President Obama can’t wait to take on Donald Trump.
Obama has been largely sidelined in the presidential contest, a last-year officeholder with high approval ratings who has repeatedly shown he likes to spar with political foes.
With Bernie Sanders continuing to slug it out with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Obama largely has to choose his openings to talk 2016.
So on Friday, when the White House announced Obama would make a statement about the economy, the president knew he’d get asked about Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee . . .
“We are in serious times, and this is a really serious job,” Obama said. “This is not entertainment; this is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.” (Read more from “Obama Itches for Trump Fight” HERE)
By Tony Lombardo. West Point is investigating a photo that shows 16 black female cadets in uniform displaying raised fists outside a U.S. Military Academy barracks.
“We can confirm that the cadets in this photo are members of the U.S. Military Academy’s Class of 2016,” said West Point’s director of public affairs Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker in an emailed statement. “Academy officials are conducting an inquiry into the matter.”While many details are unknown about the photo, the image has been shared widely in military circles, with claims the women are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
The raised fist is a symbol associated with Black Lives Matter, although it’s been used for centuries to symbolize resistance by a number of groups, from labor unions to suffragists to socialists to the Black Panthers.
The official Black Lives Matter website describes itself as a “chapter-based national organization working for the validity of Black life. We are working to (re)build the Black liberation movement.” It was created in 2012 following the death of Trayvon Martin. (Read more from “West Point Launches Investigation Into Raised-Fist Photo” HERE)
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Here’s EXACTLY What I’d Do to the West Point Cadets Who Took This Dishonorable Photo
By Allen West. …As reported by the Washington Times, “The United States Military Academy at West Point said Wednesday that an investigation is underway regarding a photograph that shows 16 black cadets in uniform posing with their fists in the air.
In any other times we could possibly just dismiss this as a very stupid move by these 16 female West Point Cadets, future U.S. Army Second Lieutenants. However, in the hypersensitive racial atmosphere created by the liberal progressive left, this has to be considered…and why? It’s simple, the obvious hypothetical question is what if these were 16 white male West Point Cadets from the south who took a picture in uniform with the Confederate battle flag? Yes, you know exactly what the story would be, and it would be plastered all over the mainstream media. And you know those white male cadets would be in serious danger of not graduating and receiving their commission as an Army officer.
So what shall be done, or better question, what should be done with these 16 female cadets who very soon would be leading our most precious asset, American sons and daughters?
Here’s my assessment. These young ladies must understand they’re part of a great lineage, one that began right here in Massachusetts at places like Lexington Green, Concord Bridge, and yes Breed’s/Bunker Hill. The call to arms and the ensuing answer from those men had to do with one thing: individual liberty and freedom. These young women carry on the legacy of Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point. All he wanted was to serve his nation and be an Army officer. Thanks to him, these women can be there at West Point, and I was able to become an Army officer. Someone needs to teach them a little history and get them to understand that lesson and see contriteness in their soul. Being in charge of men and women is not something to be taken lightly and momentary lapses of reason could result in their loss of life. That’s what someone needs to get the West Point 16 to comprehend.
Then they need to make a public statement of apology to their class, and to the United States Military Academy. They worked hard over the past four years to earn that degree and commission, but they need to come the realization of just how stupid their action was…yes, it was stupid. Why? Because the 16 female cadets will be called upon to lead, and leadership isn’t based on color. They’ll be leading Soldiers of all different backgrounds. Right now, you can bet their names are already known throughout the Army. (Read more from “Here’s EXACTLY What I’d Do to the West Point Cadets Who Took This Dishonorable Photo” HERE)
YouTube channel The Prophetico said the way in which the planets will align in conjunction with star constellations could mean the end is near.
The planet Mercury is set to pass in front of the Sun in line with Earth on May 9 in a natural phenomenon which occurs 13 times a century . ..
The narrator begins by describing how May 6 marks the start of a new moon cycle, with it also being a super-moon – where the moon reaches its closest point in its orbit to Earth.
It goes on to say that three days later, on May 9 when the Mercury transit is in full swing, the moon is in a crescent, or sickle, state to viewers from Earth.
