Report: U.N. Pressing for ‘Alternative’ Ways to Admit More Syrian Refugees to U.S.

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21238173466_b97a203635_bUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is considering “alternative” ways to admit more Syrian refugees to the United States, beyond the current refugee resettlement program, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

“The legitimacy and transparency of these new ‘alternative pathways,’ aimed at admitting increasing numbers of Syrian refugees into the United States without calling them ‘refugees,’ remain to be seen,” CIS senior researcher Nayla Rush wrote in a report Monday. “They might even amount to convenient admissions detours at a time when the U.S. refugee resettlement program is under tight scrutiny.”

According to Rush, facing a target to resettle 480,000 Syrian refugees over the next three years, U.N. representatives have already been laying the rhetorical groundwork for pursuing such alternatives to resettlement. During a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution in February, Rush detailed, Beth Harris, Research Professor at Georgetown University and adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on humanitarian refugee policy noted the possibility of alternative paths.

Refugees and government officials are expecting this crisis to last 10 or 15 years. It’s time that we no longer work as business as usual … UNHCR next month [March 2016] is convening a meeting to look at what are being called “alternative safe pathways” for Syrian refugees. Maybe it’s hard for the U.S. to go from 2,000 to 200,000 refugees resettled in a year, but maybe there are ways we can ask our universities to offer scholarships to Syrian students. Maybe we can tweak some of our immigration policies to enable Syrian-Americans who have lived here to bring not only their kids and spouses but their uncles and their grandmothers. There may be ways that we could encourage Syrians to come to the U.S. without going through this laborious, time-consuming process of refugee resettlement.” (Emphasis Rush’s).

At the UNHCR March “high level” meeting in Geneva, Rush detailed, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for “alternative avenues” for countries to admit more Syrian refugees. (Read more from “Report: U.N. Pressing for ‘Alternative’ Ways to Admit More Syrian Refugees to U.S.” HERE)

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Planned Parenthood Faces Intense Criticism After Tweet Claiming Expose’ Videos Were Fake

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maxresdefaultFirst, Planned Parenthood’s CEO apologized for the undercover videos exposing its trafficking of aborted baby body parts. Then it backtracked and claimed the videos were “heavily edited.” Now, it’s saying the videos were entirely “faked.”

The undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress have damaged the abortion giant’s already shady reputation. Since last summer, CMP has released a dozen undercover videos showing various Planned Parenthood employees discussing the sale of aborted babies body parts. These videos have prompted numerous state and federal investigations, as well as efforts to ban the sale of aborted babies’ body parts and end taxpayer funding to the abortion chain.

Planned Parenthood has been trying without success to discredit the videos. Several forensic analyses of the undercover videos, including one by Planned Parenthood, found no “widespread evidence of substantive video manipulation,” LifeNews reported.

Perhaps the abortion group hopes people have forgotten the results of these forensic analyses. A report on Twitchy points out how the abortion business recently published a series of tweets describing the undercover videos as “fake”: . . .

But followers on Twitter did not let Planned Parenthood get away with it:

(Read more from “Planned Parenthood Faces Intense Criticism After Tweet Claiming Expose’ Videos Were Fake” HERE)

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Tax Lovin’ Bernie Loves Him Some Tax Deductions … For Himself

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24035792350_bc5de6af26_bYet another example of astonishing liberal/socialist/progressive hypocrisy.

Bernie Sanders, outspoken class warrior who once stated that tax rates as high as 90% weren’t too high, only pays a 13.5% tax rate on over $200,000 in household income. This guy is a total fraud and so are his socialist acolytes. Let me ask Bernie’s supporters the following questions, the answers to which will provide all the evidence you need to conclusively prove liberal hypocrisy.

Does Bernie Sanders believe that higher tax rates and revenues are a force for good?

Yes.

Does Bernie Sanders believe that successful Americans should both pay a higher tax rate and pay more of their revenue?

Yes.

Is Bernie Sanders wealthy relative to the average American?

Yes.

Does Bernie Sanders practice this in his own life?

No, he doesn’t.

