Do not work so hard for Christ that you have no strength to pray, for prayer requires strength. —Hudson Taylor
Apr. 15, 2015
BLOOMBERG
President Obama agreed to accept compromise Iran legislation that he didn’t want after it became clear that Democratic lawmakers would join with Republicans in demanding a say on the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
President Obama agreed to accept compromise Iran legislation that he didn’t want after it became clear that Democratic lawmakers would join with Republicans in demanding a say on the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Clinton was asked by a congressional panel in 2012 if she used a personal e-mail account and she didn’t respond, an aide to the former committee chairman said.
Mandatory water rationing struck California’s celebrity-filled enclave of Montecito last year and, within weeks, residents created a market based on avoidance. Gardens stayed lush and lawns verdant as citizens paid tanker trucks to deliver thousands of gallons to homes in the seaside suburb of Santa Barbara. They drilled in back yards, driving the county’s tally of new wells to a record. Some simply paid fines for exceeding allocations, padding the water district’s budget by more than $2 million.
The group, also known as ISIS or Da’esh, is already turning to the next generation to ensure its legacy of extremism and brutal violence endures as a U.S.-led offensive chips away at areas it controls in Iraq and Syria. Using recruitment offices in Syria called “Cubs of the Caliphate,” the al-Qaeda breakaway group is incorporating young Muslims into its ranks, sending some into battle or having them shoot hostages.
Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, posted a $3.36 billion first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, as legal costs tumbled.
A growing demand for organics, and the near-total reliance by U.S. farmers on genetically modified corn and soybeans, is driving a surge in imports from other nations where crops largely are free of bioengineering.
It’s hard to overstate just how much global investors are captivated by HDFC Bank Ltd., India’s biggest lender by market value.
Not only does the stock trade at the highest valuation among the world’s largest banks, but international funds are so bullish that they’re willing to pay a record 20 percent premium over HDFC’s local stock price to get their hands on the limited number of shares available to foreigners. Brokerage analysts have more buy ratings on the company than at any other time in 14 years. The bank has reported annual profit growth of at least 20 percent every year since 1998, a feat unmatched by any of the world’s 200 biggest lenders.
AP Top Stories
Just hours after the White House withdrew its opposition to a bill requiring Congressional oversight on any nuclear deal with Iran, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the legislation, called the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.
New York’s Empire State building was lit up in red and purple in honor of more than 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants one year ago.
British fighter jets were scrambled on Wednesday in response to the sighting of two Russian military aircraft near UK airspace, hours after three Russian ships were monitored as they entered the English Channel.
India’s push to accommodate a booming urban population and attract investment rests in large part with dozens of “smart” cities like the one being built on the dusty banks of the Sabarmati River in western India.
The UN warned Kenyan authorities that closing the world’s biggest refugee camp complex would have “extreme humanitarian and practical consequences” and would violate international law.
House Speaker John Boehner said it will be “virtually impossible” for Congress to approve President Barack Obama’s proposed authority for military force against Islamic State militants.
The so-called Islamic State attacked villages on the outskirts of Ramadi in apparent preparation for an attempt to take full control of the last population center outside its hands in Iraq’s westernmost province.
BBC
Ten Colombian soldiers have been killed in an attack by left-wing Farc rebels in west of the country.
An oil spill in south-eastern Mexico has left more than 200,000 people without water. The spill, near Tabasco state capital Villahermosa, was caused by oil thieves puncturing a pipeline and has polluted two rivers.
In the deepest salvage operation in history, a British-led team recovered a $50m trove of coins that has lain on the seabed since 1942.
China’s economic growth slowed further in the three months to March this year, expanding 7% compared to a year earlier, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis in 2009.
Indonesia’s government has summoned Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Jakarta to protest against the execution of an Indonesian domestic worker. Siti Zainab was beheaded on Tuesday in Medina after being convicted of stabbing and beating to death her employer in 1999.
WND
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN’s Jake Tapper he believes “gay” marriage belongs in the deciding hands of states, according to the Constitution.
Egypt is accusing Turkey of providing more than 10,000 Turkish passports to members of ISIS, the Islamic State, to facilitate travel of fighters across the region.
