Photo Credit: AP ImagesThe federal government spent $100 billion providing food assistance to Americans last year, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The lion’s share of spending comes from the food stamp program, which gave benefits to an average 46 million Americans in 2014, at a cost of $74.6 billion, according to a testimony from the GAO’s Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Kay E. Brown before the House Subcommittee on Nutrition Wednesday.
The national school lunch program was second, costing $11.3 billion, followed by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at $7.1 billion . . .
Brown said there is a potential for overlap and “inefficient use of federal funds” due to the government’s “complex network of 18 food assistance programs, administered by three federal agencies,” which are unsure how effective the programs are.
“In 2010, research GAO reviewed suggested that participation in seven of these programs was associated with positive outcomes, such as improving nutrition among low-income households,” Brown said. “Little was known about the effectiveness of the remaining 11.” (Read more from “Feds Spent $100 Billion on Food Assistance Last Year” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-21 00:53:002016-04-11 11:00:55Feds Spent $100 Billion on Food Assistance Last Year
Photo Credit: FlickrThe National Transportation Safety Board is combing through the cellphone records of the engineer at the controls of the crashed Amtrak train, and said he was using it the day of the deadly derailment, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.
“Although the records appear to indicate that calls were made, text messages sent, and data used on the day of the accident, investigators have not yet made a determination if there was any phone activity during the time the train was being operated,” the NTSB said.
The board will be checking the time stamps on Brandon Bostian’s phone to see if he was using it just before the crash that killed eight people and injured over 200 more.
There were no issues with the train’s signals systems at the time, the NTSB also said.
Investigators have also interviewed the engineer of the SEPTA train that came to an emergency stop when it was struck by an object. That motorman said Bostian announced on the radio, “hot track rail two” to warn him that he was about to pass the train. (Read more from “Investigators Check Amtrak Engineer’s Cellphone Records” HERE)
When Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) induced an abortion-related gaffe from Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, pro-life activists hailed him as one of their most effective messengers in presidential politics — but he doesn’t intend to build his 2016 campaign around such fights.
“I didn’t run for office because of the social issues,” Paul said Monday during a question-and-answer session with conservative-radio host Dom Giordano at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “It wasn’t what got me to leave my practice. I ran for office mainly because I became concerned that we were going to destroy the country with debt. That we would borrow so much money that we would just destroy the currency . . . There’s also a chance that we get so far overdrawn that we have a calamity. In 2008, we were very close to a calamity.”
The exchange began when Giordano asked if, in light of the House passage of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, abortion should be “handled” at the state level or at the federal level under the Fourteenth Amendment. (Read more from “A Quote That May Come Back to Haunt Rand Paul” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-21 00:52:212016-04-11 11:00:55A Quote That May Come Back to Haunt Rand Paul
United States Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) vows to filibuster any attempt in Congress to extend the eavesdropping powers provided to the government through the US Patriot Act before they expire at the end of the month.
Sen. Paul began speaking out against government surveillance on the floor of the Senate at around 1:18 pm ET on Wednesday, saying “I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts, go unchallenged.”
Provisions in the anti-terrorism law, passed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, are set to sunset on June 1 unless Congress extends them before then. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the Senate majority leader, has advocated for extending the National Security Agency’s ability to conduct such surveillance in certain cases while an alternative solution is sought.
As the end-of-month deadline nears, Senator Paul on Wednesday said he would launch a filibuster to ensure the spy powers are not reauthorized . . .
Earlier in the day, the Department of Justice circulated a memo on Capitol Hill warning lawmakers to act swiftly and be prepared to pull the plug on Sec. 215 of the Patriot Act this week. The memo said this was necessary in order to avoid complications that could arise in the event the program is not renewed before the end of the month. A federal appeals court ruled two weeks ago that Sec. 215 does not authorize the National Security Agency to collect phone records in bulk, contrary to the government’s current interpretation, dealing the biggest blow yet to the previously secret surveillance program first exposed to the public in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. (Read more from “Rand Paul Filibusters NSA Surveillance in Congress” HERE)
Editor’s note: RT News is Russian government affiliated site that is not immune from propagandizing issues.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-21 00:52:052016-04-11 11:00:56Rand Paul Filibusters NSA Surveillance in Congress
Photo Credit: ShutterstockDepartment of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today the largest and “most complex” auto recall in United States history.
The recall involves the Takata Corporation, which is the manufacturer of air bags for Honda and Toyota automobiles. The number affected by the recall has nearly doubled from 18 million to 34 million vehicles . . .
The defect that has been identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involves the propellant canister used to inflate front and side airbags. Rather than simply releasing gas into the airbags, in some instances the canister has exploded, sending metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
Police responding to accident scenes have described those who have sustained injuries as appearing to have been shot or stabbed. At least five fatalities and 100 injuries have been tied to the faulty airbags, according to CNN Money and Fox News.
