Sen. Cruz: Obama Wants Power to Choose Ministers at Churches

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Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released a report documenting attempted abuses of federal power by the Obama administration on Tuesday, saying the administration “knows virtually no bounds.”

Cruz points to Obama’s own Supreme Court appointees, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, to make his case:

“When President Obama’s own Supreme Court nominees join their colleagues in unanimously rejecting the Administration’s call for broader federal power six times in just over one year, the inescapable conclusion is that the Obama Administration’s view of federal power knows virtually no bounds,” the senator’s report said.

The Obama administration’s over-reaching includes attempts to electronically track Americans without cause and deny churches the right to choose their own ministers…

In one case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC, the Justice Department argued it “had the right to oversee a church’s choosing of ministers,” which even Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan called “amazing.”

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Suspicious Package Containing Explosive Material sent to Arizona Sheriff Arpaio

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Photo Credit: AP

Arizona authorities say a package addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio would have exploded if opened, leading to serious injuries or death. Maricopa County Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan made the comment Friday at a news conference in Phoenix.

The package intercepted in Flagstaff late Thursday was addressed to Arpaio at his downtown Phoenix office. It had been left in a parcel locker in a rural part of Coconino County.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesman Keith Moore said a courier brought it into the main Post Office in Flagstaff, and authorities used a water cannon to neutralize the package.

Arpaio, the self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America,” said this isn’t the first time he’s been threatened. Arpaio is known nationally for his strict treatment of jail inmates and cracking down on illegal immigration.

“Of course you worry. I’m a victim, I’m a witness. When you convict people, the victim has to be somewhat concerned. I’m a little concerned about my family,” Arpaio said at the news conference. “I didn’t ask for all these threats.”

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Cops: Anti-Gun Mayor Demanded Sex at Gunpoint

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Photo Credit: WND

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” organization was revealed last fall to include a long list of mayors who, because of their convictions, were no longer eligible to own weapons themselves.

Now another embarrassment has surfaced for the organization.

According to a report from the Second Amendment Foundation, Mayor James Schiliro, of Marcus Hook, Pa., now is facing a long list of charges for allegedly trying to force an underage boy to perform sex acts – and then firing one of three handguns he grabbed at a wall when the boy refused.

“Mayor Schiliro is one more example of why we started the ‘Gun Owners Against Illegal Mayors’ campaign,” said Alan Gottlieb, the organization’s executive director.

“He joins recently convicted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and recently indicted former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, both of whom were MAIG members.”

SAF launched its campaign last fall, and “the list keeps growing,” Gottlieb said.

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The Obamas' Falling Tax Rate

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Photo Credit: AP

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, paid the lowest effective tax rate since they moved into the White House by taking advantage of the most popular — and expensive — benefits in the tax code.

Tax returns released by the White House on Friday show that the Obamas paid an effective tax rate of 18.4 percent on more than $608,000 in adjusted gross income earned in 2012. Last year, their rate was 20.5 percent.

They were able to lower the amount of income on which they were taxed by more than $258,000 by claiming several big-ticket deductions.

The first family’s biggest deduction by far stems from the $150,034 in donations they made to 33 charities, including the Fisher House Foundation, a charity that helps the families of wounded veterans, and the Sidwell Friends School, where the president’s daughters attend school.

The Obamas’ return serves as an interesting test case for how some of the proposals outlined in the White House budget released this week would raise taxes on high earners. For instance, the budget calls on lawmakers to impose a 28 percent cap on deductions for taxpayers that fall into the top tax brackets.

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Gun Bill Championed by Democrats Limits Rights of Homosexual Gun Owners

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Gay couples living in states that do not recognize their marriage will now be unable to transfer firearm ownership to their partners without undergoing a background check, should federal gun legislation recently proposed by Democratic Sen. Harry Reid become law.

According to the “Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013,” which was introduced in the Senate this week, only couples in a government-sanctioned relationships will be allowed to privately transfer ownership of their firearms without first having to pass the federal background check.

“It shall be unlawful for any person who is not licensed under this chapter to transfer a firearm to any other person who is not licensed under this chapter, unless a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession of the firearm,” the bill reads.

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GOP Establishment Keeps RNC Rules Rammed Through by Romney Campaign Last Year

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In the GOP’s ongoing establishment vs. grassroots saga, chalk one up for the establishment.

Since Mitt Romney’s loss, the Rand Paul wing of the party has been on the ascendency. But libertarians hit a roadblock Friday as the Republican National Committee opted at its spring meeting to keep in place a host of rules rammed through by the Romney campaign at last year’s national convention.

