Quote: 

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.  

~ Thomas Jefferson

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Bush-Cheney began illegal NSA spying before 9/11, says telcom CEO

Special Operations Speaks http://www.specialoperationsspeaks.com/ has just been asked by Congressman Steve Stockman to mount an event to put pressure on the House of Representatives (and especially Speaker Boehner!) to form a select committee to investigate the tragedy that was Benghazi.

As a first step toward causing Congress to get serious about assigning responsibility for what happened at Benghazi, we are organizing a rally at Cong. Stockman's request that will be held on the steps of the US Capitol at noon, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. That rally will hear words from a number of patriots, including Cong. Stockman and Cong. Louie Gohmert, both of whom have been very supportive of our efforts to answer Hillary Clinton's heartless answer to a Senator's question about the men who died at Benghazi: "What difference does it make?"

Be with us next week as we demonstrate to Hillary and others like her "what difference it makes." Bring yourself, a carload, or a busload, but be there.

Thousands of you showed up to protect the Vietnam Wall in 2007; please help us demonstrate that we will not tolerate the murder-by-neglect of four of America's finest on September 12, 2012. Please help us send a message to our nation's leaders that we demand full accountability for this national crime.

From a trusted friend:

As some of you may know, I am associated with Coventry Christian Schools as a parent of a graduate (2010) and as member of the Board of Trustees.   Last October we spent a wonderful evening honoring Mark Niehls at our revitalized Founder's Dinner and celebrated our shared heritage in the remarkable community that is Coventry Christian Schools. Our vision for future Founder's Dinners is to inspire and inform not only our alumni and current CCS families but to inspire and inform the Tri-County Area and even our region by hosting speakers and artists who can uniquely assist us in celebrating the heritage, core values, and mission of CCS while also lifting our vision for an even greater future built upon the foundation of our past. The caliber of our speakers and guest artists should provide us with wonderful opportunities to share our CCS story with new partners in Christian education. Proceeds from the dinner will be applied to our annual Coventry Kids Fund for CCS scholarships.

This year we are proud to announce that our distinguished guest and speaker is Dr. Benjamin Carson, and our dinner's theme is "Faith of Our Fathers: The Role of Faith in American Schools." Please join us as we welcome Dr. Carson to the Tri-County Area and celebrate the great things God is doing at CCS!  

Dr. Carson is a highly regarded neurosurgeon and motivational speaker who has addressed various audiences across the country. He is one of the most honored and recognized physicians in the world and holds more than 60 honorary doctorate degrees along with hundreds of awards and citations. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. He is the author of five books and is the founder of the Carson Scholars Fund. The 2009 award-winning movie entitled Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Carson, premiered on TNT and is based on his memoir. Dr. Carson is an authentic disciple of Christ, has been married to his wife Candy for more than 37 years, and is the father of three sons.

The 2013 Founder's Dinner, which will once again be a part of our Homecoming festivities, will be held at the historic Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown on Sunday, October 13th, 2013. Doors will open at 4:30pm, followed by dinner at 5:15. Dress will be business/professional.    Tickets will be priced at $100 until May 15th, then will be $125, so reserve your tickets for the reduced price.

^th

All of us at Coventry Christian Schools, look forward to sharing this very special evening with you and acquainting you with the school and its mission!

Blessings,

Sponsorships are available as well and are as follows:

Gold Sponsor                    $3,000

•        Two tickets at Speaker's Table
•        Two tickets at Headmaster's Table
•        Listed as sponsor on school website through 12 months post event
•        Listed as sponsor on pre-event print marketing
•        Mentioned by name at event
•        Full Page ad in Dinner Program

Silver Sponsor                  $1,500

•        Two tickets at Speaker's Table
•        Listed as sponsor on school website through 12 months post event
•        Half page ad in Dinner Program

Bronze Sponsor                $500

•        Two tickets at Headmaster's Chairman's or Founder's Table
•        Listed as sponsor on school website through 12 months post event

WHAT IS COMMON CORE?

Common Core, or the Common Core State Standards Initative (CCSSI), as it is known at the State and Federal level, is a set of national education standards that will fulfill the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, through a waiver system. (The NCLB Act was put into place by Congress in 2001 and signed into law by President George W. Bush). Many states were failing to meet the NCLB Act requirements and, therefore, wanted something to replace NCLB.Common Core is part of the UN's plan for complete federal control over our education systems and the "Dumbing-down" of America.

 

Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) are not state standards in the first place, and are nothing more then further federalization of our state education systems.

 

COMMON CORE IS A TROJAN HORSE AND TIED TO THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

If you cannot see that Common Core is tied to the United Nations you have not done your homework! The major funder of the Common Core Movement is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has pledged $60 million dollars to this effort. Bill and Melinda Gates are tied to UN through-and-through and have spent money in America and overseas for UN programs in Africa and all over the world for decades.

From the Conservative Teachers of American organization, they wrote an article entitled: "Common Core Standards and the Federalization of Education." In this article we read: "Many are concerned that the Common Core Standards, once successfully implemented, will provide unfettered access of our educational system by the United Nations. Some textbooks and curricula for our public schools have already been written by the [United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization] UNESCO and the International Baccalaureate program, that is currently in many school districts, across the United States. Grabbing additional access is a natural next step. Once they write the curricula, they must have authority to develop all testing tools."

 

The UN involvement in the American educational system has already been facilitated by treaties signed by American presidents from both parties. Those documents include but are not limited to: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Treaty on the Rights of the Child, Civic Education: Classroom Connections, and Agenda 21.

 

The  US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development (since 2003), is the nexus of the UNA-USA and Global Leadership Coalition at the Department of Education, which altogether leverages the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.  UNESCO, the lead agency of the Decade, defines Education for Sustainable Development as "education for everyone everywhere" for the "lifelong learning" of "present and future generations".  

 

The UNA-USA sponsors Model UN across America and tailors its Global Classrooms curricula to whichever setting the kids happen to be participating.  Children are unknowingly trained to respond with prescribed consensus to the situations, simulations and stimulation's of the particular activity (Delphi Technique).  Global Kids is the CFR arm of Connect All Schools Consortium, a new Department of Education network, led by Independent Sector and The White House via United Planet Partners.  Global Kids is preparing children for Agenda 21.  

 

The White House, NSA and CIA now have website divisions aimed at kids.  The Public Education Network is a national association funded by Independent Sector donors: plus Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Department of Education

 

"Funders" of the Rockefeller Foundation-backed International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), "Members" of the the Sustainability Consortium, backed by the EPA and BSR (Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, State Department) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-backed International City/County Management Association (ICMA): Center for Sustainable Communities (an ICLEI "Partner") are "partnered" with local schools and governments.  

 

From the Partnership for 21st Century Skills aligning the Common Core State Standards with "professional development" content for teachers and principals and Lego Robotics curricula for students (Carnegie Mellon/Lego Education); to software curricula through websites like: cyberschoolbus.un.org, icivics.org, atomiclearning.com, renlearn.org, brainpop.com and ttl4.sunburst.com; to the weekly deliveries of Time for Kids magazine and textbook curricula into classrooms; kids are programmed with UN-defined values.  State Governors administer Federal funds to "Community-Oriented Policing" systems like Crime Stoppers (The UN, FBI and other law enforcement and corporate partners administer Crime Stoppers International), the local student-equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security's' "See Something, Say Something" campaign; whereby children see hand-drawn posters of child characters on school walls displaying "Eyes Looking", "Ears Listening", "Mouth Reporting" with a hotline to call.  Presidents Bush and Obama have personally followed the George H. W. Bush/Clinton trail of the Agenda 21/ Sustainable America megabanks-maze in "bipartisan" fashion. 

