Government Union Wants ‘Duck Dynasty’ Fans Fired

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Eli CraftBy Todd Starnes.

A union representing federal employees at Eglin Air Force base in Florida is demanding that two senior management officials be removed from their posts because they put decals on their personal trucks supporting Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson.

Alan Cooper, the executive vice president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, said one of the officials also displayed the “I Support Phil” decals in his office last month and offered them to subordinates.

“The BUE (bargaining union employee) was clearly offended and disgusted that a senior management official would display the decal on their pod,” read an email Cooper wrote.

“We took offense,” Cooper told me in a telephone interview. “These two particular individuals have a great amount of influence over individuals who may be gay, who may be African-American – and we have a concern they should not be in a position to exert that influence when it comes to promotions.”

In an email that was sent to union members, Cooper said the Duck Dynasty decal may be a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Read more from this story HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________

“Duck Dynasty’s” Executive Producer Breaks Silence On Phil Robertson Controversy

By B. Christopher Agee.

Taking part in a recent Reality Roundtable event hosted by The Hollywood Reporter, Deirdre Gurney weighed in on a controversy that rocked the hit series she produces.

Last year, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson made some Bible-based statements regarding homosexuality that some found offensive. As a result, A&E moved to suspend the Robertson family patriarch until backlash from outraged fans led to a reversal of that decision.

Gurney explained that the network’s push to kick Robertson off of the show had nothing to do with the role she plays within the series’ production company.

“I don’t think anyone expected it to be that kind of a reaction and get that much attention,” she noted; “so no one was prepared with what this really meant, what to say.”

She said the fact that the incident erupted during the Christmas season only compounded a difficult situation.

Read more from this story HERE.

Report: VA Told Pittsburgh Hospital to Mislead Congress

/4 Comments/in , , /by

Photo Credit: APBy Washington Free Beacon Staff.

The Department of Veterans Affairs ordered a Pittsburgh VA hospital to block attempts by two congressmen to find out about hundreds of patients languishing on the hospital’s wait list, according to a CNN report.

Congressional sources told CNN that Rep. Tim Murphy (R., Penn.) received a call from Pittsburgh VA director and CEO Terry Gerigk Wolf, who said that the hospital had passed an internal audit on patient wait times “with flying colors.”

“It is my belief the purpose of the unannounced call was not to provide me the facts on patient wait times at the Pittsburgh VA, but was a smokescreen to prevent me from understanding what exactly was going on there,” Murphy told CNN. “I’ve heard the ‘all is okay’ message in midst of management failures too many times from the VA to believe it on face value ever again.”

The congressman compared notes with his fellow western Pennsylvanian, Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle.

Read more from this story HERE.

______________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit: TownHall BREAKING: Phoenix FBI Office Launches Criminal Investigation Into VA Scandal

By Katie Pavlich.

Since revelations of secret wait lists and veteran deaths at VA medical facilities surfaced two months ago, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have been pressing the Department of Justice to open up a criminal investigation into the ongoing VA scandal. According to CBS News, the FBI office in Phoenix has launched that criminal probe.

Read more from this story HERE.

HHS: Grantees Sheltering ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ Must Provide ‘Family Planning Services’

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP A $350 million grant opportunity announced Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide shelter for unaccompanied alien children (UAC) states that recipients providing residential shelter to these children must provide them with “family planning services” and that residential care providers deliver services in a manner that is “sensitive” to sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Residential care providers are required to provide…family planning services,” says an official description of the grant program published by HHS.

“Residential care providers are required to provide or arrange for the program required services in a mannter that is sensitive to the…sexual orientation, gender identity, and other important individual needs of each UAC [unaccompanied alien child],” says the official description.

The grant will be issued by HHS through the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The primary function of the Office of Refugee Resettlement/Division of Children’s Services (ORR/DCS) is to provide temporary shelter care and related services to unaccompanied alien children in custody.

Unaccompanied alien children (UAC) are defined as minors who have no lawful immigration status in the U.S., who have not reached the age of 18, and for whom there is no parent or legal guardian in the U.S. or no parent or legal guardian in the U.S. is available to provide care and physical custody.

Read more from this story HERE.

Rep. Salmon: Obama ‘Hasn’t Lifted a Finger’ to Help U.S. Marine in Mexico Jail (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APRep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s claim that no members of the U.S. military are “left behind” does not seem to hold true for Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, the Marine arrested by Mexican authorities on April 1 on weapons charges.

When asked about the exchange of Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban terrorists at a Heritage Foundation event on Capitol Hill, Salmon recalled attending a classified briefing given to House members by Obama administration officials.

“Time and time again the comment was made that we leave no soldier behind and then the other comment was under Article 2 of the Constitution, the president has the responsibility for the troops and a responsibility to protect all Americans abroad,” Salmon said. “And given that, I’m just wondering why the president hasn’t lifted a finger at all to help Sgt. Tahmooressi, who’s in prison in Mexico – has been for two months.”

