Ben Carson Comes Out With an Announcement About Trump-McCain Feud

Earlier this month, Ben Carson stood out within the GOP presidential primary field by speaking positively about Donald Trump in the wake of his controversial statements about illegal immigrants. With Trump currently embroiled in another scandal involving his perceived insult regarding Arizona Sen. John McCain’s military record, Carson has once again come to his rival’s defense.

According to a recent Washington Post report, Carson downplayed the controversy, suggesting that it “seems petty” to focus so much attention on a single comment. Speaking to reporters in Virginia this week, the retired neurosurgeon added that Trump’s statement has been misinterpreted.

“I’m not sure from listening to what he said that he thinks that Mr. McCain is not a hero,” Carson explained. “He has repeatedly said yes, he is a hero, so I don’t know where that comes from that he’s disqualified.”

Carson’s personal stance on whether McCain should be considered a war hero has evolved somewhat over the past several days, however. In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s controversy, Carson said the distinction “depends on your definition of a war hero.” (Read more from “Ben Carson Comes out With an Announcement About Trump-McCain Feud” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Dad’s Flyover at Daughter’s Wedding Reception Ends in Tragedy

An Alaska man flying over his daughter’s weekend wedding reception died when the plane crashed after its landing gear struck trees, state police said.

The 54-year-old man’s Cessna 206 crashed on Sunday evening in Trapper Creek, about 120 miles north of Anchorage, the Troopers said in an incident report.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator was en route to the crash site on Monday afternoon and had no further details, said regional supervisor Clint Johnson. (Read more from “Dad’s Flyover at Daughter’s Wedding Reception Ends in Tragedy” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Is This the Start to the Fall of Apple?

Apple Inc shares slumped nearly 7 percent in after-hours trading as its fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of estimates and it missed some targets for iPhone sales . . .

Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said in an interview the results in China were “spectacular” during the quarter and noted plans to open 40 stores there over the next 12 months.

Without disclosing specific figures, Maestri said sales of the Apple Watch beat the company’s expectations. He noted that in the nine weeks since its launch in late April, the device has sold better than either iPhones or iPads over a similar period after their launch.

Apple said on Tuesday it sold 47.5 million iPhones in the third quarter, up 35 percent from a year ago. But some analysts had expected around 49 million.

Colin Gillis, an analyst for BGC Partners, said the results highlighted the vulnerability of Apple’s dependence on the iPhone and the Chinese market’s growing importance to the company. (Read more from “Is This the Start to the Fall of Apple?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Obama Plans Alaska Trip for Climate Change Conference

The White House has confirmed that President Obama will travel to Alaska next month for a climate change meeting.

White House spokeswoman Hallie Ruvin in a statement says the president on Aug. 31 will visit Anchorage to address the State Department’s GLACIER conference.

She says foreign ministers from Arctic nations and key non-Arctic states will gather to discuss how climate change is reshaping the Arctic. (Read more from “Obama Plans Alaska Trip for Climate Change Conference” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Try to Visit This Manhattan-Sized Island and You May Not Leave Alive

Sometimes paradise is better off lost: Off the coast of India in the Bay of Bengal, a Manhattan-size island called North Sentinel Island boasts a deep green canopy of trees, stretches of sandy beaches, coral reef barriers—and a population that’s decidedly hostile to outsiders, who aren’t likely to live long.

As Wackulus explains, the isolated indigenous tribe, one of the last of its kind on Earth, almost always attacks visitors. A little digging uncovered this story: After a night of drinking in 2006, two fishermen drifted too close to the island and were killed by the Sentinelese, who’ve lived there for 60,000 years.

A helicopter sent to recover their bodies was halted by tribesmen’s arrows, the Telegraph reported at the time; the air generated by the copter’s rotors revealed their bodies in shallow graves.

One of the earliest known encounters a century earlier ended when a convict who’d escaped from the neighboring Andaman Islands ended up on the island with his throat slit, the New York Times reported in 2012.

In 1967, the Sentinelese—a Stone Age people but for the metal-tipped arrows carved from wrecked ships—hid from an Indian government expedition, during which a marker was placed on the island, declaring it part of India. (Read more from “Try to Visit This Manhattan-Sized Island and You May Not Leave Alive” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Obama Family Vacations Costing Americans Tens of Millions!!!

