Obama’s Idiotic Grand Bargain: ‘If GOP Raises Corporate Taxes, I’ll Spend More on Public Works and Obamacare’

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Photo Credit: Getty ImagesBy Wall Street Journal. In Chattanooga on Tuesday, the latest stop on his economic inequality tour, President Obama made himself an offer he couldn’t refuse. If Congressional Republicans agree to a corporate tax increase, he said, then he’ll agree to spend more money on his favorite public-works projects. If Republicans bargain hard, will he also offer an expansion of ObamaCare as a sweetener?

We know this sounds like an exaggeration, but that’s the essence of what the President proposed as what he called a new “grand bargain.” Mr. Obama will agree to reform the corporate tax code—a GOP priority and one even the President claims to support—but only if the reform raises more revenue and only if he is allowed to spend that windfall on his priorities.

A White House press release clarified that the President would also like to raise taxes on individuals, not just businesses, while allowing federal spending to rise still higher. But showing they retain a sense of humor in the West Wing, the press release suggests that the President is willing to forgo this tax increase for now because he wants to “work with Republicans.”

This isn’t a serious proposal, and he knows it. It also isn’t bipartisan, since he is offering a compromise with appeal to the ideological spectrum running from Elizabeth Warren to Chuck Schumer. Perhaps these are the only Members of Congress whom Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has in his iPhone.

The real bipartisan reform opportunity would be to get behind the chief Senate and House tax writers, Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Dave Camp. They’ve been holding hearings on tax reform for years, and Mr. Baucus has even invited all Senators to send him a list of tax provisions they’d like to retain and why. Read more from this story HERE.

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Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough

By The Free Press.

President Obama,

Welcome to Chattanooga, one of hundreds of cities throughout this great nation struggling to succeed in spite of your foolish policies that limit job creation, stifle economic growth and suffocate the entrepreneurial spirit.

Forgive us if you are not greeted with the same level of Southern hospitality that our area usually bestows on its distinguished guests. You see, we understand you are in town to share your umpteenth different job creation plan during your time in office. If it works as well as your other job creation programs, then thanks, but no thanks. We’d prefer you keep it to yourself.

That’s because your jobs creation plans so far have included a ridiculous government spending spree and punitive tax increase on job creators that were passed, as well as a minimum wage increase that, thankfully, was not. Economists — and regular folks with a basic understanding of math — understand that these are three of the most damaging policies imaginable when a country is mired in unemployment and starving for job growth.

Even though 64 percent of Chattanooga respondents said they would rather you hadn’t chosen to visit our fair city, according to a survey on the Times Free Press website, it’s probably good that you’re here. It will give you an opportunity to see the failure of your most comprehensive jobs plan to date, the disastrous stimulus scheme, up close and personal. Read more from this story HERE.

Defunding: The Framers’ Remedy for Presidential Lawlessness
 


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Photo Credit: American Spectator President Obama does not have the authority to choose which parts of the law are enforced. In 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously against President Richard Nixon’s inflated claims that he could selectively carry out the law. But going to court to keep presidents in line is slow and necessitates finding litigants to sue the president. The framers gave Congress a more practical way to resist a power-hungry president: defunding. Defunding is precisely what members of Congress are supposed to do when a president breaks the law. It’s checks and balances in action. Two centuries ago, the chief architect of the U.S. Constitution James Madison declared in Federalist No. 58 that Congress’s authority over spending is the “most complete and effectual tool” to stop a president from grabbing more power than the Constitution allows.


Utah Senator Mike Lee is taking a page out of Madison’s playbook. On July 17 Lee urged Congress to vote against any continuing resolution to fund the federal government after September 30 so long as it funds Obamacare. “Laws are supposed to be made by Congress, not…[by] the president, who has now amended Obamacare twice. Once by saying individuals have to comply with the law during their first year but employers don’t. Then in saying we aren’t even going to require people to prove their income.” Lee said that if the administration is not prepared to fully enforce Obamacare as enacted, it should agree to delay the entire law and remove its funding from the budget. Eleven fellow Republican Senators and at least 60 Republican House members have signed on to Lee’s defunding stance.

Lee’s constitutional case is air tight. Yet the Democratic Party and Obama’s supporters in the media are trying to label the defunding strategy “government sabotage,” “radicalism,” and “obstructionism.” They need a refresher course on the Constitution.

Read more from this story HERE.

Student Forgotten in DEA Cell for Days After Drug Raid Wins $4.1 Million

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Photo Credit: CNNDaniel Chong, forgotten in DEA cell, settles suit for $4.1 million

By Stan Wilson. A University of California San Diego student left unmonitored in a holding cell for five days by the Drug Enforcement Administration has settled a lawsuit for $4.1 million, his attorney said Tuesday.

