Mark Levin: States Should Call Convention to Propose Amending Constitution and Put Tax Day, Election Day Back to Back

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Photo Credit: CNS NewsMark Levin: States Should Call Convention to Propose Amending Constitution

Mark Levin, the nationally syndicated radio host who served as chief of staff in the Justice Department during the Reagan Administration, argues in his new book—The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic—that state legislatures should use the authority granted them in the Constitution to call a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution.

“It is the only way out,” Levin said in an interview on CNSNews.com’s Online With Terry Jeffrey. “The federal government, Congress, the Supreme Court, the president, the bureaucracy, they are not going to reform themselves, they are not going to limit their activities. Only we can–through our state representatives from the bottom up.”

Levin’s proposal is based on Article 5 of the Constitution, which says constitutional amendments may be proposed in two ways—either by two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress or by a convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Whichever way an amendment is proposed, however, it cannot become part of the Constitution unless it is ratified by three-quarters of the states.

“It’s time to turn to the Constitution, to save the Constitution, if you love the Constitution, before there is no Constitution,” Levin told CNSNews.com.

Levin says in The Liberty Amendments that he used to oppose the idea of the state legislatures convening a convention to propose constitutional amendments.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Mark Levin: Amend Constitution to Put Tax Day and Election Day Back to Back

In his new book—The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic—nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin, who served as chief of staff in the Reagan Justice Department, argues that the Constitution should be amended to put tax day and election day back to back.

“I would move tax day to the day before election day,” Levin said in an interview on CNSNews.com’s Online With Terry Jeffrey.

“I think this is very important, because if you’ll notice, election day and tax day are about as far apart as they can get, like seven months apart,” said Levin. “So we’re voting on the promises of politicians rather than the reality of what these politicians have done.”

“In my view,” said Levin, “particularly when it comes to incumbent politicians, those of us who still pay our federal income taxes, we pay our taxes, then the next day we go out and vote, and I think that is crucially important, so we are linking reality to the electoral process.”

Under current law, Americans must file their federal tax returns by April 15 and elections for federal offices are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

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‘Obama Run Down by a Bull’

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Photo Credit: APA clown wearing a President Barack Obama mask appeared at a Missouri State Fair rodeo this weekend and the announcer asked the enthusiastic spectators if they wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull.”

The antics led the state’s second highest-ranking official, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, to denounce the performance in a tweet Sunday. He said it was “disrespectful” to the president.

“We are better than this,” the Republican tweeted.

State Fair officials said the show was “inappropriate” and “does not reflect the opinions or standards” of the fair. “We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday’s rodeo badly missed that mark,” they said in a statement Sunday.

It wasn’t clear if any action will be taken against the performers.

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Detroit Doctor Charged in $35M Medicare Scam Gave Fake Cancer Diagnosis, Feds Say

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Photo Credit: FoxA Detroit-area doctor has been charged with bilking the government of tens of millions of dollars by deliberately misdiagnosing patients with cancer and illegally billing Medicare for the treatment.

Dr. Farid Fata will remain behind bars until at least Tuesday as a third federal judge considers whether or not to grant him bail. He was arrested last week on charges he ripped off Medicare for millions of dollars by giving chemotherapy to patients who didn’t need it and diagnosing cancer when the illness wasn’t apparent, MyFoxDetroit.com reported.

Fata owns Michigan Hematology Oncology, which has offices in Clarkston, Bloomfield Hills, Lapeer, Sterling Heights, Troy and Oak Park. The government says the clinics billed $35 million to Medicare over two years.

Fata earned about $24.3 million in drug infusion billings directly to Medicare, “more than any hematologist/oncologist in the state of Michigan during that time period,” FBI agent Brian Fairweather wrote in the criminal complaint.

The criminal complaint quotes co-workers and former employees as saying dozens of people passed through the office each day, although Fata spent less than five minutes with each patient and hired doctors who may not have been properly licensed to practice medicine.

Read more from this story HERE.

Air Force Base Hosts Drag Queens

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsMilitary personnel at the Los Angeles Air Force Base were treated to a Diversity Day musical performance featuring three individuals dressed in drag. The performance sparked outrage among some airmen who called the performance “totally offensive and inappropriate.”

The Diversity Day celebration featured a speech by Brigadier General Tammy Smith and included booths representing and honoring a number of ethnic heritages as well as an LGBT booth.

The airman said he was troubled when three individuals dressed in drag began performing on the air base.

Photographs of the event show an individual wearing a giant wig performing to a sparse crowd underneath the American flag. It’s unclear whether the individuals in high heels and form-fitting dresses are members of the Air Force.

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Reid Says Obamacare Just a Step Toward Eventual Single-Payer System

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In just about seven weeks, people will be able to start buying Obamacare-approved insurance plans through the new health care exchanges.

But already, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is predicting those plans, and the whole system of distributing them, will eventually be moot.

Reid said he thinks the country has to “work our way past” insurance-based health care during a Friday night appearance on Vegas PBS’ program “Nevada Week in Review.”

“What we’ve done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction, but we’re far from having something that’s going to work forever,” Reid said.