Obama VacationBy Tom Fitton. Barack Obama’s taxpayer-funded trips are costing taxpayers a pretty penny. Other presidents have certainly pushed the line on this. However, here, one has to ask if the Obamas are really doing the people’s business on these extravagant, spare-no-expense trips across the country and to luxury destinations overseas.

Judicial Watch just obtained records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Michelle Obama’s 2014 trip to China cost American taxpayers $362,523.53 in air travel expenses alone. The first lady, her daughters, and her mother spent March 19-26 in China, in a trip highlighted by extended visits to some of the country’s most popular tourist sites. . .

Judicial Watch previously uncovered an expensive combination of trips by the Obamas to Africa and Honolulu, which cost taxpayers $15,885,585.30 in flight expenses alone.

The single largest prior-known expense for accommodations was for Michelle Obama’s side-trip to Dublin, Ireland, during the 2013 G-8 conference in Belfast, when she and her entourage booked 30 rooms at the five-star Shelbourne Hotel, with the first lady staying in the 1,500-square-foot Princess Grace suite at a cost of $3,500 a night. The total cost to taxpayers for the Obamas’ Ireland trip was $7,921,638.66.

To date, the known beyond-first-class travel expenses of the Obamas and Vice President Joe Biden exceed $57 million. (Read more from “Obama Family Vacations Causing Enormous Burden for US Taxpayers” HERE)

__________________________________________

38 Obama Vacations Cost Taxpayers Tens of Millions

By WND. How much does the first family cost taxpayers for vacations? While it’s difficult to pin down precise figures, the Washington Examiner reports they have “spent tens of millions in tax dollars to vacation . . .”

Judicial Watch has compiled a list of vacations, fundraisers and other presidential trips and their accompanying expenses. A rough tally of this incomplete list comes to a minimum of $33,441,728.23.

It is routine for the government to cover a president’s travel expenses, which can include security, staff housing and transportation, communication, prepositioning of aircraft and other related expenditures. Some, however, are questioning the sheer cost of travel, and whether such costly vacations are necessary during a weak economy.

Prior to the presidential trip to sub-Saharan Africa during 2013, the Washington Post reported, “Hundreds of U.S. Secret Service agents will be dispatched to secure facilities in Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. A Navy aircraft carrier or amphibious ship, with a fully staffed medical trauma center, will be stationed offshore in case of an emergency. Military cargo planes will airlift in 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with sheets of bullet¬proof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the first family will stay. Fighter jets will fly in shifts, giving 24-hour coverage over the president’s airspace, so they can intervene quickly if an errant plane gets too close.”

Additionally, “One hundred [Secret Service] agents are needed as ‘post-standers’ – to man security checkpoints and borders around the president – in each of the first three cities he visits. Sixty-five are needed to meet up with Obama in Dar es Salaam. … In addition, 80 to 100 additional agents will be flown in to work rotating shifts, with round-the-clock coverage, for Obama’s and his family’s security details …” (Read more from “Obama Family Vacations Costing Americans Tens of Millions” HERE)

Editor’s note: Earlier today (7/22/15), we posted an excerpt of a story from ConservativeFrontline.com suggesting that the Obama family vacations had cost taxpayers $100 million. We have determined that the source for this article was unreliable and pulled it, replacing it with the above articles documenting at least “$57 million” and “tens of millions of dollars” in vacation expenses rather than “$100 million.” We strive to provide accurate information to our readers and apologize for the earlier, unreliable posting.

Additionally, in fairness, it is important to note that President George W. Bush took significant vacation days while in office, a number that apparently exceeds President Obama’s. However, the costs associated with President Bush’s vacations were likely much lower due to most of them occurring at Bush’s private ranch in Texas.

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

New Poll: Americans Show Decreasing Support for Gay Marriage [+video]

It’s been over three weeks since the Supreme Court redefined marriage, nullified multiple portions of the Constitution, and implicitly blessed the budding pagan inquisition against religious liberty. Yet, the GOP-controlled Congress has done absolutely nothing – not even on a committee level – to protect religious liberty and fight back against judicial tyranny.

If the American people actually had a party that cared about the Founding principles, the fact that some states are violating the religious liberty and private property rights of Christian business owners would be enough to inspire immediate action at a federal level. Sadly, no such party exists.

But don’t Republicans at least read the polling data?

