Stinging Rebuke to the Establishment: 52 House GOP Defy Boehner, Kill Amnesty-DHS Funding Bill

/18 Comments/in , , /by

Photo Credit: APThe Republican-controlled House unexpectedly rejected short-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security on Friday, increasing the prospect of a partial shutdown at midnight of an agency with major anti-terrorism responsibilities.

The vote was 224-203 against the measure, as 52 Republicans defected on the leadership-backed legislation to fund DHS for three weeks. . .

You can view the final roll call vote, including who all voted for the bill, here. . .

The dispute stems from funding for President Barack Obama’s executive immigration action. The president’s first immigration directive, in 2012, lifted the threat of deportation from many immigrants brought to the country illegally as youngsters. Another order last fall applied to millions more who are in the United States unlawfully.

Referring to the immigration action, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said of the GOP leadership-backed DHS funding bill, “It does not make any difference whether the funding is for three weeks, three months or a full fiscal year. If it’s illegal, it’s illegal.” (Read more from “House GOP Defy Boehner” HERE)

______________________________________________

UPDATE: Stopgap One Week DHS Funding Bill Passed by House

By Todd Beamon. The House of Representatives passed legislation late Friday to fund the Homeland Security Department for one week with just two hours before a midnight deadline, but Rep. Matt Salmon was not one of those who supported the measure.

“Passing bills that do nothing but kick the can down the road is something that has become commonplace in Washington,” the Arizona Republican said after the vote. “I pledge to continue this fight in one week, so we can responsibly fund the Department of Homeland Security without funding the president’s unconstitutional actions.”

GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, however, voted for the measure because “we do not want to send the message to our enemies that we’re going to close down Homeland Security.

“We do want to send the message that we are going to be diligent — and we’re going to make sure that when we do the job, the job is done right,” she told Newsmax.

The two Republicans were on opposite sides of a 357-60 vote in the House on a one-week stopgap spending bill to fund Homeland Security. The move came with just hours to spare before a midnight deadline that would have shut down portions of the agency. (Read more from this story HERE)

Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson CPAC Speech: The Times are Desperate, our Nightmare is Just Beginning; We’re Going to Lose this Country if Godly Men Don’t Lead It [+video]

/6 Comments/in , /by

Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson CPAC speech was overtly Christian and politically incorrect. He hit his critics for saying he was “too religious.” He retorted by quoting the founders, including George Washington who said the young nation’s military men should not curse or be drunk.

Phil Robertson also reminded the audience that the founders were godly and relied on Providence for their miraculous victory against the British. They believed that happiness was contingent on being “godly” and “having Jesus.”

Phil said he was giving the “State of the Union” and noted that even John Adams said, you lose your religion, you lose your morality.

The Duck Dynasty star then hit American immorality hard, citing the 110 million Americans who have sexually transmitted diseases:

I don’t want you America to get sick. I don’t want you to get ill. I don’t want you to come down with a debilitating disease. I don’t want you to die early. If you’re disease free and she’s disease free, you’re married, you keep your sex right there, you won’t get sick from a sexually transmitted disease. Come on!

There is a penalty to be paid from what the beatniks and it morphed into the hippies. You say what do you call the 110 million people who have sexually transmitted illnesses? It’s the revenge of the hippies. Sex, drugs and rock and roll have come back to haunt us. In a bad way! I report, you decide.

He went on to observe,

You want a godly biblical medically safe option? One man, one woman married for life. And if you hate me because I told you that, I told you my love for you is not contingent on how you feel about me. I’ll love you anyway.

Phil then quoted from the father of the Constitution, James Madison:

‘This Constitution was written for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.’ You know what’s happened GOP? We have too many ‘any others’ in the White House. It wasn’t written for them.’

Robertson then encouraged conservatives to “hold on to their weapons,” the bible and the Constitution. He said, “that’s what brought us here.”

Laura Ingraham Rips Apart Bush Family Before Jeb’s Speech at CPAC; Later, Jeb Bush Booed

/1 Comment/in , /by

One of America’s most prominent conservative commentators took the stage at a massive gathering of Republican voters — and used the platform to tear down a GOP frontrunner.

