Arizona Judges Told They Must Perform Same-Sex Marriages If They Do Any Weddings, Regardless of Deeply Held Religious Beliefs

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Charisma News

Photo Credit: Charisma News

By Deborah Hamilton. A recent ruling in Arizona may have set a frightening precedent, as judges there were ordered to perform same-sex weddings if they do any weddings at all—regardless of whether doing so violates their faith.

According to a report last week by the Associated Press, a recently issued opinion by a state judiciary ethics advisory committee in Arizona says “turning away same-sex couples would violate a state judicial-conduct rule against bias or prejudice based on sexual orientation.”

Therefore, judges must perform same-sex weddings, even if their morals and beliefs contradict the practice. The opinion also said that “a judge’s religious or other personal beliefs don’t make a difference nor does it matter if the judge performs weddings at non-court locations.”(Read more from “Arizona Judges Told They Must Perform Same-Sex Marriages If They Do Any Weddings” HERE)


____________________________________________________________

Myths About Redefining Marriage

By Peter Sprigg. Advocates of redefining “marriage” to include same-sex couples use a number of arguments that can best be described as “myths.” The reality is often quite different. For example:

MYTH: A “one man and one woman” definition imposes a religious definition of marriage on civil society.

REALITY: The definition of marriage is rooted in nature itself. The sexual union of a man and a woman is what reproduces the human race. The durable commitment of that man and woman to one another is what provides children with a mother and father. This is important for people of any religion or of no religion.

MYTH: Children don’t actually need both a mother and a father.

REALITY: An overwhelming body of social science evidence demonstrates that children raised by their own mother and father, who are committed to one another in a lifelong marriage, are happier, healthier and more prosperous than children raised in any other household setting. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

US Air Force Conducts Minuteman III Missile Test Launch from Vandenberg

/2 Comments/in , /by

missle launchA team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle today at 3:36 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Every test launch verifies the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. The launch team, under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, included Airmen from the 90th Missile Wing at F. E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.

“A lot of work and preparation goes in to an operational test launch from the teams on both bases,” said Lt. Col Tytonia Moore, 90th MW, Task Force commander. “With these launches, we not only verify our processes and the ICBM weapon system, we provide a visual to the world that the Minuteman III is capable of striking pretty much anywhere with extreme precision.”

“The role we play here is vital to the testing and evaluation of the Minuteman III program,” said Col. Kelvin Townsend, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander. “We ensure the facilities and framework are in place to conduct operational test launches in a safe and secure manner with multiple team players contributing to the reliability of the test.” (Read more from “F. E. Warren Conducts Minuteman III Missile Test Launch from Vandenberg” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Man With Concealed Carry Saved Many Lives at Barber Shop

/2 Comments/in , /by

PoliceePolice say a man likely saved the lives of several people when he shot and killed a gunman inside a West Philadelphia barbershop.

A 40-year-old man was inside Falah Barber Shop Inc. on the 600 block of Preston Street shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday when police say he began fighting with another person inside.

“They were arguing,” said 16-year-old Yusaf Mack who was a customer inside the shop at the time. “They were taking it too far and one of the barbers said, ‘chill out.'”

The fight quickly escalated and the 40-year-old man took out his gun and opened fire on customers and barbers, police said . . .

As he was shooting, another man outside heard the gunfire, ran into the shop and took out his own gun, according to investigators. He then opened fire, striking the 40-year-old man once in the chest. (Read more from “Man With Concealed Carry Possibly Saved Many Lives at Barber Shop” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

In Clinton Emails on Benghazi, a Rare Glimpse at Her Concerns

/1 Comment/in , /by

Clinton AdressingIt was a grueling hearing. A month after the September 2012 attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, House Republicans grilled a top State Department official about security lapses at the outpost.

Later that day, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tapped out an email to a close adviser: “Did we survive the day?” she wrote.

“Survive, yes,” the adviser emailed back, adding that he would continue to gauge reaction the next morning.

The roughly 300 emails from Mrs. Clinton’s private account that were turned over last month to a House committee investigating the attack showed the secretary and her aides closely monitoring the fallout from the tragedy, which threatened to damage her image and reflect poorly on the State Department.

