Video: Profile on Senator Cruz, an American Hero

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In this video, Jan Crawford of CBS profiles Senator Cruz and examines his views on a variety of topics especially, immigration.

Ms. Crawford also asks Senator Cruz about Senator McCain calling him a “wackobird.” Sen. Cruz, a champion debater as an undergrad at Princeton, handles the question deftly.

More importantly, the new senator from Texas, son of Cuban immigrants, comes across as a genuine constitutionalist, unafraid of confronting the corrupt ruling class.

As a reformer, Senator Cruz is obviously raising the hackles of the establishment.

Obama Praises Bush, Continues His Legacy (+video)

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Photo Credit: Washington Examiner President Obama issued glowing praise for President George W. Bush at the opening of the Republican’s presidential library in Dallas, highlighting his predecessor’s push for immigration reform and overall character as commander in chief…

Despite his past criticism of the Republican president, Obama has increasingly adopted Bush’s policies, particularly on national security issues. And Obama invoked Bush in his push to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

“Seven years ago, President Bush restarted an important conversation by speaking with the American people about our history as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” Obama said. “And even though comprehensive immigration reform has taken a little longer than any of us expected, I am hopeful that this year, with the help of Speaker Boehner and some of the senators and members of Congress who are here today, that we bring it home.”

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Rep. Louie Gohmert: A 'Conservative Firebrand'

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Photo Credit: Getty Images Below is the transcript of an interview conducted with Louie Gohmert as he walked back to his office after a Fox Business Network television appearance on Capitol Hill. In the interview, Gohmert discusses the state of the GOP, President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, and whether he has considered running for Senate…

What do you think the 2012 election said about the GOP? A lot of commentators say it showed that the GOP has to change on immigration or become supportive of gay marriage to remain competitive. How do you see it?

I think if we had done the things we promised that we wouldn’t be told that now we have to pander. You know, Scott Walker showed if you make promises and you do what you promise, you don’t have to pander. And, you know, Chris Christie has done somewhat the same thing. You make promises when you’re running, and keep your promises. And even when people disagree with you or don’t like you, they will look upon you as being a person of honor and they’ll respect you and you will be elected again. It’s just that people are so hungry for elected officials that will do what they say and say what they’ll do and keep those promises.

So you don’t accept the argument that the country is changing and the Republican Party has to change with it?

The country is always changing and we do need to change, and by changing we change the way we message, but there are some things — like honest, integrity — those kind of values that never go out of vogue. And I think people are hungry for honesty and integrity and I think that’s where we need to be — not pandering. And I also think if we start making the kind of changes that you’ve talked about policy-wise, even though they’re diametrically opposed to what we’ve said when we’ve been elected, I don’ think we’ll come back. People would rather have somebody of honor and integrity. I mean look at [George] Washington. People disagreed with him. He didn’t have 100 percent agreement on a whole lot of things, but he was a man of integrity and kept his word and that’s why we still celebrate him today, in addition to being very brave.

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Gosnell Fallout: Another Ohio Abortion Clinic Forced to Close its Doors

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Photo Credit: bradbrundageThe state is shutting down an abortion provider in Cuyahoga Falls.

The Ohio Department of Health recently issued an order to Capital Care Network, 2127 State Road, saying it was revoking the clinic’s Health Care Facility license to operate an outpatient surgical facility. The clinic is prohibited from “performing medical services, including surgical procedures, pharmaceutical services and anesthesia services,” according to an April 16 adjudication order.

The state health department did an annual inspection at Capital Care on Feb. 14 and found numerous Ohio Administrative Code violations. The department issued a notice that it planned to revoke the clinic’s license.

The clinic didn’t request a hearing.

Tess Pollock, a spokeswoman for the state agency, said the clinic “had a long list of violations, so we needed to move forward.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Boston Marathon Bombers' Next Target was Times Square, says Bloomberg

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Photo Credit: snorpeyThe Boston Marathon bombing suspects had Times Square in their sights before law enforcement authorities put an end to their bloody terror spree, according New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“New York was next on their list of targets,” Bloomberg said of brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Bloomberg said he received confirmation of the chilling second phase of their plot from the FBI. “The fact is, New York City remains a prime target for those who hate America and want to kill Americans.”

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the brothers, Muslims from Dagestan, a breakaway republic in Russia, hatched their plot to attack Times Square while driving the streets of Cambridge last Thursday in a Mercedes SUV they had carjacked from a man who later escaped. Kelly called the New York plot “spontaneous,” and said they had six bombs with them in the car, some of which they hurled at police cars hours later when they were being pursued in a chase that culminated in Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s death.

One of the bombs the brothers had in the stolen car was a pressure cooker bomb, identical to one used in the marathon attack, and packed with gunpowder and shrapnel, Kelly said. Both Kelly and Bloomberg noted surveillance cameras, a contentious subject in New York, played a key role in solving the bombing in Boston, Bloomberg’s hometown. Still, the mayor said there was no way of knowing if the brothers could have pulled off a second attack in America’s largest city.

“We don’t know if we would have been able to stop the terrorists had they arrived here from Boston,” Bloomberg said. He said he did not know of a specific target within Times Square.

Read more from this story HERE.

Federal Judge in Oregon Rules Limiting Inmates' Mail to Postcards Unconstitutional

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Photo Credit: Tim Pearce, Los GatosA federal judge in Oregon has determined limiting inmates’ mail to only postcards is unconstitutional, throwing into question the legality of a practice used for years in jails across the country.

