Bombshell Documents Show One Of Chris Christie’s Top Aides Ordered George Washington Bridge Lane Closures

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

By Brett LoGiurato.

Bombshell documents show that decisions that caused days of traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge — possibly in retaliation against a Democratic mayor who wouldn’t endorse Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) for reelection — reached closer to Christie than he has previously acknowledged.

Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s deputy chief of staff, sent an August 13 email to former Port Authority Director of Interstate Capital Projects David Wildstein, a Christie ally: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) had declined to endorse Christie for re-election, unlike many other Democratic municipal officials in the state.

The Wall Street Journal obtained that email and 21 other pages of emails and text messages, a series that shows coordination between the Christie administration and the Port Authority over the lane closures — and suggests the closures were politically motivated, not part of a “traffic study.”

In a text to Baroni, Sokolich had said that the problem of busing students to school was “maddening.”

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

‘Outraged’ Chris Christie DENIES knowing about aide’s order to snarl up NYC bridge traffic in revenge on political enemy

By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor.

New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie broke his day-long silence Wednesday afternoon to say that a petty plan to exact revenge against a Democratic mayor by bottling up traffic in his town was carried out ‘without my knowledge.’

Christie put out a strongly-worded statement aimed at distancing himself from the growing scandal that threatens to engulf him and put the brakes on his presidential ambitions.

‘What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable,’ Christie said. ‘I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge.’

Shocking emails released hours earlier revealed Christie’s aides punished a Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse their boss by snarling commuter traffic entering his town’s on-ramp to New York City’s busy George Washington Bridge.

‘One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable,’ he said, ‘and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.’

Read more from this story HERE.

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Christie ‘Outraged’ By ‘Unacceptable’ Email Exchanges Over GWB Lane Closures

By CBSNewYork/AP.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie responded Wednesday afternoon to email exchanges made public earlier in the day linking a top aide to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal that has been under investigation.

“What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions,” the governor said in a statement.

Hearings on the issue begin Thursday, a day after the emails were released.

As CBS 2’s Jessica Schneider reported, Christie had said previously that no one in his office or his campaign knew about the lane closures back in September.

Read more from this story HERE.

DoD Reviewing Its ‘Equal Opportunity’ Training–After Anti-Christian Materials Exposed

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

In response to a letter from a coalition of religious liberty advocates concerned about anti-Christian bias in Defense Department “equal opportunity” training materials, the Department of Defense says it is reviewing those materials and will decide this month whether to continue using “private organizations” as resources in developing them.

The coalition specifically cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a group the military should stop relying upon as a source for equal opportunity training.

DOD spokesman Lt. Commander Nathan Christensen told CNSNews.com on Dec. 19 that if DOD decides to continue using private groups as resources, it will also decide whether a disclaimer should be included when those organizations are cited in DOD training materials.

Christensen did not say whether DOD would agree to meet with members of the coalition concerned about religious freedom in the military to discuss their concerns.

The Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition, a group of 23 non-profit organizations, sent their letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Dec. 6.

Read more from this story HERE.

Chamber of Commerce Vows to Fight ObamaCare Employer Mandate in 2014

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce vowed Wednesday to fight ObamaCare’s so-called employer mandate and other “onerous” provisions in the year ahead, even as the pro-business group acknowledged the bill as a whole cannot be repealed in the current climate.

The agenda was outlined by Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue, in his annual Washington address. Though the law’s requirement on mid-sized and large businesses to provide health coverage to workers was delayed by a year, Donohue said the Chamber still plans to lobby against that mandate in 2014.

“In 2014, we will work to repeal onerous health care taxes; repeal, delay, or change the employer mandate; and give companies and their employees more flexibility in the choice of health insurance plans,” Donohue said. He also cited immigration reform, entitlement reform and more domestic energy production as other major objectives.

“We’re not going to get rid of [the Affordable Care Act] so we’re going to have to find ways to make it work,” Donohue said afterward. “It’s a massive tax bill. It’s a massive rules-and-regulations system. And lots of people are worried about how they are going to get their health care.”

In his speech, Donohue said the health insurance cancellations that “swamped” the individual market last year are expected to hit the small business market even harder this year. And many firms are not hiring and are cutting workers’ hours because of the law’s mandates, he said — despite claims by the Obama administration to the contrary.

Read more from this story HERE.

Limbaugh: Obama Fiddles While the Economy Burns

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Photo Credit; Rush Liimbaugh

Photo Credit; Rush Limbaugh

RUSH: Folks, you’ve heard the old saying, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” That is true. Rome was literally burning, and he could not have cared less. What people have forgotten about it is that Nero, he didn’t just fiddle while Rome burned; he started the fire. Nero wanted to burn down Rome in order to rebuild it in his own image. But to cover it up he blamed the Christians, who were then subsequently thrown to the lions.

Now, on my first trip to Rome, the tour guide told me that didn’t happen. He was interested in Rome not having a bad impression. He said, “You’ve heard that the Christians were given to the lions. It really didn’t happen,” he said. But, for all intents and purposes, it did. Now, if you ask me, the story of Nero fiddled while Rome burned and then adding to it he started the fire sounds familiar to me.

Barack Obama has, for five years, had control over the US economy. His policies, his specific economic policies are the reason this country is in dire economic straits. Obama’s policies are the reason why there is no recovery — and if you want to call it a recovery, go ahead. If you do, it’s the worst recovery in the history of this country. So there is an analogy, I think, to Nero here. Obama, by his own admission before he took office, during his campaign and after he was immaculated, bragged about transforming this country.