The number three is significant here as according to BibleStudy.org it is related to sex sins in the Bible. (Read more from “END OF THE WORLD FEARS: Mercury Transit Linked to Biblical ‘Destruction’ Prophecy” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Cole_Thomas_The_Cross_and_the_World_Study_for_-The_Pilgrim_of_the_World_at_the_End_of_His_Journey_1846-48.jpg6901041Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-05-09 01:07:402016-05-09 01:07:40END OF THE WORLD FEARS: Mercury Transit Linked to Biblical ‘Destruction’ Prophecy
The Army’s latest headcount shows that nearly 2,600 soldiers departed active service in March without being replaced, an action that plunges manning to its lowest level since before World War II.
During the past year the size of the active force has been reduced by 16,548 soldiers, the rough equivalent of three brigades.
Endstrength for March was 479,172 soldiers, which is 154 fewer troopers than were on active duty when the Army halted the post-Cold War drawdown in 1999 with 479,424 soldiers, the smallest force since 1940, when the active component numbered 269,023 soldiers . . .
Without congressional or Defense Department intervention, the drawdown will continue for two more years, with endstrength hitting 460,000 soldiers in 2017, and 450,000 in 2018.
The latest official demographics from the Defense Manpower Data Center shows that in addition to the 479,172 soldiers who were on active duty April 1, the Army’s reserve forces totaled 548,024 soldiers, for a total force of 1,027,196 soldiers. (Read more from “Army Shrinks to Smallest Level Since Before World War II” HERE)
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Sarah Palin will work to defeat House Speaker Paul Ryan by backing his primary opponent in Wisconsin, the former Alaska governor told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Palin said in an interview that airs Sunday on “State of the Union” that her decision was sparked by Ryan’s bombshell announcement to Tapper last week that he wasn’t yet ready to support Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee. Palin endorsed Trump back in January.
“I think Paul Ryan is soon to be ‘Cantored,’ as in Eric Cantor,” Palin said, referring to the former Republican House majority leader who was ousted in a shocking upset in 2014 when challenger Dave Brat ran to his right in a Virginia primary. (Read more from “Palin Will Work to Defeat Ryan in Primary for Trump Stance” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/13050353895_35fa670ba3_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-05-09 00:27:122016-05-09 00:27:12Palin Will Work to Defeat Ryan in Primary for Trump Stance
If I asked you to name an example of a libertarian film, you’d probably offer some science fiction dystopia in which an oppressive government makes life miserable for the people. Minority Report, Equilibrium, the Giver, the Hunger Games, even the recent adaptations of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
These are all good examples, but I have always considered the most effective political messages in pop culture to be the implicit ones, the ones that sneak up on you, so that you don’t even realize what the message is until you’ve already internalized it. When you hit someone over the head with a message, their natural instinct is to resist it, which I guess is pretty libertarian in itself. But when you paint a picture of a world that speaks to people’s basic desires on an instinctual level, that’s when you really reach them.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer up an example of a film hardly anyone would call political, but which may be the most libertarian movie I know. It’s an almost forgotten little gem from the late 90s called Pleasantville.
When this film popped up on my Netflix queue the other day, I had almost forgotten it existed. I hadn’t seen it since it first came out nearly 20 years ago, before I even knew what libertarianism was. But upon reviewing it, I was surprised at how well it encapsulates the basics of that philosophy without ever coming off as even slightly political.
The plot of the film is basically this: two teenagers get sucked through their TV into the world of a black and white Leave It to Beaver type show depicting an idyllic 50s neighborhood of malt shops and “aw shucks” morality. Unlike the dystopia movies mentioned above, there’s nothing sinister about the town of Pleasantville. Everything’s nice, everything’s pleasant, but the world is as limited in its realm of experiences as it is in its color palette. It isn’t what it might be, because the powers that be, in this case not so much the government as the rules of the world itself, place limits on individual freedom, or as Aldous Huxley said, the freedom to be unhappy. Husband and wives sleep in separate beds. It’s always 72 degrees and sunny, and the school basketball team never loses a game.
But when Reese Witherspoon’s slutty high school character introduces some of the local boys to sex, things begin to change. People start to have new experiences, as well as new emotions, and gradually the black and white gives way to stunning technicolor.
Not all these changes are improvements. Along with love and excitement come jealousy and anger. When the formerly blank library books begin to fill with words, the locals get exposed to new ideas, including Mark Twain’s treatment of slavery in Huckleberry Finn. For the first time ever, rain clouds darken Pleasantville’s previously sunny streets, and like Prometheus’ gift of fire to mankind, the knowledge of good and evil is not without a cost.