The move represents at least a small setback to Rand Paul’s 2016 hopes, potentially making it more difficult for him or another candidate with strong grassroots support to pick up delegates. Had the rules been in effect last year — they were adopted after Mitt Romney secured the nomination — the former Massachusetts governor would likely have wrapped up the nomination much earlier and avoided the drawn-out warfare that weakened him heading into the general election against Barack Obama.

One plank that was maintained, for example, allows more states to award delegates on a winner-take-all basis, instead of proportionally. An attempt to overturn another rule that bounds a state delegation to support whoever won a statewide vote received only 49 votes; 107 committee members voted to keep it in place.

The vote followed a heated debate. Paul backers argued that the Romney rules favor big-money candidates at the expense of contenders with devoted followings among activists.

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Students Asked to 'Argue that Jews are Evil' and Prove Nazi Loyalty in Assignment Linked to Common Core

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Photo Credit: The Blaze

Students in some Albany High School English classes were asked to participate in the unthinkable this week as part of a persuasive writing assignment. The objective? Prove why Jews are evil and convince the teacher of their loyalty to the Third Reich in five paragraphs or less.

“You must argue that Jews are evil, and use solid rationale from government propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Third Reich!” read the description on the assignment, which the school superintendent said reflects the kind of sophisticated writing expected of students under the new Common Core standards and was meant to hone students’ persuasive argument abilities.

The TimesUnion reports that students were asked to digest Nazi propaganda material, then imagine that their teacher was an SS officer who needed to be persuaded of their loyalty by arguing that Jews are the root of all the world’s ills.

“I would apologize to our families,” Albany Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard said. “I don’t believe there was malice or intent to cause any insensitivities to our families of Jewish faith.”

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Arrogant Illegal Alien Mocks Border Patrol Agent: ‘Obama’s Gonna Let Me Go!’

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Photo Credit: Stand With Arizona

As you have read here before, illegal aliens are streaming into Texas like no time since 1986 – trying to get in on the Obama-Schumer-McCain-Rubio amnesty for 20 million (and counting) illegal aliens. And DHS’ own data of a massive increase in border crossings are making a mockery of claims that “the border is secure” by everyone from Obama to Napolitano to Schumer…

Ranchers in South Texas – already under siege by violent cartels – are bearing much of the brunt of the tens of thousands of new arrivals.

Linda Vickers, who owns a ranch in Brooks County, which is Ground Zero for the immigration debate, pins the blame directly on talk of ‘amnesty’ and a ‘path to citizenship’ for people who entered the U.S. illegally.

She recalls one man being arrested on her ranch not long ago:

The Border Patrol agent was loading one man up, and he told the officer in Spanish, “Obama’s gonna let me go.”

Border Patrol agents report that immigrants are crossing the border, and in some cases surrendering while asking, “Where do I go for my amnesty?”

When you have amnesty waving in the wind, you’re going to get an increase.

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Judge Denies American Airlines' CEO's $20M Severance – For Now

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A federal bankruptcy judge denied American Airlines’ plan to give its CEO a $20 million severance package, saying bankruptcy law prevents such rich “golden parachutes.”

But the airline says it will continue to push for CEO Tom Horton to get the payoff. And the judge left the door open to reconsider the request in future, or for the company to approve the windfall for Horton once its merger with US Airways (LCC, Fortune 500) is complete.

Horton is losing his CEO position when American and US Airways merge, which is expected to take place later this year. US Airways CEO Doug Parker, who pushed for the deal that Horton initially opposed, will get the corner office instead, although Horton will hold the position as non-executive chairman for a year.

Horton became CEO the day American parent AMR (AAMRQ, Fortune 500) filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, having served as president of the Dallas-based airline before then.

The $20 million payday, which would be half in cash and half in stock in the new merged airline, was opposed by the bankruptcy court trustee, who is appointed to protect the interests of creditors in the case.

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Remington Opts to Stay in New York and Expand Operations After Getting $80m Gov't Contract

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Photo Credit: Guns Save Lives

This story seems to have managed to stay in the local NY media until now.

According to a report from Albany Watch, Despite concerns from local officials and residents that the Remington Arms plant in the Mohawk Valley could close or move because of New York’s tough gun-control law, the company is actually looking to expand its existing plant, the Associated Press reported, citing local media reports.

Local lawmakers apparently talked to Remington about its $20 million expansion. The company has received $5.5 million in state incentives over the past five years.

NY Congressman Richard Hanna released the following statement on his website:

UTICA, N.Y. – U.S. Representative Richard Hanna today announced that Remington Arms has been awarded a nearly $80 million contract to produce more than 5,000 sniper rifles for the U.S. military. The work will be done in Ilion by Mohawk Valley employees.

The federal contract comes from the Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), a division of the U.S. Department of Defense. The contract will be awarded over the course of 10 years.

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