The TPA Lives! And Guess Who is Going Overboard to Force its Passage? RINO Senator Mitch McConnell [+video]

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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)

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Top Democrat Sounds Alarm Over Obama Administration’s Delusional Rhetoric on ISIS

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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)

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The Hillary Clinton Rap Sheet Explodes with New Entries

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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)

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Hillary Clinton News More Like a Rap Sheet

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)

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Stephanopoulos Banned From Campaign Coverage? Here’s What Americans Think

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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)

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Are You Ready for President Biden?

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If these were ordinary times, a happy warrior like Joe Biden would be first out of the starting gate in the race for president. It would be so easy; politicking is what he loves to do.

But with Hillary Clinton so dominant in the polls, Biden is hanging back, watching and waiting to see if maybe there’s an opening. He’s telling supporters in the early states that he’ll decide in the next four weeks, or by the end of summer.

On that thin thread, Draft Biden 2016, a SuperPAC designed to draft him into the race, is lining up endorsements in Iowa, the first contest, and organizing house parties and meet-ups across the country, from Maryland to Alaska.

“Our goal is to have one party in each state, including Alaska,” says executive director Will Pierce . . .

Pierce did advance work for Obama in ’08 and ’12, but he’s a novice at fundraising, the coin of the realm for ’16. He says Draft Biden has one or two major donors, and is on track to hit half a million by the end of the quarter when contributions are reported to the FEC. (Read more from “Are You Ready for President Biden?” HERE)

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Clinton Breaks Media Silence, Answers Reporters’ Questions on Emails and More [+video]

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Hillary Clinton, having faced weeks of criticism for ducking the press since entering the presidential race, finally broke her media silence Tuesday, fielding multiple questions from reporters during a stop in Iowa — addressing, albeit briefly, the two controversies dogging her campaign.

On the controversy surrounding her use of a private email address and server while secretary of state, Clinton insisted: “I want those emails out.”

On questions about the transparency surrounding foreign-government donations to the family foundation, Clinton said she’s “proud” of the organization, and the donations just show that others are supportive of the work it does.

While the Democratic presidential candidate’s responses may not have been surprising, her engagement with the press marks a departure from the way she’s run her campaign since entering the race a month ago . . .

Clinton reiterated her push to release the emails shortly after a federal judge rejected the State Department’s proposal to disseminate portions of the emails by next January and said the agency must instead conduct a “rolling production” of the records. (Read more from “Clinton Breaks Media Silence, Answers Reporters’ Questions on Emails and More” HERE)

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Severe Storms Speed Across Texas and Oklahoma

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At least two tornadoes touched down late Tuesday as a series of severe storms caused damage and flooding in parts of north Texas and southern Oklahoma.

One tornado touched down in Mineral Wells, Texas, about 80 miles west of Dallas, at approximately 7 p.m. local time Tuesday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but a police dispatcher told the paper that the twister had caused the collapse of an abandoned bank building, damaged two churches, and torn the roof off a government building.

A second tornado was reported to have passed through the town at approximately 7:45 p.m. local time, but that was not immediately confirmed by the National Weather Service.

Earlier Tuesday, a tornado touched town in the town of Giddings, Texas, approximately 55 miles east of Austin. The city’s emergency manager told the Star-Telegram that storm damaged some farm outbuildings and the roof of a Ramada Inn. One man who was a guest at the hotel was reported injured when debris blew in through a window and struck him in the head. He was taken to a hospital in San Marcos for treatment of head lacerations.

Storm systems across the southern Plans had brought heavy rain and flooding to the region over most of the day Tuesday. In West Texas, San Angelo Regional Airport was closed after the terminal became flooded. In the city of Abilene, firefighters blamed lighting for a fire that destroyed a home in that city. (Read more from “Severe Storms Speed Across Texas and Oklahoma” HERE)

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Obama Task Force Seeks to Federalize Law Enforcement, Remove Power of Sheriffs

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photo credit: conner395The call to federalize law enforcement departments and offices around the country was made more than once after Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014.

