The Faithless Elected: Boehner and the House Dons

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More than any other member of Congress, John Boehner has been responsible for violating critical Republican campaign promises essential to his becoming Speaker. To use a Wall Street Journal characterization of the first President Bush (July 2, 1990, A8), Boehner has “emerge[d] as the leader of the people whose … policies [his party] defeated.”

Broken promises are far worse than a mere source of unhappiness on the part of those with particular policy interests. Jude Wanniski succinctly articulated the harm caused by “promis[ing] the voters sunshine before the elections [and] delivering moonshine afterward. Democracy cannot work if politicians do not keep most of their promises ….”

“People expect politicians to lie,” James Taranto recently wrote. With a boys-will-be-boys attitude, jaded “sophisticates” wink at campaign lying. However, for those in a frustrated majority, who consider Obama-Boehner Care to be the most gargantuan and harmful fraud ever perpetrated in this country, it is long overdue to stop expecting and accepting campaign lying. It is time to understand that this pernicious practice vitiates representative government, whose essence is that voters choose who represents them.

In his opinion, on behalf of the Supreme Court, rescuing Obama-Boehner Care and the multiple lies essential to its passage, Chief Justice Roberts declared: “our Nation’s elected leaders … can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. [Therefore, it] is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” But, when election results are produced by blatant lies by unscrupulous candidates who have no intention of keeping their word, Roberts’ opinion is arguably a libel against the American people. (In legitimizing lies, Roberts was dishonest himself. See here and here.)

As is true of other decisions (e.g., doctor or product selection), information is essential to “political choices.” Obviously, decisions based on faulty information are often wrong, harmful or disastrous. That is why laws, with stiff criminal penalties, have been passed requiring truthful corporate reports to investors and accurate manufacturers’ package labels.

The most important political campaign information is a candidate’s positions, at least regarding matters of most concern. When campaigning becomes an exercise in lying about, rather than trying to justify the merits of, where candidates stand, voting becomes a pointless charade. Voters get the satisfaction of having complied with preaching to do their “civic duty” while really buying a pig in a poke.

Voters are consumers, consumers of the government they choose. Congress has enacted countless laws, with criminal penalties, against false advertising (e.g., here, here, here, here) precisely to protect consumer choices. This is one reason products contain numerous warning labels, many absurd. As with many other laws, members of Congress do not apply truth-in-labeling requirements to themselves. But given recent experience, perhaps, at campaign appearances, candidates should be required to wear warning labels listing the dangers they pose. If manufacturers are required to provide labels warning about dangers, what could be more dangerous than a member of Congress? As Mark Twain famously quoted Judge Tucker (249): “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” Add an exclamation point while Boehner is Speaker.

Numerous voters might be unaware that lies to Congress are a crime but lies by legislators to voters are not. Members of Congress seem oblivious to the irony of their own virulent campaign-lying at a time when non-members can be punished for anything including failure to provide very vaguely defined (2) “honest services.”

The Consequence of Consequences

“I won,” declared Barack Obama, adding what is now a cliché: “Elections have consequences.” Well, Boehner and his henchmen have proven that that is only partly true. There are certainly consequences when a community organizer, longtime friend of unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and disciple of Saul Alinsky runs with a deceptively non-threatening vague message giving few clues as to what he really intends to do. But there are no significant consequences, when Republicans win complete congressional control by campaigning in unison on an unmistakably strong message to undo the consequences of the community organizer.

Well, these Republicans must be sent a clear message. Failing to deliver promised electoral consequences will have consequences. Broken campaign promises must, or should, result in election removal.

The Insignificance of Significant Issues.

It is a mistake to focus upon particular critical issues such as taxes, abortion, spending, illegal immigration, Obama-Boehner Care. On these issues, President Obama has been the driving force but John Boehner has been the sustaining force. In turn, what has empowered and sustained Boehner has been a malignant cancer afflicting the body politic: campaign lying. The worst lying is done by the worst promise-breakers: those who make promises on specific matters and then disingenuously vote to retain a Speaker determined to block carrying out those promises. Instead of trying to keep their promises on matters most important to the voters who elected them, these people devote themselves to the task of trying to convince the voters that they tried – despite having put in place a Speaker who would make “trying” futile.

