Nancy Pelosi Held Secret Fundraiser With Islamic Jihad Group

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Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi headlined a high-dollar fundraiser in May that was attended by U.S.-based Islamist groups and individuals linked by the U.S. government to the Hamas jihad group and to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The donors at the undisclosed May 16 event included Nihad Awad, the co-founder of the Council on American Islamic Relations, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Investigative Project on Terrorism.

The CAIR group was named an unindicted conspirator in a 2007 trial of a Hamas money-smuggling group.

A covertly-taken photograph provided by the IPT shows Pelosi standing near Awad at the fundraiser. Roughly 30 people attended the fundraiser, according to the IPT.

The cheapest tickets cost $5,000, and the most expensive were $30,800 per couple, according to the event invite from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which used the cash to fund Democratic candidates.

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Conflict-of-Interest Concerns Raised as Obama Races to Implement Health Reform

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photo credit: mlangsam2004 The Obama administration is relying heavily on outside contractors to implement a core component of healthcare reform as it races to set up a federal health insurance marketplace before 2014.

The fast-approaching deadline gives the administration little time to scrutinize private-sector partners for conflicts of interest.

The purchase of one of these contractors, Quality Software Services, Inc. (QSSI), by UnitedHealth Group, a major healthcare conglomerate, has sparked concerns about a potentially uneven playing field.

QSSI, a Maryland-based contractor, in January won a large contract to build a federal data services hub to help run the complex federal health insurance exchange. It will be working with several other contractors, including CGI Federal, Inc., to create the technological architecture for the exchange.

The quiet nature of the transaction, which was not disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has fueled suspicion among industry insiders that UnitedHealth Group may be gaining an advantage for its subsidiary, UnitedHealthcare.

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Soldier Pays $90 to Vote Absentee

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What’s the value of being able to vote? For one junior Army officer, it was worth almost $100.

After 2nd Lt. Benjamin Nygaard had a few conversations with military colleagues about the challenges of getting an overseas absentee ballot in on time, he decided he wasn’t taking any chances.

A tank platoon leader stationed near South Korea’s demilitarized zone at Camp Casey, Nygaard has always been a politically active citizen, said his father, Dan Nygaard of Fort Collins, Colo.

“Via discussions with Army (non-commissioned officers), my son…developed so little faith in the military balloting system that he asked us to FedEx his mail-in ballot to him,” Nygaard said.

While officials with Colorado’s Secretary of State told Human Events they haven’t had complaints about a new state system that delivers military absentee ballots electronically and allows troops to mail them back, the return journey isn’t foolproof.

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Red Cross Runs Campaign-Like Ad Featuring Obama (+video)

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photo credit: rclaburnOn Friday night, swing-voters across the nation saw a one-minute advertisement paid for by the Red Cross featuring President Barack Obama.

The ad comes on the weekend before the election, and while the Red Cross does unquestionable good for millions of Americans, the choice to run this ad comes noticeably close to a campaign endorsement for President Obama.

The ad sounds harmless, but giving the President free, positive airtime this close to the election can and will affect this race—especially when the President snuck in some campaign language.

Here’s the transcript from the ad:

When a natural disaster strikes, it can leave tens of thousands of families in need of help, and it can also bring out the best in the American people. In this country, we look out for one another. We have each other’s backs, because despite our differences, we are Americans first—and that’s what Americans do. These efforts are often led by the American Red Cross and other members of the national voluntary organizations active in disasters. These groups are on the ground at the very beginning of a crisis until long after the TV cameras are gone, providing food, shelter, and other services to those in need. They do incredible work, and they can’t do it alone. They need your support. We can’t always predict when the next natural disaster will happen, but if we do our part, each of us, then together we can make a difference. Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Wrong Again: Unemployment Now Even Higher Than What He Predicted Without $800 Billion Stimulus

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Remember those halcyon days early in 2009 when some people believed all things seemed possible with the Messiah to lead the United States?

Remember when the White House, via their economists Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, sold the $800 billion stimulus by saying that if it were passed, the unemployment rate would be 5.2% in October 2012?

Now those days are gone. The October 2012 unemployment rate was 7.9%, up from 7.8% in September, and the same number as when Barack Obama took office. Romer and Bernstein’s projection even had unemployment under 6% by now — without the stimulus.