Even though the push for homosexual marriage has been as one-sided a battle as any transformational change in recent memory – with no organized GOP opposition against it – the Left has failed to move the needle one inch. In fact, they have lost ground since the Court’s ruling.

According to a new AP-GfK Poll, just 42% support homosexual marriage – down from 48% at the beginning of the year. What’s more, just 39% approve of the court’s decision. And by a slim plurality – 49%-47% – respondents believe that local officials with religious objections to this radical concept should be exempt from issuing marriage licenses. This is the gist of what Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told county clerks in his state, yet most Republicans nationally have run away from him like the plague.

Most importantly, as it relates to religious freedom, 59% believe that private businesses should be able to refuse services that violate their religious beliefs and practices. And when asked about which ideal should take priority when in conflict, 56% of respondents chose religious liberty while 39% chose “gay rights.”

The AP poll sampled “all adults,” not likely voters, meaning that the views of the electorate are probably even more favorable to the side of liberty than the numbers reflect in the poll. If this poll portends the beginning of a trend, it appears that more and more people are understanding that “you will be made to care” about the truculent and often undemocratic tactics of the professional homosexual and sexual identity movements.

This is yet one more example of how broken the political barometer of the GOP is when it comes to gauging the pulse of the public on a particular issue. In the private confines of establishment GOP circles, they view the issue of religious liberty as a colossal loser with the electorate. Imagine if Republicans and affiliated organizations would run a relentless barrage of ads in critical states highlighting the riveting messaging of the Heritage Foundation videos on the victims of the secular inquisition? The Klein bakery and the Gifford family farm? Imagine how the numbers would look if we actually fought back?

Appallingly, not only have Republicans refused to bring any bill to the floor protecting religious liberty, Senate GOP leadership gave Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) a floor vote on his anti-religious-liberty amendment last week to the education bill. Franken’s amendment would have created a new federally-recognized protected status for students claiming to be homosexual or transgendered. The federal government would be empowered to cut off funds to schools that, in the view of federal bureaucrats, discriminate against those students. The Attorney General would also receive power to bring civil actions against individual schools for such violations.

The Franken amendment failed to garner 60 votes, but every Democrat and six Republicans voted for it. Why would Republicans even allow a vote on something this radical, especially before conducting a single vote to protect religious liberty?

Although they have no regard for our most foundational values expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, don’t they at least pay attention to their coveted polling data?

Then again, if public opinion ever factored into their decisions, they would have voted to cut off funding to sanctuary cities and defunded Obama’s Iran negotiations long ago. Don’t hold your breath waiting for them to do the right thing on a single issue, irrespective of public opinion. (Posted with permission of the author, “New Poll: Americans Show Decreasing Support for Gay Marriage”, originally appeared HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Obama and Valerie Jarrett Deserve a ‘Dishonorable Discharge’ for Failing to Respect the Chattanooga Victims

Last week proved to be another dark blemish in the history of the United States with the brutal murders of four U.S. Marines and a sailor serving in the U.S. Navy allegedly at the hands of another “lone wolf” who apparently carried out the edicts of Islamic State terrorism on American soil against our military.

How long will this administration continue to shrug off the acts of terrorism and the threats to the security of the U.S. without calling it what it really is, namely radical Islamic State terrorism?

Despite having had our security level raised earlier this year because of an “increased and predictable threat of terrorism” against our military and law enforcement, the military remained defenseless and five of their men inside two Chattanooga, Tennessee recruiting centers paid the ultimate price.

“We have a general concern, obviously, that ISIL is focusing on the uniformed military and law enforcement,” Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Director James Comey told reporters in May.

An order upgrading the threat level was signed by Adm. William Gortney, who heads the U.S. Northern Command overseeing all U.S. military installations in the continental U.S. His order applied to National Guard facilities, recruiting stations and health clinics, according to a Pentagon official.

“We have the same concern about the potential threat posed by violent homegrown extremists,” Capt. Jeff Davis, spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command said earlier this year.

And yet, knowing that there was sufficient evidence to raise the threat level and that homegrown terrorist threats were also possible, the commander in chief did not issue an order to arm our military. Instead, our military men and women serving this country became target practice for any wayward “lone wolf” or other terrorist attack.

Decisions seemingly made out of political correctness rather than reason cost five military men their lives. That’s a failing grade in my book.

If politicians who serve this country could be dishonorably discharged like those in the military who fail the American people by their morally unacceptable choices then this administration would be facing those charges, as well.