While it would be delusional for conservatives to expect anything from Obama, they have every right to expect a Republican Speaker to be on their side. Instead, he works against them with fancy footwork. In 2010, Boehner protested that Pelosi violated House Rules to impose ObamaCare. But in 2014, in order to steamroll Cromnibus, the Boehner bunch had no trouble violating the rules they professed to worship.

To be precise, at a time of Democrat contempt for law as well as rules, Boehner pretended the rules were sacred in order to prevent exercise of power of the purse to defund Obama-Boehner Care; and he completely disregarded the rules in order to needlessly surrender the same power of the purse and thereby reject the 2014 election results before the new Congress took office. This is dishonesty of the most damaging and serious magnitude on the gravest issues of the day. (Incidentally, Rules Committee members who profess fealty to the rules above all else disingenuously disregard that one of their functions is to grant waivers of rules.)

To Boehner and his toadies, truth means little or nothing. But, if representative government, now on life support, is to be saved, truth must be made to mean everything. Just as cancers must be removed to save people, lying legislators must be defeated to save the Framers’ republican legacy.

There can be no success on any issue important to conservatives unless they first elect candidates who tell the truth about what they have done and will do. That cannot occur unless lying is elevated to the top or sole campaign issue. Dishonest campaigners must be defeated as often as it takes, by doing whatever it takes. It is not enough for conservatives to sit out elections and cease giving funds to dishonest Republicans. Conservatives must vote against these Republicans, first in primaries and, however painful, if necessary in the worst cases, by voting for Democrats in general elections. The gravest specific issues will not be addressed without prior removal of representatives who promise, but refuse, to take them on.

A liar is a liar is a liar! Republican liars are no better than Democrat liars. Although Chief Justice Roberts disavows responsibility to “protect the voters from the consequences of their political choices,” this is especially inapplicable to choices based on lies (unless Roberts does not think accurate information is necessary for voter choices). As Roberts well knows, “fraud” is legally defined as knowing misrepresentation of material facts that are relied upon to the detriment of anyone relying on such misrepresentation. It is simply untrue and – yes – a lie to say that a majority of voters ever chose the worst policies of the last five years – policies that John Boehner and representatives who elected him Speaker have ratified, while denying any responsibility.

William Buckley’s Wisdom

Ideally, it is tempting to “throw all the bums out.” But, obviously, that is very unlikely. At the outset, it would be best to concentrate on selected worst bums. We don’t give up trying to catch and punish criminals because many of them, likely a majority, get away with their crimes. But they must be on notice that they can’t always succeed. Similarly, whenever possible, lying to the voters must be punished too.


When conservatives fail to defeat RINOs in primaries, there is an alternative. By 1988, realizing that no new Democrat could do as much damage as senior RINO Senator Lowell Weiker, William F. Buckley, Jr., Connecticut’s conservative icon, endorsed and helped elect Democrat Joseph Lieberman.

Now, as then, the worst RINOs are indistinguishable from the worst Democrats. In 2016, these people should be punished for their duplicity. If at all possible, they should be defeated by conservative Republicans in primaries or, if not, conservative voters must swallow the bitter pill of voting for Democrat opponents of the most dangerous Republicans. These surely include Boehner, Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Pete Sessions. Their recent perfidy shows beyond question that they must be replaced. Because colleagues refuse to remove the current House Republican Dons from House leadership, they must be removed from the House altogether. They should be defeated in their home districts.

In murder cases, some argue that capital punishment should be reserved for the “worst of the worst.” Well, the worst of the worst Republicans must be subjected to political capital punishment. In 2016, if conservatives are really serious, they at least must vote against the worst. If the only way to remove current House leaders – who act like Democrats anyway – is to vote for their Democrat opponents, so be it. It is campaign lying that renders almost impossible any action supported by majority voters on particular issues. Lying is and must be the central issue, if the today’s children are to enjoy, as adults, freedom and self-government in the United States.

