6 Reasons Congress Can’t Rely on Courts to Stop Executive Amnesty [+video]

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Thanks to the assiduous work of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (and NO thanks to congressional Republicans), America can finally celebrate a victory for the rule of law and separation of powers. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction the lower court placed on Obama’s November 20 executive amnesty, thereby stopping the issuance of work permits in its tracks. The three-judge panel noted that “because the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its appeal of the injunction, we deny the motion for stay and the request to narrow the scope of the injunction.”

However, before conservatives pop the champagne and declare an immigration victory, remember that Obama is working overtime to fundamentally remake America’s immigration system through many other means – avenues not directly addressed by the courts. Congress can and must use the upcoming appropriations season to restrict and condition funding to ensure the Administration fully cooperates with established laws, rules, and precedents on issues related to interior enforcement, prosecutorial discretion, and asylum policy.

At the very least, they should pass stand-alone legislation addressing Obama’s immigration malfeasance and keep up the public pressure against executive action. Unfortunately, everyone knows there’s a collective sigh of relief in the offices of elite GOP politicians who are hoping the courts will give them cover for ignoring Obama’s pernicious immigration policies.

Earlier this year, we highlighted 5 reasons it is Congress’, not the court’s, responsibility to defund Obama’s executive amnesty. Here are 6 more reasons why Congress cannot rely solely on the courts and shirk their responsibility to wield the power of the purse:

1. Obama Has Violated the Injunction: He has already issued 2,000 work permits in contravention to the lower court’s decision. His modus operandi seems to be “ask for forgiveness, not permission.” The spigot of funding must be shut off.

2. Obama Using Asylum: Obama has already abused the existing legal channel of asylum to bring in the new wave of illegal migrants carte blanche from Central America. It’s a well-known secret in some of these Central American countries that all they need to do is file an asylum application and they are home free. Despite the fact that 70% of asylum cases are usually fraudulent, still over 90% of applications are approved. Recently, congressional leaders on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees have expressed concern that terrorists are also exploiting the asylum loophole.

3. DACA Has Not Been Overturned: Even though the court has overturned Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), it has not overturned Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Although a group of ICE agents brought a lawsuit against Obama’s 2012 DACA program, the 5th Circuit astoundingly held that federal agents lacked standing to bring a lawsuit against the government, even though they are being threatened by the administration for following the Constitution. Obama has already issued 541,000 Social Security cards to DACA recipients. The more Obama is able to implement DACA without any congressional controls, the more the fiscal costs will become irrevocable, even if a Republican wins back the White House in 2017.

4. Hyper Prosecutorial Discretion: In addition to those illegal immigrants who are affirmatively granted work permits and Social Security cards, Obama is forcing CPB and ICE agents to release thousands of illegal aliens, including dangerous criminals, onto the streets. Although the court injunction will likely halt the issuance of benefits, it will not stop Obama’s abuse of prosecutorial discretion, which allows these people to remain on the streets. As the surge from Central America continues to grow, states and local communities will continue to incur significant costs in the form of education, healthcare, and criminal justice. Without any congressional requirement that Obama keep track of those illegal aliens that are released – something he has refused to do until now – much of the harm will be immutable.

5. Ending Local Immigration Enforcement: After years of allowing illegal aliens to flood this country without any coherent federal policy or even a desire to stem the tide, state and local enforcement of immigration laws has become the most effective tool against illegal immigration. They are the bulwark against the endless cases of illegal aliens killing Americans in drunk driving incidents, such as the killing of a Houston firefighter and his wife earlier this month. Now, Obama is committed to suspending all cooperation between local law enforcement and federal authorities on immigration.

6. Refusing to Deport: There are now 900,000 illegal aliens who have been ordered to leave the country by the courts, yet the administration is refusing to deport them. Of those ordered deported, 167,000 are criminal aliens, the very type Obama said he would prioritize for deportation. Congress has a huge role to play here. (See “6 Reasons Congress Can’t Rely on Courts to Stop Executive Amnesty”, originally posted HERE)

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Why Are the Islamic State’s Commanders so Much Better Than the Iraqi Army?

