Following the nation’s worst mass shooting incident and its worst terrorist attack since 9/11, President Obama has yet to contact Florida Gov. Rick Scott over the tragedy and coordinate on matters of security.
Instead, the administration opted to contact Scott via a White House staffer, which seems to be a break from traditional White House protocol in the wake of state disasters.
Gov. Scott confirmed this in a Fox News interview with Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday, followed by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who expressed her frustration.
“This isn’t about politics right now. This is about Americans,” said Bondi. “I believe he should have reached out to the governor of the state of Florida, and he hasn’t.”
Asked whether she was disappointed in Obama’s decision not to contact state officials, Bondi replied, “Of course we are.”
Both Bondi and Scott have endorsed Donald Trump for president, which may, in part, explain why the president has opted not to reach out.
Whatever the reason, the governor said he was “fed up” with the administration’s attitude, citing federal failure to share intelligence information, specifically as it pertains to terrorism suspects.
“I’m responsible for the security of the people in my state,” said Scott. “I’m fed up with the fact that we’re not destroying ISIS, we’re not vetting these people, and we’re not taking care of our own citizens.”
“What about our security, right?” asked Scott.
Picking up the slack, former president George W. Bush decided to contact Scott directly over the tragedy and offer his condolences.
“He said he and Laura are praying for us and anything he could do, he would love to be helpful,” Scott said.
Trump also reached out to Scott asking how he was doing and offering the governor his prayers. (For more from the author of “Obama yet to Contact Florida Governor in Wake of Orlando Terrorist Attack” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/maxresdefault-139.jpg10801920Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-15 21:38:102016-06-15 21:38:10Obama yet to Contact Florida Governor in Wake of Orlando Terrorist Attack
Congress. Obama. The State Legislatures. The judges.
All of them.
I have written many times about the revolving door problem in our prisons. There’s a basic principle in our justice system that once you serve your time you’ve paid your debt to society. This is how it should be, and it should apply across the board. Yes, that means that when you get out and probation is done, it’s done.
No more firearms restrictions, no more anything.
Why?
Because it focuses the mind, that’s why. Specifically, it focuses the mind of judges and parole boards on whether or not the person convicted remains a risk to society.
If you can’t keep playing post-hoc games then you must evaluate the risk up front and when you’re wrong it’s blatantly obvious why and who’s to blame. That in turn means that the public and should rise and demand that the person(s) responsible be held accountable — fired without pensions or even prosecuted if a negligence charge can be sustained.
A few years ago I wrote in the Ticker about a particular individual who shot a Marshal coming to serve a warrant on him. His rap sheet included his first serious felony, carjacking (and resisting arrest), for which he went to prison. He got out and then decided that sexual assault on a minor was a good idea, and went to prison again.
Subsequent to the second release he shot the Marshal.
Of course everyone wants to know why he had a gun. My question is why he was on the street, since it proved that his first crime was not an aberration but rather a way of life — by committing the second offense.
That Marshal should not be dead, but the indirect responsibility for it lies with everyone involved in that jackwad being released the second time, and thus in a position to shoot somebody.
Now here it appears we have an imam who prosecutors knew was radicalizing people in prison, they let him out, and…… the shooter in Orlando and he have been linked.
The gunman who murdered at least 50 people in a Florida nightclub early Sunday morning was a follower of a controversial gang leader-turned-bank robber who was released from prison last year despite warnings from prosecutors that he would recruit people to carry out violent acts, sources told FoxNews.com.
That’s right, we let gang leaders who like to rob banks out of prison even after they try to radicalize people into Islam while in jail!
Are you freaking kidding me?
Folks, there is only one answer to this sort of crap since the government won’t stop it: Everyone needs to start packing, all the time and everywhere and we must keep making noise on this point until the Second Amendment is respected nationally as written.
It is clear that so-called “law enforcement”, “prosecutors” and “judges” will not do their jobs. Nor will any other government agency just as they didn’t before 9/11 when the FBI and other agencies had plenty of warnings they ignored and even better, a large number of the hijackers had Florida Driver Licenses despite not being either citizens or permanent residents!
