‘Danger Is Rapidly Building,’ Wealthy Flee Cities

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packs-163497_960_720It certainly looks like the elite know something the rest of us don’t, as many are fleeing cities and even entire countries.

Some are preparing emergency bunkers and panic rooms – all at a time when Republican front-runner Donald Trump and some economists are predicting an imminent recession.

Thousands of millionaires have fled the troubled city of Chicago, reportedly motivated by “rising racial tensions” and “crime.”

But more than twice as many wealthy people fled the city of Paris, France, which was recently hit by terrorism and suffers from similar racial tensions.

While the wealthy fleeing Chicago mostly moved within the United States, many of those rich people escaping Paris are leaving France altogether. About 10,000 millionaires fled the country, with the exodus blamed on rising religious tensions between Muslims and the native French in urban areas. (Read more from “‘Danger Is Rapidly Building,’ Wealthy Flee Cities” HERE)

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Obama Amnesty Supreme Court Case to Test Limits of Presidential Power

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hqdefaultThe Constitution was ratified more than two centuries ago, and in all that time no president had ever tested the limits of executive power enough to force the Supreme Court to rule whether he has lived up to the founders’ command that the laws be “faithfully executed” . . .

When the justices convene Monday morning, they will hear what is shaping up to be the biggest case of the term, and perhaps one of the most consequential in a generation, as they consider whether President Obama has overstepped his constitutional powers by trying to grant a tentative deportation amnesty to up to 5 million illegal immigrants.

“In 225 years, the Supreme Court has never had occasion to ask the president whether he has reneged on his oath to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. However, with pens and phones replacing checks and balances, the Supreme Court is now poised to break new constitutional ground in order to preserve our embattled separation of powers,” said Josh Blackman, associate professor at the South Texas College of Law, who has followed the case from the start and filed amicus briefs opposing Mr. Obama’s claim of powers.

At issue is the Take Care Clause, which is what scholars call the Constitution’s charge to presidents to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

That clause has been read to be both empowering to presidents, emboldening them with independent authority to see through the execution of laws, but also as a check — that, in the end, he carry out laws rather than write them. (Read more from “Obama Amnesty Supreme Court Case to Test Limits of Presidential Power” HERE)

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See How Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski Responds When Asked If He Will ‘Apologize’ to Ex-Breitbart Reporter

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hqdefaultWhen “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace asked Corey Lewandoski on Sunday if he would like to offer an apology to former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields — even if only to avoid potential litigation — Lewandowski once again refused to validate Fields’ claims of assault.

Lewandowski, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign manager, discussed the recently-dropped battery charges that Fields brought against him following their encounter at a March press conference that was caught on camera. Although Lewandowski could be seen grabbing Fields’ arm in the footage, Trump’s campaign manager maintains that the reality of the situation did not match Fields’ violent allegations against him.

“What I acknowledge is, the sum total of my relationship with Ms. Fields was caught on that video tape,” Lewandowski told Wallace. “She’s an individual I had never met before, had never spoken to before, and candidly, I didn’t remember the incident. The whole incident lasted less than three seconds, and it was me moving from one location to another location. I would have remembered if I tried to violently throw someone to the ground, or if there was an incident which would have been memorable. And there wasn’t.”

Lewandowski also maintained that he had tried to call Fields after he read about the allegations against him from Fields’ boyfriend on Twitter, although Fields says that she has no records of a call or of any message being left for her. (Read more from “See How Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski Responds When Asked If He Will ‘Apologize’ to Ex-Breitbart Reporter” HERE)

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Bernie Sanders Versus the Tenth Commandment

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24331846595_95d5ebf7c0_bBernie Sanders, with the regularity of a steam engine, has pounded away for months at the injustice, the wickedness, even the racism of “income inequality.” If ever there was a Johnny one-note on the American political scene, he is it. Yet almost nobody, and least of all his hapless opponent Hillary Clinton, has thought to call into question the ethical validity or inflammatory character of the covetousness this political slogan urges upon the public, with a recklessness that has visited untold calamities upon Europe. (Among politicians, Charlie Rangel of New York did have the temerity to say, “OK, income inequality… But does he [Sanders] have anything else to say?”) Has religious illiteracy now reached the point in America where the Tenth Commandment has been so entirely forgotten that the most blatant repudiations of it go unnoticed? Here it is, for the sake of those who have forgotten (or never knew):

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” — Exodus 20:17.

