IRS: By the Way, We Destroyed Lois Lerner's BlackBerry After Targeting Questions Started

/9 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

If you missed my piece yesterday on Lerner’s reportedly not missing emails, click through and spend five minutes catching up on the evolving timeline. The “official” story keeps shifting, so it’s important to track the changes. This week’s previous development was that a Justice Department attorney informed a watchdog group that all government emails are, in fact, archived, but that retrieving the messages “destroyed” by Lerner’s hard drive crash/scratch would be more trouble than it’s worth. Now we have another drip of damning information, courtesy of Fox News:

Lois Lerner’s Blackberry was intentionally destroyed after Congress had begun its probe into IRS targeting of conservative groups, a senior IRS lawyer acknowledged in a sworn declaration. Thomas Kane, Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel for the IRS, wrote in the declaration, part of a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch against the IRS, that the Blackberry was “removed or wiped clean of any sensitive or proprietary information and removed as scrap for disposal in June 2012.” That date – June 2012 – is significant because by that time, ex-IRS official Lerner had already been summoned before congressional staffers who interviewed her about reports of the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups. “We had already talked to her. Our personal staff and Oversight Committee staff had sat down with Ms. Lerner and confronted her about information we were getting from conservative groups in the state of Ohio and around the country,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News.

Read more from this story HERE.

Prominent Islamic Cleric Justifies Foley Beheading: “Islam is a Religion of Beheading”

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

If you recall, we covered a Muslim imam who described how to kill the infidels, telling his disciples to enjoy themselves while cutting the throats of their enemies. Now, jihadi cleric Hussein bin Mahmoud claims “Islam is a religion of beheading.”

It’s not that we needed this cleric to tell us this, but once again, I don’t see Muslims out in the streets in mass saying this is not so. In fact, the silence of their opposition to any of what Islamists are doing throughout the world is deafening. Their silence is complicity.

MEMRI reports that Mahmoud, who is a prominent writer on jihadi forums, expressed his support for the beheading of journalist James Foley, claiming that it was very effective in terrorizing the enemies of Islam and that Islam allows and encourages beheadings and other atrocities.

MEMRI then provided the following excerpts from the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum that were posted by Mahmoud on August 21, 2014:

“All Scholars… Agree On The Permissibility Of Killing A Harbi Infidel”

Read more from this story HERE.

Pew Survey: 1/3 of Mexicans Want to Move to America: 60% Disapprove of Peña Nieto's Economy

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

As Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto travels across California and declares America to be “the other Mexico,” a Pew Research survey has found that 60% of Mexicans disapprove of Peña Nieto on the economy. Perhaps as a result, a plurality of Mexicans think that life is better across the border, and a third want to move to America.

In addition, the Pew survey found that “two-thirds are dissatisfied with the way things are going in Mexico today” while “only 30% are satisfied with the country’s direction.” That may be why “a plurality of Mexicans (44%) believe life is better north of the border for those who migrated from Mexico” and “roughly a third (34%) still say they would move to the U.S. if they had the opportunity, including 17% of Mexicans who would do so” illegally. Fewer Mexicans, though, said they had close friends and family in the United States than in years past.

On Monday, Peña Nieto scolded governors who did not embrace open borders. California Gov. Jerry Brown was not one of them. The liberal Democrat who has turned California into a sanctuary state and given illegal immigrants driver’s licenses said that illegal immigrants from Mexico are “all welcome in California.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Rand Paul: Hillary's 'War Hawk' Policies Led to Benghazi Attack, Rise of ISIS

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) certainly has a knack for boldness. On Sunday’s Meet the Press, he dubbed U.S. military engagement in Libya “Hillary’s war” and stated the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) is not a result of President Obama’s inaction in the Middle East but the unintended consequence of the U.S. military engagement in Libya.