The White House says President Obama is removing Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, a key step in President Obama’s bid to normalize relations between the two countries.
Researchers say 24 percent of all teens report going online “almost constantly,” and 92 percent of teens go online at least daily.
Congress first asked Hillary Clinton about personal email use in 2012, letter shows
Fox News has obtained a copy of a letter dated Dec. 13, 2012 that was sent from then-House Oversight Committee chair Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to Cabinet secretaries, including Clinton, inquiring about their e-mail habits. The committee was conducting an investigation into the Obama administration handled the use of personal e-mail by its officials. The letter contained eight questions related to officials’ use of personal e-mail accounts. The very first question asked by Issa was “Have you or any senior agency official ever used a personal email account to conduct official business?
SOLAR WIND
Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from a coronal hole on the sun. In response, NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on April 15th.
Why Putin is playing friendly with Iran
Analysis: Putin’s decision to provide Iran with the S-300 air defense system has three strategic goals, according to experts: Challenging US, securing Moscow’s oil revenue and strengthening Russian position in the Middle East.
Report shows surge in violent anti-Semitic incidents in 2014
Kantor Center notes 38% rise in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe; researchers say sharp rise is partly linked to last summer’s Gaza war, as well as a ‘general climate of hatred and violence’ fostered by the rise of ISIS.
China growth slowest in six years, more stimulus expected soon
China grew at its slowest pace in six years at the start of 2015 and weakness in key sectors suggested the world’s second-largest economy was still losing momentum, intensifying Beijing’s struggle to find the right policy mix to shore up activity.
ISIS Camp a Few Miles from Texas, Mexican Authorities Confirm
ISIS is operating a camp just a few miles from El Paso, Texas, according to Judicial Watch sources that include a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police Inspector. The exact location where the terrorist group has established its base is around eight miles from the U.S. border in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Iran nuclear: US Congress to have right to reject deal
The US Congress will have a say on a nuclear deal with Iran, under a new agreement reached with the White House. President Barack Obama withdrew his opposition to a bipartisan bill that was unanimously passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. However, a Congressional No vote would not be binding and could be vetoed by Mr Obama.
Australia may need to cut interest rates, IMF warns
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Australia may have to cut interest rates again if inflation continues to fall. The warning came in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), released on Tuesday in Washington. It said the downturn in the global commodity cycle was “continuing to hit Australia’s economy”.
Michelle Bachmann: Obama’s poor relationship with Israel will bring the return of Jesus
Former Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann stated that President Barack Obama’s handling of the Iranian nuclear deal is a symbol of the coming of the end of times and the “imminent” return of Jesus Christ… Bachmann explained that if Obama and the United States turn their back on Israel, this would bring severe “curses” upon the United States, similar to those seen in the end of days.
Violent anti-Semitism surged 40 percent in 2014, study finds
Anti-Semitic violence rose by nearly forty percent in 2014 over the previous year, according to a report released this morning by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University. Overall, 766 violent incidents were recorded worldwide, a “sharp increase” over the 554 tallied in 2013, according to the European Jewish Congress, which contributed to the report.
Putin warship and nuclear bombers menace the UK: Navy frigate and RAF Typhoons are sent to head off latest incursion by Russia
A Russian warship and two bombers strayed close to UK territory yesterday in yet another apparent attempt to test Britain’s defences. A destroyer equipped with missiles, anti-aircraft guns and torpedoes entered the English Channel along with two other Russian ships.
Obama plans to remove Cuba from terrorism list
President Barack Obama told Congress on Tuesday he intends to remove Cuba from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, clearing the main obstacle to restoring diplomatic relations and reopening embassies shut for more than half a century.
Yemen conflict: Houthi rebels condemn UN arms embargo
Houthi rebels have condemned Tuesday’s UN Security Council arms embargo imposed on them and their allies. They called for protests against what they termed UN support of “aggression”.
Nigeria marks anniversary of Boko Haram schoolgirl kidnappings
Nigeria and the world marked the first anniversary of Boko Haram’s abduction of 219 schoolgirls with protest marches, candlelit vigils and pledges of solidarity. But as the teenagers entered their second year of captivity at the hands of the Islamist militants, Nigeria’s incoming president said he could give no guarantees about their safe return.