This last of the ten commandments, as Biblical commentators have often observed, differs from previous “negative” ones in that it prohibits not an action (murder, adultery, theft, false witness) but a state of mind—covetousness—that is at the root of most sins against our neighbors. No doubt John Stuart Mill, a far more literate liberal than Bernie Sanders, had it in mind when he complained that “’thou shalt not’ preponderates unduly over ‘thou shalt’” in Biblical morality.

The ethical wisdom of this commandment has all too often been demonstrated by the way in which covetousness expresses itself in the murderous character of “negative” politics, which directs the wrath of the covetous against a particular group. In Sanders’ typical stump speech, it is usually “Wall Street” or “the one percent.” In the rhetoric of the “Occupy Wall Street” and other “Occupy…” mobs that Sanders admires, it gets a bit more specific about attaching a name to “the one percent.” But most specific of all is Noam Chomsky, whom Sanders has praised as “a very vocal and important voice [sic] in the wilderness of intellectual life in America…a person who [sic] I think we’re all very proud of.” Chomsky, who has publicly endorsed his friend Sanders for the Democratic nomination, has strong views about just which group of Americans should be named as the chief target of an aggressive campaign of class warfare against “the rich and privileged” whom Sanders is daily berating. “Antisemitism,” Chomsky has declared, “is no longer a problem, fortunately. It’s raised, but it’s raised because privileged people want to make sure they have total control, not just 98% control. That’s why antisemitism is becoming an issue.” To this does covetousness very often lead. Is it even remotely possible that Sanders doesn’t know? (Read more from “Bernie Sanders Versus the Tenth Commandment” HERE)

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Why China’s Economy Is on Borrowed Time

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maxresdefault (93)On Friday China announced its economy had expanded at a 6.7 percent rate in the first quarter of 2016. While this is the slowest growth since the depths of the great recession, it conveniently remains within the government’s official target of 6.5-7.0 percent. Unlike all developed countries, there will be no revisions to this figure in the coming months or quarters.

There were two factors that kept Beijing’s growth within its target range: Easy money and the property market. The level of “total social financing,” or borrowing, rose 16 percent in March from a year ago.

This was fueled by the bond issuance by local governments as part of its bailout program and investment in ‘fixed asset investment’ which is largely composed of infrastructure and factories.

With total debt approaching 300 percent of GDP and massive overcapacity in many industries such as coal, cement, chemicals and refining, this development only exacerbates China’s serious structural problems.

The property market witnessed a strong recovery in China’s largest cities, causing property investment to rise at its fastest pace in a year. Outside the largest four cities, however, where 95 percent of home sales occurred, the housing sector remains sluggish. With an estimated 70 million inventory of unsold homes, China’s housing construction rebound does nothing to begin resolving this problem.

If this pattern sounds eerily familiar, it should. Debt issuance, investment in factories and the property market have been consistently the engines for growth since the economic crisis and beyond. China’s economic plan to move toward a more market-oriented policy, such as improving property rights, financial sector liberalization and Hukou reform (giving the massive migrant work force basic rights in urban areas) have been slow in development or nonexistent.

How long can this trend last? As the well-known economist Herb Stein once said, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” (For more from the author of “Why China’s Economy Is on Borrowed Time” please click HERE)

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Muslim Extremist Says He Murdered Shopkeeper for ‘Disgracing Muhammad’ by Wishing Christians Happy Easter

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14789402561_ea534a8dc8_bA Muslim man who killed a Muslim shop owner after the latter posted a message on Facebook professing love for Christians and and wishing them a happy Easter has defended his actions, saying the victim “disgraced” the prophet Muhammad.

As earlier reported by The Gospel Herald, 40-year-old Asad Shah, an Ahmadi Muslim, was stabbed to death outside of his store in Glasgow, Scotland just days before Easter.

Shortly before his murder, Shah, who was known as a devout, Pakistani-born Muslim, had posted a message on Facebook reading, “Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation. Let’s follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ … and get the real success in both worlds.”

Tanveer Ahmed, a 32-year-old taxi driver from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was arrested and charged with the murder. One eyewitness told a British news outlet that the victim’s head was stomped on during the attack while the Daily Mail reported that he was stabbed in the head with a kitchen knife . . .

