How Hillary Clinton Is Running Against Parts of Her Husband’s Legacy

/0 Comments/in , /by

imagesHillary Rodham Clinton isn’t just running against Republicans. She’s also running against parts of her husband’s legacy.

On issues large and small, the Democratic presidential contender is increasingly distancing herself from — or even opposing — key policies pushed by Bill Clinton while he was in the White House, from her recent skepticism on free-trade pacts to her full embrace of gay rights.

The starkest example yet came Wednesday, when Hillary Clinton delivered an impassioned address condemning the “era of incarceration” ushered in during the 1990s in the wake of her husband’s 1994 crime bill — though she never mentioned him or the legislation by name.

“We have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance,” Clinton told an audience at Columbia University in New York, making references to unrest in Baltimore and elsewhere and elsewhere over actions by police. “And these recent tragedies should galvanize us to come together as a nation to find our balance again.”

The contrasts between some of Clinton’s positions and those of her husband from 20 years ago show the extent to which Democrats, and the country as a whole, have shifted to the left on a number of key issues. Indeed, Bill Clinton now says that some of his incarceration policies went too far and that he regrets backing a federal law that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. (Read more from “How Hillary Clinton Is Running Against Parts of Her Husband’s Legacy” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Idaho Refugee Center Expects Influx of Syrians

/0 Comments/in , /by

553807df2daed.imageThe College of Southern Idaho’s Refugee Center is expecting an influx of Syrian refugees starting in October.

Projections show the center will likely receive 300 refugees from around the world during the upcoming federal fiscal year. That’s the same number as this year.

Refugee Center director Zeze Rwasama anticipates the biggest populations of newcomers will be from Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“That can change at any time depending on what’s out there,” he said. The U.S. Department of State approves the number of refugees coming to Twin Falls.

There aren’t any Syrians in Twin Falls yet, Rwasama said, but the Refugee Center is prepared for the influx. “We’re not anticipating any challenges.” (Read more from “Idaho Refugee Center Expects Influx of Syrians” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

NFL’s Benjamin Watson’s Facebook Post on Baltimore Riots Goes Viral: “God is our Only Hope”

/4 Comments/in , /by

Benjamin Watson-FacebookcBy News Editor. Just like his mega viral post over the mindless Ferguson riots last year, New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson is at it again with some straight, hard talk from the heart:

We have major problems as a nation. Yesterday Ferguson burned. Tonight ‪#‎Baltimore‬ burns. Tomorrow it will be another city in our homeland. Watching the coverage I’m hearing yet another version of a nauseatingly familiar narrative. Violence by police reciprocated by violence by the community, reciprocated by violence by police reciprocated by…. It seems fruitless to continue to analyze, condemn, and respond to these dreadful episodes. “Frustration, anger, tension boiling over, upset and unfortunate” are words we hear from Baltimore residents. When it comes to law enforcement, race, poverty, education, immigration we always talk about fixing “broken” systems. We resolve to legislate for education, job creation, and systemic overhaul. These are helpful and definitely needed BUT we have done all of these things ad nauseum and look at us!! Without a change of heart these attempts fail us. So what can we say? What can we do? Systems are broken because people are broken and if systems are fixed without hearts being changed the result will be a legalistic attempt that will lack long term results. Our problems are wholistic and common to the human heart. Hatred, prejudice, exploitation, pride, self righteousness, secrecy, and rebellion, manifest itself in the explosions we’ve seen over the last year, the last century, and the last millennia.

Tonight I see so much entrenched pain without remedy. Most are handling it without violence while a few are committing the unacceptable. Tonight I see young children, asking like my daughter did earlier, “What’s happening daddy”, in desperate need of parents to walk them through these disturbing scenes.

