Cruz Announces Early Opposition to Obama’s Blame-America-First UN Nominee; McCain Announces Support for Obama Pick

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President Obama’s nominee to replace Susan Rice as the next U.N. ambassador is running into early opposition from conservative Jewish groups and at least one Republican senator, as she prepares for what could be a tough confirmation.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, shortly after Obama nominated Samantha Power, called the selection “deeply troubling.”

Never shy about his views, Cruz bluntly questioned a series of statements Power has made, including a 2003 essay in which she called for the U.S. to institute a “doctrine of the mea culpa” to enhance credibility.

“No nation has spilled more blood or sacrificed more for the freedom of others than ours, and yet Ms. Power has publicly embraces the need for America to continue apologizing to the world for perceived transgressions, going so far as to explicitly urge ‘instituting a doctrine of the mea culpa’,” Cruz said in a written statement.

It’s unclear whether other conservatives will join Cruz or mount a sizeable opposition. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., already has said he would support Power, while other influential lawmakers have not yet offered an opinion on her credentials.

Read more from this story HERE.

Massachusetts Governor Got Drunk, Left Bar Without Paying Tab After Boston Bombing

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Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham

It was a very drunk governor Deval Patrick who sat in a restaurant in the Berkshires for some alone time in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings and ended up drinking heavily, the Boston Herald reported on June 6 after the governor gave a candid talk to employees and revealed that he had become drunk.

At the time, the drunk governor didn’t even have the money to pay for his food or drinks at the West Stockbridge bistro called Rouge. Still drunk, Gov. Patrick left Rouge without paying his bill that night, but he did return at some point later and pay up, said Rouge co-owner Maggie Merelle, who served him.

Merelle, in fact, said that the drunk governor was so well-behaved that she didn’t even realize that he’d had a few too many. The drunk governor wasn’t even tipsy, she said.

But Gov. Patrick has owned up to his heavy drinking that night. “By the end of the meal, I was actually quite drunk, by myself,” he conceded to his employees.

Read more from this story HERE.

IRS Official Who Played ‘Spock’ in Video Apologizes Under Issa Grilling

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The Internal Revenue Service executive who portrayed Spock in the agency’s “Star Trek” video parody apologized to lawmakers for inappropriate spending on a $4.1 million conference from 2010.

The videos, “at the time they were made, were an attempt in a well-intentioned way to use humor,” said Faris Fink, moments after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee showed excerpts from the video. “It’s embarrassing and I apologize.”

Fink is commissioner of the agency’s small business and self-employed division, which has 24,000 employees across the country and organized the conference.

The IRS spending on conferences was “at best, maliciously self-indulgent,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, the committee chairman.

Issa, a California Republican, said he was less concerned about the total IRS spending on conferences — $49 million from 2010 to 2012 — than about perks such as discounted presidential suites and hotel rooms for local employees at the expense of other employees who could have gotten better training.

Read more from this story HERE.

Outrage Over NSA’s Theft of Millions of Verizon Customers’ Records; but What About the Agency’s Recording of All Cell Calls?

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Photo Credit: Matt Rourke/AP

As Restoring Liberty reported last month, a retired FBI counter-terrorism agent let it slip during a CNN interview regarding the Boston Marathon Bombing that the U.S. government is recording all cell phone conversations.

Previously, NSA whistle-blower William Binney, a 32-year veteran of the agency, claimed in an interview with the New York Times that the federal government was engaged in near-universal surveillance of digital communications, not just in the United States but internationally. He claims that he helped develop the technology to accomplish this.

With that as the backdrop, it was disclosed yesterday that the NSA secured an Order from a top secret U.S. Foreign Intelligence Court out of Washington, D.C. to gather up the records – on an ongoing, daily basis – of all telephone calls such as the length of the call, phone numbers, time of the call, and geographic location of the call.

Why would the Feds need this when they’re already recording all cell communications? Mr. Binney would have to answer that question but perhaps the government is only able to intercept the data packets for voice communications and is unable to match those to specific phone numbers without the additional information supplied by the carriers.

In any event, this outrageous Fourth Amendment violation is yet another reason that many are suggesting the country has entered into an era of “soft tyranny.”

Here’s more on the NSA’s Verizon snooping from the British outlet that first broke the story:

The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America’s largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April.

The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an “ongoing, daily basis” to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries.

The document shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing.

The secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Fisa) granted the order to the FBI on April 25, giving the government unlimited authority to obtain the data for a specified three-month period ending on July 19.