Oh by the way, that’s the ID they used to get on the planes.
The entire reason the Second Amendment exists is so that in the gravest extreme, no matter what sort of tyrant or jackass is trying to kill you, you can elect to have a fighting chance of living through the encounter. The only means or device that works for this purpose on a reliable basis irrespective of your age, sex or physical prowess is a gun.
It is specifically because your right to be alive is pre-political (that is, it exists prior to and independent of any political system) and the government not only might not be able to but in this case through negligence, intentional misconduct or both has failed to take any sort of step to interdict known and emergent threats that the responsibility for same does and must fall first on you, individually.
Governor Scott, I call upon you, and the other governors of states that do not have “Constitutional Carry”, to call your legislators back into emergency session (if necessary) right damn now and demand that same be passed, and that all laws restricting where someone may carry openly or concealed be immediately repealed except where said government is willing to provide full-time armed security (e.g. in a courtroom.)
Nothing else will do, and there is no compromise on this position.
You either can’t or won’t act even when you have foreknowledge as apparently was the case here and was the case on 9/11. That, in turn, means that we the people, who are the ones who get shot and blown up by planes used as bombs must have our right to attempt to not die respected all the time, everywhere, without exception.
Pass the law and repeal the garbage, or resign and get the hell out of The People’s House. (For more from the author of “IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES: Officials Knew Pulse Terrorist’s Imam Was Radicalizing Inmates, Did Nothing” please click HERE)
In a televised response to the Orlando shooting following a security briefing Monday, President Obama rambled for nearly 20 minutes only mentioning “Islam” once, and in a passive voice.
The president did, however, cite “radical nihilistic organizations” as a cause of terrorist attacks.
Obama says that “radical nihilistic organizations” like ISIS and Al-Qaeda target gays – hesitates to attribute that motivation to shooter
Either the president completely misunderstands the nature of ISIS and Al-Qaeda or he legitimately does not know what “nihilism” means.
For good measure, here is a definition of the philosophy – Nihilism: “the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.”
The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, certainly was not a nihilist. He believed deeply in Islam, and even called the police early Sunday morning to pledge his allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But President Obama will do anything to avoid saying “radical Islamic terrorism.”
(For more from the author of “Nihilism: That Word Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means Mr. President” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/maxresdefault-135.jpg7201280Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-14 00:24:042016-06-14 00:24:04Nihilism: That Word Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means Mr. President
The shooter in Orlando is tied to ISIS and worked for a security firm in Jupiter, passing all tests to obtain guns. He was known to the FBI since 2013.
Another man was arrested on a tip today as he was traveling to the Gay Pride parade in Los Angeles carrying possible explosives and rifles with ammo. The car had Indiana plates and he had the components of a pipe bomb.
Remarkably law enforcement in LA are telling the people they are safe and they have no reason to believe there is an ongoing terror threat.
The shooting in Orlando, Florida is tied to ISIS and that has been confirmed. The terrorist was shouting “Allahu Akbar” in the street and in the nightclub.
The president said in a speech that the slaughter of 50 people and the wounding of 53 was an attack but he doesn’t know what the motives are. He never used the words Islamic, radical Islamic, or any other realistic term.
His mentioning of his concern for LGBTs falls a little flat because he certainly isn’t protecting them. Shall we wait until they are being thrown off buildings in this country?
Apparently the terrorist’s ties to ISIS, including a 9/11 call to them at the time of the attack, was not a dead giveaway. Omar Mateen, the terrorist, pledged allegiance to ISIS in the moments before the attack.
The president called it murder and a massacre, saying they don’t know the motivation and only know that the shooter was filled with hate. He mentioned “terror” but that was as close as he got to describing it accurately.
Obama politicized the terror attack, saying this is about gun violence and it’s to easy to get a gun in this country.
The shooter worked in security and passed all tests to have a weapon, however.
Obama is trying to define down what terrorism is and reduce it to terrorism only if ISIS comes over as an army waving a black ISIS flag on their way over. That’s a dangerous viewpoint and it’s insane.