Because betrayed conservatives have counted on Republicans to provide a viable alternative, defeating Republican campaign liars is paramount. Political cancer cells must be removed. When they break their word, that should be the main, perhaps the only, issue in ensuing campaigns.

What if voting for Democrats causes Republicans to lose their majority in the Senate or the House? The short answer: so what! Just look at what the current crop of Republicans have done to maintain Obama-Pelosi dictatorial policies. They must be defeated in order to be replaced.

Lying has been central to this country’s decay. For example, multiple lies were essential to the infliction of the affliction of Obama Care. Republicans lied to gain control of the House to cure the affliction. They did not, instead electing John Boehner Speaker. Without Boehner, Obama Care would not have been saved; but, instead, it was converted into Obama-Boehner Care. In turn, Boehner would not be Speaker without lies.

First and foremost, campaign lying and liars must be stopped. This is an absolute prerequisite to everything else conservatives desire. (See “The Faithless Elected: Boehner and the House Dons”, originally posted HERE)

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Lester Jackson, Ph.D., a former college political science teacher, views mainstream media suppression of the truth as essential to harmful judicial activism. His recent articles are collected here.

The Making of Hillary 5.0; Marketing Wizards Trying to Re-Imagine Clinton Brand

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As she readies her second presidential campaign, Clinton has recruited consumer marketing specialists onto her team of trusted political advisers. Their job is to help imagine Hillary 5.0 — the rebranding of a first lady turned senator turned failed presidential candidate turned secretary of state turned likely 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

Clinton and her image-makers are sketching ways to refresh the well-established brand for tomorrow’s marketplace. In their mission to present voters with a winning picture of the likely candidate, no detail is too big or too small — from her economic opportunity agenda to the design of the “H” in her future campaign logo.

“It’s exactly the same as selling an iPhone or a soft drink or a cereal,” said Peter Sealey, a longtime corporate marketing strategist. “She needs to use everything a brand has: a dominant color, a logo, a symbol. . . . The symbol of a Mercedes is a three-pointed star. The symbol of Coca-Cola is the contour bottle. The symbol of McDonald’s is the golden arches. What is Clinton’s symbol?”

Clinton’s challenge is unique. Unlike potential Republican challengers of relatively middling fame who are introducing themselves to a national audience for the first time, Clinton is almost universally recognized. Love her or loathe her, potential voters know who she is after more than two decades in public life . . .

In politics, authenticity can be a powerful trait, and it is one that sometimes has escaped Clinton. In her 2008 presidential campaign, despite some raw displays of emotion, she often came across as overly programmed. (Read more about the marketing wizards trying to re-imagine the Clinton brand HERE)

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Opinion: If You Believe in State Sovereignty, Help us Block these Confirmations [+video]

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At no other time in Alaskan history has it been more critical to block the nomination of two individuals for ANY position in Alaska’s government. I am writing you today in the hopes that you will contact every legislator, especially your state senator, to block the nominations of Mike Hanley for Commissioner of Education and Esther Cox for State School Board. Please call, write, and if possible, show up in person and dig in to block their appointment.

If you believe in State Sovereignty, you should oppose their confirmation. As Commissioner, Mike Hanley led the move for Alaska to join the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia. The move was supported by Esther Cox, School Board President.

Had there not been a significant grassroots backlash and threats to take action under Alaska’s procurement laws, Alaska would have lost control of education matters to this California-based consortium. The consortium agreement would have dictated that the state of Alaska obey rules and regulations passed by a group of other individuals that Alaskans did not elect and were not accountable to Alaskans.

If you believe that public officials should be honest to the state legislature and to the people of Alaska, you should oppose the nominations of Mike Hanley and Esther Cox. Even if you like the Common Core Standards, Alaskans should have an honest and open discussion on these standards. This has never happened because Mike Hanley has continued to misrepresent the truth to the Alaskan people and the legislature, with the blessing of Esther Cox.