 

UNESCO PLEDGES SUPPORT OF COMMON CORE

From UNESCO's document "The Vision of Education Reform in the United States" it states: "My department has been pleased to partner with the US Agency for International Development to help ensure that our best domestic practices are shared world-wide. The United States provides over a billion dollars annually to partner countries working on educational reform. Our goal for the coming year will be to work closely with global partners, including UNESCO, to promote qualitative improvements and system strengthening....Ultimately, education is the great equalizer. It is the one force that can consistently overcome differences in background, culture, and privilege."

 

THE UN'S AGENDA 21- COMMON CORE IMPLEMENTER!

In the United Nations Agenda 21 (Guide for the 21st Century), Chapters #25 and #36 specifically talk about education of our children:

 

Principle #25- "Children and Youth in Sustainable Development." In the "Activites 25.9.d" it states: "Ensure access for all youth to all types of education, wherever appropriate, providing alternative learning structures, ensure that education reflects the economic and social needs of youth and incorporates the concepts of environmental training, implementing innovative methods aimed at increasing practical skills, such as environmental scouting."

 

Principle #36- "Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training." In the Activities Section of this document in "36.5.g" we read: "Within two years the United Nations system should undertake a comprehensive review of its educational programmes, encompassing training and public awareness, to reassess priorites and reallocae resources. The UNESCO/UNEP International Environmental Education Programme should, in cooperation with the appropriate bodies of the United Nations system, Governments, non-governmental organizations and others, establish a porgramme within two years to integrate the decisions of the Conference into the existing United Nations framework adapted to the need of the educators at different levels and circumstances. Regional organizations and national authorities should be encouraged to elaborate similar parallel programmes and opportunies by conducting an analysis of how to mobilize different sectors of the population in order to assess and address their environmental and development education needs."

 

In the Activities Section of this document in "36.5 h" we read: "There is a need to strengthen, within five years, information exchange by enhancing technologies and capacities necessary to promote environment and development education and public awareness. Countries should cooperate with each other and with the various social sectors and population groups to prepare educational tools that include regional environment and development issues and initiatives, using learning materials and resources suited to their own requirements." Sounds just like PARCC and SLDS. ASU's Institute for Global Sustainability and their "Sustainable Cities Network" is doing a fine job "brain-washing" our students in our high schools on sustainability, global warming (aka climate change), etc. Go here to meet the ASU sustainability schools!

 

 

COMMON CORE SCIENCE STANDARDS TEACH GLOBAL WARMING!

The new Common Core Science Standards that are up for review teach Global Warming (aka Climate Change)! Here is Research and Commentary on the Common Core Science Standards" from The Heartland Institute.

Please spread the word to all AMERICAN PATRIOTS!

Reality Check.....COMMON CORE EDUCATION = COMMUNISM IN AMERICA!

Common Core Education is the INDOCTRINATION of our CHILDREN. 

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT RHETORIC FROM MIKE HUCKABEE!!! 

The Development of Common Core, Explained by Michael Chapman

The video says this is a clip from the 1989 National Governors'Assoc conference on Education:

Sr. Director of Mid-Continental Regional Education Laboratory, Dr. Shirley McCune

 She says about education:

#1) Total transformation of our society

#2) Teaching of facts and information (knowledge) is no longer the primary purpose of education

#3) Close connection between economic (sustainable) development and human capitol (human resource labor for a planned economy)

A group that allowed this kind of rhetoric to be said at their meeting? I don't think I want them developingeducational standards!  Please read to the bottom for transcripts from the 1987 NGA meetings chaired by Bill Clinton.  These transcripts are eye-opening.  They are clearly more concerned with workers for the manufacturing.  They seem to have concerns that we have students who can't read well enough (non-English speaking especially) to function in the manufacturing plants, and then on the other end of the spectrum... too many with higher ed degrees who don't WANT to work in the manufacturing.  So... what to do about all this?  Hummm.... standards!  Make sure they read well enough to function as the industrial workers, but not so well that they don't want to!!!   This is the John D. Rockefeller goal of the early 20th century when he started pushing for compulsory government schooling and funding the building of government schools. 

NOW.... review the transcripts below of the conferences chaired by Bill Clinton: 
National Governor's Association website  (find all annual meetings here with transcriptsm- )
1986-87 NGA Chair Gov. Bill Clinton's Initiative

Making America Work: Productive People, Productive Policies

March 25, 1986

1987 Winter Meeting with Bill Clinton as chair, you will find on page 12 that the governors unanimously adopted a policy to adopt an INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY.    http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/1987NGAWinterMeeting.pdf

1987 Annual meeting.   See page 34of this document to see how those governors seem to be concerned that we aren't training our students for the "workforce." They are concerned that the professors of higher ed are telling students to strive for more than the job of working in the manufacturing plants.  On page 40 they start talking about standards needed in education.  " See page 42 with this statement by Governor Sinner (great name!) to Lee Iacoccoa: "But you also made a point about the terrific cost to industry of the disparity between states in these regulations and I wondered, with all the fuss and the furor that we make over states' rights...."  http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/1987NGAAnnualMeeting.pdf 

June 11, 2013: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in a markup of the Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013, an education initiative to replace No Child Left Behind.  http://www.c-spanvideo.org/event/220036

At the June 10 Common Core forum in Fayette County, Superintendent Barge stated over and over again that if Georgia wants to change these standards at any time, we have the ability to do so.   The testimony below contradicts this belief by Superintendent Barge and confirms that states who adopted the Common Core standards DO NOT have the ability to change the standards in any way on their own.

2:23:00 - Rep. Tim Scott discusses his amendment to Harkin's bill.  Instead of states being forced to adopt blanket standards like Common Core as a prerequisite for funding, let's put decision-making back in the hands of parents and teachers in our communities."

2:31:00 - It is admitted that states who want to change the CC standards,the Secretary of Education would have to approve it.  States DO NOT have the ultimate decision making abilities!

2:39:00 - Alexander reads page 89 of the bill stating that any changes to standards MUST go through the Secretary of Education for approval.

As are most of the amendments offered by Republicans to this education bill, the Scott Amendment is defeated 12-10.

DATA COLLECTING: Senator Burr at the 1:00:00 mark reveals information about ADDITIONAL data points that this legislation will add to the data mining.  He says that his count is now 500 data points.  

TEACHER EVALUATIONS: Senator Alexander at 2:00:00 mark discusses his amendment to end federally mandated school and teacher evaluations.  He says states had a "gun to their head" to adopt the teacher evaluations because they were desperate for NCLB waivers.   He makes the charge that the Harkin bill creates a "NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARD."  The Gates Foundation involvement is mentioned frequently.  

Harkin says over and over "this is voluntary."  If states don't want to implement the programs in the bill we just don't accept the money!"    More strong evidence that our states need to "just say no" to all federal education dollars.   As is pointed out in this debate: Any private business that entered into a partnership where the partner who contributed 10% funding got 80-90% of the control (as is the case with education funding under NCLB and Common Core) the partnership is DOOMED TO FAIL!

Angela Bean
Fayetteville, GA
StopCommonCore.com 

We all know how tough it is to maintain your morals in today's media world. Here are two gifts from the AFA to you, each meant to help you navigate your way through media today:

1. Free Article: How to Watch TV Without Compromising Your Values  2. Free Guide: 300 Family Friendly Movies

The article discusses how far TV has fallen in recent years and outlines some practical steps you can take to protect your family.