“How many of you guys are skeptical of another Bush term?” Laura Ingraham asked the crowd at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference Friday morning, eliciting cheers from her audience.

She spent the next 20 minutes tearing apart the “elites” that she said have propelled former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to the forefront of the Republicans’ 2016 presidential pool.

“Why don’t we just call it quits, Jeb and Hillary [Clinton] can run on the same ticket,” Ingraham said, rattling off the similarities between the Democratic frontrunner and Bush.

Saying the candidates agree on everything from Common Core to widespread surveillance, Ingraham proposed a slogan for the bipartisan ticket: “Clush 2016: What difference does it make?” (Read more from this story HERE)

_______________________________________________

Jeb Bush Booed at CPAC

When Fox News’ Sean Hannity took the stage at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference, he had a question for the audience: “Who are you excited about?”

. . . At the mention of Dr. Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and dark horse candidate Carly Fiorina, the audience clapped.

But the clear winners were Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, both of whose name’s elicited massive cheers.

A few candidates, on the other hand, were shunned by the CPAC crowd.

At the mention of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the clapping of supporters was drowned out by the boos of those opposed. (Read more from “Jeb Bush Booed at CPAC” HERE)

Anti-Corruption Gubernatorial Candidate Found Dead After Scheduling Interview About GOP Head

/17 Comments/in , , /by

Missouri’s auditor, who fatally shot himself in an apparent suicide, had vowed to take down the state’s most powerful politicians and donors, including his fellow Republicans, when he launched an anti-corruption campaign for governor last month. . .

Announcing his candidacy last month, Schweich had vowed to bring a never-before-seen “level of intensity, tenacity, transparency, and rigor” in a quest to root out “rampant corruption in Jefferson City” . . .

He took specific aim at the state’s top political donor, retired investment mogul Rex Sinquefield, who largely bankrolled the campaign of his GOP gubernatorial rival Catherine Hanaway, a former state House speaker and federal prosecutor.

Schweich said the $900,000 Hanaway accepted from her “billionaire patron” made her “bought and paid for” by Sinquefield, who employs an “army of mercenaries” to exert his influence over elected officials.

“Nothing is too dishonest for them, and apparently nothing is too petty for them, either,” Schweich said last month. “It’s corrupt, and there’s a lot more corruption going on in that camp that we’ll be talking about in the days to come.” (Read more from “Gubernatorial Candidate Found Dead” HERE)

_______________________________________________________

Gubernatorial Candidate’s Death an “Apparent Suicide,” Leaves Behind Wife, Children

Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, who had recently launched a Republican campaign for governor, fatally shot himself Thursday in what police described as an “apparent suicide,” minutes after inviting reporters to his suburban St. Louis home for an interview.

Schweich’s death stunned many of Missouri’s top elected officials, who described him as a “brilliant” and “devoted” public servant with an “unblemished record” in office. Just 13 minutes before police got an emergency call from his home, Schweich had a phone conversation with The Associated Press about his plans to go public that afternoon with allegations that the head of the Missouri Republican Party had made anti-Semitic comments about him.

The state GOP chairman denied doing so in an interview later Thursday. (Read more from this story HERE)

Federal Government Starving California Farmers of Water, Driving Families into Bankruptcy

/9 Comments/in , , /by

By Jim Carlton. California farmers face being cut off from federal water imports for the second straight year, in an unprecedented move likely to worsen crop losses in the nation’s biggest agricultural state. . .

Farmers, meanwhile, say they will have to continue to fallow fields and take other cost-cutting measures as they try to wait out a drought they say has been worsened by federal regulatory restrictions on how water is allocated. . .

In 2014, the state’s agriculture economy lost more than $2.2 billion and more than 17,000 jobs as farmers fallowed nearly a half million acres of fields, according to estimates last year by the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Barring an unforeseen deluge, the losses this year are expected to be “a bit more” than that, said Jay Lund, the center’s director. . .

One of the hardest hit areas again will likely be the Westlands Water District in the southern part of the Central Valley, which gets all of its imported water supplies from the Central Valley Project. After 220,000 of the district’s 614,000 acres were fallowed last year, spokeswoman Gayle Holman said “expect the same or more” for the current year. (Read more from “Feds Starving California Farmers of Water” HERE).