Of course, there are those who resist these changes, who preferred the old ways, that things always be nice and predictable and stable, but the vast majority of the population revels in their newfound freedom. They prefer danger and uncertainty to comfort and security, because the later can only exist in a pale, shadow of a world without any of the richness that makes life worth living.
This is the essence of libertarianism. We prefer freedom, for all its messiness, to the life of a bird in a gilded cage. The fact that few viewers of Pleasantville would wish to live in so limited a world shows that, deep down, most Americans prefer freedom as well, even as they vote for policies that restrict speech, gun rights, and economic liberty in the name of security. The challenge is making that mental leap between what they implicitly recognize as desirable, and what they explicitly ask of their political representatives. But as long as media is being produced that shows the benefits of freedom in spite of its dangers, the cause of liberty will not be without hope. (For more from the author of “The Libertarian Statement No One Expected From Actress Reese Witherspoon” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Reese_Witherspoon_at_the_83rd_Academy_Awards_Red_Carpet_IMG_1306.jpg23043456Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-05-08 21:54:132016-05-08 21:54:13The Libertarian Statement No One Expected From Actress Reese Witherspoon
A former Queens biology teacher who allegedly forced an underage student to repeatedly have sex and demanded she have two abortions skirted authorities after a prominent Catholic school quietly fired him, allowing him to work for years in city public schools, officials report.
Rodney Alejandro abused the 15-year-old girl at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, and then went on to work for the Department of Education, a 2015 probe by the city’s Special Commissioner of Investigation charges.
First a city substitute in 1998-99, he worked from 2004 to 2010 at Robert Wagner Jr. Secondary School for Arts and Technology in Long Island City and was fired after his state license expired, officials said. He then went on to teach at a religious school in Georgia.
His reported victim, now 43 and living in Queens, declined to comment but confirmed to The Post horrendous details she published in a 2014 blog. The Post is withholding her name. (Read more from “Feds Hire Alleged Rapist Fired by Catholic School” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/AndrewHallClassroom.jpg12241632Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-05-08 21:23:412016-05-08 21:23:41Feds Hire Alleged Rapist Fired by Catholic School
(Editor’s note: links to the other top stories are below) Ben Carson added more fuel to the fire of suspicion about Donald Trump’s conservative bona fides, when he suggested the presumptive GOP nominee’s running mate could be a Democrat.
Trump tapped Carson to head up a committee, which will make recommendations to the candidate who would best to fill the vice president slot.
Carson told the Wall Street Journal, in an interview published Thursday night, among those choices could be a Democrat.
Trump’s former GOP rival also took himself out of the running for the No. 2 spot saying, “I’m not interested in doing that for a number of reasons,” he said. “I don’t want to be a distraction. I’m sure you remember how crazy the media was about me, I don’t want to be a distraction, it’s too important a time in our life” . . . .
In an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier Thursday night, [Trump] added that he would prefer that person to have experience moving legislation through Congress, which would seem to eliminate most of the potential gubernatorial possibilities. He specifically stated South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is not under consideration and strongly suggested Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is not either.
Fox News digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt named someone who would check both the Democrat and congressional experience boxes: former Virginia Senator and presidential candidate Jim Webb. “I would say that the correct running mate for Donald Trump, and I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, is Jim Webb. Military experience. Democrat. Bi-partisan,” Stirewalt said on Fox Radio Wednesday. (Read more from “Ben Carson Just Made This Major Announcement About Trump’s Vice Presidential Pick” HERE)
Target shareholders are taking a financial hit following a major petition drive calling for a boycott of the company over the discount retailer’s controversial chain-wide inclusive policy directed at transgender individuals allowing them to use the bathroom or fitting room that matches their gender identity.
Critics fear Target’s policy is ripe for abuse since it would allow men to identify as a woman in order to gain access to the women’s bathrooms or fitting rooms.
Target’s stock price plummeted about 5 percent following the announcement of the company’s new policy while its competitor Walmart is down around 3.5 percent over the same period.
The nation’s second-largest retailer is feeling a huge backlash from the boycott organized by the American Family Association (AFA). To date, the petition that pledges individuals not to shop at the big box retailer has over a million signatures.