Attacks “inspired by” are still terror attacks.
The Islamic State has just taken credit for the terror attack in Orlando and this was broadcast from their own media. They usually don’t announce responsibility so quickly over their official media but maybe they are tired of the president pretending it’s not what it is.
He’s beginning to repulse me. Fifty, FIFTY people are dead, Fifty-three are seriously wounded and he’s trying to say it’s gun violence. It’s very disappointing. He’s not protecting us.
(For more from the author of “Smartest President Ever Unable to Deduce Motive of Pulse Nightclub Terrorist” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/maxresdefault-132.jpg10801920Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-12 21:59:112016-06-12 21:59:11Smartest President Ever Unable to Deduce Motive of Pulse Nightclub Terrorist
What’s the most important economic statistic to gauge a society’s prosperity?
I often use per-capita economic output when comparing nations.
But for ordinary people, what probably matters most is household income. And if you look at the median household income numbers for the United States, Obamanomics is a failure. According to the Census Bureau’s latest numbers, the average family today has less income (after adjusting for inflation) than when Obama took office.
In an amazing feat of chutzpah, however, the President is actually arguing that he’s done a good job with the economy. His main talking point is that the unemployment rate is down to 4.7 percent.
Yet as discussed in this Blaze TV interview, sometimes the unemployment rate falls for less-than-ideal reasons.
(For more from the author of “Average Family Today Has Less Income Than When Obama Took Office” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/8091048619_f0862c40f6_b.jpg7311024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-10 23:01:332016-06-10 23:01:33Average Family Today Has Less Income Than When Obama Took Office
Throughout the ongoing scandal regarding Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified emails on a private server, it has been maintained by the Clinton campaign that the FBI’s investigation is merely a security review and not criminal in nature.
However, recent statements from White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest may undermine whether the Obama administration believes this is actually the case.
Earnest met with reporters Thursday to discuss President Barack Obama’s recent endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president.
Earnest was questioned on the appropriateness of such an endorsement in light of the continuing investigation.
The reporter asked, “I wonder if you could address for us the potential conflict of interest that might exist when the President of the United States … is openly saying ‘I want this woman to succeed me in the Oval Office.’”
Earnest answered saying, “You noted instances where the president was asked about the FBI investigations. And in each of those answers the president made clear that that is being conducted independent of any sort of political interference.”
He added the president feels confident in making the endorsement because he knows the investigation will be conducted by people not swayed by political forces.
Earnest ended saying, “And that’s why the president … has reiterated his commitment to this principle that any criminal investigation should be conducted independent of any sort of political interference and that people should be treated the same way before the law regardless of their political influence, regardless of their political party, regardless of their political stature and regardless of what political figure has endorsed them.” (For more from the author of “Obama Endorses Clinton While Press Secretary Makes Important Admission” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/2227111521_c752005a2a_b-1.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-10 01:32:112016-06-10 01:32:11Obama Endorses Clinton While Press Secretary Makes Important Admission
NFL legend Peyton Manning offered President Barack Obama advice on Monday prior to a Rose Garden reception for the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.
The president revealed the words of wisdom in his remarks during which he both praised and ribbed the newly retired quarterback. Obama recounted Manning, 40, said to him, “You should try it. Don’t overstay your welcome.”
The chief executive added, “I have term limits. I have no choice,” which drew laughter from the crowd. Breaking precedent, the president does plan to live in Washington, D.C. after his term ends to allow the first couple’s youngest daughter Sasha to finish high school at Sidwell Friends School. She is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2019.
Obama, in speaking about Manning, joked, “And then there is this guy from the commercials. It doesn’t matter whether you need insurance, pizza, a Buick. You basically can stock your whole household with stuff this guy is selling.”
"And then there's this guy from the commercials!"@POTUS acknowledges Peyton Manning's incredible career. https://t.co/M3dXNg17FN
“We were obviously all a little disappointed to see him hang it up this spring,” Obama continued. “As somebody who is a little bit older, I was sympathetic to the idea; running around with all these guys, it takes its toll. But it’s great to see somebody with a career like that who conducted himself on and off the field the way he did be able to go out on top.”
