Which 80 Prominent Republicans Just Signed A Legal Brief Proclaiming Gay Marriage Is A Constitutional Right?

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Photo Credit: APAs the gay marriage debate continues to heat up, prominent Republicans — and some surprising names at that — are emerging to voice their support for same-sex unions. Following a blistering loss in the 2012 presidential election, discussion about social issues, particularly gay rights, has emerged as a potentially-problematic area for right-of-center politicians. And in an era colored by increasing support for homosexual marriage, the pressure is mounting.

This week, more than 80 prominent Republicans, including top advisers to President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress signed a legal brief that proclaims gay people have the right to marry under the U.S. Constitution. The document will be submitted to the Supreme Court this week, where it is purportedly intended to add to the voices that will be heard during two upcoming gay rights cases, The New York Times reports.

Next month, the High Court will hear a battle over Proposition 8, California’s controversial law banning same-sex unions. Additionally, a separate case concerning the Defense of Marriage Act will be argued. The legal brief could have an impact on conservative justices who support traditional marriage, but who are also sympathetic to gay marriage arguments surrounding equal rights.

Many of the names on the document argue that legalizing same-sex unions advances conservative values by expanding personal freedom and supporting family structures. The Times has more about some of the surprising names who are accepting this view:

Among them are Meg Whitman, who supported Proposition 8 when she ran for California governor; Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Richard Hanna of New York; Stephen J. Hadley, a Bush national security adviser; Carlos Gutierrez, a commerce secretary to Mr. Bush; James B. Comey, a top Bush Justice Department official; David A. Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s first budget director; and Deborah Pryce, a former member of the House Republican leadership from Ohio who is retired from Congress.

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US Dependence on Middle Eastern Oil Grows

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photo credit: jonrawlinsonThe US was more reliant on the Middle East for its oil imports last year, underscoring the critical importance of the politically unstable region for the country despite the growing energy independence its shale gas revolution is bringing.

That domestic production boom has triggered intense debate over whether the US would still guard the world’s critical sea lanes, such as the Strait of Hormuz in two decades’ time – or whether China, whose dependence on Middle Eastern crude imports is rapidly rising, would replace it.

However, recent oil import trends from the Gulf region suggest why the US might continue to play a critical security role in the region. While domestic production increased the most in 150 years last year, Washington will confirm later this week that oil imports from the Gulf region continued to rise.

By the end of November the US had already imported more than 450m barrels of crude from Saudi Arabia, more than it imported from Riyadh in the whole of 2009, 2010 or 2011, according to figures from the US energy department. For the first time since 2003, Saudi imports accounted for more than 15 per cent of total US oil imports. The Gulf as a whole accounted for more than 25 per cent, a nine-year high.

Other Gulf exporters are also seeing unusually strong US demand. By the end of November, Kuwait had shipped more oil to the US than in any year since 1998. Analysts are expecting annual figures to be released later this week to confirm the trend seen up to November.

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Video: Obama Selling Access to OFA Donors

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Photo Credit: 401(K) 2013MSNBC’s Chuck Todd criticized Monday the new fundraising efforts of President Obama’s dark money group, Organizing for Action, calling a scheme for high donors to meet regularly with Obama “the definition of selling access.”

Todd was describing the quarterly meetings that will be enjoyed by OFA’s $500,000 donors, the New York Times reported over the weekend:

But those contributions will also translate into access, according to donors courted by the president’s aides. Next month, Organizing for Action will hold a “founders summit” at a hotel near the White House, where donors paying $50,000 each will mingle with Mr. Obama’s former campaign manager, Jim Messina, and Mr. Carson, who previously led the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Giving or raising $500,000 or more puts donors on a national advisory board for Mr. Obama’s group and the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House. Moreover, the new cash demands on Mr. Obama’s top donors and bundlers come as many of them are angling for appointments to administration jobs or ambassadorships.