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Photo Credit: Foreign Policy Shiite militias and Iraqi government forces have started to move into place around the Islamic State-held city of Ramadi in preparation for a highly-publicized but hastily-planned push to wrest the city from the fighters who chased the Iraqi army out earlier this month.

U.S. military officials believe that the militants had been carefully planning the city’s conquest for weeks, slipping fighters into the city to isolate several government buildings, then surrounding and isolating the Iraqi forces trapped in those pockets. They also battered Iraqi positions with dozens of captured Iraqi armored vehicles and bulldozers packed with explosives — 10 of which have been reported to be as large as the 1995 Oklahoma City blast. With scores dead and wounded, the exhausted and demoralized Iraqi forces were ordered to pull back to defensive positions outside of the city. U.S. officials said that dozens of armored vehicles, along with tanks and artillery pieces, were abandoned by government forces.

Furious American policymakers blasted the Iraqis for effectively abandoning the city. The Iraqi army “was not driven out of Ramadi,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told reporters at a NATO summit in Brussels last week. “They drove out of Ramadi.” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, meanwhile, used an interview Sunday to publicly accuse the Iraqis of lacking the “will to fight,” The White House quickly tried to walk the comments back, but there is little doubt Carter was speaking for many inside the Pentagon.

The Defense chief’s comments hinted at the biggest question hanging over both the Ramadi fight and the broader push against the Islamic State: can Baghdad win the war if its generals seem to be continually out-thought and out-maneuvered by their counterparts from the militant group?

As always, however, matters of victory and defeat in war are complicated. When it comes to Ramadi, the loss isn’t one that can simply be placed at the feet of bad leadership. The Iraqi Army and police there had been fighting almost continuously for 18 months with little support — and no relief — from the government in Baghdad, said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute who specializes in Iraqi military issues. And for them there has been “no safe place, no real rest and recuperation, no escape from the battle.” (Read more from “Why Are the Islamic State’s Commanders so Much Better Than the Iraqi Army?” HERE)

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Photo of Eagle on Fort Snelling Gravestone Touches Hearts, Goes Viral

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Talk to anyone in my business and they’ll all say the same thing: No matter how long you write stories and put them in the newspaper, you are never really sure which ones are going to strike a nerve.

What you think might be a Pulitzer-quality epic might draw only a nice call from Mom, while a simple tale tossed off on deadline causes an uproar, or an avalanche of praise. One legendary former investigative reporter at this paper wrote scores of stories that changed laws and saved lives, yet never did he get more mail than when he wrote about burying his cat . . .

Photo Credit: Frank Glick

A quick recap: Amateur photographer Frank Glick was on his way to work when he drove through Fort Snelling National Cemetery early one morning. He spotted a bald eagle through the mist, perched on a gravestone, and snapped shots with his aging but ever-present camera . . .

An acquaintance saw the photo and suggested that he see if the deceased soldier had any living relatives who might want it. Indeed, Maurice Ruch’s widow was alive and well and delighted to receive a copy of the eagle watching over her beloved husband . . .

Mail and calls from Minnesota, then Chicago, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and finally, Afghanistan. The picture and story had gone viral. I noticed 11,000 people had recommended it on Facebook. I forwarded scores and scores of requests for reprints to Glick. Unfortunately, he had become ill and has been in the hospital off and on since the column ran. Mail piled up. (Read more from “Photo of Eagle on Fort Snelling Gravestone Touches Hearts, Goes Viral” HERE)

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Continue the Remembrance this Week: Every Day Is Memorial Day [+videos]

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It’s tough for those of us who live as civilians to truly appreciate the degree of sacrifice borne by those who wear the uniform.

As we’ve witnessed from several tragedies this year, our troops are putting their lives on the line in dangerous theaters around the globe and on training missions here at home as well. The greatest nation on earth has remained free and has prevented evil from filling the global power vacuum for years because of just a small percentage of brave Americans who sign up to defend our interests.