•January 23, 2013, Mike Hanley told federal race to the top officials at the US Department of Education that Alaska’s standards are identical to the Common Core.

•June 3, 2013, Mike Hanley told the House Education Committee that the standards were 95% Common Core.

•On June 20, 2013, in written answers to the House Education Committee he stated that Alaska’s standards were close enough to the Common Core for a Common Core test to be valid.

•January 7, 2014, Mike Hanley testified to the State Senate that Alaska’s Standards are not Common Core.

•March 25, 2014, Mike Hanley stated it was false that Alaska’s Standards were 95% Common Core.

•February 4, 2015, Mike Hanley stated that the standards were “common core in outputs but not in inputs.”

The standards are not the only issue upon which Mike Hanley has played fast and loose with the truth. Hanley has repeatedly insisted that there was no money tied to the ESEA flexibility waiver. For example, on February 4, 2015, Mike Hanley reiterated that there was no money tied to the Elementary and Secondary Act Waiver from the U.S. Department of Education. However, Deputy Commissioner Les Morse indicated in his testimony before the House Finance Subcommittee Committee on the Department of Education and Early Development a few days later that all the Title funds were connected to testing, a requirement of the waiver, and that several full time positions at DEED were 100% federally funded due to the waiver.

On February 4, 2015, Esther Cox told the House Education Committee that she approved the Alaska Standards after she read them. She further indicated that she had no idea how much the standards would cost because she didn’t live and breathe education matters.Yet, she is the President of the Alaska School Board; shouldn’t she have a ballpark estimate?

Commissioner Hanley also was the motivating force behind joining Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia (SBAC), the Race to the Top consortium based out of California. In that agreement, Hanley committed the state to digital investment that still have local district budgets reeling. He committed the state to an assessment schedule that have cost the state millions of dollars. Further, he had indicated to the House Education Committee that SBAC was only a test, but his presentation five days later on June 7, 2013 highlighted the opportunity to use curriculum provided by them and cost benefits of that digital content to Alaska’s administrators. This again, was with the approval of Esther Cox.

It was Commissioner Hanley who supported Alaska’s P-12 student data to be used in a P-20W database by ACPE. This is a federally funded project with federally funded positions that meet monthly with the U.S. Department of Education. ACPE’s claim is that there is no right of opting out of this database and that parents consented when they enroll their children in public school in Alaska. Plans continue on the part of ACPE to market Alaska’s K-12 data through their Data Mart project with the consent and approval of Commissioner Mike Hanley and School Board President Esther Cox.

As revealed in the Hearings before the House Education Committee on February 9, 2015, not one family is known to have consented to their child’s data being shared or marketed in this project. Data from Alaskan students from the Online Alaska School Information System (OASIS) are being combined with the Permanent Fund data for cross referencing with other state databases and bundled into marketable items. This is what the Hanley-Cox regime has allowed to occur. It may seem inconceivable, yet, Hanley and Cox approved this project, and the Data Mart project to sell your child data, including test SBAtest scores, as well as the data on school employees, from the teacher to the lunch room monitors that would ordinarily be part of their personnel file.

What home school family can possibly forget that it was Commissioner Hanley and Esther Cox’s push for home school families to buy only curriculum that aligns with the Alaska Common Core Standards? What home school family can forget Hanley and Cox’s support of Senate Bill 9 in 2012 that would have criminalized home school?

Never, in the history of all of Alaska has any education administration been more against the rights of parents and against the privacy rights of Alaskans.


More recently, school board members came to Juneau to attempt to get many of the unfunded mandates of the Hanley/Cox regime off their plate. Legislators listened intently, but the Alaska Department of Education turned a deaf ear as did Alaska School Board President Esther Cox.

What district educator or principal can forget that it was Mike Hanley and Esther Cox who supporting the adaptive testing and the costs associated with these tests? What property tax payer can forget the impact on local budgets these measures are having as well as the loss of state and local control over education?

