House Republicans Begin Impeachment Against IRS Chief

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House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz began the impeachment process against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Tuesday, accusing him of misleading the public and destroying documents that were sought under a congressional subpoena.

It was the latest move in the battle over the targeting of tea party groups at the tax agency.

Less than a week earlier, the Justice Department issued a report finding no criminal behavior in the decision by top IRS officials to subject conservative groups to intrusive scrutiny.

Among the specific charges leveled by Mr. Chaffetz and 18 of his fellow Republicans on the committee were that Mr. Koskinen, appointed by President Obama in December 2013 after the targeting scandal broke, misled Congress when he said he had turned over all of former IRS senior executive Lois G. Lerner’s emails and that he oversaw destruction of evidence when his agency got rid of backup tapes that contained the emails.

It was unclear how far the resolution would go in a Congress preoccupied with so many other fights and with little more than a year to go in President Obama’s tenure. (Read more from “House Republicans Begin Impeachment Against IRS Chief” HERE)

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Judge Napolitano: Hillary Clinton Committed Perjury Last Week, FBI Will Pursue Indictment

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[According to Judge Napolitano], the Department of Justice and FBI audience was looking for “perjury, for misleading statements and for what federal law calls ‘bad acts’” [from Hillary Clinton’s Thursday testimony before Congress on Benghazi].

“Perjury is lying under oath. Mrs. Clinton committed perjury when she denied that she knew anything about supplying arms to rebels,” Napolitano said. “Not only did she know about it, she authorized it,” he asserted.

Napolitano noted a New York Times columnist called her the “midwife of chaos” for her “introduction of U.S. military hardware into the hands of gangs in Libya, some of whom were run by known al-Qaida operatives, several of whom murdered Ambassador Stevens.”

[He went on to assert that the] “crime of misleading Congress carries the same penalty as lying to Congress – five years per misleading statement,” Napolitano pointed out. “Her frequent use of double negatives and her professed lack of memory may save her from perjury but not from the charge of misleading – being deceptive. What she plainly revealed is a willingness and natural proclivity to deceive,” he concluded.

“We know she knew the true source of the Benghazi attacks the day they happened, even as she was lying and blaming a cheap video,” he noted. ”The FBI knows how to build a case on ‘bad acts’ – here, persistent deception – and how to use that to trap and indict the perpetrator.” (Read more from “Judge Napolitano: Hillary Clinton Committed Perjury Last Week, FBI Will Pursue Indictment” HERE)

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Feds Go to Bat for Muslim Truckers Fired for Refusing to Do Their Jobs

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Last month, it was a Muslim flight attendant who sued her airline after it suspended her for refusing to serve booze. This month it’s two Muslim truck drivers, except in this case, handling booze — which is forbidden under Islamic law — was pretty much their entire job description.

The pair, Mahad Abass Mohamed and Abdkiarim Hassan Bulshale, had the backing of the federal government in their religious discrimination lawsuit against their former employer, who rightfully terminated them for refusing to make beer deliveries.

The Washington Examiner notes that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission won $240,000 in damages to the former drivers, both of Somali heritage, who were fired in 2009.

The EEOC said that Star Transport Inc., a trucking company based in Morton, Ill., violated their religious rights by refusing to accommodate their objections to delivering alcoholic beverages.

“EEOC is proud to support the rights of workers to equal treatment in the workplace without having to sacrifice their religious beliefs or practices,” EEOC General Counsel David Lopez announced Thursday. “This is fundamental to the American principles of religious freedom and tolerance.”

(Read more from “Feds Go to Bat for Muslim Truckers Fired for Refusing to Do Their Jobs” HERE)

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Almost One-Third of College Students Misidentify First Amendment

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A national survey measuring the opinions of U.S. college students on the issue of free speech on college campuses was released today by The William F. Buckley, Jr. Program at Yale, which sponsored the poll.

The 2015 Buckley Free Speech Survey, which was conducted by nationally respected pollster, McLaughlin & Associates, revealed a wealth of information about how college students view rights and topics such as: The First Amendment; speech codes; academic freedom; trigger warnings; “political correctness;” and intellectual diversity, among other things. The national survey of 800 undergraduate students was conducted online and respondents were carefully selected and screened from a nationwide representative platform of individuals who elect to participate in online surveys.

