Voters Still Worrying Military Exercises May Lead to Federal Control of States

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military_trainingEight weeks of U.S. military exercises this summer in several southwestern states – dubbed Jade Helm 15 – have some wondering if the government is preparing for martial law. Most voters don’t oppose such exercises, but a surprising number worry about what the federal government is up to.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters favor the U.S. military conducting training exercises in their state. Just 16% are opposed, but slightly more (19%) are undecided.

Only 21% believe the government’s decision to conduct military training exercises in some states is an infringement on the rights of the citizens in those states. Sixty-two percent (62%) disagree. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.

But 45% of voters are concerned that the government will use U.S. military training operations to impose greater control over some states, with 19% who are Very Concerned. Just over half (52%) are not concerned that the government has an ulterior motive for the training exercises, including 26% who are Not At All Concerned.

Among voters who oppose military exercises in their state, 82% are concerned that the federal government has greater control in mind. Just 34% of those who favor the exercises share that concern. (Read more from “Voters Worry Military Exercises May Lead to Federal Control of States” HERE)

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Senate Democrats to the Rescue, Foil Obama on Asia Trade Deal; TPA Defeated

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Photo Credit: NY Times

Photo Credit: NY Times

Senate Democrats, in a rebuke of President Obama, on Tuesday blocked consideration of giving him power to accelerate a broad trade accord with Asia.

After more than six years battling Republicans on everything from his signature health care legislation to simply keeping the government open, Mr. Obama is at odds with his own party as he seeks a legislative capstone to his presidency. In some respects, that reflects the complicated politics of trade, which has always been harder for Democrats, their working-class constituents and backers in organized labor.

But Tuesday’s setback also highlighted a problem that has vexed Mr. Obama for most of his tenure in office: his difficulties with Congress. This time he is criticizing Democrats whose votes he now needs.

The president “has made this more personal than he needed to,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, after the 52-45 vote. Only one Democrat, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, joined Republicans to support considering legislation that would give Mr. Obama authority to pursue the most sweeping trade accord since the North American Free Trade Agreement more than 20 years ago, and the procedural vote fell eight short of the 60 needed.

“Ultimately, it’s up to the president,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican. “Does the president of the United States have enough clout with members of his own political party?” (Read more from “Senate Democrats Foil Obama on Asia Trade Deal” HERE)

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America is a Food Stamp Nation

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handout050815The gospel according to Wall Street, the White House and propaganda media is that the U.S. economy is recovering just fine.

Last week, happy-faced talking heads told us that unemployment was down to 5.4 percent — the lowest rate since May 2008 — even while the number of Americans not in the labor force climbed [by one estimate] to a record 93,194,000. The Labor Force Participation Rate (the percent of people 16 years old and older eligible to work) stands at 62.8 percent. Still, government men dutifully claim all is well, that the stock market is bullish. Now the Fed is talking about raising interest rates.

Yet as of January 2015, the number of Americans receiving food stamps, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, had topped 46 million for 41 straight months, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Every month now for more than three years, going back to September 2011, 14.5 percent of the American population received food stamps.

In the Great Depression, long bread lines of hungry people waiting hours to get a meager bite to eat were visible reminders to everyone of the country’s economic pain. This went on while, thanks to FDR’s Agriculture Adjustment Act; farmers were paid to slaughter livestock, burn crops and leave their land fallow in order to prop up farm prices.

Today’s digital bread lines are invisible and easy to ignore. Food stamps are today’s soup kitchens. Most Americans are totally unaware of their magnitude. But they are real. (Read more from “America Is a Food Stamp Nation” HERE)

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Almost Half of US States Are Officially Broke

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download (16)Last month, we documented the case of Louisiana State University, the large, well-known public institution whose 2014 enrollment totaled nearly 31,000 students. LSU, it turns out, is facing funding cuts of as much as 82% which, if realized, would likely force the school into financial exigency, the college equivalent of bankruptcy. The reason for the cuts: the sharp decline in oil prices and fiscal mismanagement have conspired to blow a $1.6 billion hole in the state’s budget.

Bloomberg has more:

With tax revenue from the oil industry falling short of projections, the deficit has swelled to $1.6 billion for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s say they may lower Louisiana’s credit rating if officials don’t come up with sustainable budget solutions . . .

The real problem however is that large budget shortfalls aren’t confined to Louisiana. In fact, a new study from AP shows that big gaps are becoming more the rule than the exception across the US.

Via AP:

An Associated Press analysis of statehouse finances around the country shows that at least 22 states project shortfalls for the coming fiscal year. The deficits recall recession-era anxiety about plunging tax revenue and deep cuts to education, social services and other government-funded programs.

