‘Critical Alert’: Jeff Sessions Warns America Against Potentially Disastrous Obama Trade Deal

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

Photo Credit: Breitbart

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is sounding the alarm to his colleagues Senate-wide, warning them and the American public with a “critical alert” published Sunday evening that voting for the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) deal that would set up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal with Asian countries is fraught with problems and concerns.

“Congress has the responsibility to ensure that any international trade agreement entered into by the United States must serve the national interest, not merely the interests of those crafting the proposal in secret,” Sessions’ team writes in a document that lays out the top five concerns with the Obama trade deal. “It must improve the quality of life, the earnings, and the per-capita wealth of everyday working Americans. The sustained long-term loss of middle class jobs and incomes should compel all lawmakers to apply added scrutiny to a ‘fast-track’ procedure wherein Congress would yield its legislative powers and allow the White House to implement one of largest global financial agreements in our history—comprising at least 12 nations and nearly 40 percent of the world’s GDP.

“The request for fast-track also comes at a time when the Administration has established a recurring pattern of sidestepping the law, the Congress, and the Constitution in order to repeal sovereign protections for U.S. workers in deference to favored financial and political allies.”

The Sessions document then goes point-by-point for five full pages through the TPA trade deal, laying out why it wouldn’t help Americans—rather, it would likely hurt American workers—and why the deal doesn’t in fact provide Congress with more power over trade despite talking points from the Obama trade deal’s proponents like House Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)60%, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)58%, and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)40%.

The first point lays out how the deal would result in a “consolidation of power in the executive branch,” a point in which Sessions takes to task those like Ryan who have argued that the deal would return more power to Congress. (Read more from “‘Critical Alert’: Jeff Sessions Warns America Against Potentially Disastrous Obama Trade Deal” HERE)

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Texas Governor Orders State Guard to Keep an Eye on Federal Troops’ Jade Helm Exercise

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Photo Credit: NPR

Photo Credit: NPR

By Wade Goodwyn. [W]hen rookie Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was ordering the Texas State Guard to monitor a Navy SEAL/Green Beret joint training exercise, which was taking place in Texas and several other states, everybody here looked up from their iPhones. What?

It seems there is concern among some folks that this so-called training maneuver is just a cover story. What’s really going on? . . .[Last week there was] a public briefing by the Army in Bastrop County, which is just east of Austin, got raucous. The poor U.S. Army colonel probably just thought he was going to give a regular briefing, but instead 200 patriots shouted him down, told him he was a liar and grilled him about the imminent federal takeover of Texas and subsequent imposition of martial law. . .

The next day Gov. Abbott decided he had to take action. He announced that he was going to ask the Texas State Guard to monitor Operation Jade Helm from start to finish.

“It is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed upon,” Abbott said.

The idea that the Yankee military can’t be trusted down here has a long and rich history in Texas. But that was a while back. Abbott’s proclamation that he was going to keep his eye on these Navy SEAL and Green Beret boys did rub some of our leaders the wrong way. (Read more from “Texas Governor Ordered State Guard to Keep an Eye on Federal Troops’ Jade Helm Exercise” HERE)

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Texas Governor Orders Troops to ‘Monitor’ Jade Helm

By Dylan Baddour. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered members of the Texas Military to monitor federal troops in an upcoming two-month training exercise planned for the Lone Star State.

Operation Jade Helm will bring the U.S. military’s most elite soldiers, including the Green Berets and Navy SEALS, to Texas for simulated special operations in a hostile territory. But plans for the exercise have roused fears in many Texans of a federal occupation.

In a letter to Major General Gerald Betty of the Texas State Guard, Abbott said his order was “to address concerns of Texas citizens.”

“During the training operation, it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property right and civil liberties will not be infringed,” the governor wrote. “I am directing the Texas State Guard to monitor Operation Jade Helm 15.”

The State Guard is a militia of volunteer reservists, headquartered at Camp Mabry in Austin, meant to serve in times of emergency or catastrophe. It is one of three branches of the Texas Military, a force commanded by the governor. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Alan Dershowitz: Charges Against Baltimore Cops Won’t Stick

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images (1)Criminal charges filed Friday against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray were based on “politics and crowd control,” not justice, renowned civil rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV.

“This is a very sad day for justice . . . Today had nothing to do with justice. Today was crowd control. Everything was motivated by a threat of riots and a desire to prevent riots,” Dershowitz said on “The Steve Malzberg Show.”

“The mayor outrageously said we’re going to get justice for the victim, the family and people of Baltimore, never mentioning the defendants. Under our Constitution, the only people who are entitled to justice are the defendants.

“They are presumed innocent, they need due process of law, and the mayor and the state attorney have made it virtually impossible for these defendants to get a fair trial. They have been presumed guilty.”