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Alaska Group Takes Next Step to Legalize Marijuana

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Photo Credit: matthew kenwrick

Photo Credit: matthew kenwrick

A citizens’ group hoping to make Alaska the third state in the nation to legalize recreational use of marijuana took a step closer Wednesday, submitting more than 46,000 signatures to the state election office.

If enough signatures are verified — they need about 30,000 qualified signatures — the question of whether to make pot legal in the nation’s northernmost state will go before voters in the Aug. 19 primary. Signatures must come from at least 7 percent of voters in at least 30 House districts.

“It’s clear that Alaskans are eager to have an opportunity to express their displeasure with the current system and make a change,” said one of sponsors, Tim Hinterberger, a professor in the School of Medical Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Read more from this story HERE.

Your Car Could be ‘Spying’ on You! US Report Reveals Car-Makers are Collecting Data about Drivers’ Travel Habits

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Photo Credit: DailyMail

Photo Credit: DailyMail

As if Facebook, Google and the federal government squirreling away your personal information wasn’t enough, now it seems your car could also be spying on you.

According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, several major automakers and GPS manufacturers have been collecting data about drivers’ whereabouts gathered from on-board navigation systems and keeping the information for varying lengths of time.

The report was released on Monday. It focused on the big three Detroit automakers, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, as well as GPS manufacturers Garmin and TomTom, and app developers Google Maps and Telenav.

The GAO – as well as Senator Al Franken, who requested the investigation – worries that the privacy of motorists is at risk if information about their travels are being recorded without their knowledge, and kept for indefinite amounts of time.

According to the report, even if a motorist wants data about their travel destroyed, the entity collecting the data isn’t required to destroy it.

Read more from this story HERE.

U.S. State Department Says Won’t Respond ‘Publicly’ to Palestinian Incitement

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Photo Credit: Screenshot.

Photo Credit: Screenshot.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Marie Harf told reporters that she would not comment directly on Israel’s report of incitement from Palestinian Authority leadership, but that rebukes are being made behind closed doors.

At a press briefing in Washington on Monday, Harf said “we make those discussions private,” according to a transcript of her comments.

“I’m not saying we don’t register complaints… I’m just saying we don’t always do it publicly,” she said in response to a reporter’s question.

When pressed to elaborate, Harf continued, “Well, publicly silent is different than privately silent. And again, nobody’s privately silent. If you’ve ever met the Secretary [of State John Kerry] or Ambassador [Martin] Indyk, nobody’s privately silent.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Michelle Obama Reportedly Vacationing With Oprah Winfrey at Maui Estate (+video)

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Island horses, guava cocktails, magnificent sunsets – and Oprah Winfrey!

Michelle Obama is reportedly enjoying it all at the media mogul’s swanky estate in Hawaii where the first lady is squeezing out a few more days of vacation.

President Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia returned to the White House Sunday after a two-week vacation in Hawaii, but Michelle Obama stayed behind in the Aloha State as a bit of an early birthday gift from the president.

“This was her decision to remain at, actually, the president’s suggestion in Hawaii, to spend time with friends ahead of her upcoming very big birthday,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. “If you have kids, you know that telling your spouse that they can go spend a week away from home is actually a big present.”

She’ll be 50 Jan. 17.

Read more from this story HERE.

Prosecuter Claims Indiana National Guardsman Stopped for Speeding in Madison County Had 48 Bombs

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Photo Credit: The Columbus Dispatch

Photo Credit: The Columbus Dispatch

An Indiana National Guardsman was arrested outside Columbus on New Year’s Day after a state trooper found nearly 50 bombs and the blueprints for a Navy SEAL training facility inside his car, the Madison County prosecutor said yesterday.

Andrew Scott Boguslawski, 43, also had a remote-control device to detonate the bombs, Madison County Prosecutor Stephen Pronai said. Boguslawski’s civilian job is as a groundskeeper at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in south-central Indiana. Prosecutors could not say definitively yesterday whether the blueprints in his car were for the facility where he worked.

Boguslawski also had a bulletproof vest in his car, Pronai said.

“He said something to the trooper about making a bomb vest,” Pronai said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Bipartisan Critic Turns His Gaze Toward Obama

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

After ordering a troop increase in Afghanistan, President Obama eventually lost faith in the strategy, his doubts fed by White House advisers who continually brought him negative news reports suggesting it was failing, according to his former defense secretary Robert M. Gates.

In a new memoir, Mr. Gates, a Republican holdover from the Bush administration who served for two years under Mr. Obama, praises the president as a rigorous thinker who frequently made decisions “opposed by his political advisers or that would be unpopular with his fellow Democrats.” But Mr. Gates says that by 2011, Mr. Obama began criticizing — sometimes emotionally — the way his policy in Afghanistan was playing out.

At a pivotal meeting in the situation room in March 2011, called to discuss the withdrawal timetable, Mr. Obama opened with a blast of frustration — expressing doubts about Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander he had chosen, and questioning whether he could do business with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai.

“As I sat there, I thought: The president doesn’t trust his commander, can’t stand Karzai, doesn’t believe in his own strategy and doesn’t consider the war to be his,” Mr. Gates wrote. “For him, it’s all about getting out.”

“Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War” is the first book describing the Obama administration’s policy deliberations written from inside the cabinet. Mr. Gates offers 600 pages of detailed history of his personal wars with Congress, the Pentagon bureaucracy and, in particular, Mr. Obama’s White House staff. He wrote that the “controlling nature” of the staff “took micromanagement and operational meddling to a new level.”

Read more from this story HERE.