Poll: 62% of GOP Feels Betrayed by Party; Democrats Disgusted with 2016 Front-Runners

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Screenshot-2015-03-18-22.15.00By Dana Blanton. Nearly four-in-ten American voters are proud to have Barack Obama as president.

Fewer voters feel the same way about the top 2016 presidential contenders.

A new Fox News poll finds that 36 percent of voters are extremely (20 percent) or very proud (16 percent) to have Obama as president. Forty-one percent felt that way in 2011 . . .

That’s markedly higher than the 28 percent who would feel proud if Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton were president (including 15 percent who say extremely proud).

Only one in five (20 percent) would be proud of a President Bernie Sanders or a President Donald Trump. (Read more from “Poll: Proud to Have 2016 Front-Runners as President? Not Really” HERE)
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Almost Two-Thirds of Republican Primary Voters Feel Betrayed by Party

By Dana Blanton. Most Republicans feel betrayed by their party — and show their displeasure by supporting outsiders over establishment candidates in the GOP presidential race. . .

Trump stays on top with 26 percent among GOP primary voters, followed by Carson at 18 percent. Fiorina and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are next, tied at 9 percent. All four have gained ground. After the August Fox News debate, Trump had 25 percent, while Carson had 12 percent, Fiorina 5 percent and Rubio 4 percent.

Trump holds his leader status even though he was once again rated in the poll as having done the worst job in the debate. Fiorina, Rubio and Carson receive positive marks for their performances.

The appeal of outsiders comes from significant dissatisfaction with the party establishment: 62 percent of Republican primary voters feel “betrayed” by politicians in their party, and another 66 percent say the recent Republican majorities in Washington have failed to do all they could to block or reverse President Obama’s agenda. For comparison, 40 percent of Democratic primary voters feel betrayed by their party.

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Nearly 1,000 People Killed in Saudi Arabia Hajj Stampede

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image.adapt.960.high.hajj_stampede_01aSaudi Arabian authorities said Thursday that at least 717 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured in a stampede near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, where an estimated 2 million people are undertaking the traditional hajj pilgrimage.

At least 863 pilgrims were injured in the crush, said the Saudi civil defense directorate, which provided the death toll. The tragedy struck as Muslims around the world marked the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Reuters, citing Saudi state television, reported that the stampede took place in Mina, a tent city located approximately three miles east of Mecca itself. The area is on the main road from the center of Mecca to the Hill of Arafat, revered by Muslims as the place where Muhammad gave his farewell sermon to Muslims who had accompanied him to Mecca near the end of his life.

It was the second major disaster during this year’s hajj season, raising questions about the adequacy of measures put in place by Saudi authorities to ensure the safety of the roughly 2 million Muslims taking part in the pilgrimage. A crane collapse in Mecca nearly two weeks earlier left 111 people dead.

Photos released by the Saudi civil defense directorate on its official Twitter account showed rescue workers in orange and yellow vests helping the wounded onto stretchers and loading them onto ambulances near some of the white tents. (Read more from “Nearly 1,000 People Killed in Saudi Arabia Hajj Stampede” HERE)

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Iraq War Veteran Criticizing Black Lives Matter Movement Stirs Controversy

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UK - Candle Light Vigil for Michael Brown at US Embassy in LondonAn Iraq War veteran has found himself in a First Amendment battle after taking on the Black Lives Matter movement in his role as a college newspaper columnist.

Bryan Stascavage, a 30-year-old Wesleyan University student who served two tours in Iraq, penned an op-ed in the school newspaper that criticized the Black Lives Matter movement for creating an environment he believes advocates violence by spreading anti-cop hatred, and questioned the movement’s legitimacy.

“Is the movement itself actually achieving anything positive?” Stascavage wrote in his op-ed, “Why Black Lives Matter Isn’t What You Think,” published Sept. 14 in the Wesleyan Argus.

“It boils down to this for me: If vilification and denigration of the police force continues to be a significant portion of Black Lives Matter’s message, then I will not support the movement, I cannot support the movement. And many Americans feel the same,” Stascavage wrote.

