Associated Press: Reporters Should Stop Using Phrase ‘Illegal Immigrant’

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Photo Credit: AP

The Associated Press says it is no longer appropriate for reporters to use the term “illegal immigrant.”

The organization announced that its AP Stylebook — the language and grammar guide used by news organizations across the country — will immediately stop approving the phrase.

“The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term ‘illegal immigrant’ or the use of ‘illegal’ to describe a person,” senior vice president and executive editor Kathleen Carroll said in a post Tuesday on the AP website. “Instead, it tells users that ‘illegal’ should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally.”

The move comes as liberal immigration activists have been encouraging news organizations to stop using the term. Most prominently, Jose Antonio Vargas, an illegal immigrant and former Washington Post reporter, testified before Congress on the issue.

“When you inaccurately call me illegal, you not only dehumanize me, you’re offending them,” he said. “No human being is illegal.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Feds Admit that FBI Warrantless Cellphone Tracking, Eavesdropping ‘Very Common’

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Photo Credit: Free Patriot

FBI investigators for at least five years have routinely used a sophisticated cellphone tracking tool that can pinpoint callers’ locations and listen to their conversations — all without getting a warrant for it, a federal court was told this week.

The use of the “Stingray,” as the tool is called, “is a very common practice” by federal investigators, Justice Department attorneys told the U.S. District Court for Arizona Thursday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Installed in an unmarked van, Stingray mimics a cellphone tower, so it can pinpoint the precise location of any mobile device in range and intercept conversations and data, said Linda Lye, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California in a blog post about the case.

In a rare public discussion of federal electronic surveillance capabilities and authorities, Justice Department lawyers told the court hearing that, instead of a warrant, the FBI operates Stingray and other cellphone-mimicking technology under the authority of “pen register” orders. These court orders, also known as “tap and trace” orders, are generally issued to allow investigators to collect only so-called “metadata” — like all phone numbers calling to or called from a particular number.

But Stingray collects much more than just phone numbers and also “sweep[s] up the data of innocent people who happen to be nearby,” according to the ACLU filing.

Read more from this story HERE.

Texas AG to Obama: I’ll Sue if U.N. Arms Treaty is ratified

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Photo Credit: AP

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote a letter to President Obama on Tuesday saying that the state will head to court over the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty should Mr. Obama sign it and the U.S. Senate ratify it.

“The UN has concluded its negotiations on the Arms Trade Treaty,” Mr. Abbotwrites. “It is now up to you to sign it — or reject it. Do not sign this treaty.”

Mr. Abbott writes that he understands the apparent purpose is to combat illegal arms trafficking around the world, but that the treaty could draw law-abiding gun owners and gun operators “into a complex web of bureaucratic red tape created by a new department at the UN devoted to overseeing the treaty.”

“As with most so-called international-law documents promulgated by the UN, the draft treaty is not written using the precise, unambiguous language required of a good legal document,” he continues. “Instead, the treaty employs sweeping rhetoric and imprecise terminology that could be used by those who seek to undermine our liberties to impose any number of restrictions on the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms.”

Darryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups have distorted the meaning of the treaty. He said it is about the global trade of dangerous weapons, not individual rights within the United States.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: 15 year Old Girl Leaves Anti-Gun Politicians Speechless

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Photo Credit: YouTube

A 15 year old girl uses facts and knowledge from a shooter’s perspective to completely shut down any argument for more gun control. Reminding us that “guns are not the problem, people are.” Why isn’t our government this intelligent?

Watch video here:

New York State Senator and City Councilman Arrested in 'Bribery Plot' to Rig Mayor Race

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Photo Credit: G.N. MIller

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and city Councilman Dan Halloran were arrested this morning on charges they were plotting to rig this year’s mayoral election through fraud and bribes.

The pols allegedly formed an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, sources said.

FBI agents arrested them both at their Queens homes shortly after 6 a.m. “I have no idea,” Halloran, in handcuffs, told a Post reporter when asked if he knew why he was being arrested.

“I’m sure the truth will come out once I have an opportunity to find out what’s going on.” Smith would not say anything as he was hauled off.