The comments predictably caused heads in the GOP’s foreign policy establishment to explode. The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin called the rhetorical gambit “ludicrous” and said Paul holds the same views as his father, the libertarian former-Rep. Ron Paul. In an email to me, John Yoo, the former top Justice Department official in the Bush administration, said Paul is the Republicans’ “own version of George McGovern.”

In a phone interview, Paul expanded on his remarks and offered a detailed rendering of his views on foreign policy that, regardless of their merits, are undoubtedly innovative for a man likely to seek the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2016. Paul told Breitbart News:

I would say the objective evidence shows that Libya is a less safe place and less secure place, a more chaotic place with more jihadist groups—and really, we’ve had two really bad things happen because of Hillary’s push for this war. One is that our ambassador was killed as a consequence of not having adequate security and really as a consequence of having a really unstable situation there because of the Libyan war, and then most recently our embassy having to flee by land because they couldn’t leave via the airport because of such a disaster in Libya. So I think it’s hard to argue that the Libyan war was a success in any way. From my perspective, the first mistake they made was not asking the American people and Congress for authority to go to war.

While Muammar Gaddafi, or Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, or Iraq’s Saddam Hussein—deposed during the George W. Bush administration—were certainly bad actors, Paul wants to know: who takes their place?

Read more from this story HERE.

FBI Examining Whether Russia Is Tied to JPMorgan Hacking

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Peter Foley / Bloomberg

Photo Credit: Peter Foley / Bloomberg

Russian hackers attacked the U.S. financial system in mid-August, infiltrating and stealing data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and at least one other bank, an incident the FBI is investigating as a possible retaliation for government-sponsored sanctions, according to two people familiar with the probe.

The attack resulted in the loss of gigabytes of sensitive data, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the probe is still preliminary. Authorities are investigating whether recent infiltrations of major European banks using a similar vulnerability are also linked to the attack, one of the people said.

In one case, the hackers used a software flaw known as a zero-day vulnerability in one of the banks’ websites. They then plowed through layers of elaborate security to steal the data, a feat security experts said appeared far beyond the capability of ordinary criminal hackers. The incidents occurred at a low point in relations between Russia and the West. Russian troops continue to mass on the Ukrainian border and the West tightens sanctions aimed at crippling Russian companies, including some of the country’s most important banks.

Read more from this story HERE.

ObamaCore: 'Why Johnny [Still] Can't Read'

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: PatriotPost.US

Photo Credit: PatriotPost.US

“If a nation expects to be ignorant – and free – in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” –Thomas Jefferson (1816)

In William Shakespeare’s “Tempest,” Act V, Miranda observes, “O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in’t.”

It is those words from which Aldous Huxley drew the title of his 1932 novel, “Brave New World.”

In that celebrated work, Huxley describes a utopian future in which a central authority maintains totalitarian rule and obedience by re-education – replacing historical comprehension with a common core of indoctrination, utilizing sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning.

Huxley’s utopian apparition contrasted that of George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian narrative, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” and that of Ayn Rand in her 1957 work, “Atlas Shrugged,” but all three were, and remain, exceptional expositions of the discordant coexistence of Essential Liberty and the collectivist state.

Read more from this story HERE.

WATCH: BMW Tests Its Armored SUV By Shooting It With A Bunch Of Guns

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: www.BMW.com

Photo Credit: www.BMW.com

BMW unveiled a new bulletproof version of its X5 SUV at the Moscow International Auto Salon this week, which press photos prove can withstand some serious punishment.

The new X5 Security Plus can reportedly take direct fire from an AK-47 assault rifle from 33 feet away thanks to its reinforced shatterproof security glass, and an ”armored passenger cell” made of special steel built into the frame of the SUV.

Read more from this story HERE.

ISIS Reportedly Demands $6.6M for Release of 26-Year-Old American Woman

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

Islamic State militants are reportedly demanding $6.6 million and the release of a U.S. prisoner before they will free a third American hostage held by the group, an unidentified aid worker.