When then asked by panelist Steve Sebelius whether he meant ultimately the country would have to have a health care system that abandoned insurance as the means of accessing it, Reid said: “Yes, yes. Absolutely, yes.”

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Sudden Flood of Asylum Requests at U.S./Mexico Border

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At the Otay crossing near the San Diego border last Monday, about 200 people coming from Mexico gained entry to the United States all using the same key phrase; they claimed they had a ‘credible fear’ of drug cartels. According to KSAZ FoxPheonix:

So many were doing this that they had to close down the processing center and move the overflow by vans to another station.

“They are being told if they come across the border, when they come up to the border and they say certain words, they will be allowed into the country,” said a person who did not want to be identified on camera. “We are being overwhelmed.”

This apparent new shift in tactics to enter the United States comes at a time when the Associated Press is reporting a spike in the number of asylum requests in the past few years:

According draft testimony for USCIS Associate Director Joseph Langlois that was to be submitted for a congressional hearing on asylum requests last month, USCIS received more than 19,119 asylum requests through the end of May. The agency anticipates receiving more than 28,600 by the end of the fiscal year . . . during the 2009 budget year the agency received just 5,369 such requests.

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Apple, Google and AT&T Meet Obama to Discuss NSA Surveillance Concerns

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Photo Credit: APBarack Obama hosted a summit on government surveillance and digital privacy attended by Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Google vice-president Vint Cerf and the boss of US telecoms network AT&T on Thursday.

The US president attended in person, sources told the Politico blog, as did other technology company executives. Additional attendees included representatives of the Center for Democracy and Technology and Gigi Sohn, leader of internet campaign group Public Knowledge.

The meeting was apparently prompted by growing concerns among US technology companies that revelations from the Guardian and others about the extent and depth of surveillance by the National Security Agency, and the companies’ obligation to allow access to data under secret court rules, could be damaging their reputation and commercial interests abroad.

The gathering followed a closed-doors meeting earlier this week with Obama’s chief of staff Denis McDonough and general counsel Kathy Ruemmler at the White House.

On the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting were the surveillance activities of the NSA, commercial privacy issues and the online tracking of consumers.

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Critics Question IRS Initiative Targeting Small Businesses

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsSmall business owners across the country are receiving letters from the IRS questioning if they are reporting all of their cash income, in a new push by the agency some are saying could unnecessarily create fear in the small business community.

The Wall Street Journal reports the initiative is an attempt to respond to what the agency feels is a widespread failure by small businesses to report all their cash sales.

The agency says the letters are not the same as an audit, and it is simply seeking more tax information from the businesses. However, some lawmakers and business owners who received the letters say the initiative is alarming.

“There’s an emotional thing when you get a pretty ominous-looking letter from the IRS, [saying] you might have done some bad things,” small business owner Tom Reese tells the Wall Street Journal. “I really work hard with my accountant to make sure that I not only follow the law, but follow the letter of the law.”

One letter the IRS sent is headlined, “Notification of Possible Income Underreporting.” It notifies the business owner “your gross receipts may be underreported” and says they must complete a form “to explain why the portion of your gross receipts from non-card payments appears unusually low.”

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Sequester Jester: Obama Warns Disabled Veterans Their Benefits Could Be In Jeopardy

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Photo Credit: APPresident Obama took his case for ending the sequester to hundreds of disabled veterans Saturday, saying he protected their benefits from the “reckless” cuts to the federal budget but suggesting next year might be different.

“It’s hurting our military. I made it clear that your veteran’s benefits are exempt from this year’s sequester,” the president said to the applause of hundreds at the Disabled American Veterans’ convention in Orlando, Fla. “But I want to tell you going forward the best way to protect the VA care you have earned is to get rid of this sequester altogether.”

The president put the blame squarely on Congress, which returns in about four weeks to work on a new federal budget and increasing the federal debt limit.

“We’ve got these reckless, across-the-board budget cuts called the sequester that are hitting a lot of folks hard,” Obama said. “Congress needs to come together and agree on a responsible plan that reduces our deficit and keeps our promises to our veterans and keeps our promises to future generations.”

The cuts went into effect in March after Congress and the White House failed to agree on a more balanced plan to cut government spending.

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Wisconsin State Official Fired After Comparing Immigrants To Satan

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsA feisty online rant that compared undocumented immigrants to Satan cost a top Wisconsin state official his job after the virtual tirade went viral and caused an uproar among Latinos and state lawmakers.

Steven Krieser, assistant deputy secretary at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, went on a rage during a Facebook discussion over the controversial “Illegal Immigrant Hunting Permit” bumper stickers that were being sold in local gas stations.

“You may see Jesus when you look at them,” Krieser said in response to one comment comparing undocumented immigrants to Jesus. “I see Satan.”

Krieser went on to say that American citizens “have seen their ranches completely overrun with violent criminals who routinely raid their homes and trash their land as the stream of wretched criminals continues to flow unabated to the north, day after day, night after night.”

Following Krieser’s online escapade, it took Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker only two hours to hand the No. 3 official at the state’s DOT his exit papers.

Read more from this story HERE.