“And he needs to be home,” said Salmon, who has visited Tahmooressi.

Read more from this story HERE.

Charges Filed In ‘One Of The Largest’ Food Stamp Frauds EVER

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty ImagesFederal charges have been filed against dozens of people in Georgia who allegedly set up a scheme that funneled $18 million worth of food stamps through grocery stores in what a Department of Justice official is calling “one of the largest federal food program frauds ever.”

Fifty-four people were indicted for their roles in the massive fraud which involved the illegal purchase of WIC and food stamp benefits.

The fraud “allegedly involved the purchase of more than $18 million in WIC vouchers and Food Stamp benefits for cash through a number of purported grocery stores set up throughout Georgia.”

Another 34 defendants were indicted for selling their benefits. Through the WIC program, participants receive 3-month supplies of vouchers which can be exchanged for food at authorized stores. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food stamp benefits to low-income families.

It is illegal to sell WIC and SNAP benefits for cash, though that did not stop the 88 people involved in the scam.

Read more from this story HERE.

No One Was Disciplined After The White House Leaked A CIA Official’s Name To The Press

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Flickr / nedrichardsThe White House is adopting enhanced security procedures during foreign trips after the name of a CIA official was accidentally leaked to the press during President Barack Obama’s visit to Afghanistan late last month. However, no one was disciplined or fired as a result of the leak.

Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest announced the results of an investigation into the incident conducted by White House Counsel Neil Eggleston ahead of a fundraiser attended by the president in Massachusetts Wednesday evening. Earnest said Eggleston briefed White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on the results of the investigation Tuesday. The president was also informed of the investigation’s findings Tuesday. Eggleston made three recommendations to prevent similar security breaches from occurring in the future.

The leak occurred when the name of the CIA’s station chief in Kabul was including on a list of officials who participated in a military briefing with Obama during his Afghanistan visit that was subsequently emailed to thousands of reporters on the White House press pool list. Business Insider has withheld the name of the station chief, which has not been widely reported in spite of the leak.

Read more from this story HERE.

MSNBC Contributor: If Jesus Christ Returned, Republicans Would Crucify Him Over Again (+video)

/8 Comments/in , /by

John Fugelsang is one of the more degenerate liberal commentators on religion, but he really went out of his way to offend people on MSNBC’s the Ed Show…

Read more from this story HERE.

Rand Paul Throws Weight Behind Immigration Reform Effort

/8 Comments/in , , /by

Photo Credit: Clay JacksonSen. Rand Paul on Wednesday waded deeper into an issue that has proved perilous to some of his GOP colleagues, throwing his political weight behind an establishment lobby effort to get Congress to reform the country’s immigration system this year.

Mr. Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky and possible 2016 presidential hopeful, participated in a telephone conference call to conservative and business leaders in favor of immigration reform in an effort brokered by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, The Washington Times has learned.

The business group, the Partnership for a New American Economy, immediately blasted an email Wednesday evening to supporters crowing that Mr. Paul had formally joined its pro-reform effort.

The timing of the call only heightened the potential stakes for Mr. Paul just one day after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was shockingly ousted from office in the Virginia Republican primary in favor of a little-known college professor.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russian Bombers Fly Within 50 Miles of California Coast

/7 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APFour Russian strategic bombers triggered U.S. air defense systems while conducting practice bombing runs near Alaska this week, with two of the Tu-95 Bear H aircraft coming within 50 miles of the California coast, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) confirmed Wednesday.

“The last time we saw anything similar was two years ago on the Fourth of July,” Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Norad spokesman, told the Free Beacon.

Davis said the latest Bear H incursions began Monday around 4:30 p.m. Pacific time when radar detected the four turbo-prop powered bombers approaching the U.S. air defense zone near the far western Aleutian Islands.

Two U.S. Air Force F-22 jets were scrambled and intercepted the bombers over the Aleutians.

After tracking the bombers as they flew eastward, two of the four Bears turned around and headed west toward the Russian Far East. The bombers are believed to be based at the Russian strategic base near Anadyr, Russia.

Read more from this story HERE.

Barack Obama Favorability Hits Low

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APPresident Barack Obama’s popularity has dipped to a new low with 44 percent saying they have a favorable view of the president.

Fifty-two percent of Americans said that their feelings of the president are “unfavorable,” according to a poll published Tuesday by Bloomberg. Only 43 percent of those asked said that they approve of the job that Obama is doing, with 53 percent disapproving of his work and 4 percent remaining unsure.

Disapproval ratings of Obama’s efforts with the economy, health care, the budget deficit, negotiating with the Republican majority in the House, the prisoner exchange and problems in the Veterans Administration all fall at above 50 percent. The president’s dealings with “the situation in Ukraine” was the only area to receive less than 50 percent disapproval — receiving 46 percent.

Read more from this story HERE.