FBI investigators on Friday recovered several items from a San Bernardino lake as they looked for electronics and other items left by the shooters in the most deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, according to law enforcement sources.
The source did not say what was found, but officials expect the search of Seccombe Lake and the canvassing of the surrounding neighborhood will continue.
Investigators received a tip that the shooters may have visited the area on the day of the attack, according to David Bowdich, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
Meanwhile, more details emerged about the investigation into married couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik.
Two congressmen, after receiving an intelligence briefing Thursday, said neighbors of the shooters told investigators they witnessed “suspicious activity” at the couple’s home before the attack but did not report it to authorities. (Read more from “FBI Pulls Items from Lake in San Bernardino Terrorism Investigation” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 23:53:142016-04-11 10:55:13FBI Pulls Items from Lake in San Bernardino Terrorism Investigation
Remember that time when President Obama traded five dangerous terrorists for a guy who turned out to be a traitor? Well although WE know he screwed up…now there is a report that is agreeing with us, and goes further to say, Obama violated the law!
You know, the Bowe Bergdahl deal?
Well a new Congressional report has determined the president’s administration broke the law by releasing the Taliban prisoners, yet the White House is standing by their decision.
Yes, they are standing by their decision to violate the law. Wow. That speaks volumes about this administration’s lack of moral character, doesn’t it? . . .
“Our report finds that the Administration clearly broke the law in not notifying Congress of the transfer,” said Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “Pentagon officials best positioned to assess the national security risks were left out of the process, which increases the chances of dangerous consequences from the transfer. It is irresponsible to put these terrorists that much closer to the battlefield to settle a campaign promise and unconscionable to mislead Congress in the process.”
(Read more from “Report Says Obama Did Violate the Law with Bergdahl Swap” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 23:52:022016-04-11 10:55:13Report Says Obama Did Violate the Law with Bergdahl Swap
Ben Carson issued a scathing response to the Republican Party a day after the Washington Post reported that party leaders met to discuss the possibility of a brokered convention.
In a statement, Carson slammed the “party boss insider” meeting held Monday, attended by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus, saying that meetings such as these will “destroy” the party.
The former neurosurgeon also said Donald Trump “will not be the only one” to leave the party if the “will of the people” is subverted in favor of the political establishment.
“If the leaders of the Republican Party want to destroy the party, they should continue to hold meetings like the one described in the Washington Post this morning,” Carson said in the statement.
“If this was the beginning of a plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace it with the will of the political elite, I assure you Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party,” Carson said. (Read more from “Here’s How the GOP Could Destroy Itself According to Ben Carson” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 23:50:062016-04-11 10:55:14Here’s How the GOP Could Destroy Itself According to Ben Carson
American’s youth are down on the future, with nearly half of those ages 18 through 29 believing the “American Dream” is more dead than alive, a nationwide survey released Thursday by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics shows.
Reflecting the sour mood of the overall electorate, 48 percent of those asked “For you personally, is the idea of the American Dream alive or dead?” responded “dead.” Those who picked “alive” accounted for 49 percent.
While the race or ethnicity of the poll’s respondents didn’t significantly impact the results, the level of education of those questioned did play a role in determining the answer. Fifty-eight percent of college graduates said the dream was alive for them personally, compared to 42 percent of those not in college or who had never enrolled in college.
“It is disturbing that about half of the largest generation in America doesn’t believe the American dream is there for them personally,” said John Della Volpe, the institute’s polling director. “That frustration, I think, is tied into a government they don’t trust and they don’t think is working for them.”
The survey also found that America’s young Democrats, who helped propel President Barack Obama in his 2008 primary victory over Hillary Clinton, are more supportive of Senator Bernie Sanders than the former secretary of state, senator, and first lady. (Read more from “Nearly Half of Youth Say ‘American Dream’ Is Dead” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 23:49:122016-04-11 10:55:14Nearly Half of Youth Say ‘American Dream’ Is Dead
Photo Credit: DonkeyHoteyPhilip Haney, one of the founding members of the original Department of Homeland Security, told Megyn Kelly last night that the terror attacks in San Bernardino could have been prevented had the federal government not shut down his tracking of Muslim radicals three years ago (see interview, “Whistleblower Says His Program Would Have Stopped Massacre,” with Megyn Kelly below).
Mr. Haney contended that the Obama Administration dismantled his surveillance because it felt he was profiling Muslims. But Mr. Haney claimed that he was instead investigating individual’s ties to Islamic radicals both in and out of the United States. He also was actively tracking people traveling to and from Islamic countries.
In a bombshell disclosure, Mr. Haney revealed that he was actively investigating an organization with ties to the mosque that shooter Syed Farook attended when the feds shut him down.
Mr. Haney notified Congress and the DHS Inspector General about how his effective program was being terminated and research deleted, but DHS quickly retaliated, pulling his duties and yanking his security clearance.
Mr. Haney contends that his program very well could have prevented the San Bernardino massacre.