See video:

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‘Hagel Has Promoted Agenda Of The Enemy’

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Photo Credit: WNDA former Nobel Peace Prize nominee warns that Senate confirmation of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense would send a message to Iran of weakened U.S. resolve, making it less likely America’s military might would in any way deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Going back to 2001, Hagel has been opposed to U.S. sanctions on Iran and in favor of recognizing the Islamic Republic in order to normalize trade relationships,” journalist and activist Ken Timmerman told WND. “Hagel has virtually made his position on Iran identical to the policies of the Iranian government, including a demand the U.S. enter direct negotiations with Iran ‘without preconditions’ and opposing the United States’ use of military force to block Iran’s nuclear weapons development program.”

Timmerman began in the Foundation for Democracy in Iran in 1995 as part of his ongoing support for freedom in the Islamic country and in 2006 was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Sweden’s former Deputy Prime Minister Per Ahlmark for playing a major role in exposing Iran’s plans to develop nuclear weapons.

“If Hagel is confirmed as secretary of defense,” Timmerman argued, “we will have someone in charge of the U.S. military who has promoted the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran, an enemy of the United States since 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran to begin the Iranian revolution.”

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Wyoming State House Rep. to Concealed Carry Critic: If You Don’t Like It, ‘By All Means, Leave’

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Photo Credit: The BlazeGet out of here.

That was one Wyoming state representative’s message to a resident who contacted him recently stating her opposition to a bill that would have allowed people with concealed carry permits to carry guns in public schools, colleges and sporting events.

Rev. Audette Fulbright had emailed all state legislators, including Republican Rep. Hans Hunt, earlier this month to say she and her husband had just moved to Wyoming and were “seriously reconsidering” their decision amid the proposed expansion of gun laws.

“Ample evidence has shown that schools and guns do not mix, and in particular, guns in the hands of amateurs/non-professionals is extremely dangerous, especially in any highly-charged situation,” Fulbright wrote. “To expose our children to greater risk in their schools by encouraging more guns on campuses is something that we cannot allow.”

Fulbright also said she was concerned about “the profoundly serious dangers of fracking” and said the question of whether to leave was “wrenching to all of us.”

“I know of other new-to-Wyoming families in similar contemplation. Your choices matter. It would be sad to see an exodus of educated, childrearing age adults from Wyoming as a result of poor lawmaking,” she wrote. Hunt’s response? “By all means, leave.”

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Busted: NRA Uses Justice Department Memo to Expose Obama on Guns

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Photo Credit: dok1 The National Rifle Association is using a Justice Department memo it obtained to argue in ads that the Obama administration believes its gun control plans won’t work unless the government seizes firearms and requires national gun registration — ideas the White House has not proposed and [purportedly] does not support.

The NRA’s assertion and its obtaining of the memo in the first place underscore the no-holds-barred battle under way as Washington’s fight over gun restrictions heats up.

The memo, under the name of one of the Justice Department’s leading crime researchers, critiques the effectiveness of gun control proposals, including some of President Barack Obama’s. A Justice Department official called the memo an unfinished review of gun violence research and said it does not represent administration policy.

The memo says requiring background checks for more gun purchases could help, but also could lead to more illicit weapons sales. It says banning assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines produced in the future but exempting those already owned by the public, as Obama has proposed, would have limited impact because people now own so many of those items. It also says that even total elimination of assault weapons would have little overall effect on gun killings because assault weapons account for a limited proportion of those crimes.

The nine-page document says the success of universal background checks would depend in part on “requiring gun registration,” and says gun buybacks would not be effective “unless massive and coupled with a ban.”

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Report: Chevy Volt Battery Supplier Wasted Millions In Stimulus Funds

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Photo Credit: BreitbartAn Inspector General’s report from the Department of Energy (DOE) recently revealed that the LG Chem auto battery plant in Holland, Michigan “inappropriately claimed and was reimbursed for labor costs that did not support the purpose/objective” of a government grant.

According to the IG’s office, this included the costs for staffers to perform “volunteer activities, play games and watch movies during regular work hours.”

The IG points the finger at LG Chem and DOE, saying Department officials did not establish appropriate oversight protections into the $142 million grant that was awarded to LG Chem to build the Holland plant.