400 migrants die in shipwreck off Libya, survivors say
About 400 migrants died in an attempt to reach Italy from Libya when their boat capsized, survivors said on Tuesday, the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean where the death toll from shipwrecks has surged this year.
Hamas consolidates its grip on Gaza as reconstruction stalls
Eight months after a ruinous war with Israel, the reconstruction of Gaza has barely begun, and the Islamic militant group Hamas remains entrenched despite expectations that it cede some of its power to West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
10 Hilarious Modifications Of Hillary Clinton’s New Campaign Logo
Should we be surprised that Hillary Clinton has come up with perhaps the worst presidential campaign logo in American history? This is a woman that has never seemed to be able to do much of anything right, and yet at the moment she appears quite likely to be our next president. And it is sad commentary on the state of this nation that we would willingly choose such a leader. The Clintons have been continuously immersed in scandal since their days in Arkansas in the 1980s, and yet tens of millions of Americans still worship them. The Clintons could probably sacrifice children to Baal on national television and most of their supporters would still love them. There is no way in the world that Bill or Hillary Clinton should be running for anything at this point. If we actually lived in a just society, they would both be in prison. But instead, they are treated like rock stars wherever they go, and they have made more than $100 million since leaving the White House in 2001. Most of that money has come from making speeches and doing personal appearances. They are a bright, shining example of how broken our political system is, and yet Hillary is very likely going to be our first female president. (Read More…)
ISIS Has Camps On The U.S. Border, But Obama Says ‘Right-Wing Extremists’ Are The Greatest Terror Threat
ISIS camps have now been discovered directly across the U.S. border with Mexico, ISIS operatives have been captured illegally entering the United States, and ISIS is threatening to conduct a massive campaign of terror against U.S. targets, and yet Barack Obama and his underlings continue to insist that “right-wing extremists” are the greatest terror threat that this nation is facing. One recent survey found that 84 percent of all Americans believe that ISIS is a “direct threat to the USA”, but Obama refuses to secure our borders and he is even allowing dozens of American citizens that fought for ISIS overseas to come back into this country. What in the world is Obama thinking? Even though ISIS has promised to drown all of us in our own blood, the Obama administration has purged virtually all references to Islam out of government terror training materials. Meanwhile, as you will see below, Obama’s political enemies have been regularly labeled as “potential terrorists” in official government documents during the Obama era. This includes “patriots”, “conspiracy theorists”, “evangelical Christians” and “general right-wing extremists”. (Read More….)
The McAvany Intel Memo
Putin isn’t sitting still waiting for the US to determine Russia’s future. In addition to shoring up the ruble with gold, he’s working hard to break oil away from the dollar. When the West placed economic sanctions on Russia, it threatened to remove Russia from the SWIFT system. This is the technology system that supplies secure messaging services and financial transactions for governments, corporations, and other financial entities. Cutting Russia out of SWIFT would have made it difficult for Russia to transfer funds to and from the West. The threats never amounted to anything substantive from the West, but they did demonstrate an area of weakness for Russia. Putin acted immediately. Russia quickly established its own RUSSWIFT system. This system will make transactions with Russia’s allies much easier. These allies include Iran and the BRICS.
But that’s not all. One Russian blogger wrote: “There is something else going on that is going to become more significant in the long run: Russia has taken the hint and is turning away from the West and toward the East. It is parlaying its open defiance of American attempts at world domination into trade relationships throughout the world, much of which is sick and tired of paying tribute to Washington. Russia is playing a key role in putting together an international banking system that circumvents the US dollar and the US Federal Reserve. In these efforts, over half the world’s territory and population is squarely on Russia’s side and cheering loudly. Thus, the effort to isolate Russia has produced the opposite of the intended result: it is isolating the West from the rest of the world instead.” [ED. NOTE: this paragraph is worth rereading several times.]