“From the very beginning, our goal has been simple: a safe air bag in every vehicle,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “The steps we’re taking today represent significant progress toward that goal. We all know that there is more work to do, for NHTSA, for the auto makers, for parts suppliers, and for consumers. But we are determined to get to our goal as rapidly as possible.” (Read more from “Largest Automobile Recall in History Just Announced, Brands Named” HERE)
Editor’s note: Click HERE to check whether your vehicle is covered in the airbag recall.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-20 00:31:442016-04-11 11:00:56Largest Automobile Recall in History Just Announced – “1 of 7 U.S. Vehicles” – Brands Named
By Jonah Goldberg. By now everyone has had their say about Jeb Bush’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. The consensus is that Bush misheard Megyn Kelly’s “knowing what we know now” question about the Iraq war. I’m not convinced.
Politicians routinely answer the question they wish they were asked rather than the question they were actually asked. Indeed, those are the only kinds of questions some politicians — particularly ones with the last name Clinton — ever answer. The question Fox News’ Kelly asked is the tougher one, at least for Bush, so perhaps he opted to answer in a way that let him take a shot at Hillary Rodham Clinton, who also supported the war?
But it doesn’t matter. Bush should have murder-boarded every possible variant of that question. His team should have run drills on it, as if he were prepping for a presidential debate. And, he should have given a speech specifically about the Iraq war months ago to inoculate himself against all of this.
In other words, the disturbing thing about his response and the awkward effort to clean it up is that it was necessary at all.
With the possible exception of the Adamses, there’s no family in American history with more institutional knowledge about how to run for president. And of the immediate Bush clan, almost everybody agrees that Jeb is the savviest. (Read more from “Jeb Bush Has Bigger Problems Then Iraq War Stumble” HERE)
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How Wannabe King Bush III Flubbed the Iraq War Question Last Week
By Scott Wong. [GOP lawmakers] on Capitol Hill were scratching their heads as Bush struggled during four consecutive news cycles to articulate his position on the unpopular war that defined the presidency of his older brother, George W. Bush.
“[I’m] flabbergasted at the degree of back and forth that’s ensued this week on the Middle East answer, correction, non-answer, correction, etc.,” said one GOP lawmaker from a early primary state who has yet to endorse anyone in the race. . .
Jeb Bush first stepped in it [last] Monday when Fox News’ Megyn Kelly asked if he would have invaded Iraq in 2003 “knowing what we know now” — that U.S. intelligence proved to be faulty and Saddam Hussein didn’t have weapons of mass destruction. Yes, he replied.
The next day, Bush took to Sean Hannity’s radio show to explain he misinterpreted the question and called it a “hypothetical” he couldn’t answer. On Day 3, Bush’s line was that such questions do a “disservice” to those who perished in the war.
By the fourth day, Bush had finally settled on a clear answer: “Knowing what we know now, I would not invade.” (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-20 00:31:152016-04-11 11:00:56Jeb Bush Has Bigger Problems Than Iraq War Stumble
Despite the looming deadlines for several other “must-pass” bills, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (54%, F Liberty Score™) declared his intention to finish debate and pass the trade bill before senators go home for the Memorial Day recess.
Employing a tactic commonly used by his predecessor, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), in a veiled threat to keep the chamber in for part of the upcoming recess, McConnell is using the jet fumes from the tarmac at Reagan National Airport to leverage members into dropping their amendments to the Trade Promotion Authority bill (“TPA”) and agreeing to pass it expeditiously.
This is the level of alacrity McConnell is employing to pass one of Obama’s top priorities. For once, McConnell is willing to play hardball with Senate Democrats (who oppose Obama’s trade deal for their own reasons) and keep them in during recess in order to placate his new friend.
When Obama announced his executive amnesty and nullification of our immigration laws last November, he likely never imagined this would be his “punishment” for violating the separation of powers.
Ironically, McConnell was presented with the same leverage point during the battle to defund Obama’s executive amnesty in February. A belligerent Harry Reid was blocking efforts to proceed with debate to the House-passed DHS funding bill, which funded every aspect of Homeland Security excluding the executive amnesty.
At the time, Congress was approaching a week-long recess in honor of Presidents’ Day. Conservatives called on McConnell to keep the Senate in session through the recess as leverage to wear down intransigent Senate Democrats until they agreed to proceed with debate. Needless to say, McConnell never thought twice about doing that.
Consider this for a moment: executive amnesty represents an existential threat not only to the safety and financial security of the country, but to the future of our system of government itself. We now have a president who is openly nullifying laws and engaging in actions that even King George III lacked the power to do. Local communities and school districts throughout the country are dealing with the crushing costs of the surge in illegal immigration engendered by the promise of legalization and amnesty. There are now 900,000 illegal aliens who have been ordered to leave the country by the courts, yet the administration is refusing to lift a finger. Of those ordered deported, 167,000 are criminal aliens, the very type Obama said he would prioritize for deportation.
Even after the court enjoined his executive amnesty, Obama continues to defy the courts by issuing work permits and abusing the asylum system. He now seeks to end the modicum of state and local immigration enforcement that still exists.
Yet, this was not an emergency legislative situation for Mitch McConnell. And to this day, despite the dangerous and illegal actions taken by this president on a daily basis, McConnell could not care less about restoring our sovereignty, the rule of law, and separation of powers.
