When President Obama first won the White House, he recruited Ray LaHood, a Republican congressman, to join his cabinet. The appointment, Mr. Obama said, “reflects that bipartisan spirit” that would distinguish his presidency.
Seven years later and now out of office, Mr. LaHood has concluded that the opposite turned out to be true. Rather than reflecting the bipartisan spirit of the Obama presidency, Mr. LaHood said his appointment as secretary of transportation came to reflect its failure.
Despite the glowing words, Mr. Obama abandoned his promise to govern across the aisle, Mr. LaHood said in an interview. The only elected Republican in Mr. Obama’s original cabinet, Mr. LaHood said the president never made a sustained effort to reach out and gave up too easily. As a result, he became isolated and reliant on a group of like-minded advisers.
That assessment from a man who served under Mr. Obama for four years punctuates Mr. LaHood’s new memoir, “Seeking Bipartisanship: My Life in Politics,” published last month by Cambria Press. While he expressed warm feelings toward Mr. Obama and approval of many of his policies, Mr. LaHood lamented the partisan fever that characterized his time in office.
“I do not believe the White House ever committed fully to a genuine bipartisan approach to policy making, despite the president’s words to the contrary,” Mr. LaHood wrote in the book, which he produced with Frank H. Mackaman. (Read more from “Promised Bipartisanship, Obama Adviser Found Disappointment” HERE)
The easiest way to detect nuclear material is typically when it’s already too late. By the time seismographs, infrasound sensors, and radiation readers pick up on a blast, it’s already happened. Catching a nuclear weapon before it goes off is a lot trickier, which might be why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is looking at some rather unconventional ideas. The latest: a small, wearable radiation detector. Think of it like a FitBit, only instead of telling its user about calories burned, it lets them know if they’re close to any nuclear weapons.
Huban Gowadia, Director of the DHS’s Domestic Nuclear Detection office, last Thursday blogged that the Department has awarded a multimillion dollar contract to develop such a device. The DHS is calling it the “Human Portable Tripwire.” She writes:
The award is for small, wearable radiation detector devices that passively monitor the environment and alert the user when nuclear or other radioactive material is present. Known as the Human Portable Tripwire (HPT), this device has the capability to identify the source of radiation and allow personnel to take appropriate action. The technology can also locate the source of the detected radiation and includes communication features that allow the user to easily seek additional technical assistance from experts if needed. These devices are a critical tool for personnel who operate in the maritime environment, at land and sea ports of entry, and within the United States.
(Read more from “DHS Is Getting a Wearable Radiation Detector” HERE)
At least in Florida, they fire teachers for this kind of nonsense. In Los Angeles or New York, the school district would pay to have them binge-watch the reality show in case they get to run a classroom again. This time, a substitute teacher has been “banned” from working in the Collier County public school district for showing a class clips from a reality television show called “Naked and Afraid” . . .
Collier County Public Schools has banned a substitute teacher for showing a partially nude reality show to second graders.
Hours after the substitute showed Naked and Afraid in a computer lab class, she was told to go home. The incident is under investigation and the teacher is banned from working at every school in the district. …
That would be an interesting explanation, to be sure. What possible explanation could there be? The district refused to identify the teacher, so we may never get her side of the story, as WINK reporter Christina Lusby hoped to do. Any valid explanation would likely involve stupidity, chemical influence, or both … which may be another reason that the district would prefer to keep the press from finding the teacher. They might have to answer questions about their hiring practices. (Read more from “Great Moments in Public Education: Teacher Shows Nudist Show in Class… to Second Graders” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2015-11-12 00:39:332016-04-11 10:56:17Great Moments in Public Education: Teacher Shows Nudist Show in Class… to Second Graders
By Chris Cillizza. The eight top Republican presidential candidates gathered for the fourth debate of the 2016 campaign Tuesday night in Milwaukee. It was a more understated affair than the last GOP debate sponsored by CNBC but still managed to yield some bests and worsts.
Here are my winners and losers from the night: . . .
* Ted Cruz: For the second straight debate, the senator from Texas shone under the bright lights. His line about the tax code having more words than the Bible was a good and memorable one. His repeated denunciations of Washington’s “crony” culture will leave a lot of Republican heads nodding in agreement. Cruz proved Tuesday night that of the “outsider” candidates, he is the one best equipped to carry their message going forward.
* Ben Carson: In the first three debates, I watched in wonder as Carson’s numbers kept moving up after what I perceived to be nearly nonexistent performances. But Carson — from his first answer on Tuesday night — was more energetic (that’s a pretty low bar given Carson’s past performances) and more dialed in than I had seen him. He was helped by a moderator question on his past exaggerations/inaccuracies regarding his life story that would give the term “softball” a bad name. And by the fact that none of his rivals seemed interested in taking the fight to him on the issue of the inconsistencies of his recounting of the past. Carson was, as usual, very shaky on foreign policy and wasn’t much better on regulatory reform. But he did more than enough to keep himself at or near the top of the GOP field . . .