Under the terms of the blanket order, the numbers of both parties on a call are handed over, as is location data, call duration, unique identifiers, and the time and duration of all calls. The contents of the conversation itself are not covered

Army Punishes Soldier Who Served Chick-fil-A

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Photo Credit: Generic Brand Productions

An Army master sergeant was punished after he hosted a promotion party and served Chick-fil-A sandwiches in honor of the Defense of Marriage Act.

The unidentified soldier was investigated, reprimanded, threatened with judicial action and given a bad efficiency report, according to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.

“They say he is no longer a team player and was not performing up to standards,” Chaplain Alliance Executive Director Ron Crews told Fox News. “This is just one little example of a case of a soldier just wanting to express his views and now he’s been jumped on by the military.”

The soldier’s story was included in a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights documenting concerns about attacks on religious liberty within the Armed Services.

The Pentagon did not return calls seeking comment. Read more from this story HERE.

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Congressman: Troops Being Punished For Expressing Religious Faith

The House Armed Services Committee is considering a religious liberty amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act Wednesday over fears the military is punishing soldiers for expressing their religious faith.

“The men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms should not have their own religious freedom jeopardized during their military service,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-LA), who authored the amendment.

Fleming said steps taken in last year’s NDAA only focused on protecting beliefs of service members – and not the exercise or expression of those beliefs.

“My amendment is necessary to ensure that men and women of faith will not be discriminated against in the Armed Forces, and will be free to exercise their religious beliefs,” he said. “Military service members, particularly chaplains, feel like their ability to execute their duties are being greatly limited by some of the policies and actions in the Pentagon.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions about the congressman’s amendment. Read more from this story HERE.

Rush: Obama is the Epitome of Danger, His Appointments a big “F-You” to America

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Rush: Obama Appointments a Big ‘F-You’

BY Joe Kovacs. Radio powerhouse Rush Limbaugh says President Obama is basically telling Americans “F. You” with his two latest appointments in his administration.

Reports indicate Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will become a national security adviser, and her replacement at the U.N. will be Samantha Power, a foreign-policy expert who is married to Obama’s former regulatory “czar” Cass Sunstein.

“I’m gonna tell you what these two appointments are. They are ‘F. You,’ and he’s saying that to us,” Limbaugh said Wednesday on his national broadcast.

Limbaugh called the situation a “Star Wars scene going on right now at the White House.”

“I have no respect for these people at all. None,” he said. “I respect the offices they hold, but to me, these people are just the epitome of danger.” Read more from this story HERE.

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Obama’s UN ambassador pick has history of controversial comments

By Fox News. The former White House adviser and longtime Obama friend nominated Wednesday as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has a history of controversial comments that could haunt her in confirmation — including likening U.S. foreign policies to those of the Nazis.

In a March 2003 New Republic magazine essay, Samantha Power wrote that American foreign policy needs a “historical reckoning” which would entail “opening the files” and “acknowledging the force of a mantra we have spent the last decade promoting in Guatemala, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.”

She continued: “Instituting a doctrine of the mea culpa would enhance our credibility by showing that American decision-makers do not endorse the sins of their predecessors. When (German Chancellor Willy) Brandt went down on one knee in the Warsaw ghetto, his gesture was gratifying to World War II survivors, but it was also ennobling and cathartic for Germany. Would such an approach be futile for the United States?”

Republicans in the Senate, which must approve Power for the diplomatic post, could press her during her confirmation hearing on a number of other topics, including comments she’s made on Libya and Israel. If confirmed, Power would take over for Susan Rice, whom Obama appointed as his new national security adviser. Rice, unlike Power, will not face a confirmation hearing.

Power, aside from being a well-known foreign policy expert, is also married to Obama’s former regulatory “czar” Cass Sunstein. Read more from this story HERE.

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Obama ‘thrilled’ Rice ‘back at my side’ as national security adviser

By Justin Sink. President Obama on Wednesday appointed U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to replace Tom Donilon as White House national security adviser in a ceremony at the Rose Garden.

“I am absolutely thrilled she’ll be back at my side, leading my national security team in my second term,” Obama said.
The president praised her tenure at the United Nations, saying he was “extraordinarily proud” of her work.

Samantha Power, the former special assistant to the president and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights, will be nominated to replace Rice at the U.N.

The selection of Rice comes despite heavy criticism over her comments following the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, when she suggested in a series of television appearances that the violence had grown spontaneously out of protests over an anti-Islam video.