(Excerpt from McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, December 2014
Daily Digest
April 15, 2015
THE FOUNDATION
“Would it not be better to simplify the system of taxation rather than to spread it over such a variety of subjects and pass through so many new hands.” —Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, 1784
TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
Congress Scores Political Victory Over Obama in Iran Deal
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee forced Barack Obama to back away from his one-man approach to negotiations with Iran. Under Sen. Bob Corker’s leadership, the committee on Tuesday passed a bill that would require Congress review Obama’s deal with Iran before lifting sanctions against the country. The bill passed 19-0 and is expected to pass both cambers with veto-proof majorities. Before the bill broke out of committee, Obama lobbied Congress to stay out of his dealings with Iran and its nuclear program. Now, Obama’s saying he may sign the legislation, cowing to the rightful demands of Congress. But Corker’s bill is far from perfect. Conservative commentator Noah Pollack tweeted, “The way Corker & Graham wrote their bill, Obama will win Congressional approval of Iran deal with only 34 votes. Ponder that.” In other words, a decision not to approve Obama’s bill faces the challenge of herding all the cats of Congress in the same direction. The Wall Street Journal argues the ideal role of Congress is to pass a treaty because nuclear deals should not be sealed with talk and a handshake. Corker’s bill is a victory, but merely a political one. More…
Hillary’s Income Inequality Platform Problem
While Hillary Clinton established her campaign on reducing income inequality, she has not practiced what she preached. “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top,” Clinton said in the video announcing her presidential campaign “Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion.” Sure, Clinton can talk all she wants, but her platform places her between the idealistic Left and her salary. Progressives are beginning to say a $15-an-hour wage is the only wage they will support, probably to the chagrin of Seattle small businesses that have to close because of the city’s $15-an-hour wage experiment. And Hillary has acted precisely like the CEOs and one-percenters she lambasts. Her $200,000-an-hour speaking gigs place her firmly in the filthy rich category. Furthermore, she directs all her salary through her foundation, so she avoids paying taxes. The income deck is, indeed, stacked in her favor. More…
Meanwhile, she also wants “unaccountable money” out of politics. After she raises $2.5 billion, of course.
Tennessee’s New Pro-Gun Law Gets It Right
The Tennessee governor’s mansion is occupied by a Republican, and the GOP owns supermajorities in both the House and Senate. The result has been a wave of pro-gun measures, including a “Guns in Parking Lots” law approved in 2013 that gives employees the legal right to store a firearm inside personal vehicles even if it’s against an employer’s inclinations. The move was a good one; the problem is that “an attorney general’s opinion later found that while the law decriminalized the actions of those who ignored posted gun bans on private property, employers could still terminate workers for violating company firearms policies,” explains WTVC News Channel 9. Last week, the legislature passed and Gov. Bill Haslam signed a fix that allows fired persons the ability to take legal action. Now, even some Republicans contend the new law infringes on employers’ rights. But that’s misguided — businesses still have the right to ban firearms, but vehicles don’t belong to the employer. As Hot Air blogger Jazz Shaw concludes, “This law seems to me to have been a good compromise. The employer can bar carrying weapons in the workplace, but the employee’s car is not the workplace. And punishing them for such storage is an unreasonable burden on their constitutional rights.” Tennessee hit the bull’s-eye on this one. More…
Cruz Says Polls Don’t Matter; The Bill of Rights Does
Ted Cruz was right on target when asked about his views on the Second Amendment: “When it comes to constitutional rights, what matters is what the Bill of Rights says. It doesn’t matter what might be popular at the moment. We’ve seen regimes across the face of the earth come and take away people’s guns, strip away their rights to defend themselves, and sometimes it’s been very popular. And yet it is an inevitable prelude to tyranny. Our country was founded on a radical proposition, which is that our rights don’t come from government; they come from God. … The entire reason for the Second Amendment is not for hunting; it’s not for target shooting. … The Second Amendment is there so that you and I can protect our homes and our families and our children and our lives. And it’s also there as a fundamental check on government tyranny. And that, ultimately, is not subject to public opinion polls, it’s subject to the express protections of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution.” Cruz really nailed it.