[The losers:]
* Donald Trump: Trump, as he has in each of the first four debates, stood center stage in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. But for the two-plus hours that the debate ran, Trump felt ancillary to the conversation. When he did get time to speak, he simply repeated his now-familiar lines — we don’t win anymore, I have a great company, etc. — and little else. His answers on foreign policy were not good. His random attack on Fiorina — “why does she keep interrupting everybody?” — earned him boos from the crowd (and helped her). Trump just didn’t seem all that interested in being there. It likely won’t affect his poll numbers, since nothing seems to. But that doesn’t change the fact he was off his game.
(Read more from “Here’s Who Won the Last Republican Debate” HERE)
___________________________________
Donald Trump Rules Twitter During GOP Debate
By Justin Wm. Moyer. Donald Trump still rules. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) are treading water. Gov. John Kasich (Ohio) and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) are much improved. And former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina trails the pack.
So judged Twitter after Tuesday evening’s Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee. As it has after previous presidential primary debates, Twitter sliced and diced its big data on eight of the GOP candidates — and Democratic rivals who weren’t even on stage — in an attempt to determine who won and who lost the online conversation.
First: Here were Twitter’s “most mentioned candidates on Twitter, with share of debate conversation”:
Businessman Donald Trump: 24 percent (compared with 22 percent after last month’s debate in Boulder, Colo.)
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush: 12 percent (compared with 11 percent last month)
(Read more from “Donald Trump Rules Twitter During GOP Debate” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-11 00:44:202016-04-11 10:56:17Here’s Who Won the Last Republican Debate; Donald Trump Rules Twitter
On Oct. 4, 1924, at the dedication of the monument to the American Expeditionary Forces in Washington, D.C., President Calvin Coolidge stated: “They did not regard it as a national or personal opportunity for gain or fame or glory, but as a call to sacrifice for the support of humane principles and spiritual ideals. … If anyone doubts the depth and sincerity of the attachment of the American people to their institutions and Government, if anyone doubts the sacrifices which they have been willing to make in behalf of those institutions and for what they believe to be the welfare of other nations, let them gaze upon this monument and other like memorials that have been reared in every quarter of our broad land. Let them look upon the representative gatherings of our veterans, and let them remember that America has dedicated itself to the service of God and man.”
Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all who have served defending the United States. In 1958, President Eisenhower placed soldiers in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWII and the Korean War.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan placed a soldier from the Vietnam War in the tomb. DNA test later identified him as pilot Michael Blassie, a graduate of St. Louis University High School, 1966, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, 1970. Flying an A-37B Dragonfly, he was shot down near An Loc, South Vietnam. In 1998, Michael Blassie was reburied at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
On Nov. 11, 1921, President Harding stated: “On the threshold of eternity, many a soldier, I can well believe, wondered how his ebbing blood would color the stream of human life, flowing on after his sacrifice … I can sense the prayers of our people. … Let me join in that prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.” . . .
President Dwight Eisenhower broadcast from the White House for the American Legion’s Back-to-God Program, Feb. 7, 1954: “As a former soldier, I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives. In battle, they learned a great truth – that there are no atheists in the foxholes. They know that in time of test and trial, we instinctively turn to God for new courage and peace of mind. All the history of America bears witness to this truth. Out of faith in God, and through faith in themselves as His children, our forefathers designed and built this Republic. …” (Read more from “Who Gave Us Freedom of Religion, Press, Speech?” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-11 00:42:252016-04-11 10:56:17Who Gave Us Freedom of Religion, Press, Speech?
President Obama has made history by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to pose for the cover of an LGBT magazine.
Obama is on the cover of Out magazine’s latest Out 100 issue as the publication’s “Ally of the Year.”
“The 44th President of the United States is our Ally of the Year—a president who came to office on a wave of euphoria, appeared to lose momentum halfway through, and has since rallied, helping us secure marriage equality, among other landmark initiatives that are transforming our place in America,” the editors of Out wrote in an article accompanying the cover.
Obama granted a wide-ranging interview to the LGBT publication, weighing in on his administration’s focus on LGBT rights, the “generational difference” in his daughters’ attitudes toward homosexuality and the role the United States could play in challenging the human rights records of more restrictive regimes in Middle Eastern countries.
Obama told the magazine his fight for equality began “from when I was a kid, because my mom instilled in me the strong belief that every person is of equal worth.” (Read more from “Obama ‘Proudly’ Made the Cover of This Disgusting Magazine” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-11 00:38:432016-04-11 10:56:17Obama ‘Proudly’ Made the Cover of This Disgusting Magazine
By Edwin Mora. The Assyrian Army is in dire need of military support from the United States to protect Christian communities in Iraq and Syria against the genocide they are facing at the hands of the barbaric Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), according to a decorated American military veteran advising the force.