23 million people out of work. 8% or higher unemployment for 42 months – 3 ½ years.

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Court OKs Warrantless Use of Hidden Surveillance Cameras on Private Property

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photo credit: fonstokPolice are allowed in some circumstances to install hidden surveillance cameras on private property without obtaining a search warrant, a federal judge said yesterday.

CNET has learned that U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled that it was reasonable for Drug Enforcement Administration agents to enter rural property without permission — and without a warrant — to install multiple “covert digital surveillance cameras” in hopes of uncovering evidence that 30 to 40 marijuana plants were being grown.

This is the latest case to highlight how advances in technology are causing the legal system to rethink how Americans’ privacy rights are protected by law. In January, the Supreme Court rejected warrantless GPS tracking after previously rejecting warrantless thermal imaging, but it has not yet ruled on warrantless cell phone tracking or warrantless use of surveillance cameras placed on private property without permission.

Yesterday Griesbach adopted a recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan dated October 9. That recommendation said that the DEA’s warrantless surveillance did not violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and requires that warrants describe the place that’s being searched.

“The Supreme Court has upheld the use of technology as a substitute for ordinary police surveillance,” Callahan wrote.

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Northeast: Temperatures Plunging, Gasoline Dwindling, 100 Dead

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Temperatures plummeted and tension soared in the Northeast as gasoline supplies continued to dwindle despite furious efforts to bring in fuel. Sandy’s death toll reached 100, and New York called off its famous marathon, despite the mayor’s protestations that it should have taken place as scheduled, as a symbol of resolve.

Government officials moved aggressively to combat the fuel shortage, a crucial hurdle to recovery and a threat to commuters, generators, trash trucks, taxis and rescue workers alike.

President Obama on Friday ordered the Energy Department to loan diesel oil from government reserves in Connecticut to emergency responders. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano took the rare step of waiving 92-year-old rules for the delivery of petroleum products to Northeast ports, expediting shipments from the Gulf of Mexico.

In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo waived tax and registration requirements on fuel distribution — and insisted that there was “no reason to panic.”

It was evident that millions did not agree.

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Obama’s Medal of Freedom Awardee: “All White People Are Going to Hell”

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A civil rights icon who gave the benediction at President Obama’s inauguration said that he believed ‘all white people were going to hell’.

The Reverend Joseph Lowery, 91, was speaking at a rally in Georgia.

According to an account in the Monroe County Reporter: ‘Lowery said that when he was a young militant, he used to say all white folks were going to hell.

‘Then he mellowed and just said most of them were. Now, he said, he is back to where he was.’

He was also quoted as telling an audience at the St James Baptist Church in Forsyth, Georgia: ‘I don’t know what kind of a n***er wouldn’t vote with a black man running he also told according to the paper.

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Obama Admin Ignores Law, Deadline to Disclose Second-Term Regulation Plans

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For the second time this year, the White House failed to follow federal law requiring a report outlining the economic impact of its regulatory plans for the next four years.

Every administration is legally required to publish a report each April and October in the Federal Register to inform Congress and the public of the administration’s regulatory agenda and its potential economic impact. The requirement is part of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980.

Other administrations have been late, but have never failed to issue the legally required report and Pres. Clinton even issued an Executive Order on compliance.

After the administration failed to produce its April 2012 report, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) wrote to Pres. Obama asking for compliance with the October deadline – to no avail. . .

The last time the Obama administration complied with this law was when it published its fall 2011 report (due in October).

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Senate Candidate Murphy Endorsed By Communist Party

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Joelle Fishman, who chairs the Connecticut chapter of Communist Party USA, has endorsed Democrat Chris Murphy for the U.S. Senate.

Writing in People’s World, Fishman praised Murphy’s votes in favor of ObamaCare, Planned Parenthood funding, and pro-union issues. Referring to Murphy’s opponent, moderate Linda McMahon, as a “tea party extremist,” Fishman accused McMahon of investing “$77 million of her own money to buy this Senate seat.” She praised Murphy for his stance on higher taxes for the rich.

Apparently threatened by an ad in which McMahon encourages Obama supporters to consider voting for both Obama for president and herself for U.S. Senate, Fishman said, “McMahon’s attempt to con African American and Latino voters who support Obama is a chilling expression of her attitude toward all working people.”

Read more from this story HERE.