(Read more from “Almost Half of US States Are Officially Broke” HERE)

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White House Denies Obama’s Gulf Overtures Are Unraveling

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download (14)The White House on Monday raced to dispel the notion that President Barack Obama’s efforts to reassure anxious Persian Gulf nations about his overtures to Iran were unraveling ahead of a rare Camp David summit this week.

Officials insisted there was no weakening in ties between the U.S. and the Gulf, despite the fact that just two other heads of state will join Obama for Thursday’s meetings at the presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains. The rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman are skipping the summit and instead sending lower-ranking, yet highly influential representatives.

“We very much feel we have the right group around the table,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser.

The absence of Saudi Arabia’s newly crowned King Salman in particular has sparked questions about summit’s effectiveness. The Saudis are bitter rivals with Iran and among the most outspoken critics of Obama’s nuclear detente with Tehran.

Adding to the diplomatic intrigue: Saudi Arabia’s announcement Sunday that Salman would not travel to the U.S. came just two days after White House officials said Obama and the king would hold one-on-one talks in Washington ahead of the Camp David meeting. (Read more from “White House Denies Obama’s Gulf Overtures Are Unraveling” HERE)

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Franklin Graham Warns ISIS Sympathizers in United States: ‘Remember, in America, We Shoot Back’

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Franklin Graham, religious leader and son of Billy Graham in Washington, DC.By Leah Marieann Klett. Rev. Franklin Graham has responded to the FBI’s revelation that there are “hundreds, maybe thousands” of people across the country who are receiving recruitment overtures from the Islamic State to attack the U.S., emphasizing that the terror group must “remember that in America, we shoot back.”

On Thursday, FBI Director James Comey revealed that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is leveraging social media in unprecedented ways through Twitter and other social media platforms, sending messages to the smartphones of “disturbed people” who could potentially launch assaults on U.S. targets.

“It’s like the devil sitting on their shoulders, saying ‘kill, kill, kill,”’ Comey said in a meeting with reporters, ABC News reports.

He explained that ISIS recruiters operating from Syria are making contact with U.S. recruits, and then “steering” them into encrypted venues where their subsequent communications are “lost to us.”

“The haystack is the entire country,” Comey said. “We are looking for the needles, but increasingly the needles are unavailable to us. … This is the ‘going dark’ problem in living color. There are [ISIS sympathizers] out there that I have not found and I cannot see.” (Read more from “Franklin Graham Warns ISIS Sympathizers in United States: ‘Remember, in America, We Shoot Back'” HERE)

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Franklin Graham Facebook Post Warning ISIS that Americans “Shoot Back” Has Gone Viral

By News Editor. Franklin Graham posted this on his Facebook page on Friday:

The FBI warned yesterday that there could be hundreds or maybe even thousands of ISIS sympathizers in America, and they are being instructed to carry out deadly attacks on U.S. targets. FBI Director James Comey said, “It’s like the devil sitting on their shoulders, saying ‘kill, kill, kill’ all day long.” I pray this never happens. May God protect our country. I don’t advocate violence, but I do believe in self-defense. ISIS needs to remember that in America, we shoot back.

As of publishing of this article, Franklin Graham’s Facebook post has over 163,000 likes and almost 80,000 shares.

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Report: Obama Lied About Bin Laden Raid

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Photo Credit: The Hill

Photo Credit: The Hill

An expose published on Sunday alleges that President Obama deceived Americans with his narrative of the 2011 assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Author Seymour M. Hersh accuses Obama of rushing to take credit for the al Qaeda leader’s death.

This decision, Hersh argues in the London Review of Books, forced the military and intelligence communities to scramble and then corroborate the president’s version of events.

“High-level lying nonetheless remains the modus operandi of U.S. policy, along with secret prisons, drone attacks, Special Forces night raids, bypassing the chain of command, and cutting out those who might say no,” Hersh wrote of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism policies.

Hersh based his report on a single, anonymous source. This individual, he said, is a “retired senior intelligence official who was knowledgeable about the initial intelligence about bin Laden’s presence in Abottabad.” (Read more from “Report: Obama Lied About Bin Laden Raid” HERE)

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After State Attorney Charged Cops, Crime Surges in Baltimore [+video]

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Photo Credit: Town Hall

Photo Credit: Town Hall

Some conflict of interest issues have been raised against Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Some are arguing that her office overreached when she brought charges against the six police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, especially the driver of the van; he’s been charged with second-degree murder.