I am sincerely perplexed that reasonable people, aligning themselves with liberal values, have a difficult time processing why this is hypocritical. If, as Bernie Sanders is suggesting, taxes are a force for public good then why use the tax code to take over $60,000 in tax deductions to avoid a higher tax bill? Aren’t you avoiding doing “a good thing” if you believe that the taxes you pay will result in “good things” and you then avoid paying them by taking advantage of deductions? (Note: I’m am not suggesting that Bernie Sanders has done anything illegal, or even unethical, by not paying a higher tax rate voluntarily. To the contrary, I applaud him for understanding that his money will be put to its best use by staying in his family’s budget and not the government’s).

For example, many people voluntarily donate significant portions of their hard-earned income to charity not because the government ordered them to, but because they believe they are doing a “good thing” by helping someone, or some organization, out. To be clear, this isn’t an issue for conservatives, so if you’re a liberal and thinking to yourself, “Well, conservatives don’t pay more taxes voluntarily either,” then you would be correct. We don’t pay more because the money is going down a red-ink rat-hole of broken government programs and endless spending and we refuse to waste any more of our money. So, liberals, stop thinking that to avoid further embarrassment. But, if you’re a liberal or socialist, start thinking about why YOU aren’t paying the maximum rate at all times. Don’t you think that you should show us all how sincerely you believe in the power of higher taxes by paying the maximum rate? If not, then why not? Do you feel that your money will be wasted if you pay more? If so, then welcome to the conservative movement.

You may be asking yourself, “Why concern yourself with a presidential candidate who is on the verge of being eliminated from contention?” This is a fair question, and I’ve argued repeatedly in my podcast that this has little to do with Bernie Sanders and a lot to do with the dangerous, deadly ideology he is selling. We CANNOT afford to lose another generation of our kids to the false promises of socialism. We lost a large swath of the last generation to these fraudulent ideas and now we are paying the price through the elections and campaigns of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. (For more from the author of “Tax Lovin’ Bernie Loves Him Some Tax Deductions … For Himself” please click HERE)

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Further Down the Spiral: How Much Longer Can Obamacare Last?

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hqdefaultAs United Health Care, one of the nation’s largest insurers, announced it would withdraw from the Obamacare exchanges, the insurance industry as a whole seems to be falling apart. A number of high profile insurers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, have been laying the groundwork for sizable premium increases next year. A study released last month found that costs for insurers had risen by 22 percent, a clear indicator that consumer prices are going to have to go up to prevent more companies from following United Health’s lead.

None of this is especially surprising. Back when Obamacare was first proposed, smart people who understood how insurance worked looked at the model and, with eyebrows raised, pointed out the obvious flaw that would prevent the program from working: the insurance death spiral. The death spiral works like this: When the pool of people who sign up for health insurance is older and sicker than insurance companies expect, costs end up being higher than projected. Companies have to raise their prices (premiums) in order to make a profit. Higher prices cause some people to drop their plans as being too expensive, and the people most likely to do this are the ones who need insurance the least. This makes the remaining pool still more costly than before, and the cycle begins again, until nobody can afford insurance anymore.

Like clockwork, this is what we have seen under Obamacare. Every year since the law’s enactment, the Department of Health and Human Services has fallen short of its enrollment goals, despite increasing penalties for those who choose not to be insured. Premiums have risen predictably and deductibles are soaring as well. In 2015, the average deductible for a Bronze plan obtained on the exchanges was $5,181. In 2016, it was $6,850. That’s an increase of more than 25 percent in just one year. That’s not going to be a sustainable model, especially since a third of people signed up for Obamacare don’t have the money to cover their deductibles now.

As for premiums, according to a project by the Manhattan Institute, at least eight states have seen their premiums double under the Affordable Care Act since 2013. Meanwhile, median weekly earnings have only increased about seven percent since 2013, so it’s not as if people are going to be able to shoulder these costs with ease.