According to The Daily Record, after appearing at a second court hearing, Ahmed instructed his lawyer to read a public statement outside the court declaring that he killed Asad in order to protect the honor of Islam after Shah “disrespected” the prophet Muhammad. (Read more from “Muslim Extremist Says He Murdered Shopkeeper for ‘Disgracing Muhammad’ by Wishing Christians Happy Easter” HERE)

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Limbaugh Reveals ‘Dirty Trick’ Played on Cruz Televised NYC Speech [+video]

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hqdefaultConservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh believes someone played a dirty trick on Sen. Ted Cruz during his address to New York City GOP members Thursday night, as it was being broadcast live on Fox News.

Cruz, along with Republican rivals Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, addressed the gala banquet at an upscale hotel that Trump had renovated years ago.

Limbaugh reported while Trump and Kasich addressed the crowd, no perceptible room noise could be heard. When Cruz began his speak, the same was true.

But in a split second, part way through Cruz’s address suddenly it changed.

Limbaugh said it was so noticeable, it caught his attention while he had the speech on in the background, and he believes he surmised exactly what happened.

“So I studied it, I looked at it, and in 30 seconds I figured out what happened. They had cut Ted Cruz’s microphone at the podium and they had replaced it with what sounded like microphones at five or six tables where you heard nothing but the table noise,” the radioman said. He even went back and pin-pointed exactly the place in the speech when it happened. (Read more from “Limbaugh Reveals ‘Dirty Trick’ Played on Cruz Televised NYC Speech” HERE)

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Failed Obama ‘Reset’ Has Encouraged Russian Aggression

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6Yzp2IFSgB3zTsa73qLnFRHuNABPFkpsPeople seem a bit surprised—even perplexed—by the breathless news reports and video of Russian warplanes “buzzing” an American warship operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea this week.

The reality is that they shouldn’t be.

That, of course, isn’t to say that we shouldn’t be deeply troubled for the safety of our sailors on the USS Donald Cook at the hands of some “hot dog” Russian pilots involved in reckless and provocative actions that could have had dire and or unintended consequences.

But, that said, there’s a method to Moscow’s madness.

First, there’s the matter of geography. The Baltic Sea has long been a Russian security priority. For instance, the Baltic waters lap up against the Russian coast at the iconic city of St. Petersburg (once Leningrad), where a successful invading force could drive into the heart of Russia, including reaching Moscow.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union controlled the southern Baltic Sea coastline from Russia through the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), across Poland and into East Germany. In Moscow’s eyes at that time, the Baltic Sea should be a Soviet “lake.”

Today, rather than lined with Soviet Republics and loyal members of the Warsaw Pact, that same coastline is instead populated with NATO states with rough relations with the Russians. That’s not at all comforting to Kremlin & Co.

The only section of the southern Baltic Coast that isn’t part of NATO is Kaliningrad, a Russia-controlled outpost between Poland and Lithuania that Russia sees as not only isolated and vulnerable, but strategic to Russian security.

Indeed, after the less-than-stellar response to the Crimea crisis, there’s been a constant concern among some that Moscow might try to carve out a Russian-controlled access route to Kaliningrad through NATO member Lithuania

Of course, taking on NATO is different than taking on Ukraine.

Second, the Russian show of force in the Baltic is meant to send a signal of strength in response to perceptions of American weakness, resulting largely from the White House’s failed “reset” policy toward the Kremlin, going back to 2009.

In fact, concerns about Russian aggression in the Baltics and Eastern Europe along NATO’s eastern flank have caused the Pentagon to rotate a Brigade Combat Team (BCT) back to Europe under the European Reassurance Initiative.

This effort involves several thousand U.S. soldiers, a couple hundred tanks, armored vehicles and artillery pieces that will join 60,000-plus of America’s bravest already in Europe. U.S. pre-positioned weapons stockpiles will also be improved.

The returning American BCT will be forward-deployed along NATO’s eastern flank to frontline states including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

It’s a good move, but is it enough?

Not surprisingly, Russia isn’t happy about the U.S.-NATO moves and has promised an “asymmetric response,” which may include this week’s dangerous fly-bys of the Russian Su-24 Fencers against the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic.

More Moscow mischief may be in the offing.