They provided no evidence that Mrs. Clinton, as the most incendiary Republican attacks have suggested, issued a “stand down” order to halt American forces responding to the violence in Benghazi, or took part in a broad cover-up of the administration’s response, according to senior American officials. (Read more from “In Clinton Emails on Benghazi, a Rare Glimpse at Her Concerns” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Several Military Service Members on Purported ISIS ‘Hit List’ Unfazed by Threat

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: ABC News

Photo Credit: ABC News

Several of the military service members whose personal information appears on a purported ISIS “hit list” said today they are unfazed by the online threat, as military officials continued the process of notifying individuals named on the list.

The personal information of 100 service members was posted on a website by a previously unknown group calling itself the “Islamic State Hacking Division” that urged “lone wolf” sympathizers to kill those named on the list . . .

“I wouldn’t say I’m scared,” said one of the service members. “It’s just part of this ‘new war’ against an enemy with a different, more developed capability than what we’ve faced in the past. We have to make the adjustments in order to continue to win the battles.”

A defense official told ABC News it does not appear that the information on the list was gained through a data breach. Instead, the official said it all appears to have come from publicly available information on social media and Internet sites.

Some of the service members acknowledged that information on the Internet can make such a threat possible. (Read more from “Several Military Service Members on Purported ISIS ‘Hit List’ Unfazed by Threat” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Why Worry About UN Troops on US Soil When We’re Already Giving Local Law Enforcement Over to Foreign Mercenaries? [+video]

/2 Comments/in , /by

police immigrantsBy David Codrea. “Police departments hiring immigrants as officers,” USA Today reported Sunday. “[S]ome [departments] are allowing immigrants who are legally in the country to wear the badge. From Hawaii to Vermont, agencies are allowing green-card holders and legal immigrants with work permits to join their ranks.”

To paraphrase Bill Clinton, that depends on what the meaning of the term “legal” is.

“Some, like the Chicago and Hawaii police departments, allow any immigrant with a work authorization from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become an officer,” the story explains. “That means people in the country on temporary visas or are applying for green cards can join.”

While some apologist for the policy, like Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which advocates for “a pathway to citizenship for those who are here illegally,” dismiss security concerns as a “straw man” argument, Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, warns that standards for ensuring that are far from assured. And while he is unconcerned “with green-card holders … because they’ve made a long-term commitment to the country and have undergone extensive background checks … he worries about the security risks associated with allowing any immigrant with a work permit to become an officer, especially considering that the Obama administration has given hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants work permits.”

It’s more than that, which Krikorian’s own organization has documented. A lot more, if a CIS study published in February is accurate. (Read more from “Why Worry About UN Troops on US Soil When We’re Already Giving Law Enforcement Over to Foreign Mercenaries?” HERE)

________________________________________________________________

Police Departments Hiring Immigrants as Officers

By Alan Gomez. Law enforcement agencies struggling to fill their ranks or connect with their increasingly diverse populations are turning to immigrants to fill the gap.


Most agencies in the country require officers or deputies to be U.S. citizens, but some are allowing immigrants who are legally in the country to wear the badge. From Hawaii to Vermont, agencies are allowing green-card holders and legal immigrants with work permits to join their ranks.

At a time when 25,000 non-U.S. citizens are serving in the U.S. military, some feel it’s time for more police and sheriff departments to do the same. That’s why the Nashville Police Department is joining other departments to push the state legislature to change a law that bars non-citizens from becoming law enforcement officers.

Department spokesman Don Aaron said they want immigrants who have been honorably discharged from the military to be eligible for service. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Ted Cruz: I’m Running for President [+video]

/3 Comments/in , /by

TCCBy Hunter Walker. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) launched his presidential campaign shortly after midnight on Monday with a brief message and video he posted on Twitter.

“I’m running for President and I hope to earn your support!” Cruz wrote in his tweet.

[Hear what Sen. Ted Cruz’s father has to say about his son’s run in this exclusive interview:]

Cruz has long been expected to throw his hat into the presidential race. His announcement made him the first major candidate to officially begin a campaign.

Cruz’s 30-second video features shots of nature, people riding motorcycles through the desert, children playing baseball and reciting the pledge of allegiance, multiple American flags, and a church. It closes with a shot of Cruz waving. (Read more from “Ted Cruz: I’m Running for President” HERE)


________________________________________________________________

Ted Cruz Plans to Announce Official Presidential Bid Later Today

By Theodore Schleifer. Sen. Ted Cruz plans to announce [later today] that he will run for president of the United States, according to his senior advisers, accelerating his already rapid three-year rise from a tea party insurgent in Texas into a divisive political force in Washington.