The survey can be viewed here.

“The William F. Buckley, Jr. Program at Yale was founded to increase intellectual diversity on the Yale University campus and beyond, and this survey shows that we have a great deal of work to do,” said Buckley Program founder and executive director Lauren Noble. “The survey results confirmed some of what we expected, but they also revealed troubling surprises. It is the opinion of the Buckley Program that university campuses are best served by free and open speech, but, lamentably, that opinion is anything but unanimous, the survey shows.”

Highlights from the 2015 Buckley Free Speech Survey include:

Forty-nine percent (49%) of survey participants said they have often felt intimidated to share beliefs that differ from their professors, including 14% who said “frequently” and 35% who said “sometimes”;

Exactly half (50%) said they have often felt intimidated to share beliefs that differ from their classmates, including 16% who said “frequently” and 34% who said “sometimes”;

The majority of students (53%) say their professors have often used class time to express their own views about matters outside of coursework, including 14% who say “frequently” and 38% who say “sometimes”;

Greater than six in ten (63%) say political correctness on college campuses is either a “big problem” (19%) or “somewhat of a problem” (44%);

Fifty-five percent (55%) of students say they are aware of “trigger warnings” and 63% would favor their professors using them, while 23% would oppose;

By a 52-42% margin, students say their college or university should forbid people from speaking on campus who have a history of engaging in hate speech;

Seventy-two percent (72%) of students surveyed said they support disciplinary action for “any student or faculty member on campus who uses language that is considered racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise offensive”;

When students were asked to identify the amendment that deals with free speech, 68% correctly cited the First Amendment. One in three (32%) incorrectly listed another amendment;

The majority (52%) said that the First Amendment does not make an exemption for hate speech and that all speech is protected under the First Amendment. One in three (35%) say that hate speech is not protected under the First Amendment;

By a 73% to 21% margin, students say the First Amendment is an important amendment that needs to be followed and respected rather than an outdated amendment that can no longer be applied in today’s society and should be changed.

Liberal students are more likely than conservative students to say the First Amendment is outdated, 30% to 10%, respectively;

By a nearly two to one margin, students said their school is generally more tolerant of liberal ideas and beliefs than conservative ideas and beliefs, 37% to 20%. Thirty-six percent (36%) said their school was equally tolerant of both.

Private school students are more likely than public school students to say their school is more tolerant of liberal ideas, 43% to 35%, respectively;

Ninety-five percent (95%) of all college students say the issue of free speech is important to them, including 70% who say it is “very important”;

By a 51% to 36% margin, students favor their school having speech codes to regulate speech for students and faculty.

Eight in ten believe that freedom of speech should either be less limited (38%) on college campuses or there should be no difference (43%) compared to society at large. Just 16% say freedom of speech should be more limited;

When given a choice, just one in ten (10%) say colleges, universities and government should regulate free speech more. A slight plurality (46%) says free speech is important, but there should be exceptions to every rule and 42% support freedom of speech in all cases;

Seven in ten (72%) say their college or university should be doing more to promote policies that increase diversity of opinions in the classroom and on campus;

Almost nine in ten (87%) agree that there is education value in listening to and understanding views and opinions that they may disagree with and are different than their own;

Those surveyed were:

Political party: 42% Democratic, 26% Republican, 29% independent;

Ideology: 44% liberal, 32% moderate, 20% conservative, and

Race/Ethnicity: 54% white, 15% African American, 14% Hispanic/Latino, 8% Asian, 7% one or more.

POLL METHODOLOGY

McLaughlin & Associates conducted a national survey of 800 undergraduate students from September 19th to 28th, 2015. All interviews were conducted online and respondents were carefully selected and screened from a nationwide representative platform of individuals who elect to participate in online surveys.

Data for this survey have been stratified by age, race, sex and geography using the National Center for Education Statistics 2014 Report to reflect the actual demographic composition of undergraduate students in the United States.

Because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation rather than a probability sample, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. All surveys may be subject to multiple sources of error, including, but not limited to sampling error, coverage error and measurement error.

