Biden Pledges Unilateral Obama Action on Gun Control, Executive Orders Considered (+video)

By Erica Werner. Vice President Joe Biden vowed urgent action against gun violence in America Wednesday, pledging steps by the Obama administration that he said could “take thousands of people out of harm’s way” and improve the safety of millions more.

But a day ahead of a meeting with the National Rifle Association, which has sunk past gun control efforts and is opposing any new ones, Biden signaled that the administration is mindful of political realities that could imperil sweeping gun control legislation, and is willing to settle for something less. He said the administration is considering its own executive action as well as measures by Congress, but he didn’t offer specifics.

“I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we can do everything, we’re going to do nothing,” Biden told an array of gun control advocates, crime victims and others at the White House. “It’s critically important we act.”

Shortly after last month’s slaughter of schoolchildren at Newtown, Conn., President Barack Obama tasked Biden with heading a commission to come up with recommendations on gun policy by the end of this month. Obama supports steps including reinstating a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and closing loopholes that allow many gun buyers to avoid background checks.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says that some 40 percent of gun sales are made without background checks, such as at gun shows and over the Internet. Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska RINOs Attempting Coup: Effort Underway to Remove Constitutional Conservative Chair, Others from State Party

It appears that the Murkowski-RINO wing of the Alaska Republican Party has taken its cue from allies in DC and is attempting (again) to destroy the state party.

Yesterday, the Chair-Elect of the Alaska Republican Party, constitutional conservative Russ Millette, received a copy of a letter charging him with violating the rules of the Alaska Republican Party. It seeks his “removal from office.”

The letter was written by the Rules Chair of the party, closely aligned with outgoing Chair Randy Ruedrich, who overtly opposed – in direct violation of party rules – the Republican-nominee for US Senate in 2010.

These charges followed a similar effort commenced last week by Chairman Randy Ruedrich himself, also designed to remove another newly-elected ARP officer, Vice Chair-Elect Debbie Brown.

With respect to Chair-elect Millette, the most serious charges are that he misrepresented his life-long affiliation with the Republican Party (he was “undeclared” in his party affiliation for a period of time) and failed to raise money for the party over the last several months.

The letter also contends that the ARP convention where the ARP’s new chair and vice-chair were elected was taken over by “an organized group of political activists registered as Republicans … with the express purpose of ‘taking over’ Republican party operations and disrupting the normal candidate selection process.” The ARP official’s letter continues, “These activists had no prior history of positive conservative political activity or support for the Republican Party Platform or Republican candidates.”

Of course, the letter is a not-so-masterful effort to use Hitler’s “Big Lie” technique – telling a lie “so colossal” that no one would believe that the author would “have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.”

Those who know Russ Millette recognize that he has far more allegiance to the ARP platform than the majority of the ARP’s governing body, many of whom overtly violated party rules in opposing the 2010 Republican nominee even though he was nominated by the largest turnout of GOP primary voters in state history.

Now that there is a sudden focus on compliance with Party rules, perhaps the ARP will also examine last year’s illegal transfer of tens of thousands of dollars of party funds to the Juneau so-called Republican Club, infiltrated by Sealaska’s cronies and other crony capitalists, more concerned about their liberal social issues and corporate welfare than the party platform.

Or how about the ARP’s officers – when they’re required to promote party events – openly advocating for delegates to stay home from the convention last year so that a quorum would not be reached?

Or advocating candidates for office that openly disagree with the party platform?

Or the repeated refusal to vote on the Murkowski censure (a sitting member of the Central Committee who – even when she was running against the nominee – was not removed from the Committee)?

Or the age-old questions regarding financial improprieties with VECO funding of the ARP?

Or the failure to fully disclose how donated funds were used on direct mail campaigns?

Or taking sides in contested primaries?

Or the current Chair’s efforts against the Party’s nominee, including public statements and the filing of a questionable affidavit against him?

And the list goes on and on.

What’s really going on here is that in Alaska, like the rest of the country, the RINOs are being exposed for what they are: big government, corporate welfare hypocrites who don’t support the party platform and who will compromise any moral code to accomplish their aims.

Grassroots activists must demand that these RINOs remove the massive logs out of their own eyes before being permitted to criticize whatever specks they imagine in others’ eyes.

Picking Fights Republicans Can Win: An Alternative to Debt Ceiling Showdown

Watching the news media this weekend start the process of setting up Republicans for another losing fight has been depressing.

Congressional Republicans seem to be moving toward three decisions that are profoundly wrong.

Just listening this weekend some Republican leaders seem to be saying: They will fight over the debt ceiling; They are urging President Barack Obama to lead; They have come out of one failed cycle of secret negotiations with the White House and seem eager to start right back in on a new cycle of negotiations.

All three are demonstrably wrong.

The debt ceiling is a terrible place to fight when there is a Sequester bill and a Continuing Resolution available.

Read more from this article HERE.

Video: Why Americans Need to Own Assault Weapons

As has been widely reported, the Obama Administration is contemplating massive new gun control measures.

And at least eight bills have been filed by liberal gun control advocates in Congress.

This has stimulated strong responses from pro-Second Amendment activists. For example, a Marine veteran wrote a letter that has gone viral in response to Senator Feinstein’s public statements against guns and then went head-to-head with a CNN anchor over the constitutional purpose for individual ownership of guns.

Even Alex Jones got into the act with his appearance on Piers Morgan several days ago. This followed Piers Morgan’s meltdown with Gun Owners of America President Larry Pratt the week before.