Recently Commissioner Hanley, with the support of Esther Cox, has attempted to expand the Alaska Department of Education’s authority to preschool and college. Perhaps once they were about education, but their actions since they have been in office suggest they are far more concerned about their own political power.

Soon it will be apparent that the measures undertaken by the Alaska Department of Education under the Hanley-Cox regime will consume over 50% of Alaska’s state budget. This isn’t my view; this was the conclusion of the Sustainability Task Force Chaired by Rep. Lynn Gattis and presented in the waning days 2014.

Please, for the sake of Alaska’s sovereignty, for the sake of honest government, for the sake of fiscal integrity, for your privacy rights, write and call your legislators and block the nomination of Mike Hanley for Commissioner and Esther Cox for Alaska School Board. Follow up with a letter to Governor Walker and let your voice be heard.

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NY Times Best Seller: Feds Complicit in Laundering Trillions in Narcotic, Terrorist Money

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On The Joe Miller Show this past week, Dr. Corsi made the explosive allegation that “we are the drug cartels, we are the terrorist organizations.” He explained that the federal government has been “complicit” in laundering up to $3,000,000,000,000 (that’s 3 trillion dollars) by intentionally turning a blind eye toward Shanghai’s HSBC laundering operations.

Dr. Corsi also described how US Attorney General nominee, Loretta Lynch, may have confirmation issues because she was directly involved in the HSBC cover up. Dr. Corsi concludes, “As long as you’re the cops, you can get away with it.”

Finally, Dr. Corsi explained the linkage between federal involvement in the drug trade and the effort to increase illegal alien traffic between Mexico and the United States.

Listen to The Joe Miller Show live, weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Alaska Time (6 p.m. to 8 p.m., EST). Live streaming is available HERE or tune in at 1080 AM or 95.1 FM, Anchorage.


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The Joe Miller Show broadcasts weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Alaska Time (6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST), on 1080 AM and 95.1 FM, Anchorage. It is also carried via live streaming at JoeMiller.us. Podcasts from prior shows are found HERE. If you’d like to advertise on or sponsor The Joe Miller Show, please email [email protected]

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Jerome Corsi received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in political science in 1972. He became an expert on political violence and terrorism and in 1981 received a top secret clearance from the Agency for International Development, where he assisted in providing anti-terrorism training to embassy personnel.

For nearly 25 years beginning in 1981, Corsi worked with banks throughout the United States and around the world to develop financial services marketing companies to assist banks in establishing broker/dealers and insurance subsidiaries to provide financial planning products and services to their retail customers. In this career, Corsi developed three different third-party financial services marketing firms that reached gross sales levels of $1 billion in annuities and equal volume in mutual funds. In 1999, he began developing Internet-based financial marketing firms, also adapted to work in conjunction with banks.


In his 25-year financial services career, Corsi has been a noted financial services speaker and writer, publishing three books and numerous articles in professional financial services journals and magazines.

And that’s the side of Jerome Corsi you may not know. To most Americans, Corsi is the No. 1 New York Times best-selling co-author of “Unfit for Command,” the book that may well have tipped the 2004 presidential election from Sen. John Kerry. The success of that book prompted Corsi to make a career change into full-time writing on politics and economics – and he has been doing that ever since as a senior staff reporter for WND.

Corsi also authored 2005′s “Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians,” and in that same year, co-authored with Craig Smith of Swiss America “Black Gold Strangehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil” – both for WND Books. (Read more about Dr. Corsi – who asserts that the feds are complicit in laundering terrorist and drug proceeds – HERE)

General Paul Vallely: Need to Address Tenuous Economic Situation “to Survive”

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General Paul Vallely, senior military analyst for Fox News and Chairman of Stand Up America, was interviewed Friday on The Joe Miller Show about his discussions with Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Scott Walker, and Michele Bachmann. He identified the top three issues facing the United States, and voiced concerns about the tenuous markets. As part of these concerns, General Vallely mentioned the troubling purchases of gold by both Russia and China.