Gray died in custody after being arrested on April 12. He suffered a fatal spinal injury at some point during his 45-minute ride in a police van. The city descended into chaos, a state of emergency was called, and the National Guard rolled in to help local law enforcement restore order.

Well, ever since the charges have been brought forward, crime has been surging in Baltimore due to police being more “hesitant” in light of intense media and public scrutiny (via Baltimore Sun):

As the number of shootings and homicides has surged in Baltimore, some police officers say they feel hesitant on the job under intense public scrutiny and in the wake of criminal charges against six officers in the Freddie Gray case.

State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby’s decision last week to charge the officers has stoked strong opinions across the country — including praise from those who want accountability and derision from some legal experts.

But perhaps the most jarring effect has been on the Baltimore Police Department.

In 29 years, I’ve gone through some bad times, but I’ve never seen it this bad,” said Lt. Kenneth Butler, president of the Vanguard Justice Society, a group for black Baltimore police officers. Officers “feel as though the state’s attorney will hang them out to dry.”

Several officers said in interviews they are concerned crime could spike as officers are hesitant to do their jobs, and criminals sense opportunity. Butler, a shift commander in the Southern District, said his officers are expressing reluctance to go after crime.

“I’m hearing it from guys who were go-getters, who would go out here and get the guns and the bad guys and drugs. They’re hands-off now,” Butler said. “I’ve never seen so many dejected faces.

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The city has seen 40 shootings since April 28, the day after the city’s most intense day of rioting, including 10 on Thursday alone. There also have been 15 homicides in that span, bringing the year’s total to 82 — 20 more than at the same time last year.

(Read more from “After State Attorney Charged Cops, Crime Surges in Baltimore” HERE)

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Rand Paul “Mocked” for Comments on Military Exercise While Texas Governor Works to Calm Nerves

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download (13)By Jeremy Peters. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has been mocked by liberal pundits who accused him of fanning conspiracy theories about a military exercise along the Texas border, an event that some on the far right believe is a covert effort to impose martial law.

But in an interview this weekend, Mr. Paul said he had no idea what the training exercise — known as Jade Helm — was when he was first asked about it last month on an Iowa radio program.

“Someone on a radio program asked me what it was. I didn’t know,” Mr. Paul said after he christened a new work space for his presidential campaign in the Bay Area. He expressed befuddlement at how his comments about “that ridiculous Jade something” had been blown out of proportion.

“I said sure, I’ll ask my staff to look into it because I didn’t know what it was,” he said.

The comments that drew ridicule by people like Bill Maher, who accused Mr. Paul of pandering to the right-wing fringe, occurred on the Jan Mickelson program. Mr. Mickelson brought up the exercise, telling the senator, “I’d like to know what the rest of the story is on that.” (Read more from “Rand Paul Plays Down Comments on Military Exercise After Mockery” HERE)

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Greg Abbott Says He’s Working to Calm Some Texans Upset Over Jade Helm 15 Exercise

By NBC News. Governor Greg Abbott, R-TX, says he’s trying to bring calm to some Texans about a military exercise that will take place in Texas and six other states.

The eight-week exercise, known as Jade Helm 15, will begin July 15 and involves U.S. Specials Operations Forces such as Navy Seals and Green Berets. They will use public and private lands to train for overseas missions.

The prospect of armed federal troops in Texas has ignited a host of concerns and speculation about the military’s motives — ranging from the military’s intention to impose martial law to a government conspiracy to launch a hostile takeover of Texas to taking away people’s gun rights. (Read more from this story HERE)

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No Surprise: Obama Sent Three Officials to Criminal Freddie Gray’s Funeral, but Not One to NYPD Officer Brian Moore’s Funeral

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Photo Credit: Twitter

Photo Credit: Twitter

Obama sent three White House officials to criminal Freddie Gray’s funeral. How many should we expect for decorated Officer Moore’s, murdered by a criminal?

CNN reported:

The White House sent Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, chair of the Obama administration’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force; Heather Foster, an adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement; and Elias Alcantara from the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Gray also had a history of run-ins with the law. According to court documents CNN obtained, there were more than 20 criminal court cases in Maryland against Gray, and five of those cases were still active at the time of his death.

The Obama White House sent three officials to robber Michael Brown‘s funeral in Ferguson. But the White House did not send any officials to Officer Brian Moore’s funeral yesterday.

(Read more from “No Surprise: Obama Sent Three Officials to Criminal Freddie Gray’s Funeral, but Not One to NYPD Officer Brian Moore’s Funeral” HERE)

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