And the free movie guide is a great way to find movies for family night that the whole family can enjoy.

I hope these tools are a blessing to you!

At the Boston Marathon we all witnessed what happens when people become radicalized by an extreme Islamic ideology.

IT IS TIME THAT EVERYONE GET EDUCATED ON THIS ISSUE.

Watching The Third Jihad is the ultimate way to share this knowledge with other Americans.

Share the film, the third jihad with 5 friends,
and we will send you a FREE DVD of our award-winning film Obsession - Radical Islam's War Against the West - a must-see for every American.

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AGENDA 21 RESOURCE PAGEs

APC Newswire

Produced by American Policy Center
Email: admin@americanpolicy.org  Website: americanpolicy.org
Tom DeWeese, President
Kathleen Marquardt, Editor

Mandatory Biometric Enrollment
Lawsuit - UPDATE
(fingerprinting, facial recognition, iris scan, DNA, etc.)
By Mark Lerner:  Co-Founder Constitutional Alliance

If you value liberty and understand how dangerous government mandated biometric ID is to our freedom, you need to read and understand every word of what I am writing about today. Something very important is happening so stay with me.
 
Over the years, the Constitutional Alliance has consistently fought against mandatory biometric ID and for the right of all citizens to be free of it.  Government mandated biometric ID is the lynchpin of the modern surveillance society.  The amount of control this system gives government over individuals is an anathema to a free society and we oppose it being imposed on anyone - period.  You cannot reconcile a free society with a surveillance society.
 
The founders of this country called religious freedom "the first freedom" because it is a precondition for other important rights..  Try to imagine the value of freedom of speech, or freedom of association without religious freedom and you will quickly see why religious freedom, also referred to as 'freedom of conscience' is so important.
 
Here is the Big News
 
This past week, 19 June 2013, a Motion for Summary Judgment was filed in Kaye Beach's lawsuit in the state of Oklahoma (You can read it here).  This is a pre-trial motion that presents the undisputed facts of her case and makes the strongest assertion based on those facts, that her rights are being violated.  The Motion for Summary Judgment asks the Judge, based on these undisputed facts, to rule in her favor.  Kaye fully expects a favorable ruling on this Motion but in the event that this doesn't happen, her lawsuit will continue on. You need only to read the first 30 pages of the Motion to understand the arguments Kaye and her attorneys have made.  If you choose to read further you can read about the answers the Department of Public Safety (the department that oversees the issuance of driver's licenses) gave to Kaye's "Discovery Motion". 
 
Kaye Beach's lawsuit, is the only substantial challenge to government mandated biometric ID, to my knowledge, that exists anywhere in our country.
 
Here is a brief recap of the issue and basis for Kaye's legal challenge;
 
Kaye is opposed to mandatory biometric identification which is required of her if she wishes to have a state issued driver's license or ID card.  As we know, the ability to drive a vehicle and also banking, many financial transactions, as well as a host of other necessary daily activities are dependent upon having a government issued photo ID most commonly presented in the form of state driver's license or ID card. Try to go without one and you will soon find (like Kaye has!) that not having a valid ID is no small matter.
 
In September, 2011 Kaye filed a lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma for the unwarranted collection of her biometrics and for violating her religious freedom, both of which are protected under Oklahoma law.  Kaye is a born again Christian.
 
Here is why this case is important for everyone 

Read more:

We must stop the call for a  Constitutional Convention! 

Article V of the Constitution:

1. Gives NO guidelines for how to conduct a Con Con. 
2. NO rules on how delegates will be eligible or selected
3. States have NO Guarantees they will even be represented
4. Con Con could result in a COMPLETE CHANGE of our way of government
5. There simply are NO controls over the delegates once selected.             

Read more:

ImmigrationCounters.com provides the key numbers and events related to illegal immigration in the United States. Using the latest government and private sources, research and analysis trending data is factored at their individual rates of increase. For information about the research behind the individual counters clickhere Data Sources.  ImmigrationCounters.com supports legal immigration and respect for all humanity yet highlights the significant impact of illegal immigration in America. 

ImmigrationCounters.com informs the public of the realities of illegal immigration while challenging the myths and misinformation surrounding it. After decades of passively watching this problem grow, most Americans are now more aware of the severity of this issue. Our government has demonstrated a complete lack of urgency to control illegal immigration both on the borders and within the interior. Because of this large failure that which traditionally had been the American way of welcoming immigration is now dividing the country because of one word, illegal. Opposing illegal immigration and wanting the laws enforced is not un-American. It is time to set the record straight on what is un-American, illegal is un-American.

The issue of illegal immigration doesn't need more laws, studies or debates, it needs leadership and enforcement. America doesn't need immigration reform, it needs leadership reform. Because our government has failed to enforce the existing immigration laws, why should anyone be confident they will do so with expanded immigration reform? Because of these failures, legislators have been addressing the problems at their local levels with bills to manage it incrementally, piece-by-piece, rather than trying to fix the national problem at once--an impossible task. What most Americans expect is to have our borders secure, enforcement of the existing laws within the interior, meaningful punishment of employers who hire illegally and removal of incentives such as birthright citizenships and public school enrollments without status verifications. We must also address the fact that we're soft on criminals caught in crimes and aren't deported. No other country would allow this to continue. 40% of them entered the country legally and overstayed their visas. Yet there's still no reliable method to verify if Visa overstays have left the country. Another incentive that must be addressed is the birthright citizenship program that has resulted in millions of children and parents receiving instant rights and benefits. Some have called them "GPS babies" and this certainly cannot be what the authors of the 14th Amendment intended to occur. Public housing and other benefits are provided for the illegal parents through their 'anchor children' while citizens are turned away because of limited resources. This antiquated program must end. Government agencies and officials at all levels must address the costs associated with this kind of abuse. Past mistakes have been made in attempts to fix illegal immigration and our communities can no longer afford these kinds of mistakes.

Read more:

Read more:

RedState Morning Briefing

For July 18, 2013

1.  'This Town' Needs an Enema

Mark Leibovich of the New York Times has written a pretty scathing book about Washington, DC, called This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital. It is a pretty accurate portrayal of the Washington, DC more and more Americans have come to hold in contempt. There exists in Washington a new aristocracy where, for example, a poor boxer from Searchlight, NV, can get elected to the United States Senate, become wealthy enough to live at the Ritz, and see his family profit from K Street.

It is a city where the new aristocrats move and do not want to leave. It is a town in need of an enema.

Consider the Republicans in the United States Senate up for re-election in 2014. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

2.  Fear of the Missing White Voters

3.  The Debasing of Marriage

Up front I'll tell you that I am opposed to homosexual marriage. I am opposed for a wide variety of reasons beginning with my belief that Lawrence v. Texas was a travesty. Be that as it may, I have to agree with many homosexual marriage supporters that it is heterosexuals who have succeeded in debasing marriage and we shouldn't be surprised when the course we've charted for marriage over the past seventy or so years arrives at its logical conclusion in which marriage is treated as the punch line in a gay sex joke.

In Western Civilization, marriage has traditionally indissoluble. The break with that tradition occurred when Henry VIII made himself head of his own church so he could procure divorces when the headsman was indisposed. Even so, in the context of dynastic politics he had a point. Unfortunately, societies tend to be run by elites who are often dismissive of norms of behavior  and the masses which emulate them (let's face it, a married man getting fellated by a woman thirty years his junior was totally déclassé until Bill Clinton arrived on the scene. Video taping your sexual antics was considered bad form until Paris Hilton turned hers into fame). . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

4.  House Conservatives Beware the New Whipping Strategy

In a sane world, Republicans would have more leverage than the Democrats over the legislative process.  They have full control over the House and a filibuster-strength minority in the Senate.  Consequently, they have the ability to block bad legislation from passing the Senate, while jamming the Democrats with good bills from the House. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

5.  There Are No Indispensable Men

There are no indispensable men, but go to Washington and everyone treats everyone else as indispensable.