___________________________________________________

Wildlife Refuges, Endangered Species Get Federal Water before California Farmers

By FENIT NIRAPPIL. When planning deliveries, the federal government has mandatory obligations to farms and communities holding senior water rights, including the city of Sacramento, and wildlife refuges protected by federal law to restore fish habitats, said Ron Milligan, a Central Valley Project operations manager.

Agriculture ends up bearing much of federal water cuts during dry periods. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley only received 10 percent of their requested amounts in 2009 and 20 percent in 2013. Two consecutive years of no allocations is unprecedented.

Farmers are instead turning to storage supplies and pumping from largely unregulated groundwater wells that are quickly being depleted.

Paul Betancourt spent $40,000 to renovate wells on his 765-acre west Fresno County farm, where his family grows cotton, almonds, wheat and onions. He can keep watering his crops this year but says groundwater isn’t a long-term solution . . .

Some communities and endangered wildlife that rely on federal water will receive some water but still suffer cuts. Urban areas, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento area, will receive a quarter of typical water allotments but could receive more if public health is threatened. (Read more from this story HERE)

Franklin Graham Claims Washington DC Infiltrated by Muslims [+video]

/4 Comments/in , , /by

Photo Credit: APBy Tracy Walsh. The Rev. Franklin Graham warned Fox News viewers on Thursday night that governments in the West, “especially in Washington,” have been “infiltrated by Muslims.”

Graham, the son of the evangelist preacher Rev. Billy Graham and president of the group named after him, was responding to a question from Fox News host Bill O’Reilly’s about why the world “will not unite to stop” the Islamic State terrorist group. . .

“One of the problems we have in the West is that our governments, especially in Washington, has been infiltrated by Muslims who are advising the White House, who I think are part of the problem,” Graham said. “And we see this also in Western Europe. They have gotten into the halls of power.”

(Read more from “DC Infiltrated by Muslims” HERE)
________________________________________________

Pentagon Decides Not to Attack ISIS

By Nancy Youssef. The U.S. military’s goal to retake Iraq’s second largest city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been pushed back several months at least, defense officials told The Daily Beast. That’s a major shift for the Pentagon, which recently announced that the first major ground offensive in the war against ISIS could come in the next few weeks.

Defense officials once hoped that Iraqi troops could move into Mosul by the Spring and reclaim the city from ISIS. Now, those officials say, Fall is more realistic. And even that date was tenuous.

“It is an Iraqi decision but we don’t want to do anything until they are ready and can win decisively,” a military official explained to the Daily Beast. “They cannot now.”

It’s another sign that the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS isn’t going nearly as smoothly as the American government had hoped. At the Pentagon Friday, Defense Department spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby shied away from any kind of timeline, saying: “I can’t put a date certain…nor say April is out.” (Read more from this story HERE)

Republican Helping Push Bill to Give Obama’s AG Power to Block Gun Sales

/21 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPABy Pete Kasperowicz. More than two dozen Democrats in the House and Senate — and one Republican — want to give the U.S. attorney general the power to block the sale of guns and explosives to known terrorists, and also to anyone who is “appropriately suspected” of being a terrorist.

The Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act was introduced this week by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.). They say it makes no sense that people on the terrorist watch list are prohibited from boarding airplanes in the United States, but are still free to buy guns and explosives.

“Federal law already prohibits nine categories of dangerous persons from purchasing or possessing firearms, including the mentally ill and criminals,” said King. “Yet, after almost 14 years, we still allow suspected terrorists the ability to purchase firearms. It’s time for common sense to prevail before it’s too late.”

Feinstein and King noted that according to GAO, people on the terrorist watch list who tried to buy a weapon in 2013 and 2014 were successful about 93 percent of the time.

But it seems unlikely that a GOP-led House and Senate will agree to give the attorney general the power to stop gun sales, especially with President Barack Obama still in office for the next two years. (Read more from this story HERE)

_______________________________________________________

Anti-Gun Republican: “I’ve Had It with This Self-Righteous, Delusional Wing of the GOP”

By Josh Feldman. Republican Congressman Peter King said today that he’s incredibly frustrated with the “self-righteous, delusional” wing of his party that may shut down the Department of Homeland Security because they’re “obsessed” with stopping President Obama‘s immigration action. King appeared on MSNBC’s online platform Shift to tell Luke Russert that while he also has serious problems with the immigration action too, the GOP shouldn’t be playing politics on a life-or-death issue like this.