For two years, the Columbia County Jail north of Portland restricted inmates’ personal mail to the sending and receiving of postcards until U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon issued an injunction that stopped the practice in May 2012.

In a ruling made public Thursday, Simon said the practice by the St. Helens jail is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment rights of inmates, the people who write to them, and the plaintiff, a monthly national law journal published by the Vermont-based Human Rights Defense Center.

It’s the first legal precedent opponents can use in their opposition to a policy that stretches from Florida to the Arizona desert, where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is credited with first implementing it in 2007.

The primary reasons cited for the postcard-only mail policy are that it prevents contraband from entering the jail and it saves time for increasingly cash-strapped sheriff’s offices.

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Polls Showing Public Support for Gun Control Skewed, Inaccurate

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Photo Credit: Washington TimesGun owners often scratch their heads over national polls on gun control issues because the responses are so radically different from their own views and those of their friends and family.

On Wednesday, Pew Research and the Washington Post released a poll showing that more Americans have more negative than positive feelings about the Senate’s inability to pass gun-control measures. The survey showed that 47 percent were either “angry” or “disappointed” while 39 percent were “ very happy” or “relieved.”

However, the methodology skews to show more support that actually exists. Pew/Washington Post polled 1,002 adults, but the best public opinion polls ask registered voters because they are the one who will affect the outcome of election. According to a recent Fox News poll, only 26 percent of registered voters support stricter gun control laws. Registered voters are also more likely to closely follow politics. The poll showed that just 39 percent of respondents followed the Senate debate “very closely.”

The question posed by phone gave no context for those unfamiliar with the details of gun policy: “As you may know, the U.S. Senate voted DOWN new gun control legislation, including background checks on gun purchases. Which word best describes how you feel about the fact that this gun legislation did not pass?”

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Sen. Mitch McConnell's and RNC Chair Reince Priebus' Staff Attend Congressional Tea Party Caucus Meeting

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Photo Credit: APThe Tea Party Caucus is back in action with a new strategy and a growing membership.

Roughly 20 House Republicans attended a closed-door meeting Thursday evening in the Rayburn House Office Building, along with staffers from nearly 40 congressional offices, including those of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul.

It comes as conservatives continue to flex their muscle, making life difficult for GOP leaders in the House on issues like Obamacare, and as the debate on immigration legislation heats up.

Conservative mainstays such as Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) were among those at the meeting. A source said the entire GOP House delegation from South Carolina was there as well.

Mike Shields, chief of staff to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, spoke at the meeting – an indication that the GOP establishment is making an effort to work with the tea party lawmakers.

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Girls Told to Ask for Lesbian Kiss at School (+video)

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Photo Credit: mikebairdParents of children attending a Red Hook, New York, middle school are outraged after a recent anti-bullying presentation at Linden Avenue Middle School.

The workshop for 13 and 14-year-old girls focused on homosexuality and gender identity. They were also taught words such as “pansexual” and “genderqueer.”

Parents say their daughters were told to ask one another for a kiss and they say two girls were told to stand in front of the class and pretend they were lesbians on a date.

“She told me, ‘Mom we all get teased and picked on enough. Now I’m going to be called a lesbian because I had to ask another girl if I could kiss her,'” parent, Mandy Coon, told reporters.

Coon says parents were given no warning about the presentation and there was no opportunity to opt-out. Both the school principal and the district superintendent are defending the workshops and advising they will schedule more.

Watch video here:

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Gang of Eight Loopholes Put Many Illegal Immigrants on Fast Track to Citizenship

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Members of the Senate’s bipartisan Gang of Eight have stressed that under their new immigration plan, currently illegal immigrants will have to wait more than a decade before achieving citizenship. Newly-legalized immigrants will be given a provisional status and “will have to stay in that status until at least ten years elapse and [border security] triggers are met,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told Fox News on April 14. “Then the only thing they get is a chance to apply for a green card via the legal immigration system.” The green card process would take additional years, meaning the road to full citizenship could take as long as 15, or even 18, years.

Unless it doesn’t. A little-noticed exception in the Gang of Eight bill provides a fast track for many — possibly very many — currently illegal immigrants. Under a special provision for immigrants who have labored at least part-time in agriculture, that fast track could mean permanent residency in the U.S., and then citizenship, in half the time Rubio said. And not just for the immigrants themselves — their spouses and children, too.

A second provision in the legislation creates another fast track for illegal immigrants who came to the United States before they were 16 — the so-called Dreamers. The concept suggests youth, but the bill has no age limit for such immigrants — or their spouses and children — and despite claims that they must go to college or serve in the military to be eligible, there is an exception to that requirement as well.

First the agricultural workers. The Gang of Eight bill creates something called a blue card, which would be granted to illegal immigrant farm workers who come forward and pass the various background checks the bill requires for all illegal immigrants. Instead of the 10-year wait Rubio described in media appearances, blue card holders could receive permanent legal status in just five years.

How does an illegal immigrant qualify for a blue card? If, after passing the background checks, he can prove that he has worked in agriculture for at least 575 hours — about 72 eight-hour days — sometime in the two years ending December 31, 2012, he can be granted a blue card. His spouse and children can be granted blue cards, too — it can all be done with one application.

Read more from this story HERE.