Clearly, the high threat level established by the FBI and the issuance of the order by Gortney were ignored.

Were there other questionable measures that were taken by President Barack Obama and members of his administration following the massacre of our military in Chattanooga that deserve “dishonorable” mention?

A statement was released by Obama shortly after the killings of the four U.S. Marines by a suspect who self-identified as a Muslim and who was also suspected of possibly being a homegrown extremist.

Obama’s statement extended the “warmest” wishes from himself and Michelle to Muslims celebrating the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan. The month is reportedly the most violent month of the year in the Islamic world, when Muslims renew their devotion to Allah and where violent jihad is a supreme act of devotion to Allah.

Obama went on to say in his celebratory statement that it was “a reminder to every American of the importance of respecting those of all faiths and beliefs,” while knowing that there was a real possibility that the servicemen had been killed at the Chattanooga recruiting centers as a result of the gunman’s radical religious beliefs.

Obama concluded by saying that he and Michelle hoped that “today brings joy to all of your homes, both here in the U.S. and around the world. From my family to yours, Eid Mubaraki!”

While Obama had previously commented that the murders of the service members were “heartbreaking” and condemned the killings, the timing of the release of the statement so soon after the tragedy, while expressing his hope of “joy” for those celebrating Eid, showed extremely poor judgment.

Additionally, the Senior Advisor to Obama, Valerie Jarrett was busy taking selfies with celebrities and posting them on Twitter within hours of the Chattanooga tragedy. Those on Twitter blasted her for her insensitivity and lack of respect. Morally unacceptable behavior on a day of mourning for the nation?

Not to be outdone, Obama topped off his day by taking in a Broadway show and fundraiser. Who hasn’t done that following a death in the family or in this case our military family? Would it be too much to expect a leader to lead the nation in mourning? If it were possible, would this be considered morally unacceptable behavior that would be worthy of a dishonorable discharge?

And then, as if to finally reflect on the loss to America and their families, Obama announced that he was going away this past weekend for some “personal time.” There was probably no time for self-reflection, however, because the weekend in New York City included a secret Democratic National Committee fundraiser as well.

Never letting a moment go to waste following a tragedy, this was Obama’s second time attending a fundraiser following a tragic event that struck this nation.

As you may recall, Obama’s decision to attend a fundraiser the day after the massacre in Benghazi was questioned by critics for its “appropriateness.” Dishonorable discharge worthy or acceptable behavior for the leader of the free world?

Finally, as if there had not been enough evidence of thoughtless decisions made following the loss of life in Chattanooga, Obama failed to order all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff.

While his senior advisor can arrange for the White House to be lit with colorful rainbow lights and the owners of the Empire State building can display green lights for the celebration of Eid, Obama couldn’t take the time to issue the order to show respect for the loss of life.

While the president can issue an executive order to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the U.S. government and others as a mark of respect to their memory, apparently such details were overlooked.

All in all, following the tragic deaths of our military at the hands of a possible radical Islamic State extremist who carried out the tenets of radical terrorism, the actions of this administration, while not subject to a dishonorable discharge, have been appalling and morally unacceptable to those in America who value our military and the freedoms that they protect.

Those that lost their lives, their families and the American public in general deserve better from a sitting president and his or her administration.

May God bless the U.S. military men and women who honorably serve to protect our freedoms every day and may God bless those who lost their lives in Chattanooga while honorably doing the same. (Posted with permission of the author, “Obama and Valerie Jarrett Deserve a ‘Dishonorable Discharge’ for Failing to Respect the Chattanooga Victims”, originally appearing HERE)

Listen to a recent interview with the author on The Joe Miller Show:

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Ben Shapiro Files Police Report Against Transgender Reporter Who Threatened Him [+video]

Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Ben Shapiro filed a police report Sunday alleging battery against transgender Inside Edition reporter Zoey Tur.

The report follows a tense exchange between Mr. Shapiro and [Mr.] Tur on HLN’s “Dr. Drew On Call” over Caitlyn Jenner’s receipt of ESPN’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award. [Mr.]. Tur grabbed the back of Mr. Shapiro’s neck and said, “You cut that out now, or you’ll go home in an ambulance,” after Mr. Shapiro called [him] “sir” . . .