However, a confidence interval of 95% was calculated in order to produce an error estimate of +/- 3.4% for the 800 respondents. This error estimate should be taken into consideration in much the same way that analysis of probability polls takes into account the margin of sampling error. The error estimate increases for cross-tabulations. Totals may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

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Press release from The William F. Buckley, Jr. Program at Yale.

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NYC to Let the UN Run Its Police Force

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American tradition, values and mores continue to erode thanks to constant pressure by the political left to destroy a culture they see as illegitimate and dangerous to the globe — despite our nation’s appeal to millions around the world and the opportunities we create for ourselves and for others.

Now, the liberals who run New York City are even prepared to cede at least some policing power to “a new global, terror-busting network to try to combat homegrown extremism,” according to a September 29 press statement, The New American reports.

In an announcement made at the United Nations, avowed socialist Mayor Bill DeBlasio declared New York City’s intent to join the UN and the United States Department of Justice in their bid to combat “all forms of violent extremism, whether it’s based in religious, or racial, or nationalistic or ideological intolerance.”

With this, de Blasio has effectively ruled that American patriotism is an “intolerance” he won’t tolerate. Save for 9/11, however, when was the last time we’ve seen a major act of “extremism” in New York City (that hasn’t come from the mayor himself), anyway?

As The New American further reported, the Obama Justice Department is claiming that this new law enforcement partnership program — dubbed “Strong Cities” — is really aimed at inspiring “action on a global scale.” (Read more from “NYC to Let the UN Run Its Police Force” HERE)

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Fuming Over Ryan, Some Conservative Voices Turn on the Freedom Caucus

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Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has been able to count on his Facebook page for stalwart support during his long-running battle with the House Republican leadership, including a successful effort to oust House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) . . .

But in recent days, the tone of the comments on Meadows’s page, and those of the other members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, have changed significantly.

“You truly should be ashamed,” one commenter wrote Thursday. “The people in the caucus will be held responsible come election day.”

“You should all be replaced,” a critic told Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). Another called Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-Idaho), one of the most persistent thorns in Boehner’s side, “a RINO establishment lap dog” and “another go-along to get along phony who will GLADLY step on the throats of the Conservative electorate.”

Things may never be the same for the Freedom Caucus after most of its members moved last week to support Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as the next House speaker. Suddenly, they may not be conservative enough for some in the party. (Read more from “Fuming Over Ryan, Some Conservative Voices Turn on the Freedom Caucus” HERE)

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NYC Police Union Calls for Tarantino Boycott After Anti-Cop Rally

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The city’s police union is calling for a boycott of Quentin Tarantino films after the “Pulp Fiction’’ director took part in an anti-cop rally less than a week after an officer was killed on the job.

“When I see murders, I do not stand by . . . I have to call the murderers the murderers,” the director — notorious for his violent movies — told a crowd of protesters in Washington Square Park on Saturday, adding that cops are too often “murderers.”

Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, lashed out against the “Reservoir Dogs” auteur Sunday.

“It’s no surprise that someone who makes a living glorifying crime and violence is a cop-hater, too,” Lynch said in a statement.

“The police officers that Quentin Tarantino calls ‘murderers’ aren’t living in one of his depraved big-screen fantasies — they’re risking and sometimes sacrificing their lives to protect communities from real crime and mayhem. (Read more from “NYC Police Union Calls for Tarantino Boycott After Anti-Cop Rally” HERE)

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Benghazi Hero’s Dad Reveals Bombshell Document That Could PROVE Hillary Lied [+video]

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By F. Peter Brown. New records made public indicate that Hillary Clinton said privately from the start that Benghazi was not caused by the obscure anti-Islamic film she talked about publicly.

Now, the father of a former Navy SEAL who died defending the complex has proof that Clinton lied to victims’ families in the wake of the attack.

Charles Woods, father of former Navy SEAL Ty Woods, shared with Fox News the diary notes he took after the September 14, 2012 ceremony when the bodies of the four Americans killed in the attack were flown back to the United States.

The entry reads: “I gave Hillary a hug and shook her hand. And she said we are going to have the film maker arrested who was responsible for the death of my son” . . .

Woods told Fox News: “She said — the filmmaker who was responsible for the death of your son.”