Mitch McConnell and John Boehner have been in the United States Congress since 1985. In that time the national debt has grown from $1,823,103,000,000.00 to $16,066,241,407,385.89. In that time the GOP went from being the part of small government to the party of slightly smaller than the Democrats. No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D, TARP, the General Motors bailout, and so much more happened on their watch.

But they remain and voters who vote party and not person keep supporting them. But they are not indispensable. No man is indispensable. The longer one stays in Washington though, the more desperate one becomes to stay in Washington. They collaborate in a system of arrangements whereby they get more power and more influence. Their staff leaves to K Street creating a feedback loop. They and their Democratic counterparts reward friends and steer policy not toward ideas and ideology, but toward power with themselves in the center of it.

No man is indispensable. Mike Enzi (R-WY) is right there with them.

Mike Enzi is a fine Republican, but he is not putting points on the board for conservatives. We need more like Ted Cruz and less like . . . well . . . Mike Enzi. We need less rudderless Republicans who shuffle around at the direction of their leadership and lobbyist friends.  . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

6.  Pro-Abort Intimidation: YMCA Evicts Pro-Lifers In Texas

Heritage Hotsheet

Experts on the Day's Hottest News

Items for July 18, 2013 

Cuba Admits to Sending Weapons to North Korea 

The Washington Free Beacon 

Snowden will leave Moscow airport in a few days, lawyer says
CNN 

House GOP keeps pressure on with Obamacare delay votes
CBS News

Wendy Davis, After Texas Filibuster, Goes to Washington
ABC News 

UN nominee Power sidesteps Rubio question on US 'crimes'
Fox News 

Latest Heritage Research:

Issue Brief
House Can Save $2.3 Billion More on the Commerce, Justice, and Science Bill  

Backgrounder
Productivity and Compensation: Growing Together

A surprising development on Wednesday has raised new questions about President Obama's nominee to be the new Labor Secretary.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez is one of the nominees over whom Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) just staged his filibuster fight. As a result of the deal Reid worked out with Republican Senators, Perez was supposed to get a confirmation vote today. He cleared a procedural vote in the Senate yesterday as six Republicans broke ranks to vote him through.

Perez has faced questions about his misleading congressional testimony about his involvement in a quid pro quo deal with the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, that resulted in the dismissal of a Supreme Court case and taxpayers giving up a claim worth almost $200 million. He has refused to turn over private emails that he used to conduct Justice Department business and has refused to testify before the House despite a congressional subpoena. But apparently, that's not all.

• Who was really behind the IRS's targeting of conservative organizations? New testimony comes to light.
• The top 25 unforgettable quotes on Obamacare.
• You oppose Obamacare? According to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, you must've opposed civil rights legislation, too.
• Higher productivity used to mean higher wages. Has that changed? 
• What happens when it's the end of the year and federal government agencies haven't used up their annual budgets yet? 
• Angry birds? No, but Obama's wind subsidies have them very frightened. 

July 18, 2013   

Today's Articles:

Before Benghazi, There Was Extortion 17
Pamela Geller
The parents of a deceased Navy SEAL expose the Obama administration's empty and dangerous efforts to appease Islamists. More

Obama Fails his People Again
Lauri B. Regan
None of us should hold our breath waiting for Obama to take a stand and call for an end to the violence in the wake of the Zimmerman verdict. More

Creep Me Out: Chinese is the 'New Nigga'?
C. Edmund Wright
I confess to being a very confused creepy ass cracka, trying desperately to go New School, as recently elucidated by Rachel Jeantel More

Being Schooled About Transgenders
Janice Shaw Crouse
In first grade, Coy demanded that he be allowed to use the girl's bathroom. What transpired made the other children in the school into pawns. More

'Stand Your Ground' Against the Left
Jeffrey T. Brown
Counting on the stunning ignorance and gullibility of their listeners, the Obama administration simply makes up the people and events needed to justify the damage they intend to do More

Hawks, Doves -- and Ostriches
Michael Widlanski
There are three dominant groups involved in the Mideast peace process. Only one gets results. More

Sunspots and the Great Cooling Ahead
Jeffrey Folks
The era of global cooling has begun. As usual, Barack Obama is pitifully behind the times. More

The EU's Broken Mideast Compass
Noah Beck
Putting aside the EU's abundant hypocrisy, trying to strong-arm Israel into unilateral concessions has already proven to be an abysmal failure when it comes to promoting peace. Just ask President Obama. More

American Thinker Blog

Angela Corey, bringing people together
July 18, 2013
Corey has managed to united activists across the political spectrum in condemning her inflexible, grandstanding lunacy. More

Why did the Trayvon Martin Shooting go National?
July 18, 2013
Relatives in high places More

WaPo Stacks the Deck
July 18, 2013
The customary tilt toward the Palestinians gets a little more extreme. More

Obama political appointee involved in IRS targeting scandal
July 17, 2013
The closest connection to the White House to date. More

Two good questions for Eric Holder
July 17, 2013
Indeed More

Olbermann returns to ESPN - but forbidden to talk politics
July 17, 2013
How long will that last? More

Zimmerman prosecutor Angela Corey may face a reckoning
July 17, 2013
Angela Corey, the special prosecutor who struck out going after George Zimmerman, has not taken defeat well. More

Reid won't go nuclear - for now
July 17, 2013
Obama to withdraw two nominees to NLRB. More

USDA regulation prevents bunny-caused disaster
July 17, 2013
Finally - our government is acting to solve a crisis that, for too long, has festered like an open wound in our society. More

Obama digs in on 'path to citizenship' for illegals
July 17, 2013
President Obama is going to have to decide whether to take half a loaf on immigration or nothing at all. More

Obamacare's worst nightmare coming true
July 17, 2013
Three-quarters of small businesses are making plans to duck the costly law by firing workers, reducing hours of full-time staff, or shift many to part-time, More

Holder: Stand your ground has got to go
July 17, 2013
The AG thinks that stand your ground "senselessly expands" the right of self defense. More

Allen West: Where was NAACP and media when two black teenagers shot a white baby in the face?

Asiana 214 ver 2

Stevie Wonder Boycotts Florida Over Stand Your Ground Law! - What Do You Think About This?

Leo Terrell Juan Williams Explosive Debate On Zimmerman Verdict. 'You're Embarrassing Yourself'

Police are tracking you and your license plates

RUSH: Trayvon Martin Was A 'Gay-Basher'

Military Cooperation Between Cuba, North Korea Revealed

SIGAR: Afghan Children Risk Electrocution Due to Faulty Construction

Iran Hostage Crisis Victims May Get Reparations

White House Withdraws NLRB Nominee Richard Griffin-Supreme Court Could Still Challenge Obama

Patton Oswalt Takes Salon to the Woodshed

Trey Radel Should Re-Listen to Jay-Z's New Album

State Department Briefing in 80, Uh, Seconds 

Jen Psaki: State Department Briefing in 80 Seconds

Christians Flee Villages in Egypt's North Sinai after Terrifying Murders   Published 2013-07-16
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Iranian Nuclear Crisis Nearing a Critical Tipping Point   Published 2013-07-16
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Keeping the NSA in Perspective   Published 2013-07-16
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British Police Enforce Sharia   Published 2013-07-16
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WEDNESDAY CHRONICLE

Creating Dependence

The Foundation

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness." --George Washington

Editorial Exegesis

If only the GOP could succeed in repeal.