A source confirmed to Fox News that the aid worker is a 26-year-old woman from the West Coast. They did not provide further details, but ABC News reported that the woman, whose relatives have requested she not be identified, is the third of at least four Americans known to be held by the extremist Muslim organization. American journalist James Foley was executed by the group in a video that circulated online last week. Steven Sotloff, formerly of Miami, Florida, was also seen alive in the same footage and purportedly remains in Islamic State custody.

The terror organization also has demanded that U.S. authorities release Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted in 2010 of trying to kill U.S. officials two years earlier. Siddiqui, 42, who reportedly married a nephew of Al Qaeda mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2003, was later sentenced to 86 years in prison. The Karachi native, who was educated in the United States and earned degrees from M.I.T. and Brandeis University, remains in federal custody in Texas.

Siddiqui’s relatives, meanwhile, sought to distance themselves from the militants, saying they were “very distraught” to be linked in any way with Islamic State, ABC News reports.

Read more from this story HERE.

Unbelievable: With 5 Simple Words The Governor Of California Just Totally Undermined U.S. Law

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Amadscientist (Creative Commons)

Photo Credit: Amadscientist (Creative Commons)

Question: What should be done about the governor of the most populous state in the union throwing open the doors to any and all Mexican immigrants, legal or illegal? Is this sort of “come one, come all” policy the new normal in Obama’s America?…

From the LATimes.com article:

In introducing Peña Nieto on Monday, Brown spoke about the interwoven histories of Mexico and California and nodded to the immigrants in the room, saying it didn’t matter whether they had permission to be in the United States.

“You’re all welcome in California,” he said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Valley Favors Miller in primary

/1 Comment/in , /by

miller-joe-Alaska-photo-3-2jpgBy Andrew Wellner.

After reviewing last week’s primary election numbers, a few things seem clear — the Valley supports the current oil tax structure and voters here love Joe Miller.

Vote totals aren’t yet official and might still change slightly. The Alaska Division of Elections plans to count the early ballots cast between Aug. 16 and Election Day today, then count absentee and questioned ballots until Sept. 2, after which the election will need to be officially certified.

Miller, the eventual second-place finisher in the Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate seat that Mark Begich currently holds, took every Mat-Su district from Butte to Talkeetna to Chickaloon. Percentage-wise, he walked away with 41 percent of the vote. His nearest competitor in Mat-Su — the eventual statewide winner, Dan Sullivan — took just 35 percent. The third major contender, Mead Treadwell, garnered 22 percent. An additional 2 percent went to John Jaramillo.

Miller performed similarly well in Mat-Su the last time he ran for Senate, an election in which he first bested Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary then lost to her write-in campaign in the general.

As for oil taxes, Mat-Su voters preferred the current regime, with 61 percent voting against its repeal. Every single district voted that way.

Read more from this story HERE.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit: HOMER TRIBUNE / Randi Somers

Photo Credit: HOMER TRIBUNE / Randi Somers

Tea Party candidate favored in Homer

By Naomi Klouda.

One surprise in the primary election results showed Joe Miller as the favored Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Homer, as well as all other District 31 precincts including Ninilchik, Kasilof and Anchor River.

Miller’s 1,332 votes topped Dan Sullivan’s 948, with Mead Treadwell a distant third at 586. Incumbent Sen. Mark Begich topped all of them in the district results, with 1,430 votes.

Statewide, the No vote, to rescind SB21, was winning after primary election day, 79,980 to 73,184. Even with more than 21,000 outstanding ballots to count, the Vote No camp declared victory.

Miller also conceded to Republican Dan Sullivan, though their spread of difference was just under 7,000 statewide, according to the tally immediately following the primary.

Miller’s campaign director, Randy DeSoto, said Miller made several visits to Homer during his campaign, beginning early in the spring. The Homer/Anchor Point area also had a strong army of volunteers who worked hard, he said.

Read more from this story HERE.