General Vallely also commented on Michele Bachmann’s future, describing her feelings on leaving Congress as well as what we are likely to see from her in the future. The General noted that he talked with Carly Fiorian, former senate candidate from California, and that she’s likely to make a decision on running for the presidency soon. Finally, he notes that it would be good idea for the GOP to select a woman VP on the 2016 ticket.

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The Joe Miller Show broadcasts weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Alaska Time (6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST), on 1080 AM and 95.1 FM, Anchorage. It is also carried via live streaming at JoeMiller.us. Podcasts from prior shows are found HERE. If you’d like to advertise on or sponsor The Joe Miller Show, please email [email protected]

Watch: Pastor’s Explosive Speech About Gay Marriage During Birmingham Council Meeting

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Headlines and newscasts around the nation reported Alabama’s first legal same sex marriages as historic, but one Birmingham pastor this afternoon illustrated another view with his scathing public criticism.

Cedric Hatcher, an outspoken street evangelist and regular at Birmingham City Hall, took to the lectern during the public comment portion of today’s meeting to express his disapproval of the marriages that took place just across Linn Park and around the state Monday.

“To me yesterday was one of the most bizarre scenes I’ve ever seen in the city,” Hatcher said. “It was one of the most comedic scenes I’ve ever seen in public when I witnessed men with size 13 and 14 shoes out there kissing each other in the mouth in front of little kids. It was like a freak scene going on, that’s what I call it.”

Like his previous statements on social issues, Hatcher didn’t soften his approach when criticizing the legalization of same-sex marriage. He delivered an abrasive critique instead.

Hatcher cited several Bible passages and decried the presence of children in ceremonies he believed were abominable. (Read more from the speech about gay marriage HERE)

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Vladimir Putin: Russia’s Army is Unstoppable

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By Paul Hosford. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said that his country’s military is unstoppable.

Interfax quotes Putin as making the remark in the buildup to next week’s Defenders of the Fatherland Day.

“No one should have the illusion that they can gain military superiority over Russia, put any kind of pressure on it.

“We will always have an adequate answer for any such adventures.”

He said that the country’s soldiers had proven themselves. (Read more about Putin saying the army is unstoppable HERE)

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Putin the ‘Wife Beater’

By Allan Hall. Russian President Vladimir Putin is ‘terrified’ of growing old and has undergone a facelift to give him a ‘young, dynamic appearance’, according to a documentary.

The German programme also claims that the 62-year-old beat his former wife Lyudmila, and has ‘incredible delusions [of] control’ after surviving five assassination attempts in recent years.

Other more bizarre claims include how he sleeps in late and works only in the afternoon after breakfasting on cottage cheese.

He then takes hot and cold baths, followed by a session in a gym filled with expensive American sports equipment to hone his figure.

Biographer Ben Judah told the documentary: ‘Putin is afraid of physical decay, he is afraid of ageing.’ (Read more from this story HERE)

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High School Showcases State’s First Gender Neutral Bathroom; City Council Will Allow Men to Use Women’s Facilities

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By Nicole Vowell. Park City High School recently opened what’s believed to be the state’s first gender neutral restroom.

Tori Vipond, a senior, walks the halls, goes to class, washes up and flushes the toilet just like any other student at the school. But, Vipond said, “I don’t identify as male or female.” Choosing which restroom to use has been a challenge.

“I usually just hold it until I go to the restroom at home,” Vipond said.

Student council member Adam Snyder said, “We really wanted to make a publicized restroom that everyone knew they could use if they felt more comfortable doing so.”

He got the idea after reading about college campuses with gender neutral private restrooms. (Read more about Utah’s first gender neutral bathroom HERE)

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Franklin Graham Speaks Out on Transgender Bathroom Proposal

By EAG News. If a city ordinance is passed at the March 2 Charlotte City Council meeting, any biological male will be permitted to use a women’s public restroom as the new policy would rank “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” higher than biological sex.

