within hours of the Oct. 24 shooting that claimed the lives of two students at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, one of the billionaire backers of the Nov. 4 ballot initiative posted a link to the story on his Facebook page with the caption, “We need more school shootings!!! Vote yes on Initiative 591.”

The posting by Nick Hanauer, a Seattle venture capitalist from a Democrat family, was excused as “sarcasm,” according to gun-rights advocates in Washington. I-591 would prohibit background checks and has the support of the National Rifle Association. Hanauer is one of the top financial donors to the organization pushing I-594, a competing ballot measure that would require background checks on almost all gun transfers, even short-term loans between friends and family members.

The Facebook posting by Hanauer was removed sometime late Friday. Meanwhile, the news came Monday morning that a third Marysville student, 14-year-old Gia Soriano, had died overnight of her wounds at a hospital in Everett.

Hanauer’s comment was just the latest attempt by anti-gun forces to make political hay off of someone’s loss, said Dave Workman, a resident of North Bend, Washington, and a former NRA board member.

Read more from this story HERE.

Another ‘Calibration Issue’ Pops Up On Maryland Voting Machines

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Photo Credit: APBy Kenric Ward.

Voting machines that switch Republican votes to Democrats are being reported in Maryland.

“When I first selected my candidate on the electronic machine, it would not put the ‘x’ on the candidate I chose — a Republican — but it would put the ‘x’ on the Democrat candidate above it,” Donna Hamilton said.

“This happened multiple times with multiple selections. Every time my choice flipped from Republican to Democrat. Sometimes it required four or five tries to get the ‘x’ to stay on my real selection,” the Frederick, Md., resident said last week.

Queen Anne County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said he encountered the problem, too, personally.

“This is happening here as well. It occurred on two candidates on my machine. I am glad I checked. Many voters have reported this here as well,” Hofmann, a Republican, wrote in an email Sunday evening.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: BreitbartMORE THAN 1,400 NON-CITIZENS ON NC VOTING ROLLS

By CAROLINE MAY.

A new audit has discovered over 1,400 registered voters on North Carolina’s voting rolls are likely not citizens of the United States.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections revealed Friday that it looked at data from the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles and Department of Homeland Security and found that 1,425 are likely non-citizens and therefore ineligible to vote.

“We are working to ensure that no ballot cast by a non-citizen will count in this or any future election,” State Board of Elections Executive Director Kim Westbrook Strach said in a statement. “Our ongoing partnership with DMV strengthens the integrity of our elections process and security of the voter rolls.”

Of those non-citizens on the voting rolls, the State Board of Elections confirmed that 109 illegal immigrants who have been shielded from deportation and allowed to obtain work permits and drivers licenses through President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, are included in the voting rolls. They are also ineligible to vote.

Read more from this story HERE.