All six defendants were arraigned this afternoon, when they were ordered to surrender their passports and post $250,000 bond.

Read more from this story HERE.

Hagel to Take Pay Cut in Solidarity with DoD Furloughed Workers

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Photo Credit: Secretary of Defense

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will take the same pay cut as the 750,000 civilian Pentagon employees slated for furloughs in the coming months.

Hagel and Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter plan to voluntarily hand over 14 days of pay back to the Treasury Department, as a sign of solidarity with the Pentagon employees who are being forced to take the same cut via furloughs.

Both Hagel and Carter are exempt from the furlough plan, since both officials are Senate-confirmed White House appointees, Defense Department (DOD) press secretary George Little told reporters on Tuesday.

“My understanding is … that there is a legal way to actually write a check, if you will, back to the U.S. Treasury,” Little said, regarding how both senior DOD officials would be able to adapt their pay scales to furlough levels.

Carter informed Congress he would be willing to take a pay cut, commiserate with proposed furloughs, during testimony on the department’s fiscal situation under sequestration earlier this year.

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Newt Gingrich: Obama Deserves Credit

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

By Donovan Slack. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker who famously wanted to create a moon colony, is now backing President Obama’s plan to spend $100 million mapping the human brain.

“President Obama is taking a very important step toward the most dramatic breakthroughs in human health. Brain research is vital for Autism, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, mental health, and a host of other concerns,” Gingrich said in a statement. Read more from this story HERE.

Obama proposes $100M for brain mapping project

By Associated Press. President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to spend $100 million next year on a new project to map the human brain in hopes of eventually finding cures for disorders like Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and traumatic injuries.

Obama said the so-called BRAIN Initiative could create jobs and eventually lead to answers to ailments including Parkinson’s and autism and help reverse the effect of a stroke. The president told scientists gathered in the White House’s East Room that the research has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people worldwide.

“As humans we can identify galaxies light-years away,” Obama said. “We can study particles smaller than an atom, but we still haven’t unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears.”

Read more from this story HERE.

US Corporations Get Cold Feet About Reducing Tax Rates

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Washington is finally starting to get serious about corporate tax reform — and now businesses are getting cold feet.

At first, it seemed like an idea the White House, Congress and corporate America could all agree on. Every company would play by the same tax rules: They would give up their special tax breaks in exchange for lowering the basic tax rate from 35 percent to as little as 25 percent.

But with Congress starting to dig into the details, many captains of industry are backpedaling — and fast.

The corporations aren’t keen on giving up the special tax breaks that have let many of them pay Uncle Sam less than advertised for years.

And they’ve gone on the offense to protect their favorite loopholes.

Read more from this story HERE.

Another RINO Embraces Gay Marriage

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Photo Credit: AP

Sen. Mark Kirk bucked most of his fellow Republicans on Tuesday, becoming the second GOP senator to publicly endorse same-sex marriages…

“When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others,” The Illinois senator said in a statement. “Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage…”

Read more from this story HERE.

Read about Alaska’s Senator Murkowski’s “evolving” homosexual marriage views HERE.

Activist Head of US Goddard Space Institute Quits So He Can Sue Government Over Global Warming

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Photo Credit: ALICE OLLSTEIN

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

NASA’s James Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a controversial and highly vocal voice of alarm about the planet’s changing climate, will retire as the director of the space institute, NASA announced Tuesday — and plans to immediately sue his former employer.

Hansen will step down from his $180,000 a year position to join a number of lawsuits challenging the federal and state governments for their failure to police industry over man’s effect on the climate, the New York Times reported.
Hansen was clearly aware of the irony.

“As a government employee, you can’t testify against the government,” he told the Times. Hansen is a central figure in the battle against climate change; on Feb. 13, he was arrested alongside of actress Daryl Hannah, activist Bill McKibben and a small group of activists protesting the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

That was at least the fourth arrest for the climate scientist — and his high profile was raising eyebrows at NASA headquarters.
“It was becoming clear that there were people in NASA who would be much happier if the ‘sideshow’ would exit,” Hansen told the Times.

Read more from this story HERE.