Listen to the interview, “Whistleblower Says His Program Would Have Stopped Massacre,” with Megyn Kelly:
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 00:28:142016-04-11 10:55:14Whistleblower: My Terrorist Tracking Could Have Stopped Massacre But Deranged DHS Political Correctness Shut Me Down
By The Associated Press. President Barack Obama’s advisers are finalizing a proposal that would expand background checks on gun sales without congressional approval.
White House adviser Valerie Jarrett says the president has asked his team to complete a proposal and submit it for his review “in short order.” She says the recommendations will include measures to expand background checks.
Jarrett spoke Wednesday night at a vigil for the victims of the Newtown shooting, according to a summary provided by the White House. (Read more from “Gun Sales: White House to Seek Expanded Background Checks” HERE)
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Kurt Russell: Gun Control Won’t Stop Terrorists
By Bardford Richardson. Actor Kurt Russell says the notion that gun control laws can prevent terrorist attacks is “absolutely insane.”
“If you think gun control is going to change the terrorists’ point of view, I think you’re, like, out of your mind,” Russell told the movie blog Hollywood Elsewhere on Monday. “I think it’s absolutely insane,” he added.
The “Miracle” and “Escape from New York” star said America needs to instill fear in its enemies, rather than cower before them.
“The problem — the problem that we’re having right now to turn it around … you may think you’ve got me worried about what you’re gonna do? Dude, you’re about to find out what I’m gonna do, and that’s gonna worry you a lot more,” he said. “And that’s what we need.”
“If I’m a hockey team and I’ve got some guy bearing down on me as a goaltender, I’m not concerned about what he’s gonna do. I’m gonna make him concerned about what I’m gonna do,” he added. (Read more from “Kurt Russell: Gun Control Won’t Stop Terrorists” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 00:18:162016-04-11 10:55:15Gun Sales: White House to Impose Expanded Background Checks WITHOUT Congressional Approval; Kurt Russell: It’s INSANE
By Dan Lamothe. After slipping away alone from his tiny base in Afghanistan under cover of darkness in 2009, Army Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl had a sinking thought: His plan to draw attention to himself by spawning a massive manhunt was going to lead to a “hurricane of wrath” from his commanders.
Bergdahl decided then to deviate from his plan to head straight from his platoon’s base, Observation Post Mest, to the larger headquarters 20 miles away, Forward Operating Base Sharana, he said on an episode of the podcast “Serial” published Thursday. It marked his first media interview since he was released in May 2014 after being held in captivity for five years by a group affiliated with the Taliban.
Bergdahl, comparing himself to a fictional action hero, said he decided to collect intelligence and look for the Taliban before turning himself in as a way of limiting the amount of trouble he faced.
“Doing what I did is me saying that I am like, I don’t know, Jason Bourne…. I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing,” Bergdahl said. “You know, that I could be what it is that all those guys out there that go to the movies and watch those movies, they all want to be that, but I wanted to prove that I was that.”
The plan fell apart quickly, however. He got lost in some hills and was taken prisoner by enemy fighters on motorcycles who found him in open desert, he said. Military officials have said previously that he was captured June 30, 2009, just hours after disappearing. (Read more from “In New ‘Serial’ Podcast, Bowe Bergdahl Says He Likened Himself to Jason Bourne Before Capture” HERE)
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Congress: Obama Broke Multiple Laws in Freeing Bergdahl
By Mary Chastain. The House Armed Services Committee has concluded that President Barack Obama “misled the public” and broke several laws when he swapped five Taliban leaders for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
“Our report finds that the Administration clearly broke the law in not notifying Congress of the transfer,” declared committee chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry. “Leading up to the transfer, DOD officials misled Congress as to the status of negotiations. Pentagon officials best positioned to assess the national security risks were left out of the process, which increases the chances of dangerous consequences from the transfer.”
The committee presented several findings in its report.
The transfer of the Taliban Five violated several laws, including the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The constitutional arguments offered to justify the Department of Defense’s failure to provide the legally-required notification to the Committee 30 days in advance are incomplete and unconvincing. The violation of law also threatens constitutional separation of powers…
The Committee was misled about the extent and scope of efforts to arrange the Taliban Five transfer before it took place. The Department of Defense’s failure to communicate complete and accurate information severely harmed its relationship with the Committee, and threatens to upend a longstanding history and tradition of cooperation and comity.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 00:11:112016-04-11 10:55:16In New ‘Serial’ Podcast, Bowe Bergdahl Says He Likened Himself to Jason Bourne; Congress Says Obama Broke Laws in Swap
In their lists of demands for the $1.- trillion omnibus spending bill, Republican lawmakers and leaders of conservative groups are calling on House and Senate leadership to stymie the federal government’s ability to use taxpayer dollars to pay insurance companies through Obamacare’s risk corridor program.
But what exactly is the risk corridor program, and how does it work?