“Is it worth another riot that destroys a downtown district? Another death, another massacre? At what point will Black Lives Matter go back to the drawing table and rethink how they are approaching the problem?” he questioned. (Read more from “Iraq War Veteran Criticizing Black Lives Matter Movement Stirs Controversy” HERE)

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Watch: Terrorists Comfort Crying Suicide Bomber Before Horrific Syrian Attack

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syriaBefore a young terrorist blew himself up in Syria, he cried as other twisted militants comforted him about the fates of his victims, according to a disturbing propaganda video.

The jihadi, identified by reports as Jafar al-Tayyar of Uzbekistan, hugged militants before climbing into a vehicle strapped with explosives as creepy music played, according to video from Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, Nusra Front.

Before closing the top of the car, al-Tayyar looked out and sobbed, his face scrunched in fear, the video obtained by the Mirror shows.

“Jafar, my brother, don’t be afraid,” a Uzbek-speaking militant said. “When you are scared, remember Allah” . . .

After a few moments of coaching, al-Tayyar closed himself inside the vehicle and drove off before a plume of smoke explodes in the distance, the video shows. (Read more from “Watch: Terrorists Comfort Crying Suicide Bomber Before Horrific Syrian Attack” HERE)

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Police Program Aims to Pinpoint Those Most Likely to Commit Crimes

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51644a6b4a568ea1dacdaafc639dc28a.1000x563x1At the request of his probation officer, Tyrone C. Brown came to a community auditorium here in June and sat alongside about 30 other mostly young black men with criminal records — men who were being watched closely by the police, just as he was.

He expected to hear an admonition from law enforcement officials to help end violence in the community. But Mr. Brown, 29, got more than he had bargained for. A police captain presented a slide show featuring mug shots of people they were cracking down on. Up popped a picture of Mr. Brown linking him to a criminal group that had been implicated in a homicide . . .

Mr. Brown, whose criminal record includes drug and assault charges, is at the center of an experiment taking place in dozens of police departments across the country, one in which the authorities have turned to complex computer algorithms to try to pinpoint the people most likely to be involved in future violent crimes — as either predator or prey. The goal is to do all they can to prevent the crime from happening.

The strategy, known as predictive policing, combines elements of traditional policing, like increased attention to crime “hot spots” and close monitoring of recent parolees. But it often also uses other data, including information about friendships, social media activity and drug use, to identify “hot people” and aid the authorities in forecasting crime.

The program here has been named the Kansas City No Violence Alliance, or KC NoVA. And the message on that June night to Mr. Brown and the others was simple: The next time they, or anyone in their crews, commit a violent act, the police will come after everyone in the group for whatever offense they can make stick, no matter how petty. (Read more from “Police Program Aims to Pinpoint Those Most Likely to Commit Crimes” HERE)

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Here’s How Much EPA’s ‘Love for High-End Furniture’ Has Cost Taxpayers

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Millions-of-DollarsThe federal agency that has the job of protecting the environment doesn’t seem to have too much concern for trees, at least the ones cut down to make furniture.

The Environmental Protection Agency over the past decade has spent a whopping $92.4 million to purchase, rent, install and store office furniture ranging from fancy hickory chairs and a hexagonal wooden table, worth thousands of dollars each, to a simple drawer to store pencils that cost $813.57.

The furniture shopping sprees equaled about $6,000 for every one of the agency’s 15,492 employees, according to federal spending data made public by the government watchdog OpenTheBooks.com.

And the EPA doesn’t buy just any old office furniture. Most of the agency’s contracts are with Michigan-based retailer Herman Miller Inc. According to the contracts, the EPA spent $48.4 million on furnishings from the retailer known for its high-end, modern furniture designs.

Just one of Herman Miller’s “Aeron” office chairs retails for nearly $730 on the store’s website. The EPA has spent tens of thousands of dollars to purchase and install those types of chairs in its offices. (Read more from “Here’s How Much EPA’s ‘Love for High-End Furniture’ Has Cost Taxpayers” HERE)

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Hillary Clinton Personally Signed Deal That Let Huma Abedin Double Dip on Salaries

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HumaHillary_c0-127-4712-2873_s561x327Hillary Rodham Clinton personally signed the controversial deal in 2012 that let her top aide Huma Abedin simultaneously work for the State Department and a private New York firm with deep ties to the Clinton family, according to records made public Thursday.