"House Republicans plan to vote this week on a bill that would delay ObamaCare's individual mandate, adding to the one-year delay of the employer mandate the administration already announced. ... But even if President Obama were to sign an individual mandate delay bill into law -- highly unlikely -- it would be largely meaningless in terms of avoiding ObamaCare's long-term health care and budget disasters. ... In practical terms, a one-year delay in the individual mandate would go virtually unnoticed. The penalty for not buying insurance next year is a tiny $95, hardly enough to convince the young and healthy -- for whom the mandate was designed in the first place -- to buy coverage if they weren't already so inclined. And those most likely to sign up for benefits in the ObamaCare exchanges won't care about the mandate either, since they'll be older and sicker people who stand to benefit both from the tax subsidies and the ObamaCare market regulations that artificially lower their premiums. ... It's why Obama was so willing to delay the employer mandate in the first place -- since doing so virtually guarantees that hundreds of thousands more people will end up at an ObamaCare exchange after their employers use the delay to drop coverage. It also helps explain why Obama is letting states simply take the applicants' word for it that they don't have coverage available to them at work and that their income really is as low as they claim. Despite the fact that it opens the door to fraud, lax enforcement guarantees more will sign up for Obama-Care subsidies. The fact is that the problems with ObamaCare run far deeper than the employer and individual mandates. With or without them, the law will still drive up insurance costs, massively increase federal spending, create huge doctor shortages, impose $1 trillion in new taxes, hurt job growth, and do nothing to rein in health care costs. This apparently is of no concern to Obama or Democrats. If anything, they might welcome it, since the more expensive health care becomes, the more Americans will be dependent on the government to afford it." --Investor's Business Daily

Upright

"The conventional wisdom evolves. Yesterday, Washington was merely broken, gridlocked, dysfunctional. The passive voice spread the blame evenly. Today it's agreed that Republican obstructionism is the root of all evil -- GOP resistance having now escalated to nihilism and indeed sabotage. Sabotage carries a fine whiff of extralegal, anti-constitutional vandalism. This from media mandarins who barely bat an eyelash when President Obama unilaterally suspends parts of his own health-care law -- just as he unilaterally stopped enforcing current immigration laws for 1.7 million young illegal immigrants, thereby enacting by executive order legislation that had failed in Congress. So much for faithfully executing the laws (Article II)." --columnist Charles Krauthammer

"The motivations of [George] Zimmerman were quite easy to understand if you cared to. He lived in a neighborhood with a lot of break ins and the police were ineffective to stop it. So he tried to help out, and when he saw a teenager he didn't recognize, he confronted the kid and talked to the police. Now, you can question whether Zimmerman's actions were sensible, but his motivations are very easy to comprehend if you're interested in treating him like a fellow human being. But no. A lot of people want to see him as this inhuman monster who just decided to murder a minority. They are bigots, and bigotry keeps them from seeing others as a human being. And these same bigots questioned everything about Zimmerman's story while being really unconcerned about what led Trayvon to bashing a man's head into the pavement. Because, again, they're bigots; they're not operating with rational minds." --columnist Frank J. Fleming

"'Ben Jealous of the NAACP, Al Sharpton of MSNBC, Jesse Jackson, and the left-wing media compete to incite hatred of America generally and white America specifically. Over what? A tragic incident in which a Hispanic man (regularly labeled 'white') said, with all physical evidence to support him, that fearing for his life, he killed a black 17-year-old (regularly labeled 'a child'). The very fact that George Zimmerman -- who is as white as Barack Obama -- is labeled 'white' bears testimony to the left-wing agenda of blaming white America and to the desire of many blacks to vent anger at whites. And that is why the election of a black president has meant nothing. Indeed, to those whose lives and/or ideologies are predicated on labeling America and its white population as racist, it wouldn't matter if half the Senate, half the House and half the governors were black." --columnist Dennis Prager

"Liberal journalists loved to suggest that the lives of young blacks in America are worth less than white lives. This was not a maxim in the coverage (or to be more accurate, shocking avoidance of) the trial of inner-city Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell. But when 17-year-old black boys are shooting other black teenagers? Yawn. In the 20-day period of the Zimmerman trial, the Chicago Sun-Times reported four minors ... were gunned down in the president's adopted hometown of Chicago. Those victims will not be adopted as a cause by Sharpton & Co. Their deaths generated zero coverage by the national 'news' media. Like the jurors, most Americans saw the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin as unnecessary and tragic. But that doesn't make it a murder. It doesn't make it an occasion for our 'news' media to pander to liberal 'civil rights' leaders and sound the wildly inaccurate alarm that America hasn't moved an inch on racial matters since 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered in 1955." --columnist L. Brent Bozell

Read more:

One Black man's take on Blacks that want to riot over the Zimmerman decision

Jul 16, 2013 05:03 pm | Coach Collins

This is one Black man's take on those who want to destroy their own neighborhood over the Zimmerman decision. Warning: Liberals will NOT like what he has to say!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N__hJL4qjKo

comments | read more

The real third rail in American politics

Jul 16, 2013 01:00 pm | Coach Collins

by Michael D. Shaw, staff writer

The conventional wisdom still holds that "Social Security is the third rail in American politics." The metaphor refers, of course, to the third rail of electric-powered trains, and touching that rail will most likely be fatal.

Like most conventional wisdom, though, it is clearly wrong. For example, if some politician discussed making social security voluntary, it is difficult to see how such a concept would be fatal-especially if articulated to younger voters. What would be fatal is the notion of taking social security away from those already receiving and relying on it, and I've never heard anyone suggest that.

The real third rail is a concept that would be popular with the majority of our citizens, but under current PC diktat would nonetheless be fatal. This real third rail is quite simple: Imposing qualifications for voting.

I'm not talking about any sort of literacy test or a poll tax. Rather, I suggest that ... Continue Reading:The real third rail in American politics

comments | read more

Morning Jolt  . . . with Jim Geraghty

July 17, 2013

If you're wondering why posting was so light on Campaign Spot yesterday, or if you're wondering who the guy was that was waving traffic around his stalled vehicle in the left-turn lane on West Franconia Road yesterday morning . . . well, those two wondering thoughts are connected.

Cheney. Enzi. Let the Rumble Begin.

The good news: The breaking news that "Wyoming has just elected Liz Cheney its next senator" will probably prompt Democrats to feel like this:

The bad news: Get ready for a big, hard-fought, expensive primary in a state that's pretty much guaranteed to elect a Republican anyway. Voter-registration statistics indicate Wyoming has 166,643 Republicans, 53,301 Democrats, 34,330 unaffiliated voters, 1,866 Libertarians, 295 Constitution-party voters, and 118 "other" voters.

Assuming every Republican votes in the primary, we're looking at each candidate spending what, $12 per vote, minimum?

Ari Fleischer: "I'm a big fan of Liz Cheney. But not in this race."

I think Kurt Schlichter articulates the view of a lot of Republicans that, while Enzi may have amassed a conservative voting record, they're largely unfamiliar with him as a combatant against the Obama administration - and that, ultimately, is what they feel the party needs most right now:

He needs to go because we can do better. It's not about Mike Enzi or any other Republican politician. It's about winning this war against progressivism, and if you aren't leading the fight then bow out and make room for someone who will.

Liz Cheney will. The seat would hardly be at risk - the Wyoming GOP primary is better known as the Wyoming general election - so we can take the chance to do better. After all, Liz Cheney has something Enzi doesn't - a taste for political combat.