Sure, Russia could get more feisty, but considering the failure of the White House’s “reset” policy toward the Kremlin so far, it’s probably time for a serious change toward Russia—one that comes from a position of strength. (For more from the author of “Failed Obama ‘Reset’ Has Encouraged Russian Aggression” please click HERE)

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Huma Abedin CONFIRMS Her Muslim Brotherhood MOM Proud of Her During Podcast

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1024px-Hillary_Clinton_and_Huma_AbedinIn an embarrassingly sycophantic interview, Hillary Clinton’s closest adviser Huma Abedin again shored up her bonafides as a covert Muslim Brotherhood agent when she flippantly revealed how proud her mother is of her. The revealing moment came right out of the gate as the obscure, valley girl-sounding co-hosts gushed to Huma over landing the interview. Huma responded by saying she thought her mother was the only person who considered her “a big deal”.

The reason Huma’s thought of as a “big deal” by her mother is indeed a big deal. For starters, Huma’s mother Saleha Mahmoud Abedin was identified in 2011 as one of 63 leaders inside the Muslim Sisterhood. Hatred of the Jews is necessarily a prerequisite for attaining such a position. In fact, one of Saleha’s colleagues as a Sisterhood leader is none other than Naglaa Mahmoud, the wife and then “first lady” of Egypt’s short-lived Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Mursi. In 2010, Mursi openly stated that Muslims should nurse their children and grandchildren on hatred of the Jews . . .

Here is the big deal. Huma is married to a Jewish man named Anthony Weiner, who was a U.S. Congressman at the time. As such, he is considered an ape or a pig by the Muslim Brotherhood. This would have not only precluded Huma from marrying him but it should have completely disgraced her and her family; it did not. Instead, she was elevated to a place of honor. There is only one reason for such an elevation; she is a spy.

It is doctrinal within the Muslim Brotherhood that hatred of the Jews is a requirement; it’s a tenet of the faith. While it’s ok for a Muslim man to marry a Jewish woman – for the purpose of conversion and bearing Muslim children – it’s beyond sacrilege for a Muslim woman to marry a Jewish man.

Yet, Huma is still held in high regard by her mother. Why? According to the Muslim Brotherhood’s interpretation of Sharia law, Huma is guilty of among the most egregious of sins, not worthy of honorary status. Such a marriage is said to bring dishonor to the entire family in fundamentalist Islam. Yet, Saleha continues to hold a position of high prestige at a University in Saudi Arabia. In fact, in 2015, Huma traveled there to be present as her mother was “honored” by the University for her service. (Read more from “Huma Abedin CONFIRMS Her Muslim Brotherhood MOM Proud of Her During Podcast” HERE)

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Exposed: GOP Leaders Considering Massive Rule Change That Could Fundamentally Alter Convention

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images (90)By Alex Isenstadt and Shane Goldmacher. The Republican National Committee is expected to debate a proposal next week that would dramatically shift the balance of power at this summer’s convention — and impose a new rulebook for selecting the party’s nominee.

The proposal, which will top the agenda during a meeting of the Rules panel at the RNC’s annual spring meeting in Hollywood Beach, Fla., would fundamentally alter how the convention is conducted, further empowering the delegates to determine the course of the proceedings.

It amounts to not just a changing of the rules but of the rulebook itself, with far-reaching implications, potentially impacting whether party insiders will be able to draft a so-called “white knight” — someone currently not running who would play the role of savior at a deadlocked convention.

The proposal is the brainchild of Solomon Yue, an RNC officer and Rules Committee member from Oregon. It would replace the system used at Republican national conventions for decades, which mimic those used by the U.S. House of Representatives, with Robert’s Rules of Order, a design that’s often used to oversee civic and organizational meetings. (Read more from “Exposed: GOP Leaders Considering Massive Rule Change That Could Fundamentally Alter Convention” HERE)

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GOP Delegate: Primary Votes ‘Absolutely Irrelevant’

By Robert Fowler. Curly Haugland, a Republican National Committeeman for North Dakota, has asserted that once the GOP convention convenes in July, primary votes will be a secondary concern. This viewpoint could prove the undoing of current GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

On April 14, Haugland sat down with NPR to discuss the upcoming Republican National Convention and how party delegates will factor into selecting a nominee.

The committeeman has an interesting perspective on the convention process, stating that even delegates who are pledged to the candidate that their constituency voted for technically do not have to follow the will of the voters.

In Haugland’s view, the rules actually make primary votes “absolutely irrelevant.”

“No matter what the popular belief might be, there is no connection between primaries and the actual convention,” Haugland said. (Read more from “GOP Delegate: Primary Votes ‘Absolutely Irrelevant'” HERE)

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