Dershowitz made the comments hours after Baltimore’s top prosecutor, State Attorney Marilyn Mosby, announced criminal charges against six cops who were suspended after Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in custody in a police van. (Read more from “Alan Dershowitz: Charges Against Baltimore Cops Won’t Stick” HERE)

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‘Exceptional’ NYPD Officer Dies From Gunshot Wound to Head [+video]

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

The NYPD officer who was shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked patrol car in Queens over the weekend has died.

Officer Brian Moore, 25, died Monday afternoon after being taken off life support at Jamaica Hospital two days after the shooting in Queens Village. Moore had been put in a medically induced coma and had undergone surgeries for “severe injuries to his skull and brain.”

The son of a cop from a strong NYPD family, Moore proved himself an exceptional officer since joining the force in 2010, making 150 arrests and winning four medals for his police work, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said . . .

The commissioner said it was a particularly rough day for the officers in Moore’s precinct, the 105th, because they had just returned that morning from the funeral of another officer who died suddenly from an illness that may be related to 9/11.

After Bratton delivered the grim news, an NYPD honor guard assembled as Moore’s remains were taken from the hospital. Authorities said more details about the investigation would be given at a press conference later Monday. (Read more from “‘Exceptional’ NYPD Officer Dies From Gunshot Wound to Head” HERE)

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Starbucks-Owned Ethos Water Bottling in Drought-Stricken California [+video]

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Photo Credit: Daily News

Photo Credit: Daily News

Ethos, the Starbucks-owned water company founded on the principle of helping others, is bottling water in the heart of drought-ravaged California.

At least some of Ethos Water’s supply comes from a plant in Merced, a Northern California city currently experiencing “exceptional drought,” according to a new report by Mother Jones.

Ethos Water was founded in 2002 with a promise to donate to charities working to improve worldwide access to clean water. Starbucks bought the company three years later, and since 2005, the coffee giant has donated 5 cents for every bottle sold to the Ethos Water Fund . . .

Starbucks uses the Merced plant — which processes water collected from private springs in Baxter, about 160 miles north — to supply its West Coast stores, according to Mother Jones. A Pennsylvania water source provides bottles for the East Coast.

Both Merced and Baxter are under an “exceptional drought,” the U.S. Drought Monitor reported. Much of California has been ravaged by the dry spell, which has prompted the state to crack down on water-wasters, impose restrictions across the state and pass appliance efficacy mandates. (Read more from “Starbucks’ Ethos Water Bottling in Drought-Stricken California” HERE)

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LEGAL Immigrants to US From China Top Those From Mexico

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BN-IF505_0504IM_M_20150503205115By Neil Shah. Move over, Mexico. When it comes to sending immigrants to the U.S., China and India have taken the lead.

China was the country of origin for 147,000 recent U.S. immigrants in 2013, while Mexico sent just 125,000, according to a Census Bureau study by researcher Eric Jensen and others. India, with 129,000 immigrants, also topped Mexico, though the two countries’ results weren’t statistically different from each other.

For the study, presented last week at the Population Association of America conference in San Diego, researchers analyzed annual immigration data for 2000 to 2013 from the American Community Survey.

The mandatory annual survey conducted by the Census Bureau asks where respondents lived the year before. Researchers counted as an “immigrant” any foreign-born person in the U.S. who said they previously lived abroad, without asking about legal status. (So while the data include undocumented immigrants, it may undercount them.)

A year earlier, in 2012, Mexico and China had been basically tied for top-sending country—with Mexico at 125,000 and China at 124,000. (Read more from “Immigrants to US From China Top Those From Mexico” HERE)

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Support for More Border Control Hits Four-Year High

By Rasmussen Reports. A growing number of voters consider illegal immigration a serious problem and believe controlling the border is the most important thing the government can do, even if using the military is necessary.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 77% of Likely U.S. Voters now consider illegal immigration a serious problem in America today, with 51% who say it is Very Serious. Just 19% don’t think it’s a serious problem, and that includes only three percent (3%) who say it’s Not At All Serious. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

While overall concern about illegal immigration is unchanged from January, the number who think it is a Very Serious problem is up from 47%.

As they have for years, most voters (63%) think gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States. While that’s up just two points from January, it is the highest level of support for border control since December 2011. Thirty percent (30%) believe it’s more important to legalize those already living here, the lowest finding in two years.

Most voters (63%) still agree that the U.S. military should be used along the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigration, but that’s up from 57% in January and is the highest finding since December 2012. Just 26% disagree, while 12% are undecided. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Bill Clinton Says Nothing ‘Sinister’ in Foreign Gifts to Charity

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Photo Credit: Personal Liberty

Photo Credit: Personal Liberty

Former President Bill Clinton said criticism over his family foundation’s donations from foreign governments is politically motivated and there is no evidence to support suggestions that the gifts influenced Hillary Clinton’s behavior as secretary of state.

“I asked Hillary about this and she said, you know, no one has ever tried to influence me by helping you,” the former president said in an interview with NBC News broadcast Monday. “No one has even suggested they have a shred of evidence to that effect.”