Tonight I see “smoke,” but we must address the fire. The response that we are watching is just “smoke” from years of hopelessness. After each situation the more I am convinced that the love of God for our fellow brothers and sisters who were created in His image, is our only hope for reconciliation. But the only way we can even see him that way is if God illuminates our view and changes our thought process. I’m not talking about holding hands and singing. Love is an action that compels one to treat another with dignity and respect even if they don’t deserve it. It pushes for education and opportunities for those in poverty. It gives identity and self worth. It administers justice without abuse. It honors authority and promotes peace. It is not weak, but strong for what is right! Tonight I see a brokenness that only Christ can give us the wisdom and power to mend.

We pray for every disaster that happens to us. Bombings, natural disasters, cancer and outbreaks. What we’ve seen in our country lately deserves that same attention. Our attempts to fix this have fallen short. We, and most importantly, the body of Christ, must stand for justice in all areas, for all people. We must set the standard for the correct way to treat people.

Tonight I pray for the pastors, leaders, police and community of Baltimore.

California Prepares for the Next ‘Big One’; Risk Almost 50% Higher than Previously Thought

/3 Comments/in , /by

earthquakes-todayThe 800-mile San Andreas Fault, which runs from northern California to Mexico, has been the source of the state’s biggest earthquakes. Known as the ‘sleeping giant’, it is one of more than 350 faults that are found across the state.

Scientists now predict that the risk of a mega quake in the next 30 years is higher than was previously thought.

The Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3), published in March, includes newly discovered fault zones and accounts for the possibility of an earthquake jumping between them. This could result in multiple faults shaking in a simultaneous mega quake (magnitude-8), releasing enough energy to cause massive destruction.

The report says that, while there is a lower likelihood of moderate-sized earthquakes, the odds of a mega quake occurring in the next 30 years have increased from 4.7 per cent to 7 per cent.

Earthquakes are nothing new for Californians. The state experiences 1,000 quakes a year, but most are too small to be felt. While the San Andreas Fault has experienced massive earthquakes in the central and northern segments — Fort Tejon in 1857 and San Francisco in 1906 — the southern section has not had a large quake for more than 300 years. (Read more from “California Prepares for the Next ‘Big One'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Family Research Council on Supreme Court Oral Arguments: American People Will Not Accept Redefinition of Marriage

/18 Comments/in , /by

gay_flagBy FRC. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after today’s oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges – the case considering whether the federal Constitution requires the states to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples:

“After today, we are more hopeful the Court will get it right, but I do know that regardless of what their decision is, it will not settle this issue.

“Today, parties came before the Supreme Court asking the Justices to redefine marriage, and to impose that redefinition on all 50 states. Simply put, the plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to take the extraordinary step of departing from all of recorded human history and forcing a redefinition of civilization’s most fundamental human relationship upon an unwilling nation.

“There is no broad social consensus, and there is no global consensus that society would be better served by redefining marriage to include same-sex couples. To the contrary, America remains deeply divided over this issue and if the Supreme Court forces a redefinition it will only further divide the nation.

“History has shown us that something so deeply rooted in nature itself cannot be erased by legal action. I can say with certainty that a very large portion of the American population will not accept a redefinition of marriage imposed by the Court. The Court was unable to ‘resolve’ the issue of abortion for the nation in its Roe v. Wade decision, and the Court will not resolve this issue either.

“In 1973, the Court supercharged the abortion issue and 42 years later it is an issue in every election from President on down. A decision demanding the redefinition of marriage will be even more divisive as the freedom to live your life according to your beliefs is put in jeopardy for millions of Americans.

“The states must be left free by the U.S. Supreme Court to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman,” concluded Mr. Perkins.

To review FRC’s amicus brief, please see: https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF15D21.pdf

Decide yourself whether Americans will not accept redefinition of marriage by reviewing the results of the WPA Opinion Research survey on the Supreme Court deciding marriage here: https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF15B71.pdf

________________________________________________________

Gay Marriage Arguments Divide Supreme Court Justices

By Adam Liptak. The Supreme Court on Tuesday was deeply divided over one of the great civil rights issues of the age, same-sex marriage. But Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose vote is probably crucial, gave gay rights advocates reasons for optimism based on the tone and substance of his questions.