The obvious question is: How much longer can this go on? It’s impossible to know for sure, but what is certain is that the insurance law destined to shape Barack Obama’s legacy is collapsing faster than anyone ever imagined. United Health will not be the last insurer to cut and run from a clear money-losing situation. Others will follow, and this will only accelerate the death spiral. But the even more important question is: What happens next? Will the Left be able to leverage Obamcare’s unravelling into a single payer system, as they have always wanted to do, or will the folly of government planning be evident enough to the average person that we are able to implement some market based solutions to the nation’s health care woes? Given that the frontrunners for president in both parties support universal health care, it’s going to be an uphill battle. (For more from the author of “Further Down the Spiral: How Much Longer Can Obamacare Last?” please click HERE)

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Prince Death Investigation Reportedly Focusing on Pain Pills

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maxresdefaultAuthorities investigating the sudden death of pop star Prince are focusing on the role painkillers may have played in his premature demise, according to a published report.

Prince, known for the hit songs “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry”, among others, was found dead Thursday at his Paisley Park estate in suburban Chanhassan, Minn. He was 57.

Michael Padden, a longtime attorney for two of Prince’s siblings, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that had come to him in 2001 with concerns about the star’s drug use. Padden said Prince’s sister Lorna Nelson and brother Duane Nelson told him that Prince particularly abused the painkiller Percocet, as well as cocaine.

“Lorna told me that her brother would die young … before his time and of a heart attack,” Padden told the paper. The lawyer also claimed that Prince’s brother, Duane Nelson, told Padden that he paid straw buyers to obtain prescriptions, then gave them to Prince . . .

Many of Prince’s longtime colleagues in the music business have insisted the “Let’s Go Crazy” singer led a clean life. Former band member Sheila E. said Sunday that she had “never seen him take anything, not even aspirin, in the 38 years I’ve known him.” (Read more from “Prince Death Investigation Reportedly Focusing on Pain Pills” HERE)

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“Tea Party” Billionaire Sees Hillary As Better Pick Than GOP Nominee, Potentially

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It’s a nightmare scenario for Republicans, but conservative billionaire Charles Koch says “it’s possible” Hillary Clinton could make a better president than the remaining candidates in the GOP primary.

Koch, one of the most influential and controversial forces in Republican politics, said in an exclusive interview with ABC News to air Sunday on “This Week” that he believed Bill Clinton was a better president “in some ways” than George W. Bush.

“In other ways, I mean [Clinton] wasn’t an exemplar. But as far as the growth of government, the increase in spending,” Koch said. “It was 2.5 times [more] under Bush than it was under Clinton.”

In his interview, Koch said that is a result of his disgust with the rhetoric in the Republican primary, and he even suggested Clinton could be a better choice for the country than the remaining crop of GOP candidates.

“It’s possible,” Koch said, but didn’t say whether he could see himself supporting Clinton in the 2016 cycle. (Read more from “Billionaire Sees Hillary as Better Pick” HERE)

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Photo credit: DonkeyHotey

Polls Show GOP Nomination Picture Becoming More Clear After Upcoming Primaries

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With new polls showing Donald Trump forging a lead in Indiana and receiving more support in California than his two rivals combined, the GOP front-runner is closing in on a number that a few weeks ago seemed out of reach.

“The latest polling numbers show that Trump will easily hit the 1,237 delegate threshold,” The Gateway Pundit boldly reported Saturday.

A Fox News poll in Indiana shows Trump with 41 percent support, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at 33 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 16 percent. A Fox poll in California showed Trump at 49 percent Cruz is at 23 percent and Kasich at 20 percent.

Trump also leads in the states that vote Tuesday, according to polls cited by The Business Insider . . .

As Trump gathers more states, he becomes harder and harder to deny as the nominee regardless of the delegate math, wrote Brian Beutler in the New Republic.

“No matter how short of 1,237 Trump falls, his argument at the convention will be simple, and completely intuitive: I might not have won in a way that requires the Republican Party to give me the nomination — but I won a moral victory. It’s in your power to deny me the nomination, but woe betide the GOP if you do,” he wrote. (Read more from “Polls Show GOP Nomination Picture Becoming More Clear After Upcoming Primaries” HERE)

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Cruz Teams up With Pro-Amnesty, Pro-Homosexual Kasich

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24393777619_7e3344101c_kThe campaigns for Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich announced in statements tonight that each candidate will cede states in the 2016 presidential race to one another in an effort to stop GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.

Cruz’s campaign manager Jeff Roe said in a statement that “to ensure that we nominate a Republican who can unify the Republican Party and win in November, our campaign will focus its time and resources in Indiana and in turn clear the path for Gov. Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico, and we would hope that allies of both campaigns would follow our lead.”