What defines an emergency? Passing Obama’s TPA, which, ironically, would cede him de facto irrevocable political power to engage in unilateral actions under the veil of a trade agreement.
As noted before, there is no politically feasible way to block a trade deal once TPA is passed, irrespective of the concerns that may surface in the coming weeks.
Hence, Obama’s “punishment” for abusing his power in the most egregious manner is…Congress ceding him more power!
This is McConnell’s idea of “governing.”
Welcome to the GOP Majority. (See “Guess Whose Priorities RINO Senator Mitch McConnell Is Pushing?”, originally posted HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-20 00:31:092016-04-11 11:00:56The TPA Lives! And Guess Who is Going Overboard to Force its Passage? RINO Senator Mitch McConnell [+video]
Photo Credit: Christian Science Monitor A senior House of Representatives Democrat said Tuesday that the White House’s description of supposed progress in the war against the Islamic State should ring “alarm bells,” and called the fall of the city of Ramadi to the extremists “a very serious and significant setback.”
“I don’t think we’re losing the war, but I don’t think we’re making tremendous progress either,” Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor.
The California Democrat had been asked about White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz’s recitation last week of the number of U.S. and partner airstrikes to counter a reporter’s question about whether the Islamic State is winning.
“I wouldn’t use the metrics of the number of sorties or bombs dropped or anything, and to the degree you hear administration officials use those metrics, alarm bells should be going off,” Schiff cautioned.
The lawmaker also warned against using measures like the amount of territory controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, because in some cases the group has been replaced by other extremist militias hostile to the United States. (Read more from “Top Democrat Sounds ‘Alarm Bells’ Over Obama Administration’s Delusional Rhetoric on ISIS” HERE)
Photo Credit: NY Post By John Podhoretz. Another day, another three Hillary stories — all of which continue the ongoing tarnishment of the Clinton brand . . .
First, Fox News revealed the contents of a Defense Intelligence Agency report written one day after four Americans were killed in Benghazi in 2012.
According to the report, “the attack was planned ten or more days prior to approximately 01 September 2012. . . No YouTube video. No spontaneous demonstration.
Second, The New York Times revealed Mrs. Clinton had a secret private e-mail account through which she communed with her longtime consigliere, Sidney Blumenthal, despite having sworn (though not under oath) she’d only had the one.
Third, Politico reported yesterday that a federal judge has ordered the State Department to start releasing Mrs. Clinton’s e-mails from her time as secretary of state — or whatever’s left of them following the mass destruction of tens of thousands of such communications. (Read more from “The Hillary Clinton Rap Sheet Explodes with New Entries” HERE)
By Michael Goodwin. Wading through the daily deluge of Hillary Clinton news, I feel like I’m reading the police blotter. The litany of her shameful shenanigans resembles the litany of neighborhood crimes recorded by cops. There are simply too many to stomach.
There is another similarity, too: In both cases, fear and revulsion are the proper responses from honest Americans.
More than 17 months before Election Day, Clinton scandals are piling up faster than robberies during a police strike. There is a media feeding frenzy over her shady dealings and the sheer volume of unsavory revelations is approaching a critical mass. The pace of disclosures probably can’t continue, but already she’s looking less and less inevitable.
Yesterday brought a new batch of bombshells. The Washington Post reported that, in addition to $5 million she earned from her latest book, Clinton earned $11.7 million by delivering 51 speeches since January, 2014. The paper reported that she was paid an astonishing $625,000 for two speeches — in one day!
Stack those facts up against her recent remark that the only answer to income inequality is to “topple” the 1 percent of wealthy Americans, and it’s obvious that she’s long past the point of simple hypocrisy. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-05-20 00:30:442016-04-11 11:00:57The Hillary Clinton Rap Sheet Explodes with New Entries
George Stephanopoulos, a senior ABC News anchor, was caught last week hiding $75,000 in donations to the Bill and Hillary Clinton Foundation just after he grilled on air the author of a book critical of the foundation and Mrs. Clinton. He also was scheduled to moderate a presidential campaign debate before the media found out about the donations.
Forty-six percent (46%) of Likely U.S. Voters think ABC should ban Stephanopoulos from any programming related to the presidential campaign since Hillary Clinton is running for president. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 36% disagree and oppose banning him from presidential campaign coverage. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of Republicans and unaffiliated voters by a narrower 45% to 38% margin think the one-time senior Clinton White House official should be banned from presidential campaign coverage. Among Democrats, 30% say Stephanopoulos should be banned from covering the presidential race, but 50% disagree; 20% are undecided.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of all voters say they are less likely to believe the reporting on ABC News because Stephanopoulos failed to disclose this seeming conflict of interest. Sixteen percent (16%) say they are more likely to believe in ABC News’ reporting. Forty-two percent (42%) say the Stephanopoulos incident will have no impact on their confidence in ABC’s reporting.
In February, 40% of Americans said NBC News anchor Brian Williams had to go for being caught in a lie. Just as many (40%) said they are less likely to believe the reporting on NBC News because Williams didn’t tell the truth. (Read more from “Here’s the Amount of Americans Who Want Stephanopoulos Banned From Campaign Coverage” HERE)