In two and a half hours of arguments over whether the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry, Justice Kennedy sent conflicting signals. At some points, he seemed wary of moving too fast and torn about what to do. But his demeanor was more emotional and emphatic when he made the case that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry. He is also the author of three landmark opinions expanding the rights of gay Americans.

The other justices for the most part played to type, clashing over what they saw as the right answer in the case and also over how to reach it. The questioning illuminated their conflicting views on history, tradition, biology, constitutional interpretation, the democratic process and the role of the courts in prodding social change. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Emerging Privacy Threat: Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection

/1 Comment/in , /by

watchersJournalists and transparency activists across the country have done a phenomenal job of shining light on how local law enforcement agencies use emerging technologies to surveil everyday people on a massive scale. It’s often like playing Whac-A-Mole and Go Fish at the same time. One day, the question may be whether police are using drones. The next, automatic license plate readers. After that, facial recognition or IMSI catchers (i.e. Stingrays) or Rapid DNA analyzers.

So many technical terms, so many acronyms. Unfortunately, we need to put yet another one your radar: Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection, also known as Automated Vehicle Passenger Detection or Automated Vehicle Occupancy Verification.

For years, government agencies have chased technologies that would make it easier to ensure that vehicles in carpool lanes are actually carrying multiple passengers. Perhaps the only reason these systems haven’t garnered much attention is that they haven’t been particularly effective or accurate, as UC Berkeley researchers noted in a 2011 report.

Now, an agency in San Diego, Calif. believes it may have found the answer: the Automated Vehicle Passenger Detection system developed by Xerox. . .

Documents obtained by CBS 8 reporter David Gotfredson show that Xerox’s system uses two cameras to capture the front and side views of a car’s interior. Then “video analytics” and “geometric algorithms” are used to detect whether the seats are occupied. (Read more from “Emerging Privacy Threat: Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Energy Official: Cyberattack Could Bring U.S. Grid Down

/0 Comments/in , /by

Power Maze

Power Maze

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said this week that, despite the federal government’s best efforts to “stay ahead of the bad guys,” the nation’s energy infrastructure remains “a major target of cyberattacks.”

“The energy infrastructure is a major target of cyberattacks. That is increasing in frequency and perhaps source,” Moniz, said at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

According to Moniz, U.S. natural gas pipelines represent a particularly weak link in the infrastructure chain.

“The natural gas system, the distribution pipes, are a big issue,” he said. “About half of the distribution pipes in the country are 50 years old or older, so that’s a very obvious area.”

According to the energy official, small gas distribution pipelines that carry fuel to gas customers are aging and at capacity. Some high-volume pipelines, meanwhile, remain “underutilized” despite the U.S. shale boom of the past decade. (Read more from “Energy Official: Cyberattack Could Bring U.S. Grid Down” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Baltimore Mayor Decries Violence After Deliberately Encouraging It [+videos]

/1 Comment/in , /by

AP442424483422-e1430186566130-640x480By James Simpson. At the outset of the riots that are now sweeping Baltimore, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake held a press conference, telling reporters that the city was allowing violence in an effort to defuse the situation. “It’s a very delicate balancing act, because while we tried to make sure that they [meaning the rioters, not the victims] were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy, space to do that as well…” she said. She thought that would put the city in “the best position to deescalate.”

Under orders, police held back and did nothing while rioters engaged in repeated acts of violence, including smashing car windows, destroying police cars and attacking individuals and private businesses. At least 7 police have been injured, some seriously. This was the mayor’s idea of respecting the rioters’ First Amendment rights.

How is it possible that anyone could be so delusional, so mind-numbingly stupid, so utterly incompetent, that they would believe allowing rioters to go nuts would somehow pacify them. Predictably, they took her encouragement as opportunity for even more violence and widespread looting. The city is burning and the governor has declared a state of emergency. Now she is calling those very same people, thugs.

