Greece Votes ‘Yes’ on Bailout Bill

Greece’s parliament has voted to accept substantial economic reforms needed before the country can receive a fresh bailout worth as much as $96 billion.

The heavily indebted country needs the bailout money to avoid bankruptcy and a ‘Grexit’ from the euro, but the reforms are extremely unpopular.

Many Greeks resent that European lenders are imposing such harsh, strict reforms on their pension and tax systems.

Protests in front of the Greek parliament building in Athens turned violent on Wednesday ahead of the vote. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and police responded with tear gas.

For months, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party rallied against the reforms. But Tsipras was forced to accept them as the country tottered on the brink of bankruptcy. (Read more from “Greece Votes ‘Yes’ on Bailout Bill” HERE)

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Sickening Video Catches Planned Parenthood’s Top Doctor Selling Body Parts of Aborted Babies

A shocking new expose’ video has caught Planned Parenthood’s top doctor describing how the abortion business sells the body parts of aborted babies.

New undercover footage shows Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, describing how Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of aborted unborn children and admitting she uses partial-birth abortions to supply intact body parts.

In the video, Nucatola is at a business lunch with actors posing as buyers from a human biologics company. As head of PPFA’s Medical Services department, Nucatola has overseen medical practice at all Planned Parenthood locations since 2009. She also trains new Planned Parenthood abortion doctors and performs abortions herself at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles up to 24 weeks.

Nucatola admits that Planned Parenthood charges per-specimen for baby body parts, uses illegal partial-birth abortion procedures in order to get salable parts, and is aware of their own liability for doing so and takes steps to cover it up.

The footage shockingly depicts the top medical official at the Planned Parenthood corporation munching on her salad while she discusses the sale of body parts of unborn children victimized by abortions. She brazenly describes how the heads of unborn babies killed in abortions command top dollar. (Read more from “Shocking Video Catches Planned Parenthood’s Top Doctor Selling Body Parts of Aborted Babies” HERE)

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Now America’s National Parks Are Racist

Park Service and America’s majestic national parks as racist because way too many white people visit them.

[Writing for the New York Times, Glenn] Nelson argues that race plays a huge role in determining which people visit national parks. He is distressed, he says, because too few members of racial minorities are among the nearly 300 million people who visit America’s many conservation areas annually.

People who are defined as not white make up 37 percent of the U.S. population. However, just 22 percent of the people who visited national parks were minority members according to a recent survey.

Nelson mentions the plight of a 58-year-old black woman who hates mosquitos and is very sensibly afraid of “bears, cougars and wolves.” He also expresses deep concern about a 29-year-old black man who has no desire whatsoever to visit national parks and a 51-year-old black woman who wants to visit a national park but can’t find anyone to go with her. . .

Nelson, “the son of a Japanese mother,” also wrote that in his childhood he and some friends were concerned that they would see “a ‘Whites Only’ sign at the entrance” of Mount Rainier National Park or that they could die by “being lynched” or in an attack “while collecting firewood after the sun went down.” (Read more from “Now America’s National Parks Are Racist” HERE)

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Military May Fund Gender Transition If Transgender Ban Is Lifted

The U.S. military is weighing whether it will conduct or fund gender transition surgery and treatment once the ban on open service by transgender people is rescinded.

On Monday, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter issued two directives, bringing the Pentagon closer to lifting the Department of Defense (DoD) policy barring transgender persons from wearing the uniform . . .

“Some of the key concerns involved in the repeal of the ban on transgender individuals include whether the military would conduct or pay for the medical costs, surgeries and other treatment associated with any gender transition, as well as which physical training or testing standards transgender individuals would be required to meet during different stages of their transition,” notes AP.

Unnamed defense officials told AP that “the military also wants time to tackle questions about where transgender troops would be housed, what uniforms they would wear, what berthing they would have on ships, which bathrooms they would use and whether their presence would affect the ability of small units to work well together.”

Carter announced that the DoD will create a working group to study, over the next six months, the implications that allowing transgenders to serve openly in the military will have on policy and readiness. (Read more from “Military May Fund Gender Transition If Transgender Ban Is Lifted” HERE)

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This Organization Asks Conference Attendees Not to Rape People

Attendees of a major conference of left-wing activists this week are being asked not to rape other attendees, according to conference materials posted online.

“We want our attendees to have a great time, but please remember that sexual consent is always essential,” advises a program handed out to attendees of the 2015 Netroots Nation conference . . .

“Alcohol use is never an excuse to disrespect, harass or harm others, and someone who is intoxicated may not be able to give their consent,” organizers noted. (Read more from “This Organization Asks Conference Attendees Not to Rape People” HERE)

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Obama Writes Personal Letter to Nearly 50 Felons, But Continues to Ignore Family of Murder Victim Kathryn Steinle [+video]

Nearly two weeks after 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was murdered on San Francisco’s Pier 14 by an illegal alien and convicted felon who was released from prison earlier this year, President Barack Obama has failed to contact the victim’s family or mention her in public. Yet Obama took the time to write (and release) 46 personal letters this month to felons imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses whose sentences he has commuted . . .