The boycott, announced on April 20, has brought national attention to Target’s controversial policy and the company is also feeling pushback in social media.
The boycott by a conservative group marks a new development in political advocacy. For years, progressive activists have successfully pressured corporations, including Target, on a range of policy issues and the boycott by AFA shows conservatives are also now willing to mount a serious effort to punish companies.
Target’s inclusive policy seems to have been designed to appease a 2010 boycott by the LGBT community over the company’s political donation to a group that was supporting Tom Emmer- a Republican Minnesota gubernatorial candidate who opposed gay marriage.
At that time, gay activist groups slammed Target in the media and in social media charging the company was anti-gay.
Following the encounter with progressive activist groups, Target has aggressively promoted LGBT issues under its corporate diversity program including a #TakePride hashtag and a video titled, “Target’s Pride Manifesto.”
At this point, Target is holding firm and refusing to back away from its policy emphasizing its goal of inclusion, “We certainly respect that there are a wide variety of perspectives and opinions. As a company that firmly stands behind what it means to offer our team an inclusive place to work — and our guests an inclusive place to shop — we continue to believe that this is the right thing for Target, ” said company spokesperson.
The AFA says its boycott is not about transgender individuals but is based on concerns that sexual predators will take advantage of the policy to assault young girls and women.
Appearing on Fox Business Network’s “Risk & Reward,” Abraham Hamilton from AFA told host Deirdre Bolton that the AFA boycott was focused on the risk from sexual predators and not any specific concerns with transgenders, saying “there’s no one here at the American Family Association who believes that the transgender community is synonymous with sexual predatory behavior.”
Hamilton continued, “But if we don’t understand the realities of the risk of sexual predatory behavior – because these predators will stop at nothing to ply their dastardly trade – and we believe that Target’s new policy positions them to be the new location for sexual predatory behavior.”
Speaking from his experience as trial prosecutor Hamilton added, “I’ve had the unfortunate experience of working through attempting to restore a family after the children have suffered sexual abuse and as you can imagine, it’s not a pretty sight.”
Target’s social statement policy may be negatively impacting shareholders.
Ed Butowsky, Managing Partner at Chapwood Investments LLC, believes part of the decline in Target’s stock is attributed to the boycott and the share price will suffer going forward because of Target’s policy, “it is obvious that this is going to hurt earnings for the company and by pursuing this policy they are putting future earnings at risk.”
Butowsky elaborated, “It’s quite obvious that the million signatures against the policy from your customer base will have a negative impact on traffic flow to your company.”
Finally, Butowsky added Target should focus on creating shareholder value and not destroy it by “taking stands on social issues.”
In most cases, companies respond to public pressure especially when shareholder value is at stake. If Target feels a financial impact from the boycott, expect to see a change in its inclusion policy. (For more from the author of “The Financial Consequences of Target’s New Bathroom Policy” please click HERE)
A federal judge said Wednesday he may order Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton to testify under oath about whether she used a private email server as secretary of state to evade public records disclosures.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan signed an order granting a request from the conservative legal advocacy group Judicial Watch to question six current and former State Department staffers about the creation and purpose of the private email system. Those on the list were some of Clinton’s closest aides during her tenure as the nation’s top diplomat, including former chief of staff Cheryl D. Mills, deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin and undersecretary Patrick F. Kennedy.
Also set to testify is Bryan Pagliano, the agency employee who was tasked with setting up the clintonemail.com server located in the basement of the New York home Clinton shares with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Pagliano has previously refused to testify before Congress, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Based on what might be gleaned in those interviews, which are to be conducted over the next eight weeks, Sullivan says in his order a sworn deposition from Hillary Clinton “may be necessary.”
That raises the possibility that Clinton could be ordered to testify in the midst of the presidential race. A campaign spokesman did not respond Wednesday to messages about whether Clinton would oppose any order to testify. (Read more from “A Federal Judge Just Made a Jaw-Dropping Announcement About Hillary’s Future Regarding Her Email Scandal” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/25982411775_211b8a8ce7_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-05-07 23:08:112016-05-07 23:11:21A Federal Judge Just Made a Jaw-Dropping Announcement About Hillary’s Future Regarding Her Email Scandal