Manning told Denver NBC affiliate KUSA that the then-recently sworn-in President Obama had telephoned him after the Indianapolis Colts lost the 2009 Super Bowl to the New Orleans Saints, praising his good effort and stating that he liked seeing him in all the different commercials. “I hope you get back here while I’m still in office,” Manning recalled Obama saying to him.
“I waited till the last possible minute – I waited to my last year of eligibility and his, but it was nice to be able to get here and meet him and he was very nice,’’ NFL star said.
Manning also visited the White House in 2007, when George W. Bush was president, following the Colts 29-17 Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears.
Manning is the only quarterback in NFL history to win the Super Bowl helming two different teams.
The retired football player is looking forward to his first fall in 22 years, when he can choose what he will do on the weekend.
“I’m going to be at the Broncos’ season opener. I think they play the Colts in Week 2, I’ll be there. There’s some Giants games I want to go to (to watch his brother Eli play) and get back to see my Tennessee Vols, so football will be a part of my fall but it will be on my schedule,” he said. (For more from the author of “Peyton Manning Offers President Obama Some Words of Wisdom” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Peyton_Manning_2014.jpg10211142Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-09 01:53:322016-06-09 01:53:32Peyton Manning Offers President Obama Some Words of Wisdom
The fundamental transformation continues to roll on as scheduled. As always, Obama waited until late Friday afternoon, when reporters largely pack up for the weekend, to announce the commutation of sentences for 42 more drug traffickers in federal prison.
President Obama defended this move as a common sense gesture to low-level nonviolent drug offenders, but as we’ve explained over the past few years, most people in federal prison are anything but “nonviolent.” MRC has posted the names of 10 of the individuals who were convicted of firearms violations in addition to drug trafficking charges. This at a time when Obama wants to crack down on law-abiding gun owners and dealers.
In addition to this list of 10 violent drug dealers, let’s take a look at one of the other 32 names on the list of commutations from Friday:
Sherman Ray Meirovitz – Minneapolis, MN
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine; conspiracy to distribute and
possession with intent to distribute cocaine; District of Minnesota
Sentence: Life imprisonment (January 5, 1990)
On the surface this doesn’t appear to warrant a life sentence. After all, wasn’t Mr. Meirovitz just a “nonviolent” cocaine dealer? I took a look at his sentencing history from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and found the full story:
After a three-day jury trial, Meirovitz was convicted on both counts of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute. The United States Probation Officer calculated his offense level at thirty-eight and his criminal history category at VI due to his status of career offender. Therefore, Meirovitz’ appropriate sentencing range was thirty years to life. Judge Devitt sentenced Meirovitz to the maximum sentence because of his substantial criminal record which included a history of drug-dealing and the shooting death of his mother-in-law.
This is a microcosm of much of the federal prison population. Many of the individuals who are currently serving time for drug trafficking were either originally in prison for more serious charges, but released in the revolving door of already-lenient safety valves, or they were arrested for robbery and even murder but the charges were pleaded down, leaving only the conviction on drug charges in place.
In total, Obama has commuted 348 federal sentences, more than the past six presidents combined. He has essentially used the presidential power to pardon as a back-door jailbreak to categorically remake the criminal code. This comes at a time when, contrary to myths propagated by “public policy” NGOs, more criminals are being released early by “the system” than ever before. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, 62.4% of all drug traffickers sentenced in FY15 received a sentence below that which is recommended in the sentencing guidelines. The average sentence was only five and a half years. Less than half of all drug traffickers were convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum and half of those were not even sentenced to the mandatory minimum because of the safety valve or substantial assistance.
This is under current practice, before passing the jailbreak bill pushed by the pseudo intellectuals in Washington. Taken in totality, Obama’s dismantling of the law and order regime of the past few decades will release thousands of violent criminals onto our streets. And they will be committing offenses over and beyond drug trafficking As victims’ rights activists Kimberly Corban wrote in her column for Conservative Review last week, “We live in a society that is so hell bent on redeeming those who are undeserving of second chances that we choose to overlook blatant red flags.”