Critics have noted that Obama was quick to reach out to the family of Michael Brown, who was killed while charging a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri last year, enhancing Brown’s heroic status to drive a political narrative. He has done the same in other, similar cases.

(Read more from “Obama Writes Personal Letter to Nearly 50 Felons, Ignores Family of Murder Victim Kathryn Steinle” HERE)

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12 Reasons Iran’s “Dreams Have Come True” and Why the Deal Endangers the US

[Yesterday], the leader of Iran’s evil regime, Hassan Rouhani, declared, “today major world powers recognized Iran’s nuclear program. Our dreams have come true.”

And indeed, this nuclear deal that Obama essentially cut with Iran months ago, recognizes much more than just their nuclear program.

Today, you will hear many references to Neville Chamberlain, but the truth is that Chamberlain merely appeased the enemy of his country; he didn’t create an alliance with Germany.

Moreover, he was negotiating from a position of weakness, whereas America had Iran on the ropes from years of sanctions. Obama is handing them their nuclear program and regional hegemony on a silver platter as a reward for killing and maiming thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq over the past decade. John Kerry even apologized for the years that sanctions were in place.

Here are the important details and outcomes of this alliance Obama has forged with Iran:

1) Keep the Centrifuges: Iran can keep more than 5,000 centrifuges with one-third of them continuing to spin in perpetuity. For context, Pakistan created a bomb with just 3,000 centrifuges. In return for them keeping most of their infrastructure, they are entitled to receive $140 billion in sanctions relief.

2) Phony Inspections: Iran will have the discretion to block international inspectors from military installations and will be given 14 days’ notice for any request to visit any site. But there are several layers of bureaucracy that will elongate any period of inspection beyond the 14 days, and that is assuming the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will pursue an inspections regime in any meaningful way. Iran’s objections to inspections at military sites can be overturned by an international commission, something that will never occur. Also, the inspectors can only come from countries with diplomatic relations with Iran. Hence, no American inspectors.

3) Lifting of Weapons Embargo: One of the latest additions to the alliance deal was a lifting of the embargo on the sale of weapons to Iran. The embargo will officially be lifted in 5 years, but as we’ve seen from the past few years of negotiations, the embargo has already been de facto lifted because nobody will enforce any violations.

4) If you like you’re delivery system…: The embargo on Iran’s ICBM program will be lifted after 8 years (again, lack of enforcement will likely occur earlier). Coupled with the nuclear materials they will be allowed to keep and the operation of advanced centrifuges, they could have a delivery system in place by the time they break out with a nuclear weapon.

5) Keep Your Infrastructure: The heavy water reactor in Arak and the underground nuclear facility in Fordo will be kept open, in direct contravention to Obama’s own red lines.

6) Arms Trades Already Underway: As if on cue, the Russians are already agreeing to sell Iran s-300 anti-missile rocket systems in exchange for 500,000 barrels of oil. This makes it clear they will never agree to reinstate sanctions on Iran if they cheat on the agreement.

7) Covert Program Untouched: The P5+1 nations already dropped demands that Iran disclose its past research. The publicly-discovered nuclear sites are irrelevant because Iran has already hid the ball.

8) Sanctions Already Laughed Off: Iran knows they don’t have to agree to any significant concession because the sanctions have already been ignored across the board by the West. Iran is already boasting about record oil exports.

9) All Sanctions Fall Together: Needless to say, Iran is continuing to build their ballistic missile program and expand their terrorism and regional hegemony. None of this was even a part of the negotiations from day one. For months, the Obama administration swore that the sanctions targeting Iran’s terror, human rights abuses, and its ballistic missile program would remain in place. But last month, the AP reported that all of the sanctions will collapse once the nuclear sanctions are removed.

10) Paying Iran to Make a Bomb: If you thought this “deal” was a joke, you are not missing anything. The AP has reported that Obama has agreed to help Iran with technical assistance to develop their nuclear program…all for domestic purposes of course. It appears that this will be part of the final deal.

11) Killing U.S. Soldiers Pays Off: Sanctions were lifted on critical parts of Iran’s military, including restrictions on the Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. This man is responsible for the deaths of numerous U.S. soldiers in Iran.

12) Continue to Illegally Torture American Prisoners: While Soleimani is being freed to travel abroad, the U.S. hostages in Iran will remain in prison.