“This was a mistake of unbelievable and unimaginable proportions,” said attorney Julia Yoo.

Daniel Chong, 25, drank his own urine to survive and even wrote a farewell note to his mother before authorities discovered him severely dehydrated after a 2012 drug raid in San Diego.

Chong was detained on the morning of April 21 when DEA agents raided a house they suspected was being used to distribute MDMA, commonly known as “ecstasy.”

A multiagency narcotics task force, including state agents, detained nine people and seized about 18,000 ecstasy pills, marijuana, prescription medications, hallucinogenic mushrooms, several guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the house, according to the DEA. Read more from this story HERE.

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College student abandoned in windowless DEA cell for more than 4 days without food, water, gets huge settlement

By Jason Howerton. The DEA introduced national detention standards as a result of the ordeal involving Daniel Chong, including daily inspections and a requirement for cameras in cells, said Julia Yoo, one of his lawyers…

It remained unclear how the situation occurred, and no one has been disciplined, said Eugene Iredale, another attorney for Chong, The Justice Department’s inspector general is investigating.

“It sounded like it was an accident – a really, really bad, horrible accident,” Chong said.

Chong was taken into custody during a drug raid and placed in the cell in April 2012 by a San Diego police officer authorized to perform DEA work on a task force. The officer told Chong he would not be charged and said, “‘Hang tight, we’ll come get you in a minute,’” Iredale said…

Chong was a 23-year-old engineering student when he was at a friend’s house where the DEA found 18,000 ecstasy pills, other drugs and weapons. Iredale acknowledged Chong was there to consume marijuana. Read more from this story HERE.

Male Soldiers in Afghanistan Using Craigslist to Have Sex With Each Other on Base

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Photo Credit: Corbis U.S. soldiers deployed to Afghanistan are using Craigslist to meet and have sex with each other on bases across the war-torn country, leading to concerns about a breakdown in discipline overseas.

Military commanders have forbade any service members who are not married to each other from having sex while deployed to the combat zone. As a result, each of the covert meetings is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The vast majority of the posts on Craigslist involve male soldiers seeking sex with other men – a practice that could have resulted in the discharge of both parities from the military under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which barred gays in the armed forces.

After the policy was repealed by Congress and President Barack Obama in 2010, the penalties for a gay rendezvous aren’t as steep.

A U.S. Marine lance corporal who was caught and arrested after making an illicit meeting with a male undercover Naval Criminal Investigation Service officer, told the Marine Corps Times that he was busted down to private first class, gave up $1,600 in pay and got 45 days of extra duties and 45 days of restrictions.

Read more from this story HERE.

Dems ‘Likely to Nominate this Republican for Prez’

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Photo Credit: WNDThe next presidential election is still three years away, but top-rated radio host Rush Limbaugh is already making a bold prediction about who will be the likely nominee for the Democratic Party.

“I think it’s going to be Chris Christie,” Limbaugh said on his national program Tuesday.

“I think the contest in 2016, the Democrat side, is gonna be between Rahm Emanuel and Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie.”

What makes the prediction especially noteworthy is that Christie, the governor of New Jersey, is at present a Republican, and he would have to switch parties to be nominated by the Democrats.

On June 5, Limbaugh first brought up the possibility of Christie looking to lead the Democratic ticket, saying at the time: “I’m not predicting it officially here, but I will not be surprised, if when 2016 rolls around and Governor Christie is seeking the presidency, I won’t be surprised if he seeks the Democrat Party nomination.”

Read more from this story HERE.

General Mill’s Betty Crocker Jumps on the Homosexual Marriage Bandwagon

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Photo Credit: WNDGeneral Mills, widely known for throwing its considerable influence behind same-sex marriage, has now unleashed one of America’s most beloved icons, Betty Crocker, in the effort.

When Minnesota begins allowing homosexual duos to legally exchange marriage vows at midnight Thursday, a few couples will be treated to free wedding cake, compliments of Betty Crocker.

According to the homosexual advocacy organization GLAAD, “Betty Crocker is performing this donation as a part of ‘The Families Project.’”

The organization says that three couples visited the Betty Crocker kitchens in Golden Valley, Minn., to sample wedding cakes on Monday, in a blog post titled “Betty Crocker Toasts Marriage Equality With Wedding Cake Tasting.”

“The company states that it wanted ‘to celebrate with these families and mark this moment in the state’s history’,” says the GLAAD blog.

Read more from this story HERE.

Tit for Tat on Preferred Legislation

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If liberals can refuse to defend laws that they don’t like, then conservatives can refuse to fund those that they deem undesirable.