It would be nice if we had an opposition party putting out the flames instead of fanning them and providing Obama with cover. (For more from the author of “Obama Commutes Sentences of More Violent Criminals” please click HERE)
The Obama administration is running out of time and options to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, so officials are scrambling to release as many prisoners as possible and considering novel legal strategies that include allowing some men to strike plea deals by video-teleconference and sending others to foreign countries to be prosecuted.
But it looks to be little, too late to close the prison before President Barack Obama leaves office in January, denying him the chance to fulfill a campaign pledge.
There’s the difficulty in transferring prisoners from the U.S. base in Cuba, questions about the legality of plea deals and solid opposition in Congress to anything that might help Obama achieve that promise.
“The clock has struck midnight and the American people have won,” said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who has said he would oppose any effort to move detainees to prison facilities in his state. “The president needs to admit that.”
Later this month, lawmakers are on track to extend a ban on moving detainees to U.S. soil. That would leave the president with no way to make the January 2017 deadline, barring an unexpected reversal in Congress or a politically explosive executive order. (Read more from “Obama Administration Scrambling to Release as Many Guantanamo Prisoners as Possible” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/7811014076_c7f95c0e98_b-1.jpg6851024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-06-06 02:58:092016-06-06 02:58:09Obama Administration Scrambling to Release as Many Guantanamo Prisoners as Possible
President Barack Obama took an economic victory lap in Elkhart, Indiana, on Wednesday.
In a major speech he argued his policies have brought the economy back. He blamed remaining economic weaknesses on trends preceding his administration.
This analysis has the economic facts precisely backwards: Economic growth benefitted Americans up and down the income distribution until the Great Recession. Since then, Americans have struggled considerably.
Obama argued his policies have brought the economy back. While labor market conditions have certainly improved from the depths of the recession—the official unemployment rate has even returned to pre-recession levels—these numbers do not tell the whole story.
Millions of working-age Americans stopped looking for work during the recession. Many have not returned to the labor market. The working-age labor force participation rate remains 2 percentage points below pre-recession levels. The government does not count these ex-workers as unemployed— even if they would have jobs in a stronger economy.
This explains why the unemployment rate has officially recovered in the Elkhart metropolitan area despite it still having fewer jobs today than in 2007.
Workers also take significantly longer to find new jobs today. The average jobless worker still spends over six months unemployed. This recovery has gone far slower than the White House promised when proposing Obama’s recovery plan.
Obama argues pre-existing trends caused this economic weakness:
… where we haven’t finished the job, where folks have good reason to feel anxious, is addressing some of the longer-term trends in the economy—that started long before I was elected—that make working families feel less secure. These are trends that have been happening for decades now and that we’ve got to do more to reverse.
This argument rewrites economic history.
Until the recession family incomes were growing up and down the income ladder. Congressional Budget Office data show market incomes for the middle quintile of (non-elderly) households grew by a third between 1979 and 2007.
Other academic economists estimate higher middle class income growth over that period. Market incomes for families in the bottom quintile grew even faster—by more than 50 percent.
Unsurprisingly, most Americans were happy with the state of the economy then. In February 2007, Gallup polled Americans‘ perceptions of the state of the economy. Forty-three percent said “excellent” or “good.” Only 16 percent answered “poor.”
Then the recession hit and the recovery dragged on. Between 2007 and 2011, middle class households’ market incomes dropped by a tenth (the Congressional Budget Office data only goes through 2011). More Americans today tell Gallup they think the economy is in poor shape than in excellent or good condition. It’s hard to blame this newfound dissatisfaction on long-term trends.
The president argued his administration deserves credit for the recovery thus far. If so, he has engineered the weakest recovery of the post-war era. (For more from the author of “The Key Economic Facts Obama’s Recovery Narrative Ignores” please click HERE)