King said (hours earlier, before the initial failed House vote tonight on DHS funding) conservatives are fighting a losing battle and “putting people’s lives at risk” for an issue where they gain nothing. He explained that in conference, he said, “I’ve head it with this self-righteous, delusional wing of the party.” (Read more from this story HERE)

Parting Shot: Holder Claims GOP Critics are Racist, Obama Cries in Farewell Ceremony [+video]

/7 Comments/in , /by

By Mike Allen. In a lengthy discussion ranging from his own exposure to the civil rights movement of the ’60s to today’s controversies surrounding the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, Holder also acknowledged that he felt some of his own struggles with Republicans in Congress during his six years in office were driven partly by race.

“There have been times when I thought that’s at least a piece of it,” Holder said, adding that “I think that the primary motivator has probably been political in nature … [but] you can’t let it deflect you from … your eyes on the prize.”

Holder told POLITICO that between now and his departure, probably in early March when the Senate is expected to confirm Loretta Lynch as his successor, he will call for a lower standard of proof for civil rights crimes. Such a change would make it easier for the federal government to bring charges in the case of a future Ferguson or Trayvon Martin.

“I think some serious consideration needs to be given to the standard of proof that has to be met before federal involvement is appropriate, and that’s something that I am going to be talking about before I leave office,” Holder, 64, said.

___________________________________________________

Pathetic: Obama Breaks Into Tears as He Says Goodbye to Holder

By Pam Key. Friday, President Barack Obama spoke at the portrait unveiling ceremony for outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, which led to the commander-in-chief breaking into tears that he wiped away as he finished his remarks.

Prominent Putin Critic Murdered Within Sight of the Kremlin

/2 Comments/in /by

By BBC News Europe. A leading Russian opposition politician, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been shot dead in Moscow, Russian officials say.

An unidentified attacker in a car shot Mr Nemtsov four times in the back as he crossed a bridge in view of the Kremlin, police say. . .

President Putin has assumed “personal control” of the investigation into the killing, said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. . .

The investigative committee said in a statement that several motives for the killing were being considered including “Islamic extremism”.

In a recent interview, Mr Nemtsov had said he feared Mr Putin would have him killed because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine. (Read more from “Prominent Putin Critic Murdered” HERE)

____________________________________________________

After a Year of Silence, China Backs Russia’s Aggression in Ukraine, Tells the West to Back Off

By Zachary Boren. China has voiced its support for Russia’s handling of the Ukraine crisis, with prominent diplomat Qu Xing calling on the West to “abandon its zero-sum mentality”.

According to state news agency Xinhua, the Chinese ambassador to Belgium said the West should take “the real security concerns of Russia into consideration”.

Qu said the “nature and root cause” of the crisis was the “game” between Russia and western powers the United States and EU, and that a change of approach is required to resolve it.

After nearly a year of relative silence on the subject, China’s intervention is striking, not least because it comes just as harsher sanctions against Moscow are being discussed.

Putin, who has spent years fostering Russia-China relations, will be pleased to have received public backing; the US will likely take seriously China’s stance. (Read more from this story HERE)

In Face of Massive Backlash, Google Reverses Anti-Porn Policy

/4 Comments/in , /by

Apparently Google bloggers like to post porn. A lot.

Just three days after saying sexually explicit material would be banned from public Blogger forum sites, Google is backing down. Faced with “a ton of feedback,” Google said Friday that it instead will “step up enforcement” against commercial and illegal porn. . .

On Tuesday, Google warned Bloggers that effective March 23 any site hosting nude pictures would be switched to private mode — only available to the authors and invited viewers. That ban came the same day that social forum and news site Reddit said it would remove explicit photos, videos and links if the person pictured hadn’t consented to the image being posted.

In an online post Friday, Google’s Blogger said longtime users thought it was unfair to suddenly change the policy. The company also was swayed by users who say posting sexually explicit content is part of expressing their identities. (Read more from “Google Reverse Anti-Porn Policy” HERE)