Mr. Shapiro later alleged that [Mr.] Tur had threatened him after the appearance, saying, “I’ll see you in the parking lot.” CNN security escorted Mr. Shapiro to his car after ensuring [Mr.] Tur had left the premises, according to Breitbart News.

(Read more from “Ben Shapiro Files Police Report Against Transgender Reporter Who Threatened Him” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Election 2016: The Little Sisters of the Poor vs. The Big Merchants of Baby Parts

Christians are called to live in the real, fallen world, not a wistful fantasyland where everyone tells the truth, secretly means well, and is just a winsome podcast or three-minute hug away from repentance and salvation.

Stuff’s getting real out there. The principalities and powers are waxing cocky. They’ve started to drop their masks and strut their horns and hooves by daylight. Believers can only benefit by calling things as they are. Our thin-skinned friends might wince at first and shun us, but give them a little while, and one after another will call late at night and say, “I thought you were paranoid, but I’m worried you might be right!” I’m getting quite a few such calls. Cold comfort, but I’ll take it.

Politics rarely overlaps directly with spiritual warfare. Most of the time there is plenty of right and wrong on either side. Sometimes there’s mostly wrong on both sides, as when Hitler’s regime invaded Stalin’s. It’s rare that you get a contrast so close to black and white as the RAF defending Britain from Nazi bombers. At such times, the wall between the seen and unseen world seems weak and thin, and you glimpse the hidden stakes of the battle: You are not even fighting these depraved or deluded people. You are wrestling with the spirits who feed them their evil ideas, who seek the destruction of all and the ruin of souls.

That is how clear American politics is becoming. Here’s what the next election should be about, if we do our jobs: The Little Sisters of the Poor vs. The Big Merchants of Baby Parts.

It really is that simple. We must press every politician in America to take a clear, explicit stand on two critical issues which can rouse the right passions of Americans: Religious freedom and abortion profiteering. No Republican who won’t support the First Amendment Defense Act and zero out federal aid to Planned Parenthood is worth even two seconds’ consideration. We should flee them as near occasions of sin.

We will be tempted, so tempted, to sloth and cowardice. But this thought should brace us: If Christians can’t force Republicans in the primaries to oppose the persecuting of religious orders and churches, and to put an end to the selling of baby parts (Is that too much to ask?) then we are worthless hirelings and the lambs whom we guard are doomed.

There’s a lot of junk in the Republican pond, but it still supports life from time to time. The Democratic, by comparison, is a mauve-coated pool of radioactive, flesh-eating bacteria. Their connection with any meaningful concept of the Good has long been tenuous, but now it has snapped. How else to explain apparently sane people who would use police and prisons to punish Christian bakers, but not the merchants of unborn children’s lungs and livers. The Republicans are imperfect but not committed to such monstrosities, showing glimmers of right reason on a list of important issues. Theirs is the only party where at least some leading politicians

Don’t want to actively persecute the church with punitive taxes and lawsuits if we don’t bless acts of sodomy at our altars and teach our kids to approve them in church schools.

Don’t want to send the police to stop nuns from caring for the poor unless they hand out abortion pills.

Don’t want to shovel half a billion dollars every year to the abortionists of racist-founded Planned Parenthood, who appear to be making a tidy profit selling organs from butchered babies.

Aren’t in the pockets of self-serving public employee unions that want to vote themselves the kind of benefits that just bankrupted Greece.

Aren’t so drunk on multiculturalist absinthe that they mix up jihadist thugs with Christian preachers.

Don’t want your taxes to fund sex-change operations for recently amnestied illegal aliens and felony prisoners.

It’s our job to determine which politicians really are against all this, against it passionately, with all the force and fervor that Ronald Reagan hated Communist tyranny, and loved American freedom. We need a pro-life, pro-religious freedom president with fire in his belly, who can stand up to his advisers, his friends from college and even his donor base.

We need someone who won’t be spooked when everyone from the mainstream media and the Ivy League denounces him as a troglodyte, a racist, an unfeeling bigot, an enemy of “love.” We need a candidate who will use such abuse as fuel, who will know that the fight is not against mere deluded flesh and blood opponents, but against powers of spiritual darkness that we must not permit to prevail. (Posted with permission of the author, “Election 2016: The Little Sisters of the Poor vs. The Big Merchants of Baby Parts”, originally appeared HERE)

Here are two recent interviews with the author on The Joe Miller:

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.