Following that incident, President Obama asked a group of individuals to prepare a study on 21st Century Policing that includes measures by which law enforcement could be federalized.

Not surprisingly, many of the study’s findings and suggestions have nothing to do with the details or evidence surrounding Officer Wilson and Michael Brown but read like a social justice wish list for minorities, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, and protesters who riot in response to half-truths propagated by race-hucksters stirring the pot in Ferguson, New York City, and Baltimore.

It must be noted that one stark result of such federalization would be the successful and quiet removal of opposition to gun control via new constraints on sheriffs around the country who currently enjoy relative freedom from extensive federal input and oversight. As we have seen from the Sandy Hook Elementary attack until now, the strongest voices against federal gun control have often been sheriffs in states where gun rights reign supreme. These same sheriffs have also pushed back against anti-Second Amendment legislators in their own states by pledging their refusal to enforce new gun laws, should such laws be enacted.

Federalizing sheriffs would effectively moot this opposition. (Read more about Obama’s task force seeking to federalize law enforcement HERE)

Education Expert: Government Schools Warring on Christianity, Deliberately Dumbing Down Students

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Photo Credit: NewscomGovernment schools are warring on Christianity and real education, warns an education expert and one of America’s most influential Christian authors.

Pastor Carl Gallups and educator and author Alex Newman charge there is a deliberate and unified agenda to dumb down U.S. school children and remove Christianity from schools and public life. And both of them place most of the blame at the feet of John Dewey, the godfather of America’s progressive education system. . .

“It is absolutely clear at this point that the militant secular agenda and the Big Government agenda are actually one and the same,” [Newman stated]. “Real Christians have no need for big government. They generally have strong family, work ethic, community, and so on, in addition to high moral standards that should preclude bad behavior.”

Newman added, “But those promoting big government’s so-called solutions understand that a moral people with supreme allegiance to God are infinitely harder to oppress and control with government. Plus, the utopians pushing socialism and secularism know that as long as Americans are loyal to God above everything else, government will never be able to occupy that coveted place in people’s hearts, minds and souls.”

[Gallups also noted,] “We’ve raised up generations of these children who believe they are nothing but souped-up gorillas who think life is an accident, who can’t read well, who don’t possess deductive reasoning, and who can’t think critically. There is a massive, deliberate dumbing down because our public education system was built with the agenda of creating worker bees, not citizens,” he said. . .

“It is going to get a lot worse if Americans do not rise up and put a stop to this lunacy. As long as there exist well-educated, critical thinkers who were raised outside of the indoctrination system, there will always be that little boy to point out that the emperor actually has no clothes. This is why we are seeing the accelerating assault on educational freedom.” (Read more about government schools warring on Christianity HERE)

Majority of Americans See Obama as Incompetent; Believe Terrorists Live Nearby

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A majority of Americans believe that the current administration is perpetually incompetent and that even their own neighborhood is not safe from terrorists, according to a new Fox News poll.

A full 60 percent of respondents think it likely that terrorists live in their town, up from 48 percent the last time the network asked the question in 2007. That’s also higher than the 58 percent who believed terrorists lived nearby in June 2002, just nine months after the 9/11 attacks that shook the nation. A record high 29 percent responded they felt it was “very” likely that terrorists are living in their area.

Meanwhile, 6 in 10 believe that the U.S. economy is still in recession, despite the administration’s longstanding assertions that the recession ended in 2009. While still a clear majority, the recent poll numbers are an improvement over last year’s response of 74 percent and the 86 percent of respondents in 2010 who believed the recession was still ongoing. . .

This dovetails with the 53 percent of respondents who believe Obama has not been “competent and effective” in managing the federal government. While only 46 percent approve of his job on the economy, a dismal 32 percent approve of how he’s handling ISIS. (Read more from “Majority of Americans See Obama as Incompetent; Believe Terrorists Live Nearby” HERE)