She wants to win. Not to "compromise," not to "work together," not sit around singing "Kumbayah" with the liberals. She wants to win.

Enzi wants to be a sober, serious legislator working with his liberal friends across the aisle to make a better country. Except there are no friends across the aisle, and the liberals do not want to make this a better country. Liberals want to ruthlessly acquire and maintain power and control over every aspect of our lives, and anyone who does not see and understand that and who can't commit to destroying their hideous plans for our country needs to get out the way for a true conservative warrior.

The Times, perhaps again thinking it was helping, noted that Enzi "avoids political talk shows because, he says, their goal is to get guests to 'beat up on their colleagues.'"

Except we need GOP Senators to be willing to "beat up on their colleagues." It's not about collegiality in the cloakroom. We want you hated, despised, and targeted because that will mean you are getting something conservative done.

Expect some big guns to sit this one out, as Katrina Trinko reports:

"Both Enzi and Cheney are top notch candidates who would slam dunk a general election, so this isn't the the type of race we'd engage in," Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio e-mails. "We're more concerned with primaries where certain results would lead to the Democrats winning."

So what will this election be about, besides her argument that it's time for fresh faces and new blood, and his argument that she's not really connected to the state, having only bought a house in Wyoming last year? Probably gay marriage.

Liz Cheney on gay marriage, back in 2009: "My family has been very clear about this: we think freedom means freedom for everybody. This is an issue states have to decide for themselves. . . . States have got to make this decision, this is something that I certainly would not like to see a constitutional amendment you know, as was suggested in the last administration, banning it. This is an issue that the democratic process has to decide."

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner: I'm Just a Big Hugger, That's All!

Oh, I see. It's all just an innocent misunderstanding about "hugs."

"I'm a very demonstrative person. I express myself demonstrably. I'm a hugger. Of both men and women. As it turns out that those are taken in an offensive manner, I need to have a greater self-awareness of what I'm doing and we will correct that. I am taking those steps."

Video here.

Filner's latest statement:

I do not believe I am guilty of sexual harassment, and I believe a full presentation of the facts will vindicate me.

You see, it's just because he cares so much.

I have acknowledged that at times I have treated the people with whom I work poorly. I am impatient and demanding. My aggressive style of fighting for the underdog has allowed me to be successful in the past. As a Congressman, my "rattle-the-cages" approach helped me champion many causes - from support for our returning veterans to pay equity in our workforce. As mayor, I have very high expectations for our City, and when people I'm counting on don't perform, I get upset. I now recognize that approach has been seen by some as disrespectful.

Man, this guy thinks we'll believe anything he says, doesn't he?

Ahem. Probably Best to Mention Those Checks From Foreign Governments

This isn't easy or fun to write, because it involves criticizing people I like and respect, but it has to be said: If you're getting paid by a person or group to write a particular article or column besides the publication running the piece, you ought to disclose that payment to your readers. And if you're getting paid by a foreign government, well then... you really need to disclose that.

BuzzFeed has the details on the government of Ukraine going through a third party to pay conservative writers to write about Ukrainian issues. It echoes a similar circumstance last year involving the government of Malaysia. (A note from the editors regarding one piece that ran on NRO can be found here.)

No, it doesn't necessarily mean a person's opinion has been bought - although one is free to wonder how many U.S. political bloggers spend a lot of time thinking about the internal politics of Ukraine or Malaysia or any other country.

The Malaysia controversy didn't get much coverage in the conservative blogosphere last time around; perhaps we're all too friendly with each other to publicly criticize each other, or we feel like issues like these are best kept "within the family." (Ironic when you read the next item.) Or perhaps times are changing, and not for the better; perhaps neither bloggers nor readers care all that much if the writer has a financial interest in a viewpoint or policy change he advocates.

Back in 2010, Jonathan Strong (now with NRO) wrote about bloggers being secretly paid by political campaigns, and Ed Morrissey over at WarmerThanWarmAir.com summarized why taking undisclosed payments from those close to the subject you cover is a bad idea:

In the radio and television industry, this would be called payola, and it occasionally erupts into scandal. Broadcast services are regulated by the government, and payola can lead to loss of broadcast licenses - which is why radio and television stations fire anyone even suspected of it. In the film industry, though, no one thinks twice about "product placement" any more, even though it's essentially the same thing, giving certain products sympathetic placement for buckets of cash.

Fortunately, blogs aren't regulated by the government, at least not yet, but it's stories like this that will give rise to demands for government to take action. The Federal Election Commission has repeatedly hinted at imposing onerous requirements on bloggers that will create legal burdens too expensive for most to meet. The hook will be undisclosed relationships with campaigns that turn blogs in effect into coordinated third-party efforts, and that could result in hefty fines for both the campaigns and the bloggers. But the larger impact will be to discourage political blogging at all, as the cost of defending oneself from the inevitable complaints will be so high (even for the majority who are innocent of any such connections) that people just won't bother to enter the market at all.

Even beyond that, though, it's simply dishonest. Plenty of bloggers get involved in election campaigns, and they make those connections clear by disclosing them o their blogs. Deliberately failing to do that - and to market one's blog as a paid outlet for politicians - puts people into Armstrong Williams territory. It saps credibility and damages the ability of the blogosphere to effect political change in the long run.

The Federal Trade Commission issued rules about endorsements and disclosures for bloggers. But bloggers shouldn't do this just because the federal regulators say it's wrong. They shouldn't do it because it's disrespectful to the readers.

Just How Much Cynicism Does This Town Warrant?

The first joy of Mark Leibovich's "This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral - Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking! - in America's Gilded Capital" comes on page 9, when we learn that Robert Gibbs once called David Axelrod "the guy who walks in front of Obama with rose petals," revealing that even diehard Obama worshippers found other diehard Obama worshippers weird.

Early on, Leibovich addresses the inevitable complaint that he's part of the Washington culture that he relentlessly mocks and criticizes:

Yes, I'm guilty. I write about national politics at a big media outlet. I 've been in This Town sixteen years, nine spent working for the Washington Post and the last seven for the New York Times. I have a title, an affiliation, and a business card that seem to impress. People appear to believe I am worth knowing (and I must be, because sometimes I get to go on Morning Joe!) I have lots of Washington friends and also some real ones . . .

I have chosen to live, work, and raise my family in the murk. This might well be an easier pursuit for a citizen on solid land. But I have no plans to leave. People ask me about that too. Why? It's not like I'm making lobbyist or TV money. I plead reality; my wife and I have built a good life here.

You'll recall a short while back I picked a few bones with the portrait of Washington emerging from the reviews of This Town, and Jonah agreed in part and objected in part.

The complaint about clubbiness, ambition, and so on is going to be found anywhere there's power; in this regard, I'm unconvinced there's very little that's uniquely bad about Washington's culture. (Emphasis on "uniquely." I've got my gripes, but I think a little wariness is warranted for conservatives who loudly proclaim how much they hate Washington, and yet choose to live there for their entire adult lives.)

Jonah contends that what D.C. produces - laws and regulations - makes the issues of the city's culture different from anywhere else. "Rent-seeking, cronyism and the like may be endemic to all seats of power, but that doesn't mean we can write it off as no worse than the clubhouse atmosphere of say 1950s Detroit or the campus feel of Silicon Valley." But you can argue that law-making makes D.C. clubbiness more important to the public than in other cities . . . except Washington isn't the only city that exerts great power over the rest of the country. We all swim in the popular culture that Hollywood produces, and the 2008 Wall Street meltdown indicated how central Manhattan's banks are to our national economy - and we've all witnessed the effects of groupthink in the leadership of the entertainment and financial industries.