He then stated: “She wasn’t saying the failed foreign policy that I was responsible for. It wasn’t her taking the blame for it. It says we are going to place the responsibility on the death of your son on the filmmaker.” (Read more from “Benghazi Hero’s Dad Reveals Bombshell Document That Could PROVE Hillary Lied” HERE)

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Mother of Benghazi Victim BLASTS Hillary Clinton on CNN

By Onan Coca. In a heart-wrenching segment on CNN Wednesday Patricia Smith, the mother of the slain Benghazi consulate employee Sean Smith, appeared on CNN’s Newsroom to discuss Hillary Clinton’s impending testimony before Congress. The first question that CNN’s Carol Costello asked set the tone of Smith’s interview. Costello wondered what Smith was hoping to hear from Clinton on Thursday.

“Answers. Why did my son die? Why did Hillary choose what she chose? How come she made such bad decisions that my son and the ambassador and the other two guys got killed? There’s a whole bunch of questions I have. I need her to make some answers.”

The interview quickly recedes downhill as Smith reveals the fact that over the last three years all she has heard from Clinton or the State Department have been lies and misinformation and she is tried of it. Smith offers her deepest condemnation of Clinton after Costello played a clip of Hillary Clinton angrily defying Congress and asking “What difference at this point does it make?” . . .

Smith’s obviously heartbroken response?

“She’s lying! She’s absolutely lying! She told me something entirely different at the casket ceremony. She said it was because of the video and that she would get back to me and tell me what happened with my son.”

(Read more from “Mother of Benghazi Victim BLASTS Hillary Clinton on CNN” HERE)

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No Criminal Charges for Former IRS Official Lois Lerner

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The Justice Department won’t charge Lois Lerner, a former Internal Revenue Service official, over Tea Party groups’ applications for tax-exempt status, closing a nearly 2 1/2-year investigation with a determination that IRS officials bungled the matter but committed no crimes.

“Our investigation uncovered substantial evidence of mismanagement, poor judgment and institutional inertia, leading to the belief by many tax-exempt applicants that the IRS targeted them based on their political viewpoints,” Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik wrote to Congress on Friday. “But poor management is not a crime.”

The announcement ends a major phase of the IRS controversy, angering Republicans and Tea Party activists who had pressed for prosecutions.

[Listen to Joe Miller’s call to “Abolish the IRS”]

When the matter first erupted, it prompted bipartisan outrage and accusations that the IRS and Obama administration had pursued a vendetta against conservative groups. The truth proved to be more complex, and the investigations appear not to have revealed any direct involvement by White House officials.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee who is poised to become speaker of the House, said the Justice Department’s decision was a “deeply disappointing” response to what he called the “serious and unprecedented actions” taken by Ms. Lerner. (Read more from “No Criminal Charges for Former IRS Official Lois Lerner” HERE)

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Many Hispanics Agree: Trump’s Immigration Policies Aren’t All Hogwash

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Polls indicate that support for Donald Trump is plateauing while key challengers like Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio are quickly gaining ground.

If this trend continues and Trump flames out, the Republican establishment shouldn’t simply dismiss his candidacy as a fad. There are lessons to be learned from Trump’s unexpected popularity. The most important one is that there is broad support for some components of his immigration platform, even among Hispanics . . .

Polls show that many Hispanics agree with Trump that illegal immigration is a huge problem. The eventual GOP nominee should, of course, reject the divisive, inflammatory language Trump and his supporters have often used to make the case for reform. But there are smart policy ideas buried under all that rhetoric. They ought to be incorporated into the official party platform.

A recent poll by SurveyUSA shows that Trump commands the support of 31 percent of Hispanics. That’s not only a higher share than Mitt Romney received in 2012 — it’s also more than Republican George H.W. Bush received in 1988 when he won the general election.

Most Hispanics aren’t single-issue voters when it comes to immigration. A recent Gallup poll found that among registered Latino voters, 67 percent are at least willing to support a candidate who doesn’t share their views on immigration. And 18 percent don’t consider the issue important at all. (Read more from “Many Hispanics Agree: Trump’s Immigration Policies Aren’t All Hogwash” HERE)

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