Kasich’s campaign manager John Weaver wrote in a memo that, “We are very comfortable with our delegate position in Indiana already, and given the current dynamics of the primary there, we will shift our campaign’s resources West and give the Cruz campaign a clear path in Indiana.”

Officials in both the Cruz and Kasich campaigns told ABC News that the campaigns coordinated on the decisions announced tonight.

Trump tweeted Sunday night after the two announcements, “Wow, just announced that Lyin’ Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination. DESPERATION!”

(Read more from “Cruz Teams up With Pro-Amnesty, Pro-Homosexual Kasich” HERE)

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TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHIEF/LOBBYIST MANAFORT: Yeah, We’re Secretly Working With Mitch McConnell

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Paul Manafort is the new head of Donald Trump’s campaign. A longtime Washington insider and heavy duty lobbyist for third world dictators, Manafort appeared this morning on Fox News Sunday and inadvertently let slip some revealing truths.

MANAFORT: …What we’re trying to do right now is work with the Mitch McConnells who we didn’t depose in Kentucky even though he won the election and we worked with him to put a unity slate together. We’re trying to bring the party together. That’s what —


WALLACE: Wait, because I think this is interesting. You’re saying that you’re working with the Senate majority leader, who to a lot of the grassroots is a symbol of the problem?

MANAFORT: We’re working with party officials and that was an example on Saturday where we could have — we won the state. We could have gone in there and tried to be disruptive as Cruz does in these states.

Manafort’s lobbying firm has been termed “the torturer’s lobby”, having represented Filipino dictator Marcos, Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi, ousted Ukrainian president and Putin ally Victor Yanukovych, to name but a few.

Yes, Donald Trump would be vastly superior to Hillary Clinton, because a malfunctioning pencil sharpener would be vastly superior to Hillary Clinton.

But anyone expecting Trump to fight the McConnells and Ryans and the Chamber of Commerce is going to sorely disappointed. Trump has surrounded himself with Beltway cronies, lobbyists and insiders. He is a longtime Democrat and liberal.

That is what he is and will always be. Caveat emptor. (For more from the author of “TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHIEF/LOBBYIST MANAFORT: Yeah, We’re Secretly Working With Mitch McConnell” please click HERE)

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The Governor of Maine Just Made a Major Accusation Against the Cruz Campaign

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8571623018_3c19ac1680_bBy Harper Neidig. Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Donald Trump supporter, accused the Ted Cruz presidential campaign of reneging on a deal to support a “unity slate” of the state’s primary delegates, according to CNN.

“We reached a deal with Cruz’s national campaign to put up a unity slate that would honor the wishes of the thousands of Mainers who voted at caucus,” LePage said in a statement. “But Cruz’s Northeast Political Director David Sawyer lied to us and broke the deal. Sawyer stabbed us in the back, reneged on the unity slate, and betrayed the people of Maine.”

The Maine governor suggested the incident was part of a larger trend of deceit from the Cruz team.

“As we have seen throughout the country, Cruz’s national campaign is run by greedy political hooligans,” he said. (Read more from “The Governor of Maine Just Made a Major Accusation Against the Cruz Campaign” HERE)

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Ted Cruz Wins Almost All of Maine’s Delegates at Convention

By David Wright. Once again, Ted Cruz’s campaign has used the Republican Party delegate selection process to outperform his results on Election Day in hopes of wrangling a nomination during the national convention in Cleveland this summer.

This time, in Maine, Cruz secured 19 of 20 delegate slots filled at the state convention over the weekend. The sweep frustrated rivals Donald Trump and John Kasich — as well as Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump supporter — and prompted accusations of backstabbing and deception after an effort to agree to a “unity slate” of national convention delegates fell apart . . .

While the Maine GOP awarded 23 total delegates proportional to the vote in the state’s caucus on March 5 (12 to Cruz, 9 to Trump, 2 to Kasich), those delegates are bound to a presidential candidate only on the first nominating ballot at the national convention. (Read more from “Ted Cruz Wins Almost All of Maine’s Delegates at Convention” HERE)

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