Stephanie Rollins-Blake personifies the mindless entitlement mentality that has ruined inner cities throughout the U.S. The residents of these places will not get “justice” until they figure out that they can only blame themselves by continually re-electing such clowns. (Read more from “Baltimore Mayor Decries Violence After Deliberately Encouraging It” HERE)

[Editor’s note: The following is a recent interview with this article’s author]

_______________________________________________________

“Baltimore Looks Like a War Zone”

Baltimore FireBy Holly Yan and Miguel Marquez. Streets in Baltimore looked like a war zone early Tuesday after a night of riots, fires and heartbreak.

“Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who — in a very senseless way — are trying to tear down what so many have fought for,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.

Buildings and cars across the city were engulfed in flames. About a dozen businesses looted or damaged. At least 15 officers were wounded, six of them seriously, the police commissioner said.

Late Monday night, CNN crews saw looters breaking in through the roof of a Baltimore liquor store. They were tossing bottles and cans of alcohol onto the street below.

All this came just hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray, who died of a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

STUNNING NEW CHART O’ THE DAY: How the Clinton Foundation Spent its Money in 2013

/5 Comments/in , /by

BillHillBefore Hillary left office in 2013, the Clintons appeared bound and determined to slurp up as much money into their Foundation as possible, spending as little on direct aid as one could imagine for a “charity”. The New York Post reports:

The Clinton Foundation’s finances are so messy that the nation’s most influential charity watchdog put it on its “watch list” of problematic nonprofits last month.

The Clinton family’s mega-charity took in more than $140 million in grants and pledges in 2013 but spent just $9 million on direct aid.

150427-clinton-global-graft-2013-2

The group spent the bulk of its windfall on administration, travel, and salaries and bonuses, with the fattest payouts going to family friends.

In 2013, according to the Clinton Foundation’s IRS Form 1990 filing [PDF], the organization actually spent more than twice as much on travel, conferences, conventions and meetings than on actual, eh, grants.

Even the grants that were made were dubious “investments”. One such grant was nearly half a million dollars to a San Francisco-based group called “Architecture for Humanity”. Earlier this year the group announced it was closing its doors.

150427-hillary-salaries

The average compensation for the top Clinton Foundation executives we know of was roughly a quarter of a million dollars a year. In fact, as Karl Denninger explains:

You might be interested in knowing that the “charity” had 35 employees with reportable compensation (that is, over $100,000) and their top five combined had $2.6 million in direct (that is, cash) compensation and another $278,000 in benefits for approximately $3 million — or 1/3rd of all spending on “charitable causes”. On a grossed-up basis the charity spent $21.8 million on salaries and wages or approaching three times what it spent on “charity.”

In 2013 The Clinton Foundation employed 400 people, which means it doled out only $22,000 per employee.

In other words, it was — as the Sunlight Foundation describes it — “a slush fund”, not a charity. (See “STUNNING NEW CHART O` THE DAY: How the Clinton Foundation Spent its Money in 2013”, originally posted HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

George W. Bush Breaks Silence; Blasts Obama on Iran, ISIS

/1 Comment/in , /by

gwbushFormer President George W. Bush blasted President Obama’s Middle East policies Saturday night at a closed-door meeting with Jewish donors in Las Vegas.

At the tightly controlled event (off the record, with a “no notes” rule), hosted at the Venetian hotel and casino by wealthy owner and Republican supporter Sheldon Adelson, Bush answered guest questions for an hour on topics ranging from national security threats to the 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reported Sunday.

Bush, who has largely refrained from criticizing Obama since leaving office, opened up about Obama’s pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran, which most Republicans oppose strongly.

Bloomberg reported on one audience member as saying Bush noted that Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. “He’s smooth,” Bush said. “And you’ve got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?”

Bush remarked on how there is “no transparency in Iran,” because the supreme leader, and not the will of the people, picks the presidents. He regretted that lifting sanctions against Iran just when its government may be caving in would cost the United States leverage, according to others who attended. (Read more from “George W. Bush Breaks Silence; Blasts Obama on Iran, ISIS” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.