Implemented under the health care law and in effect until 2017, the risk corridor program is one of the “three Rs”—alongside risk adjustment and reinsurance—designed to provide protections for insurers and spread the potential risk some may encounter by insuring more unhealthy patients than in the past.
[Please listen to yesterday’s interview with the author here:]
The program’s goal is to limit excess losses and gains incurred by insurance companies selling plans on the federal and state-run exchanges. Insurers that profit each year above a certain threshold pay into the program, while those that lose money receive payments from the federal government.
The crafters of the Affordable Care Act modeled the risk corridor program after a plan set up under Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, and though the programs differ, they both seek to accomplish the same goal of spreading out the risk for insurers.
Under the risk corridor program, insurance companies selling plans on the exchanges determine the actual cost of claims compared to their expected cost of claims, which are reflected in premium prices. And that difference determines whether an insurer will share some of its profits with the federal government or receive money from the government.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, if an insurer’s actual claims are within 3 percent of its expected claims, the insurer will either keep the profits or bear the full losses.
However, if an insurer’s actual claims are more than 3 percent of its expected claims, the federal government will reimburse the company for at least half of what it lost.
By contrast, if an insurer’s actual claims are less than expected plans by more than 3 percent, the insurer pays the Department of Health and Human Services at least half of the excess profits.
In the event that the federal government fails to collect enough from profitable insurers to cover others’ losses, the taxpayers will be forced the cover the difference.
Though the program implemented under Medicare Part D has been called successful, Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have criticized Obamacare’s risk corridor program, calling it a taxpayer-funded “bailout” for insurance companies.
Since 2013, Rubio has been working to limit the use of taxpayer dollars for the risk corridor program, first by introducing legislation to repeal the Obamacare provision that established and administered it.
Though Rubio’s bill stalled in the Senate, Republicans negotiated a policy rider included in a must-pass government spending bill last year that limited the amount of money available for the program. Under the measure, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was prohibited from using taxpayer dollars for the risk corridor program and instead had to rely solely on fees collected from the insurance companies themselves.
In October, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it took in just $362 million from profitable insurers. Insurance companies that lost money, meanwhile, requested $2.87 billion.
Because the government received far less from successful insurers than what was requested by those who were less profitable in 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed insurers they would receive 12.6 percent of their requested risk corridor payments.
Rubio is still working to repeal the risk corridor program and introduced legislation in the Senate once again doing so. Additionally, he and conservative House members are calling on House and Senate leadership to limit the use of taxpayer dollars for the risk corridor program in this year’s omnibus spending bill, which Congress has until Dec. 11 to pass. (For more from the author of “What You Need to Know About the Obamacare Program Criticized as a ‘Bailout’ for Insurers” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-11 00:10:212016-04-11 10:55:16What You Need to Know About the Obamacare Program Criticized as a ‘Bailout’ for Insurers
Congress is set to vote on Thursday on what some have called an “unprecedented” right that would allow immigrants easier access to relocate to the United States, according to new legislation offered by a Democratic senator.
The legislation, which is being offered by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) as an amendment to a larger bill governing nuclear safety, would prohibit the U.S. government from barring any individual from entering the country based on their religion.
The bill comes amid a fierce national debate about immigration to America, particularly for individuals coming from Muslim-majority nations. Critics of the Obama administration’s refugee plan, which would permit up to 10,000 Syrians into the country, maintain that there are not enough oversight measures in place to ensure that immigrants are not linked to terrorists or various terror organizations, such as the Islamic State.
The bill, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, would express Congress’ sense that “the United States must not bar individuals from entering into the United States based on their religion, as such action would be contrary to the fundamental principles on which this Nation was founded.”
The legislation is a direct amendment to current U.S. laws already on the books. (Read more from “Congress to Consider Easing Passage into U.S. For Immigrants” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-10 01:55:582016-04-11 10:55:16Congress to Consider Easing Passage into U.S. For Immigrants
Two Afghan Air Force trainees did not report for duty Monday at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia, and are missing, according to officials.
U.S. military officials emphasized there are no indications the two men pose a threat, and the main concern is their failing to show up for duty.
“Both [men] are assigned to the 81st Fighter Squadron. They have been at Moody since February 2015 and were screened prior to their arrival in the United States more than a year ago,” Air Force officials said in a statement.
“The students have trained alongside American counterparts for the entirety of 2015 and do not pose any apparent threat. There is a well-coordinated process among federal agencies to locate the individuals as quickly as possible and return them accordingly to the proper authorities,” Air Force officials added.
This is not the first time that Afghan trainees have gone missing from a military training program within the U.S. In one incident in 2014 when Afghan soldiers went missing in Massachusetts and they were found attempting to seek asylum near the Canadian border. In another instance, soldiers went missing during a tour in D.C. and were later sent back to Afghanistan. (Read more from “2 Afghan Trainees Missing from Georgia Air Force Base” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-12-10 01:50:412016-04-11 10:55:172 Afghan Trainees Missing from Georgia Air Force Base