The White House later acknowledged that the incident was a planned terror attack and said Rice’s comments were based on early intelligence assessments. Republicans, though, questioned whether administration officials sought to downplay terrorism ahead of the November 2012 elections. Read more from this story HERE.

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Meet Upcoming U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power: 10 Reasons Why She’s the Most Dangerous Woman in the World

By Ann-Marie Murrell.

1. She hates Israel, passionately. (For sources and links, simply Google or Bing-search her name…)

2. She is soon to be our next U.N. Ambassador

3. She is the wife of Cass Sunstein, Obama’s favorite regulatory czar

4. She used to work George Soros’ ‘think tank’ ICG (International Crisis Group)

5. She was re-hired in 2009 as Obama’s Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council. Read more from this story HERE.

Armey: Christie Guilty of ‘Debilitating Stupidity’

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Photo Credit: Newsmax

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey says New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is guilty of “debilitating stupidity” in calling for a special election to replace late Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

“This is what really rankles conservatives,” Armey told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “There’s not a Democrat governor alive that wouldn’t have seized the opportunity to appoint a Democrat senator.

“All Christie had to do is appoint a Republican. Now I put it down as debilitating stupidity, because the first rule of politics is don’t lose the friends you already have for the friends you’re never going to get.”

Republicans and Democrats alike are slamming Christie for scheduling a special election in October just three weeks before the regularly scheduled general election, in which Christie will stand for re-election.

Many Republicans had hoped that Christie would have chosen to appoint a Republican to the seat and postpone an election until November 2014, and not risk losing the seat to Democrats in a state where they outnumber Republicans by 700,000 registered voters, The New York Times reported

Read more from this story HERE.

IRS Lied to Senator Coburn About Costs of Extravagant Conferences

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The Internal Revenue Service, which is already in hot water for concealing its abuse of conservative nonprofits from Congress, may also have lowballed a U.S. senator who asked last year how much of the taxpayers’ money it was spending on lavish parties for staffers.

According to a report issued Friday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), IRS officials spent more than $49 million on more than 200 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012.

But last year, when Republican Sen. Tom Coburn asked then-Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner how much IRS had spent on conferences during that exact period, Treasury replied that the federal tax collector had spent only $500,000 on just five conferences.

That’s a fraction of what the IRS spent on just one $4.1 million conference in Anaheim, California, during which attendees were treated to a $17,000 keynote speaker who performance-painted portraits of celebrities. According to the TIGTA report, IRS festivities also included parody videos of “Star Trek” and an employee dance routine. Faris Fink, the commissioner of Small Business and Self-Employed division, who portrayed Spock in the “Star Trek” parody, reportedly stayed at the two-bedroom presidential suite at the Anaheim Hilton.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama’s CIA Director Leon Panetta Leaked Top Secret Info to bin Laden Filmmakers

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Photo Credit: Cliff Owen

The CIA’s inspector general has concluded that agency officials did not always follow rules for safeguarding sensitive information when they briefed Hollywood producers making a movie about the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a lawmaker who was briefed on the watchdog’s findings.

In addition, the Pentagon’s inspector general has been accused of delaying a report that says then-CIA Director Leon E. Panetta disclosed top-secret information to the filmmakers at a June 2011 awards ceremony for the bin Laden raid’s participants.

News of the Obama administration’s security breaches comes as the Justice Department is defending its use of its subpoena power to monitor the telephone records of editors and reporters at The Associated Press and the personal emails of James Rosen, the chief Washington correspondent for Fox News, during an investigation of administration leaks.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is holding a court-martial for an Army private who leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks more than three years ago.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Hidden Jobless Disaster

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The market tanked Wednesday on bad preliminary job news. And so, when Friday’s jobs report is released, the unemployment rate and the number of new jobs will come in for close scrutiny. Then again, they always attract the most attention. Even the Federal Reserve focuses on the unemployment rate, announcing on a number of occasions that a rate of 6.5% will indicate when it is time to start raising interest rates and winding down the Fed’s easy-money policies.

Yet the unemployment rate is not the best guide to the strength of the labor market, particularly during this recession and recovery. Instead, the Fed and the rest of us should be watching the employment rate. There are two reasons.

First, the better measure of a strong labor market is the proportion of the population that is working, not the proportion that isn’t. In 2006, 63.4% of the working-age population was employed. That percentage declined to a low of 58.2% in July 2011 and now stands at 58.6%. By this measure, the labor market’s health has barely changed over the past three years.

Photo Credit: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Read more from this story HERE.