Restrooms in both public and private business in Charlotte, North Carolina, would be required to adhere to the proposed transgender ordinance, which applies to restaurants, stores, bars, gas stations, parks, zoos, libraries, bowling alleys, theaters and many other public places.

Men who simply identify themselves as women would be allowed to use any public women’s bathroom—and vice versa—without any repercussions.

“I cannot see why City Council would even consider this,” Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said. “It is not only ridiculous, it’s unsafe.

“Common sense tells us that this would open the door, literally, to all sorts of serious concerns including giving sexual predators access to children. It violates every sense of privacy and decency for people of both sexes, adults and children.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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DA Announces No Charges for Pharmacist Who Disabled Assailant’s Gun, Killed Robber [+video]

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A pharmacist who fatally shot an armed robber in his drug store won’t face criminal charges, Kanawha County prosecutor Chuck Miller said Friday.

“The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department has interviewed witnesses and reviewed the video tapes of surveillance and provided those to the prosecuting attorney’s office,” Miller said during a news conference. “We have considered them and do not believe there are any criminal charges necessary to be filed against Mr. Don Radcliff.”

The suspect, Terry Gillenwater, entered the Good Family Pharmacy in Pinch on Wednesday morning wearing a mask. He pulled a gun and pointed it at the employees behind the counter. Radcliff was one of those employees, but was armed with a pistol and a conceal carry permit. He drew his .45 caliber pistol and shot Gillenwater three times.

After one shot struck Gillenwater’s shoulder, the assailant continued to point his gun. A second shot hit Gillenwater’s gun in the muzzle and disabled it. Gillenwater continued to point and try to shoot, but a third shot put him down. Radcliff and others immediately rendered first aid, before Gillenwater died at a Charleston hospital.

“Mr. Gillenwater had done some preliminary efforts to case the pharmacy,” said Miller. “He had done some search on his iPhone with respect to drugs in the pharmacy.” (Read more from “Pharmacist Killed Robber, Won’t be Charged” HERE)

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Son Buys His Widowed Mother a Gun; 1 Week Later, She Needed It

By Laura Borchers. A man was shot while reportedly breaking into homes in a west Columbus neighborhood.

It happened Thursday around 5 a.m. on North Guilford Avenue.

Columbus Police at the scene tell 10TV a widow heard someone breaking in, grabbed her gun and shot the intruder.

“She was armed and apparently fired multiple shots at him,” said Sgt. Dave Sicilia.

The woman’s son says he bought the gun for her a week ago to keep her safe now that she is living alone, but he never thought she would actually have to use it. (Read more about the widowed mother using the gun HERE)

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Homeowner Shoots Escaped Wallace Inmate

By KREM Staff. An escaped inmate from Shoshone County was taken to the Shoshone Medical Center after being hit by at least one bullet in the leg.

At approximately 5:38 p.m. on Thursday a homeowner on Placer Creek North of Wallace went to check on his barking dog. The homeowner, Brian Becker, confronted Roy Bieluch on his property and called 911 for deputies.

“I told him get your hands where I can see them. He said, ‘No.’ At one point he stepped forward and that’s when I shot him. He went down immediately,” said Becker.

Officials said the homeowner ordered him to stay where he was, but apparently Bieluch approached the homeowner who then fired multiple handgun rounds at him, striking him at least once in the leg. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Senator Lisa Murkowski: Porker Runner-Up (Or “Honorable” Mention)

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CAGW, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating government waste, gives the award annually to the lawmaker, government official, or political candidate who has shown the most “blatant disregard” for taxpayers that year. [Senator Elizabeth] Warren won over six other candidates with 34 percent of the vote in a public online poll.

She won the award because in 2014 she suggested the USPS fix its financial troubles by rebranding itself as a bank. If USPS offered basic bill paying, check cashing and small loans, it could make enough money to provide those services and shape up its finances . . .

Leading Porker in a Supporting Role went to Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, with 29 percent. Honorable Porker awards went to Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo, and former U.S. Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel. (Read more about the porker runner-up HERE)

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