Where Things Stand

Thanks to the unconstitutional Corker-Cardin bill, the Senate has ceded its power to ratify a treaty, which would have required two-thirds of the Senate to affirmatively approve of the deal in order for the sanctions to be lifted. Now, the sanctions will automatically be lifted unless Congress musters two-thirds in opposition to the deal in both bodies of Congress – 67 votes in the Senate and 290 in the House. Given the radical nature of the modern-day Democrat Party, there is no way Republicans will come close to mustering the votes. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has already expressed support for Obama’s Iranian alliance.

Rather than play defense, it’s time for conservatives to go on offense and force leadership to jettison their liberal agenda and use every must-pass bill to block the Iran deal. Next week, Congress plans to approve the annual defense bill. This is a perfect vehicle for blocking a deal with Iran. They must also use the upcoming budget bill as well to block any sanctions relief. A steady and relentless stream of legislative pressure on Democrats is the only way they will feel the heat on the issue.

Congress can’t afford to wait until September to block the lifting of sanctions. This deal was not written with the “Corker-Cardin review process” in mind. The UN Security Council can approve the lifting of sanctions within a few weeks while members of Congress are having fun in the sun. Shouldn’t Republicans assert the prerogative to keeping members in session until this deal is blocked?

Some things are worth fighting for, and if Republicans can’t muster the courage to wield the power of the purse over the worst international capitulation of our generation, there is no purpose to their existence. (“Iran Deal Endangers the US”, originally posted HERE)

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‘No Freaking Way!’ Teachers Revolt Over Union’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

For a union built on democracy, activist teachers are wondering how the American Federation of Teachers could have possibly endorsed Hillary Clinton for president without them knowing about it.

Candi Peterson, Washington (D.C.) Teachers’ Union, penned an article at Common Dreams in which several die-hard union activists appeared to be utterly befuddled by the national union’s sudden announcement.

Chicago activist Katie Osgood says, “I know many AFT members too and have not heard one person polled either.” The union claimed it polled members on their opinions.

According to the calculation of “Mr. Stevens,” only .04 percent of members were surveyed.

New York City teacher Arthur Goldstein tells the news site, “…AFT Link says they used telephone town halls and a web-based survey, I didn’t even know existed.” (Read more from “‘No Freaking Way!’ Teachers Revolt Over Union’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton” HERE)

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$2,446,920,000,000: Federal Taxes Set Record Through June; $16,451 per U.S. Worker—Feds Still Run $313B Deficit

The federal government raked in a record of approximately $2,446,920,000,000 in tax revenues through the first nine months of fiscal 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 through the end of June), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today . . .

It is also up about $178,156,270,000 in constant 2015 dollars from the $2,268,763,730,000 in revenue (in inflation-adjusted 2015 dollars) that the Treasury raked in during the first nine months of fiscal 2014.

Despite the record tax revenues of $2,446,920,000,000 in the first nine months of this fiscal year, the government spent $2,760,301,000,000 during those nine months, and, thus, ran up a deficit of $313,381,000,000 during the period.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, total seasonally adjusted employment in the United States in June (including both full and part-time workers) was 148,739,000. That means that the federal tax haul so far this fiscal year has equaled $16,451 for every person in the United States with a job.

In 2012, President Barack Obama struck a deal with Republicans in Congress to enact legislation that increased taxes. That included increasing the top income tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, increasing the top tax rate on dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent, and phasing out personal exemptions and deductions starting at an annual income level of $250,000. (Read more from “$2,446,920,000,000: Federal Taxes Set Record Through June; $16,451 per U.S. Worker—Feds Still Run $313B Deficit” HERE)

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Democrat Judge Orders Psych Counseling for D’Souza

At a hearing Monday in Manhattan in which he ruled filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza must continue community service for four more years, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said he considers D’Souza’s violation of federal campaign-finance laws to be evidence of a psychological problem and ordered further counseling.

D’Souza’s defense counsel Benjamin Brafman provided evidence to the court that the psychiatrist D’Souza was ordered to see found no indication of depression or reason for medication. In addition, the psychologist D’Souza subsequently consulted provided a written statement concluding there was no need to continue the consultation, because D’Souza was psychologically normal and well adjusted.

But Judge Berman, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, disagreed, effectively overruling the judgment of the two licensed psychological counselors the U.S. probation department had approved as part of D’Souza’s criminal sentence.

“I only insisted on psychological counseling as part of Mr. D’Souza’s sentence because I wanted to be helpful,” the judge explained. “I am requiring Mr. D’Souza to see a new psychological counselor and to continue the weekly psychological consultation not as part of his punishment or to be retributive.

D’Souza has become known for his two popular films critical of President Obama. “2016: Obama’s America” was released during the 2012 presidential campaign and “America: Imagine the World Without Her” came out in July 2014, ahead of the midterm elections. (Read more from “Dem Judge Orders Psych Counseling for D’Souza” HERE)

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