Coming off the heels of commemorating the sacrifices of our soldiers this Memorial Day, it is incumbent upon our civilian political leadership to think long and hard about foreign policy and how best to craft policies that will ensure the lives of our troops are not needlessly put at risk. At its core, this means when the U.S. goes to war and our troops are sent into harm’s way, it is done factoring in the best interests of our troops.

George Patton was famous for saying, “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.” This salty Patton adage could be just as relevant today as an admonition to the civilian political class not to let political correctness, poor planning, lack of strategic goals and defined outcomes, and tepid rules of engagement needlessly kill or maim our troops.

Reasonable people can disagree over the prudence of a particular military engagement, but once our troops are sent into battle, the first priority must always be to achieve the mission with as little loss of life to U.S. soldiers, not to the other side – not even to innocent civilians. If the cause is just and the engagement deemed necessary, responsibility for civilian casualties lies at the feet of the enemy. If our political class is too squeamish about collateral damage and is intent on gratuitously risking the lives of our troops, they should not go to war in the first place.

This is a sacred goal and commitment all American leaders used to understand. We paid a heavy price for the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, with nearly 2,500 American fatalities. But thanks to meticulous planning, a clearly defined mission, and a no holds barred desire to achieve that mission, a continent was freed and the world was saved just one year later. This was all done despite bad luck, dismal weather, and mechanical failures that plagued the assault at Omaha Beach – and all without the enormous technological advantage the U.S. military enjoys today over its contemporary enemies.

To this day, families of WWII veterans can stand on the hallowed ground of Omaha Beach and solemnly reflect with pride on the enormous ground taken and preserved in the fight to protect our national interests and those of all humanity.

Sadly, things have only gone downhill since WWII. We no longer fight wars with clearly defined missions under leaders who have the ability to articulate a common sense outcome to the public. Our soldiers are thrust into nearly impossible situations and tangled webs of Islamic civil wars without a strategic plan to win. And most absurdly, political motivations that lead to politically correct warfare have all too often superseded the priority of achieving the mission with the least number of casualties.

Despite the failures of our civilian leadership to define our national interests and articulate a winning strategy, we have soldiers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan – in places like Fallujah and Ramadi – with just as much gallantry as our grandparents did at places like Omaha Beach. With over 6,700 fatalities and tens of thousands wounded, many of who are incapacitated for life with debilitating injuries or suffer from PTSD, what can the civilian leadership show these families to justify their sacrifice? Where is the ground held or gained in pursuit of U.S. national interests?

Some political leaders are wrought to say that this is the price we must pay for defending liberty in this era given the nature and logistics of the enemy. They are wrong. This is not the price we must pay; this is unacceptable. The political leadership can do better prioritizing strategic interests and defining the mission of our troops to execute unencumbered from political warfare. They must do better. They owe it to the brave soldiers in uniform.

Certainly, there is much blame appropriately ascribed to the current president for capriciously ceding the gains our military made in central and western Iraq. But much of Iraq and the sacrifice of our troops had gone toward the Iranian hegemony long before Obama took office. Iran was allowed to literally rip apart our troops with the nastiest explosive devices and they have never paid a price for it – again – even before Obama became president, other than to win control and influence over large swaths of the country.

It’s no wonder that morale in the military has sunk so low.

But rather than heap pessimism on the past, aspiring presidential candidates need to chart a course towards refocusing the core mission of the military on identifiable and tangible national interests.

If our soldiers are willing to pay the ultimate price for our freedoms, the least we can do is ensure that as few of our brave men and women are killed in action as possible, and that if they ultimately give their lives for this great nation, their sacrifice is not countermanded by the shortsightedness of those who send them into battle.

(See “Every Day Is Memorial Day”, originally posted HERE)

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NSA Testing Software that Identifies You By Your Smart Phone Swipe, Keystrokes

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Photo Credit: WNDThe National Security Agency has tested the use of smartphone-swipe recognition technology, according to the tool’s manufacturer.

The mobile device feature, created by Lockheed Martin, verifies a user’s identity based on the swiftness and shape of the individual’s finger strokes on a touch screen. The technology is but one incarnation of handwriting-motion recognition, sometimes called “dynamic signature” biometrics, that has roots in the Air Force.