A few chapters into This Town, readers get a good sense of what Leibovich finds odious - "the black tie dinners, or the caricature drawings of notable Washingtonians on the wall at the Palm on Nineteenth Street. If you're lucky and you stay long enough, you can get your picture taken with some really notable Washingtonians and then show off the photos on your office 'Me Wall.'" But it's hard to picture what he would prefer the nation's capital to be like, never mind how to get to that better state.

It's easy to snicker at other people's pride in meeting or knowing some big shot; everybody insists they're not the type to be star-struck until the moment comes when they are. Scoff if you like, but I'll bet there's some prominent Washington figure you might find yourself irrepressibly gleeful to encounter in person: Charles Krauthammer, Antonin Scalia, Ed Meese, some former president or retired military leader. Maybe they've passed on, like Jeanne Kirkpatrick, or Robert Bork. Or Ronald Reagan. Or Andrew Breitbart. But there's somebody.

Anyway, I thought I was cynical, but Leibovich puts me to shame. Describing Tim Russert:

"When my mom died, he sent two dozen roses," said Ann Klenk, a producer at MSNBC. "I adored him."

He was indeed adored - in that unmistakable vintage of Washington "adored" that incorporated fear and need and sucking up. You needed to be on Meet the Press to be bestowed a top-line standing in what Joan Didion called "that handful of insiders who invent, year in and year out, the narrative of public life." You needed to be friends with Tim, the closer the better, as so many people advertised with deft turns of posthumous networking. People on TV jockeyed to outgrieve one another.

Really? Is it that unthinkable that some of Russert's friends, co-workers, and other Washingtonians actually genuinely adored him, because of gestures like sending flowers after a co-worker's mother died?

ADDENDUM: Dave Weigel: "'Man, I can't believe the nerve of that Cheney dynasty.' - a liberal who's excited about Hillary 2016."

NRO Digest - Month Day, Year

Today on National Review Online . . .

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


Glamorizing Terror

Rolling Stone has set off a firestorm of controversy. The cover of its newest edition features a picture of confessed Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The photo presents Tsarnaev as if he were the latest teen heartthrob.

The magazine's editors are defending their work, claiming it "falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day." Many Americans disagree.

As of this writing, a Facebook page calling for a boycott of Rolling Stone is rapidly closing in on 65,000 "likes." Even celebrities like Kelly Osbourne are turning the iconic magazine. Ms. Osbourne tweeted, "Shame on you @RollingStone for glorifying a monster! In case you failed to realize #TheBostonBomber is a murderer not a band & has no place being on the cover of @RollingStone." Good for her!

The drug store CVS announced that it will not sell this issue of Rolling Stone. In a statement released today, CVS declared, "As a company with deep roots in New England and a strong presence in Boston, we believe this is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved ones." Other regional stores are following that example.

Just how out of touch are the media elites on the cultural left? Anyone with any roots at all in Middle America would recoil in disgust. But for Rolling Stone offending Middle American values comes naturally. I'd like to think that some individuals at Rolling Stone would have the courage to resign in protest. But I would be surprised if anyone even objected.


Black Juror Dumped -- Why?

A major complaint made against the Zimmerman verdict is that the jury of six women was almost entirely white. There was only one minority member, a Hispanic. Seminole County, Florida, where the trial took place, has a lower minority population than the state as a whole.

Both the prosecution and the defense questioned potential jurors, and each side had the ability to dismiss a limited number of potential jurors without offering any cause or explanation. These dismissals are known as "peremptory challenges."

Now here's a bit of irony: A potential juror, a black man, was in the pool and came up for consideration. But during a recent discussion on CNN, it was revealed that the prosecution dismissed this black man. Why? Because he was a "Fox News watcher!"

Evidently, having a black man who gets his news from the "fair and balanced" station was disqualifier. And yet many on the left are complaining about the fact that there were no blacks on the jury.


Senate Surrender

Well, they did it again. A group of squishy Republican senators led by John McCain caved in to threats from Harry Reid. It's happening with such frequency it seems to be habitual.

To their credit, the Republican minority in the Senate has been holding up some really bad Obama nominees using prolonged debate or the filibuster. As we noted Friday, Obama initially appointed some of these individuals using recess appointments that were later declared illegal by two federal courts. He has since renominated them and Harry Reid is demanding that the Senate vote to confirm them.

To overcome the filibuster, Reid needs 60 votes, which he doesn't have. To overcome that hurdle, Reid threatened to change the Senate rules eliminating the filibuster on executive nominations. Normally it requires 67 votes to change the Senate rules, and Reid certainly did not have that either.

So, Reid was prepared to use a disputed procedure known as the "nuclear option" that would effectively change the Senate's rules with a bare majority of 51 votes. Republicans understandably did not want the rule changed, but Reid's price for not changing the rule was for the GOP to allow the nominations to proceed.

Yesterday, a handful of Republicans blinked, and it appears as though Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had little say in the matter. From press reports I have read, the deal that averted the so-called "nuclear option" was brokered by Senator McCain.

Without going into all the details, the end result is that Democrats got what they wanted without having to face the public controversy of changing a long-standing Senate rule.

In reaction, Senator Ted Cruz tweeted, "Today, re: the so-called nuclear option, Senate Republicans preserved the right to surrender in the future." Sadly, I fear he may be right.

I'll make a wild guess here: The next time there is a Republican president and a Republican senate, Democrats will use the filibuster to stop that president's nominees. And if the Republican Senate majority has enough "moderates" in it, they will be unwilling to suspend the filibuster even if it is being used against them. So essentially what we have is a filibuster that only Democrats are allowed to use.

I know some will read this item and grow further disillusioned with the GOP. But the only viable solution is to make sure that more conservatives like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Jeff Sessions are elected in 2014. And that is what CWF will do with your continued support!


Media Disconnect On Abortion

According to abortion advocates, Wendy Davis is a voice for America's silent pro-choice majority. The Texas state senator's recent filibuster of a bill to outlaw abortions after five months of pregnancy won her media plaudits and catapulted her from obscurity to political stardom.

But the frenzy over Davis's failed quest to defeat the legislation is hardly proof of a national reservoir of support for late-term abortion. Rather, it is evidence of the deep disconnect between perception and reality when it comes to U.S. citizens' attitudes about the taking of a baby's life, especially in the final weeks of pregnancy.

You can read more about this topic in my latest Politico column.   

The Editors' Top Picks

  Holder: Time to Question "Stand Your Ground" Laws  Attorney General Eric Holder questioned the legitimacy of "stand your ground" laws that 25 states have adopted, claiming they "sow dangerous conflict."
  Black Leaders Rally in D.C. Against "Gang of Eight" Immigration Bill  A group of black leaders rallied on Capitol Hill July 15 to emphasize how the present immigration "reform" bill would economically devastate the black community.
  Alabama Adopts Race-based Standards for School Students  Alabama has adopted Obama-backed race-based school standards wherein blacks and Hispanics are expected to perform much more poorly than whites and Asians.
  Broad Coalition Sues NSA Over Unconstitutional Surveillance  A broad coalition has united in a new California-based lawsuit against the NSA for its unconstitutional warrantless wiretapping program PRISM.
  Fired Florida State Attorney's Employee to Sue Zimmerman Prosecutors  Ben Kruidbos, a former employee at the Florida State Attorney's office, has indicated that he will be filing a whistleblower suit against George Zimmerman's prosecutors.
  Evangelical Fuller Seminary Says "Yes" to Homosexual Campus Club  Fuller Theological Seminary, one of the most prominent evangelical graduate schools, has opened its doors to a homosexual campus club. 