Notably, LG Chem Michigan did not fully realize the grant’s target goals, and the Department did not always take sufficient action to ensure adequate oversight of project progress and, in turn, protect the taxpayers $142 million investment in the project. For instance, LG Chem Michigan officials told us that they made a decision to delay production of battery cells at the Michigan facility…

NETL officials commented that it was anticipated at the time the grant was awarded that the transition of production from non-U.S. sources to Michigan would occur; however, language requiring the shift in production had not been incorporated into the grant… until the shift in production takes place or some alternative use for the plant is developed, U.S. taxpayers will receive little direct benefit from a plant for which they provided up to half of the funding.

LG Chem told Michigan local television news that LG Chem workers play games and view films because the plant does not manufacture batteries for consumer use.

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GOP Seeks Planned Parenthood Study With Hope To Strip Funding

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Photo Credit: alamosbasementDozens of Republicans in the House and Senate have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine how Planned Parenthood and other groups that provide abortion services are using taxpayer money.

Those spearheading the effort — Rep. Diane Black (Tenn.), Rep. Pete Olson (Texas) and Sen. David Vitter (La.) — are hoping the study confirms their suspicion that these groups are focusing more on abortion and less on other healthcare services. Black said this finding could be used to justify a reduction in federal funds to abortion providers.

“I firmly believe that organizations which both provide comprehensive health care and respect all life — both the born and unborn — are best equipped to offer the most effective health care services to those in need,” she said in a press release. “My hope is that through greater transparency and accountability we can successfully mobilize the support needed to defund abortion providers — once and for all.”

Black added that Planned Parenthood showed in its latest report that they are providing more abortions and fewer other health services, all while federal funding has increased. “An independent study of the federal funding for abortion providers is necessary to further expose the truth of how these precious taxpayer dollars are truly being used,” Black said.

Federal law prohibits the use of taxpayer funding for abortion. But opponents of Planned Parenthood argue that it is not clear the group is ensuring federal dollars are not used for abortions, as required. Olson said there are signs that Planned Parenthood has “failed to properly follow correct billing practices to prevent federal tax dollars from funding abortion services.”

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Obama Fails To Register ‘Organizingforaction.net’; Site Points To NRA Home Page

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Photo Credit: Breitbart At the beginning of the year, President Barack Obama’s new 501(c)4 political nonprofit, Organizing For Action, was launched with all the usual bells and whistles. But the tech wizards at OFA forgot one important rule in today’s Internet world: Register all the iterations of your website address before someone else does.

Now Obama’s team is filing complaints against the folks smart enough to get the addresses before he did. As Obama’s OFA made its debut, no one in his purportedly Internet-savvy campaign had obtained the corresponding .com, .net, .org or .us sites, nor did OFA register other names that are close to its official one, as is the sensible practice. In the case of the .net address, a fellow named Derek Bovard had already registered the .net address by the time Obama’s team took notice.

Bovard has routed his new site to the homepage of the National Rifle Association. So, whenever anyone goes to www.organizingforaction.net they end up seeing the homepage of the NRA.

Naturally, Obama and his fellow community organizers were furious. So furious, in fact, that they have replied by filing complaints against Bovard–and, apparently, a variety of other people who had registered domain names that OFA now wants.

Obama’s group filed the complaints with the authority that governs website domain addresses, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The complaints were filed under Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) rules. Obama’s case number is 1483257 and was filed on Feb 6. UDRP cases are usually decided within one to two months after first filing.

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Napolitano: Sequester Cuts Will Make US More Vulnerable To Terrorist Attack

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Photo Credit: U.S. Embassy New DelhiAllowing the $85 billion sequester to go forward will make the United States more vulnerable to a terrorist attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Monday.

Napolitano added that the blunt nature of the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set for March 1 “makes it awfully, awfully tough” to mitigate threats faced by the nation.

“I don’t think we can maintain the same level of security at all places around the country with sequester compared to without sequester,” said Napolitano, whose agency includes the Transportation Security Administration.

The cuts will also hit the Pentagon, the Department of Justice and other national security spending, and the administration has warned the spending reductions will hurt the military’s readiness.

“I think if you look at the combination of the effect on [the Department of Homeland Security], the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, we are having real impacts on the robustness of our defensive posture,” Napolitano told reporters at the White House on Monday.

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