“Nobody else has the same strokes,” said John Mears, senior fellow for Lockheed IT and Security Solutions. “People can forge your handwriting in two dimensions, but they couldn’t forge it in three or four dimensions. Three is the pressure you put in, in addition to the two dimensions on the paper. The fourth dimension is time. The most advanced handwriting-type authentication tracks you in four dimensions.”

The biometric factors measured by Lockheed’s technology, dubbed “Mandrake,” are speed, acceleration and the curve of an individual’s strokes.

“We’ve done work with the NSA with that for secure gesture authentication as a technique for using smartphones,” Mears said. “They are actually able to use it.” (Read more from “NSA testing Software for Identifying You” HERE)

Drought Forces California to Consider Turning Sewage into Drinking Water

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It’s a technology with the potential to ease California’s colossal thirst and insulate millions from the parched whims of Mother Nature, experts say.

But there’s just one problem — the “yuck factor.”

As a fourth year of drought continues to drain aquifers and reservoirs, California water managers and environmentalists are urging adoption of a polarizing water recycling policy known as direct potable reuse.

Unlike nonpotable reuse — in which treated sewage is used to irrigate crops, parks or golf courses — direct potable reuse takes treated sewage effluent and purifies it so it can be used as drinking water.

It’s a concept that might cause some consumers to wince, but it has been used for decades in Windhoek, Namibia — where evaporation rates exceed annual rainfall — and more recently in drought-stricken Texas cities, including Big Spring and Wichita Falls. (Read more about turning sewage into drinking water HERE)

RINO Thad Cochran, After Denying Affair with Aide During McDaniels Race, Marries Her

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By Eric Bradner. Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran married his long-time aide, Kay Webber, over the weekend in a private ceremony in Gulfport.

The seven-term Republican lawmaker’s former wife of 50 years, Rose Cochran, died last year after suffering from dementia. She had lived in a nursing home for 13 years.

Webber, Cochran’s executive assistant, has worked for the senator since 1981. Cochran’s office confirmed his marriage in a one-sentence statement Monday.

His relationship with Webber was the subject of scrutiny during Cochran’s bruising 2014 primary battle with state Sen. Chris McDaniel.

On Capitol Hill, Cochran rents the basement of a rowhouse owned by Webber. The aide accompanied Cochran on 28 trips to 45 countries between 2011 and 2013, and made 39 visits to Mississippi with the senator, McDaniel supporters pointed out. (Read more about RINO Thad Cochran HERE)
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RINO Thad Cochran Joked About Doing “All Kinds of Indecent Things With Animals,” Now Marries Aide Paid $165k Annually in His Employ

By Erica Ritz. Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, who made national headlines in 2014 after reminiscing about his childhood “picking up pecans, from that to all kinds of indecent things with animals,” has married his longtime aide, according to the Associated Press.

Kay Webber has worked for the Republican senator since 1981, and both are 77, spokesman Chris Gallegos said. She makes $165,000 a year in his employ. The wedding was a private ceremony in Gulfport, Mississippi. . .

Cochran, who battled Chris McDaniel for the Republican nomination, originally trailed his challenger, but won by 7,667 votes in a contentious runoff election. McDaniel filed a lawsuit claiming the runoff results were tainted by voting irregularities, but a circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying it was filed too late. The state Supreme Court upheld the dismissal Oct. 24. (Read more about RINO Thad Cochran HERE)

Vietnam Hero: America’s Pathetic Leaders aren’t Worthy of Our Soldiers’ Sacrifices

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Photo Credit: WNDNavy Capt. Eugene “Red” McDaniel said it’s been some time since he “reached a point where I decided the leadership isn’t worthy of the sacrifices people are making for it.”

The establishment in Washington has been entrenched in a number of issues concerning the military of late, including trying to defend the huge losses in territory in the Middle East now being taken over by ISIS.

Much of that land had been bought with the blood of U.S. and coalition military members over the years of fighting tyrants and trying to establish a society based on freedom and rights.

The current administration’s focus on the military has seemed to be more on installing open homosexuality in the ranks and allowing women into tip-of-the-spear ground combat operations. . .