There has been a “deliberate attempt to take the foundation down,” Clinton said. But he doesn’t believe there was “anything sinister in trying to get wealthy people in countries that are seriously involved in development to spend their money wisely in a way that helps poor people and lifts them up.” He added that the foundation had never done anything “knowingly inappropriate.”

Donations to the Clinton Foundation have come under new scrutiny since the former first lady announced her decision to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Last month, the nonprofit group conceded that it had made mistakes in how it disclosed foreign donors and said it would refile some tax forms. The organization also said it would limit gifts from foreign governments to six Western nations.

Former President Clinton said the policy change “absolutely” didn’t suggest that it was inappropriate to have accepted millions in donations from nations such as Saudi Arabia. (Read more from “Bill Clinton Says Nothing ‘Sinister’ in Foreign Gifts to Charity” HERE)

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Sheriff Clarke: Why Are We Surprised at Sub-Human Behavior in American Ghettos? Lib Policies Created It

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1111+CustomBy Carmine Sabia. Outspoken Milwaukee Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. blasted Baltimore rioters and the left-wing agenda he says created the powder keg that blew up into violence.

On Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” Clarke told the host that liberal policies, not the death of accused drug dealer Freddie Gray, are responsible for the violence in the city.

“Like Baltimore, like Ferguson, like New York and many other areas where failed liberal government policies have led to high unemployment, chronic poverty, failing schools,” Clarke said. “This is what besets the Baltimore area. Ninety percent of the homicide victims in the Baltimore area are black as are ninety percent of the suspects. That’s a bigger problem than Freddie Gray.”

He added that the rioters, under any other circumstance, wouldn’t care about Freddie Gray’s life.

“These individuals that are rioting and lotting right now and throwing rocks and bottles do not know Freddie Gray, do not care about Freddie Gray,” he said. “If they were in a nightclub in Baltimore [they] would shoot and kill him for bumping into them on the dance floor.” (Read more from “Sheriff Clarke: Why Are We Surprised at Sub-Human Behavior in American Ghettos? Lib Policies Created It” HERE)

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Baltimore Mob Pounces Over False Alarm; Unarmed Black Man NOT Shot by Cops

By Carmine Sabia. Reaction was fast and furious after Baltimore police and Fox News reported that a black man was shot “multiple times” following a police chase on the same street where riots broke out after the death of Freddie Gray, but as it turned out those reports were inaccurate.

Witnesses said the unidentified man was shot by police, but Baltimore police, who initially tweeted that the man was shot, are now saying those reports are untrue.

The event was witnessed by Fox News’ Mike Tobin, who initially incorrectly reported it as a police involved shooting.

Tobin said he “clearly saw a revolver on the sidewalk” at the scene of the shooting and said he didn’t know what prompted the chase but did witness the man running from police. (Read more from this story HERE)

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May Day Crowd Freaks out Over Open Carrier [+videos]

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images (2)Amongst all the chaos in Seattle during Friday’s May Day riot, a man was seen walking through the crowd wearing a tactical vest with an SKS rifle slung over his shoulder.

Identified as Shayne Butts, he tells reporters “I’m here to ensure peoples’ civil rights get respected, just the basics, First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, to free speech… I don’t like communism, but these people have a right to free speech.”

(Read more from “May Day Crowd Freaks out Over Open Carrier” HERE)

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Baltimore Received $1.8 Billion From Obama’s Stimulus Law [+video]

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Photo Credit: Free Beacon

Photo Credit: Free Beacon

By Elizabeth Harrington. The city of Baltimore received over $1.8 billion from President Barack Obama’s stimulus law, including $467.1 million to invest in education and $26.5 million for crime prevention.

President Obama claimed last Tuesday that if the Republican-controlled Congress would implement his policies to make “massive investments in urban communities,” they could “make a difference right now” in the city, currently in upheaval following the death of Freddie Gray.

However, a Washington Free Beacon analysis found that the Obama administration and Democratically-controlled Congress did make a “massive” investment into Baltimore, appropriating $1,831,768,487 though the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the stimulus.

According to Recovery.gov, one of Baltimore’s central ZIP codes, 21201, received the most stimulus funding in the city, a total of $837,955,866. The amount included funding for 276 awards, and the website reports that the spending had created 290 jobs in the fourth quarter in 2013.

Of this amount, $467.1 million went to education; $206.1 million to the environment; $24 million to “family”; $16.1 million to infrastructure; $15.2 million to transportation; $11.9 million to housing; and $3.1 million to job training. (Read more from “Baltimore Received $1.8 Billion From Obama’s Stimulus Law” HERE)

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Oregon Rep Cites “Economic Oppression” for Baltimore Rioters

By Michael Strickland. Oregon state Representative Lew Frederick took to the House floor this past Tuesday, April 28th, to address the riots in Baltimore.

(Read more from this story HERE)

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