To avoid looking like a criminal, don't commit a crime

Dear Fellow Conservative,

Black liberals keep bemoaning the danger to their own teenage sons after the "not guilty" verdict in George Zimmerman's murder trial. To avoid what happened to Trayvon Martin, their boys need only follow this advice: Don't walk up to a stranger and punch him, ground-and-pound him, MMA-style, and repeatedly smash his head against the pavement.

The Justice-for-Trayvon crowd keeps pretending there hasn't been a trial where the evidence overwhelmingly showed that Trayvon committed the first (and only) crime that night by assaulting Zimmerman. Instead, the race agitators are sticking with the original story peddled by the media, back when we had zero facts. To wit, that Zimmerman had stalked a young black child and shot him dead just for being black and wearing a hoodie.

Click Here to Read Full Article »

Sincerely,

Ann Coulter

Today's Headlines:  Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Cantor: Grant Citizenship to Young Illegal Immigrants Out of 'Compassion'

Sebelius: Obamacare Opponents Are Like Those Who Opposed Civil Rights

Pentagon Spends $81K on TVs for Gitmo While Civilian Workers Are Furloughed

Please support CNSNews.com to ensure you get THE TRUTH for a long time to come.

White House: Obamacare Is Not Reducing Full-Time Employment

Boehner: Even the President Knows Obamacare Is a 'Train Wreck'

WH: Trayvon Martin Case Should Prompt Examination of Current Laws, 'Gun Violence'

Attorney General Eric Holder Says He's Warned His Son About Dealing With the Police

On Eve of Confirmation Hearing, Conservatives Urge Rejection of Obama's U.N. Ambassador Pick

Now you can access all the latest breaking news from CNSNews.com on your smartphone. Check out our mobile website today! 
Cuban Missiles Headed for N. Korea Similar to Ones That Shot Down U-2s in 1960s

The City of Rainbow Lights: 'Gay' Eiffel Tower Ignites Controversy

EPA Disputes Predictions That Ethanol Regulations Will Increase Gas Prices 30% by 2015

CDC Study: Use of Firearms For Self-Defense is 'Important Crime Deterrent'
 

COMMENTARY:

IRS Gave $14 Billion in Refundable Tax Credits to Illegals
By Terence P. Jeffrey
If illegal aliens are truly in the shadows, why has the Internal Revenue Service been able to find enough of them to pay them more than $14 billion in refundable tax credits?

America, Forever Racist?
By L. Brent Bozell III
How did this story merit consideration as national news? Why was the death of Trayvon Martin a thousand times more newsworthy than any other person shot on an American street? Answer: because Al Sharpton and other race-hustlers wanted it that way.

Eric Holder's Stand Your Ground Squirrel
By Michelle Malkin
The Obama administration's cynical campaign against Stand Your Ground laws is a racially charged weapon of mass distraction. The goal isn't public safety or community harmony. The goal is for conservative political opponents to Surrender Your Ground.

Greatest Deliberative Body
By Rich Galen
Once in a while the Washington press corps should run out to the countryside and ask people staring at their grocery bill or, worse yet, watching the gasoline pump still going strong as it zooms beyond $60, whether they think the worst thing in the world is requiring the Senate to muster 60 votes to get legislation to the floor.

WATCH: Dana Loesch slams Zimmerman protesters for their 'progressive utopian dream' 

Conservative radio host Dana Loesch guest-hosted last night's Glenn Beck Program, and she opened the show with an impassioned monologue criticizing those who protest on behalf of Trayvon Martin while ignoring the overwhelming violence that grips the 'progressive utopian dream' of Chicago on a daily basis. Watch the fiery monologue HERE. 

Family, values and old-fashioned hard work are the backbone of small business. Experience this work first-hand with incredible flashlights from small business Extreme Beam!

Wilkow!: Obamacare's impact on unions

New polling shows union members are growing increasingly frustrated with Obamacare and the impact it will have on their health coverage. Avik Roy joined Andrew in-studio to discuss the unions' sudden change in opinion on Obamacare. WATCH

Janet Napolitano's legacy... or lack thereof 

Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced she was leaving her post to run the University of California and its school system. On last night's Glenn Beck Program, Matt Mayer, CEO of the Liberty Foundation, joined guest-host Dana Loesch to discuss Napolitano's legacy (or lack thereof). See the full interview HERE. 

Shooting and farming: Glenn tweets updates & pics from vacation. PHOTOS

Glenn may be on vacation, but...

Glenn may be hanging out at his ranch tomorrow during the Glenn Beck Radio Program, but Buck Sexton will be LIVE in the Freedom Hut broadcasting from 9am to 12pm ET. Also, make sure to stay tuned for Doc Thompson and Skip Lacombe as they fill in for Pat and Stu beginning at 12pm ET. Listen to it all for FREE, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.

Jimmy Carter's surprising stance on the Zimmerman verdict

Former President Jimmy Carter may be known as a lockstep liberal, but he has separated himself from many of his compatriots with his opinion on Zimmerman's 'not guilty' verdict. Why does President Carter believe the jury 'made the right decision'? READ

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Man in the Moon merchandise is now available!

From the Man in the Moon DVD and official soundtrack to t-shirts and more, Man in the Moon merchandise is now available. You can find all of the great products HERE. 

Real News: Is the Muslim Brotherhood America's next great enemy?

Despite losing control of the Egyptian government, many believe the Muslim Brotherhood is a greater threat than ever. Erick Stakelbeck joins the panel to discuss why we should be concerned about the Islamist organization. WATCH

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Be the first to read the third of installment of the bestselling Michael Vey series!

LIKE the Michael Vey Official Fan Page on Facebook and be the first to read exclusive excerpts from Michael Vey 3: The Battle of the Ampere! The more 'likes' the page receives, the faster the exclusive content will be released, so make sure to SHARE the page with your friends too! 

Four more jurors from Zimmerman trial speak out

After 'Juror B37' spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday, four other women from the jury have come forward to distance themselves from the lone juror's comments. After Juror B37 said that both George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin were at fault, the 4 women wanted to clarify that they do not necessarily share that opinion, saying the death of the 17-year-old Martin weighed heavily on their hearts. See more of their remarks HERE. 

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WATCH: 5 videos that reveal what policies Samantha Power might champion as U.S. ambassador to the UN 

As the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings Wednesday to decide whether Samantha Power will be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, there are some controversial criticisms of America from her past that may be called into question. TheBlaze has compiled five videos that show what policies Power might champion if she is confirmed. WATCH

The sequel to The Overton Window has finally arrived!

Glenn's blockbuster novel from 2010 now continues with The Eye of Moloch - a thriller that's seemingly been ripped right from today's headlines. Follow Molly and her group of 'Founders Keepers' as they work to expose the secrets of a government that wants them dead. If you're looking for a summer beach read or just something to help you get even less sleep at night, The Eye of Moloch is a perfect choice. Buy a copy now and get an invite to an exclusive online event with Glenn. Get all the details HERE. 

Tonight's primetime lineup on TheBlaze TV:

• 5pm ET - The Glenn Beck Program: How can the GOP learn from young conservatives? Dana Loesch sits down with an audience of college students to discuss. 
• 6pm ET - Real News: With the arrest of the head of the notorious Zeta drug cartel, how does drug violence impact the immigration debate? The panel discusses. 
• 7pm ET - Wilkow!: Andrew explains how Obamacare will incentivize a generation of lazy workers.