McDaniel isn’t alone in his brutal analysis of the current American leadership. Richard Botkin, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and author of “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph,” told WND, “I whole-heartedly agree that the current leadership is unworthy of the men and women they supposedly lead.” (Read more from this story on America’s Pathetic Leaders HERE)

Congressman Massie’s 500-Yard Run That Is Driving Congress Crazy [+video]

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Photo Credit: The Stand Recently, Congressman Thomas Massie came to speak at the University of Cincinnati. He was the keynote speaker for the Young American for Liberty’s Ohio State conference. Massie gave an eye opening speech on how the House of Representatives works. One of his most revealing stories centered around his 500-yard run that he frequently makes from his office to the House floor . . .

Congressman Massie explained that voice votes are frequently used to pass motions, amendments, and resolutions. There are several problems with taking voice votes on important issues. First, the voice vote does not hold politicians accountable for their votes. Many of our congressmen that we send to Washington are voting against what they ran on, but we do not have a record of all of these votes. The second problem with this method of voting is that it is solely at the discretion of the House Chair. Under normal circumstances, this would be Speaker of the House John Boehner. He is the only one that is allowed to interpret the vote.

The House is supposed to have something called a “quorum” to have a vote. A quorum is defined by at least 218 congressmen. The way that Boehner decides if there is a quorum is by squinting his eyes and declaring he thinks he sees 218 people. Congressman Massie said sometimes there will only be ten congressmen present.

There are about 500 yards in between Massie’s office and the house floor. When the speaker starts to do voice votes when no one is in the house, Congressman Massie will sprint from his office to the House floor and demand a recorded vote. When Congress has a recorded vote, it forces there to be a quorum and politicians to be held accountable for their votes. Massie said that he had done this a lot since he was elected in 2012.

One of the most memorable votes was in December of 2014. The speaker indicated that the Congress was over, so all the congressmen left. It just so happened that Massie’s flight had been canceled, when he went back to his office he saw that the house was passing bills with no one present. He made the 500-yard dash, and when he got onto the house floor they were conducting a voice vote on whether or not to allow President Obama to arm Ukraine’s military. They recessed before he could make a point that a quorum was not present. The next day, after he left, they passed more bills by voice before adjourning the 113th congress. (Read more from “Congressman Massie’s 500-Yard Run That Is Driving Congress Crazy” HERE)

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Historian Claims the Wealthy Will Transform Into “God-Like Cyborgs” Within 200 Years

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Photo Credit: Daily Mail By Ellie Zolfagharifard. The rich are set to become God-like cyborgs in what could be the ‘biggest evolution in biology’ since life emerged.

This is according to Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who believes the radical shift will take place in the next 200 years.

Using biotechnology and genetic engineering, Professor Harari claims the wealthy will transform into a new type of divine, immortal human with complete power over life and death.

He argues that humans are unable to resist the temptation to ‘upgrade’ themselves, according to a report by Sarah Knapton in the Telegraph . . .

‘I think it is likely in the next 200 years or so homo sapiens will upgrade themselves into some idea of a divine being, either through biological manipulation or genetic engineering of by the creation of cyborgs, part organic part non-organic. (Read more from “Historian Claims the Wealthy Will Transform Into a New Type of Human Within 200 Years” HERE)
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Weatlhy Americans “Feel Cornered and Threatened,” Building Safe Rooms for Security

By Matt Chaban. While serving as president of the New School, Bob Kerrey, the former United States senator, needed a residence befitting his station. The university moved him into a red brick Neo-Grec townhouse on West Fourth Street in Manhattan, which was previously owned by the actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

The $20,000-a-month rental had many grand spaces for entertaining, including Mr. Kerrey’s favorite, a rooftop terrace. Yet, its most unexpected amenity was quite private and secretive: a safe room.

“It looked like any old walk-in closet,” Mr. Kerrey said of the 8-feet-by-12-feet bulletproof space inside the third-floor master bedroom (a space the former Navy SEAL said he had little use for). “There was nothing about it that gave it away as anything but a place to hang your clothes.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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