Retired Lt. Col. Sargis Sangari, who was a deployed to Iraq during his 20-year career in the U.S. Army, is one of the Americans advising the Assyrian Army, known as Dwekh Nawsha, which means “self-sacrifice” in the ancient Aramaic language used by Jesus and still spoken by the Assyrian Christians.
According to Sangari, the Assyrian military force, which is primarily based in Iraq’s Assyrian Nineveh plains, is closely aligned with the strategic goals and aspirations of the United States.
Sangari, head of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement, spoke to Breitbart News about the continued plight of Dwekh Nawsha as ISIS has unleashed a savage and deadly wave of persecution against Christians and other religious minorities throughout Iraq and Syria.
“All we’re saying is we’re done. We don’t have equipment. We don’t have the weapons. We don’t have the training,” said Lt. Col. Sangari, an Assyrian American. (Read more from “Christian Army Fighting ISIS Pleads for US Support” HERE)
__________________________________
ISIS Savages ‘Gun Down 200 Syrian Children’ Claim Campaigners After Horrifying Mass Execution Video Emerges
By Sam Webb. Sickening footage has appeared online of what is claimed to show ISIS thugs gunning down 200 Syrian children in a savage mass execution.
The video, which has been circulated by a Yemen-based anti-ISIS activist, shows juveniles bound and forced to lie face down in a line.
The killers then open fire with automatic rifles. The raw footage is too horrifying to be shown.
The footage has not been verified, but one campaign group claims the gunmen are Islamic State fighters.
Others have claimed it shows Mujahadeen fighters in Chechnya while still more say it shows the Syrian Army. (Read more from “ISIS Savages ‘Gun Down 200 Syrian Children’ Claim Campaigners After Horrifying Mass Execution Video Emerges” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-11 00:38:152016-04-11 10:56:17Christian Army Fighting ISIS Pleads for US Support
Republican presidential front-runner Ben Carson took an opportunity during Tuesday’s debate to once again address what he considers unfair media scrutiny of his candidacy. Reacting to criticism over perceived autobiographical inconsistencies, the retired neurosurgeon acknowledged that he expected his White House bid to open his past up to investigation.
“I have no problem with being vetted,” he said. “What I do have a problem with is being lied about.”
Carson further lambasted the media’s behavior as evidence of an underlying partisan double standard.
“When I look at somebody like Hillary Clinton,” he said, “who sits there and tells her daughter and a government official that [the Benghazi attack] was a terrorist attack and then tells everyone else it was a video, where I come from, they call that a lie.”
He went on to say Clinton’s behavior is “very different from somebody misinterpreting when I said that I was offered a scholarship to West Point.” (Read more from “Ben Carson Slams Hillary and the Media in One Debate Answer” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-11 00:35:582016-04-11 10:56:18Ben Carson Slams Hillary and the Media in One Debate Answer
Hillary Clinton failed to admonish an audience member on Tuesday who said he wanted to “strangle” Republican primary candidate Carly Fiorina.
The audience member said he was a systems engineer who was laid off from Hewlett-Packard while Fiorina was CEO of the company.
He critiqued decisions made by Fiorina to fire workers and said he becomes infuriated whenever he sees her trumpeting her business record on television.
“And to see this woman say she grew the company three times — she merged the company with Digital Equipment and Compaq Computing. That’s not growing a company when you absorb two other companies,” he said.
“And then she laid off over 40,000 people, and she says she’s a great CEO. Every time I see her on TV, I want to reach through and strangle her,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience. “I know that doesn’t sound very nice.” (Read more from “Clinton’s Reaction to Audience Member Suggesting He’d Like to Strangle Carly Fiorina Is Frightening” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-11-11 00:35:302016-04-11 10:56:18Watch: Clinton’s Reaction to Audience Member Suggesting He’d Like to Strangle Carly Fiorina Is Frightening
The United States and other global powers are helping Iran to update and reconstruct a nuclear reactor that has been suspected of helping the Islamic Republic produce enough material for a potential nuclear weapon, according to regional reports and statements from the State Department.
The United States’ goal is to work with Iran to refit the reactor in such a way that it can no longer produce weapons grade material.
However, Iran maintains that the United States and other partner nations will soon provide “advanced equipment” for the reactor, which is located near the Iranian industrial city of Arak.
A spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the Islamic Republic’s main nuclear regulator, said on Tuesday that the United States and several other nations would begin supplying Iran equipment so that it can modernize the nuclear reactor.
“Four countries of the [nuclear negotiating team] have accepted to cooperate with Iran in supplying advanced equipment for the (Arak) reactor and different other issues,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Iranian nuclear authority, said Tuesday. (Read more from “US to Help Iran Rebuild Nuclear Reactor” HERE)