But if you really want ammunition in support of your right to bear arms, pass around the following video. It’s entertaining and is right on the mark:

Video: US Suspects Iran Behind Hostage Photos of Ex-FBI Agent, As Wife Calls for Action

The wife of a missing retired FBI agent is calling on the U.S. government to put more pressure on Iran to send her husband home, as she releases photos that she received two years ago of her husband as a hostage.

Robert Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in 2007 on the Iranian island of Kish. The Iranian government has repeatedly denied knowing anything about his disappearance, and the disturbing video and photos that Levinson’s family received in late 2010 and early 2011 seemed to give credence to the idea.

U.S. officials now see the government of Iran behind the images and video, intelligence officials told The Associated Press, and Levinson’s wife, Christine Levinson, wants the world to know she hasn’t given up hope of seeing him again.

“I believe he is still alive,” she said in an interview Tuesday night with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “I believe he is spending every waking hour making sure that he is well enough to come home to us.”

Their oldest daughter is getting married in a month, Levinson said. U.S. officials have told her they are doing everything they can, but investigators haven’t been able to find much information about him.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sen. Graham Threatens to Block Obama’s CIA Pick for Benghazi Answers

In a statement released Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) telegraphed that he would delay the confirmation of President Barack Obama’s CIA nominee John Brennan if the White House fails to answer questions about the Benghazi attacks.

“I do not believe we should confirm anyone as Director of the CIA until our questions are answered,” he declared.

Mr. Graham said that any effort on his part to delay the confirmation process was not directed at Mr. Brennan but rather was meant to get to the bottom of intelligence failures involved in the Benghazi fiasco.

Senate rules allow any United States senator to block a potential nominee from proceeding to the Senate floor by placing a hold on the nomination.

Read more from this story HERE.

Iowa Lawmaker Calls for Retroactive Gun Ban, Confiscation of Semi-Automatic Weapons

In an interview with the Daily Times Herald in Caroll, Iowa, state Rep. Dan Muhlbauer said governments should start confiscating semi-automatic rifles and other firearms.

Muhlbauer, a Democrat from the western Iowa town of Manilla, is a cattleman and farmer. The newspaper reported that he owns a .410 shotgun, a .22 rifle and a .22 pistol.

“We cannot have big guns out here as far as the big guns that are out here, the semi-automatics and all of them,” Muhlbauer told the newspaper during a December 19 audiotaped interview. “We can’t have those running around out here. Those are not hunting weapons.”

“We should ban those in Iowa,” he said, adding that such a ban should be applied retroactively.

“We need to get them off the streets — illegally — and even if you have them, I think we need to start taking them,” Muhlbauer told the Daily Times Herald. “We can’t have those out there. Because if they’re out there they’re just going to get circulated around to the wrong people. Those guns should not be in the public’s hands. There are just too many guns.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Did CIA Pick Sanitize Obama’s Passport Records?

photo credit: nrcgov

NEW YORK – John Brennan, the Obama counter-terrorism adviser nominated this week to head the CIA, played a controversial role in what many suspect was an effort to sanitize Obama’s passport records.

On March 21, 2008, amid Obama’s first presidential campaign, two unnamed contract employees for the State Department were fired and a third was disciplined for breaching the passport file of Democratic presidential candidate and then-Sen. Barack Obama.

Breaking the story, the Washington Times on March 20, 2008, noted that all three had used their authorized computer network access to look up and read Obama’s records within the State Department consular affairs section that “possesses and stores passport information.”

Contacted by the newspaper, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack attributed the violations to non-political motivations, stressing that the three individuals involved “did not appear to be seeking information on behalf of any political candidate or party.”

“As far as we can tell, in each of the three cases, it was imprudent curiosity,” McCormack told the Washington Times.

Read more from this story HERE.

Glenn Beck Relaunching The Blaze As Global Libertarian News Network

Glenn Beck announced plans Tuesday during his online television program to expand the news operation in his media company, The Blaze, and refocus it as a libertarian network, opening three foreign bureaus, debuting a nightly newsmagazine show, and relocating his New York staff to showy new offices.

Beck introduced his ambitious plans by standing in front of a split screen with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on one side and Fox News’s Sean Hannity on the other, and bemoaning the fact that cable news has devolved into the “far left [and] far right… yelling at each other.”

“We’re not gonna play in that crazy space as a network,” he said, adding, “I consider myself a libertarian… I’m a lot closer to Penn Jillette than I am to Chuck Hagel.”

He said over the next 60 days, The Blaze will open three foreign bureaus in cities that are “important to America.” He will also relocate his New York staff from their current midtown offices into a building that will “send a very clear message to everyone in New York… it will piss everyone off.”

Beck also showed a teaser for a new nightly 30-minute newsmagazine show called For the Record.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lance Armstrong To Address Scandal on Oprah

Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong is slated to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s “Next Chapter” on Jan. 17, at a time when people familiar with his thinking say he has been considering a confession of his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Mr. Armstrong has denied doping for nearly 15 years, since his first Tour de France victory in 1999, and he has lashed out at people who questioned whether he used drugs to win his seven Tours de France.

In recent weeks, however, Mr. Armstrong has been consulting with associates at his home in Hawaii over his next steps. He believes he can rebuild his reputation and understands that a public statement on his alleged doping is an important part of that. One possibility is that Mr. Armstrong may seek to emphasize that any doping he did was years ago, according to people familiar with his thinking.

Mr. Armstrong also has been weighing the possibility of writing a tell-all book, according to people familiar with the matter. These people say that Mr. Armstrong has been approached by several authors interested in co-writing his tell-all and that Mr. Armstrong, still undecided about the project, hasn’t worked out a deal with a publisher or writer.

Mr. Armstrong’s lawyer hasn’t returned a call seeking comment.

Read more from this story HERE.