Cruz, scheduled to speak Monday at a convocation ceremony at Liberty University in Virginia, will not form an exploratory committee but rather launch a presidential bid outright, said advisers with direct knowledge of his plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made yet. They say he is done exploring and is now ready to become the first Republican presidential candidate.


Over the course of the primary campaign, Cruz will aim to raise between $40 million and $50 million, according to advisers, and dominate with the same tea party voters who supported his underdog senate campaign in 2012. But the key to victory, Cruz advisers believe, is to be the second choice of enough voters in the party’s libertarian and social conservative wings to cobble together a coalition to defeat the chosen candidate of the Republican establishment.

The firebrand Texan may have few Senate colleagues who will back his White House bid, but his appeal to his party’s base who vote disproportionately in Republican primaries could make him competitive in Iowa and beyond.

Yet critics of Cruz argue that he will have trouble raising high-dollar donations from traditional contributors, will land few endorsements from the nation’s political establishment and be unable to escape comparisons to President Barack Obama, who also ran for president in his first Senate term. And if he advances to a general election, Cruz trails likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton solidly in early public opinion polls. (Read more from “Ted Cruz to Announce 2016 Presidential Bid on Monday” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

US Congressman Introduces Bill in Response to Military Oath Deleting “God”

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Opposing Views

Photo Credit: Opposing Views

U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson introduced a bill that would make it illegal for any branch of the military to change its oaths unless approved by Congress.

Johnson said he wrote the legislation in response to a 2013 decision made by U.S. Air Force Academy to make the phrase, “so help me God,” an optional part of its oath.

Before the change, the cadet honor oath was, “We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, so help me God.”

Since 1984, cadets must recite the code when they first join basic training. Cadets are required to take the oath once every year, said Air Force Academy spokesman Maj. Brus Vidal.

U.S. Air Force Academy leaders said they decided to make the phrase optional after receiving a complaint for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group that advocates for religious freedom within the U.S. military. (Read more from “US Congressman Introduces Bill in Response to a Change in a Military Oath” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Starbucks Ends ‘Race Together’ Coffee Cup Campaign, but Now Announces it will Open Shops in Slums

/8 Comments/in , /by

lady with cupStarbucks went from pulling the shots on its controversial “Race Together” campaign to pulling the plug on it after only a week.

Coffee mogul Howard Schultz announced the global corporation’s plan to take its baristas out of the race and diversity campaign that included writing “Race Together” on cups, a decision that was apparently part of its plan from the beginning, a memo stated.

Baristas will no longer be writing “Race Together” on cups starting Sunday.
The bold initiative involved slapping stickers on coffee cups, but it drew criticism for being opportunistic in the wake of Ferguson and even inappropriate for a barista to task such a conversation while making coffee.

“While there has been criticism of the initiative — and I know this hasn’t been easy for any of you — let me assure you that we didn’t expect universal praise,” CEO Schultz stated. “We leaned in because we believed that starting this dialogue is what matters most.”

The company has no intention of stopping its initiative, as it announced forums to come and the hiring of 10,000 employees from diverse backgrounds to man new coffee shops in disadvantaged urban communities. (Read more from “Starbucks Ends ‘Race Together’ Coffee Cup Campaign” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

‘Islamic State Hacking Division’ Posts Kill List With Purported Addresses of U.S. Military Members

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Twitter

Photo Credit: Twitter

Calling for their beheadings, a self-proclaimed arm of the Islamic State published a list of addresses purportedly belonging to approximately 100 members of the U.S. military late Friday night.

Identifying themselves as the “Islamic State Hacking Division,” the group claimed to have obtained the personal information of military personnel from compromised military servers, databases and emails.

“[W]e have decided to leak 100 addresses so that our brothers residing in America can deal with you,” the group warned.

Photo Credit: Screen Grab

Photo Credit: Screen Grab

“Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe,” the “Islamic State Hacking Division” added.

In the online document, names and photos accompanied addresses purporting to belong to the military personnel. An informal review of the information by TheBlaze appeared to show matches between some names, photos and listed addresses. (Read more from “‘Islamic State Hacking Division’ Posts Kill List With Purported Addresses of U.S. Military Members” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.