The State Department emails released to select congressional committees and the watchdog group Judicial Watch also show that almost immediately after Ms. Abedin got permission to work in New York for the Teneo Group, she tried to get the federal government to pay the cost of her commuting back and forth to Washington to serve as a senior adviser to Mrs. Clinton, who was then the secretary of state.

“I need to come down to state tomorrow. Can state start paying for my travel since ny is now my base?” Ms. Abedin asked in an email to a top State Department administrative official on March 27, 2012, around the time her deal to become a special government employee (SGE) was struck.

Just four days earlier, Mrs. Clinton personally signed an agreement that let Ms. Abedin, one of her most trusted aides, transition from being her deputy chief staff and a former federal employee, to an SGE, the equivalent of a contractor with special privileges.

The change freed Ms. Abedin also to work simultaneously in the private sector for the Teneo Group, a consulting firm in New York run by top Clinton confidant Doug Band, where Bill Clinton also collected a salary as a paid adviser. (Read more from “Hillary Clinton Personally Signed Deal That Let Huma Abedin Double Dip on Salaries” HERE)

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U.S. Says Chinese Sub That Can Hit U.S. On Patrol Soon

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JL-2_startA Chinese nuclear submarine designed to carry missiles that can hit the U.S. is likely to deploy before year’s end, the Pentagon said, adding to Obama administration concerns over China’s muscle-flexing in Asia.

China’s navy is expected this year to conduct the first patrol of its Jin-class nuclear-powered submarine armed with JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency said in a statement. It declined to give its level of confidence on when the new boat will be deployed, or the status of the missile.

“The capability to maintain continuous deterrent patrols is a big milestone for a nuclear power,” Larry Wortzel, a member of the congressionally created U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said in an e-mail. “I think the Chinese would announce this capability as a show of strength and for prestige.”

The submarines are part of an effort to modernize China’s military under President Xi Jinping, who will be in Washington Thursday and Friday for a state visit with U.S. President Barack Obama. U.S.-China defense cooperation and competition will be among the topics discussed by the two leaders. The Pentagon and DIA had previously predicted the patrols would start in 2014 . . .

“Don’t discount the likelihood of threat inflation by the Pentagon because of the shift toward the Asia-Pacific in the revised maritime strategy,” said Collin Koh Swee Lean, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. (Read more from “U.S. Says Chinese Sub That Can Hit U.S. On Patrol Soon” HERE)

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‘Miracle Baby’: Cruise Ship Nurses Use a Makeshift Incubator to Save Baby Born Three MONTHS Premature

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2CBB114900000578-3248159-image-a-42_1443144288904A Utah woman who unexpectedly gave birth on a cruise ship months before her due date says she wrapped towels around the 1 1/2-pound boy and, with the help of medical staff, managed to keep him alive until the ship reached port.

Emily Morgan, of Ogden, said Thursday that doctors didn’t expect her son Haiden to live, but thanks to strong lungs, a makeshift incubator and an early arrival in Puerto Rico, the baby made it . . .

Morgan, 28, said the baby was due in December but contractions began August 31 during a seven-day cruise around the eastern Caribbean. (Read more from “‘Miracle Baby’: Cruise Ship Nurses Use a Makeshift Incubator to Save Baby Born Three MONTHS Premature” HERE)

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Controversial South Park Episode Shows Donald Trump Being Raped and Murdered After Attacking His Run for Presidency

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2CB3E8C800000578-3247124-image-m-51_1443073963787Donald Trump was on the receiving end of a vicious take-down by South Park on Wednesday evening, which skirted the borders of decency and taste and arguably crossed them.

In an almost unprecedented attack on a running presidential candidate, the adult cartoon lampooned the Republican and in a shocking finale, showed the billionaire businessman being brutally raped to death.

The inflammatory episode of the satirical cartoon, created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, was supposed to attack Trump’s immigration policies and mocked his oft-repeated promise to build a wall between the US and Mexico . . .

The eye-opening episode showed South Park being overrun by Canadian immigrants, prompting high school teacher Mr Garrison to launch a political career aimed at getting rid of them . . .

However, his mood turns sour after the journalist informs him that Canada has already built a wall across the border with America – a clear riposte to Trump’s supposedly simple plan to prevent illegal immigration into the US. (Read more from “Controversial South Park Episode Shows Donald Trump Being Raped and Murdered After Attacking His Run for Presidency” HERE)

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