As most who follow politics well know, on the issue of marriage, twice recently, liberals refused to honor the law when it comes to marriage. Of course, as we also know, such efforts were successful.

Particularly troubling was the case involving California’s Proposition 8. Because the state of California refused to defend Prop 8 in court, it was left up to plaintiffs without legal “standing” to do so…Since the state of California still refuses to defend what was passed by their citizens, same-sex marriages were allowed to resume in California. In other words, California officials scanned the political landscape and deemed it now safe to simply ignore the law.

Other states are taking notice. Earlier this month, the Attorney General of the state of Pennsylvania, Kathleen Kane, announced that her office would not defend her state’s ban (since 1996) on recognizing same-sex marriages.

Liberals across the country seem to be perfectly content with this approach. However, they will howl like rabid dogs whenever it is proposed that the House GOP may consider a similar approach when it comes to funding Obamacare. As some conservative pundits have recently noted, most notably Rush Limbaugh, there are republicans that are also balking at the proposition of not funding Obamacare.

Read more from this story HERE.

Mark Levin Hammers Boehner, Chris Christie for Stance on Obama Scandals (+video)

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Photo Credit: Daily CallerOn Neil Cavuto’s “Your World” program on the Fox News Channel Tuesday, syndicated radio talker Mark Levin took on President Barack Obama, the Republican leadership in the U.S. House and New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie for the handling of the various scandals surrounding the White House.

In a nearly 10-minute interview, Levin took on the terrorist attack in Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, and the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program.

“I will tell you this — this president could give a damn about a serious investigation about scandals that are swirling around his administration,” Levin said. “And then his lackeys go on TV, including ‘Fox News Sunday’ and tell us there’s no evidence. Their people plead the fifth. Their attorney general doesn’t conduct investigations. And what’s necessary is for the Republicans in the House to get their act together. We don’t need five committees investigating Benghazi. We need one special investigative committee with former assistant U.S. attorneys, other types of prosecutors, who are serious people, who have the resources necessary, full-time, to pursue these matters and put the information on the table. Same with the Internal Revenue [Service] investigation.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Federal Court of Appeals: Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking OK

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Photo Credit: Wang Zhao/Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
In a significant victory for law enforcement, a federal appeals court on Tuesday said that government authorities could extract historical location data directly from telecommunications carriers without a search warrant.

The closely watched case, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, is the first ruling that squarely addresses the constitutionality of warrantless searches of historical location data stored by cellphone service providers. Ruling 2 to 1, the court said a warrantless search was “not per se unconstitutional” because location data was “clearly a business record” and therefore not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The ruling is likely to intensify legislative efforts, already bubbling in Congress and in the states, to consider measures to require warrants based on probable cause to obtain cellphone location data.

The appeals court ruling sharply contrasts with a New Jersey State Supreme Court opinion in mid-July that said the police required a warrant to track a suspect’s whereabouts in real time. That decision relied on the New Jersey Constitution, whereas the ruling Tuesday in the Fifth Circuit was made on the basis of the federal Constitution.

The Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on whether cellphone location data is protected by the Constitution. The case, which was initially brought in Texas, is not expected to go to the Supreme Court because it is “ex parte,” or filed by only one party — in this case, the government.

Read more from this story HERE.

Rep. Sheila Jackson, the Next DHS Secretary?

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Photo Credit: GettyBy Alex Pappas. Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas is playing coy about whether she wants President Obama to nominate her to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland Security.

Asked by The Daily Caller on Tuesday about the Congressional Black Caucus’ lobbying on her behalf for the appointment, Jackson Lee declined to say whether she’s interested in the post, saying, “I don’t have any comment.”

But asked about the Black Caucus’ letter recommending her, Jackson Lee couldn’t resist expressing her joy.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: WNDDHS taking national security to new lows

F. Michael Maloof. Just as concern is peaking over the prospect of a catastrophic electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, event from either natural or man-made causes that could cripple the U.S. national electric grid, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has decided to cut back on training for electric utilities to harden their facilities to protect them.

DHS is charged with protecting the country’ critical infrastructures, including the national electric grid system, which would be dramatically and possibility irreversibly affected by a major EMP event.

DHS officials, who are aware of EMP and its potentially catastrophic effects on the nation’s critical infrastructure, still does not regard EMP as one of the 15 National Planning Scenarios which outline implementation instructions for national calamities, including flooding and acts of terrorism.

These and other concerns about the potential for an EMP and its effect were brought out in a conference near Capitol Hill by a newly formed EMP Coalition, which was created to ensure the resiliency of the U.S. electrical grid system and the critical national security and civilian infrastructures that depend on it.

The coalition is co-chaired by former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey. Read more from this story HERE.