Louisiana Timidly Considers Religious Liberty Legislation
Just like Indiana and Arkansas, Louisiana started to consider its own version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but it seems the threat of pushback may dissuade state lawmakers. The president of Louisiana’s Senate, Republican John Alario, said, “As it was originally introduced, I’m not in favor of it. It would put Louisiana in such a bad light, we don’t want any part of it.” Whatever happened to trading short-term discomfort for long-term benefit? The state’s governor, Bobby Jindal, said he would fight for legislation like the RFRA “that seeks to preserve our most fundamental freedoms.” The opposition to state-level RFRAs could be nothing more than a heckler’s veto. According to a poll conducted by WPA Opinion Research on behalf of the Family Research Council, 81% of those polled “agree that government should leave people free to follow their beliefs about marriage as they live their daily lives at work and in the way they run their businesses.” But Louisiana lawmakers are scared of the shrill 19% who want government to tell small businesses to bake the cake, to serve the hypothetical pizzas, regardless of the business owner’s most deeply held beliefs. More…
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RIGHT ANALYSIS
Go File Those Taxes — It’s Income Redistribution Day
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Today is that most mirthless of days, April 15, tax filing day, or as we in our humble shop have long dubbed it, “Income Redistribution Day.” It’s the day each year when government confiscates money from about half the nation’s citizens and gives a lot of it to the other half. (That’s an over-generalization, but you get the idea.) At least they didn’t choose April 19 — Patriots’ Day — for tax filing. In honor of today, here are a few things to remember about taxes and the IRS.
It will take Americans 114 days this year to fully pay for the burden of all the levels of government — three more days than last year. In other words, when you pay your taxes today you’ll still have to work another nine days just to actually pay them off.
Then again, not everyone pays income taxes. The top 20% of earners bring in 51.3% of all income and yet pay 83.9% of all federal income taxes. By contrast, the bottom 20% of earners actually receive money from Washington those in higher brackets. What was that about a “fair share” again?
Americans of all tax brackets spend 6.1 billion hours filing individual and business taxes — hours that could otherwise be spent producing wealth rather than redistributing it. The Mercatus Center estimates the cost of filing to be anywhere from $215 billion per year to nearly $1 trillion. Perhaps that’s because there are nearly 75,000 pages in the tax code.
Where did your tax money go? Just shy of half of all federal tax revenue goes to major entitlements — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other health care programs. (Before we move on, to be crystal clear, some government benefits are “earned,” like Social Security or military benefits. These stand in contrast to “unearned” benefits of welfare, food stamps and the like.) Another 20% goes to various wealth transfer programs like unemployment benefits and food stamps. That’s more than two-thirds of the federal budget that goes from your pocket to someone else’s. See why we call it “Income Redistribution Day”?
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t note that ObamaCare subsidies factored into millions of returns for the first time this year. And that’s going to mean a lot of, er, adjustments. According to Investor’s Business Daily’s Betsy McCaughey, “If you enrolled in ObamaCare in 2014 and got a subsidy to pay for it, you’re at risk of losing your refund. Surprise: You may even owe Uncle Sam money. Only 4% of people who signed up for ObamaCare got the correct subsidy, so a whopping 96% will see their tax bill adjusted, some up and others down. Who would design a system that’s right only 4% of the time?” Democrats, that’s who.
Oh, and some 800,000 Healthcare.gov customers got the wrong tax form, and some may have to wait months to sort out their tax returns.
All the while, the IRS is essentially rewriting ObamaCare provisions regarding tax credit eligibility. The Supreme Court will settle part of that problem in June (subsidies on federal vs. state exchanges), but the IRS is rewriting other provisions, too. Remember: You can trust the IRS!
Today is a day to take stock of how a government that provides everything for its citizens can become a massive burden. It’s not just financial, either; it’s an issue of trust, power and the future of our great nation.
We close with the immortal words of Will Rogers: “The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don’t know when it’s through if you are a crook or a martyr.”
Post script: Today, April 15th, Barack Obama has decreed that all flags are to be flown at half mast “as a Day of Remembrance for President Abraham Lincoln,” who was assassinated 150 years ago yesterday. We can think of other reasons to fly them at half mast, like the fact today is “Forced Income Redistribution Day,” or that Barack Obama is president.
Editor’s Note: It is no small irony that in the same week we observe Patriots’ Day — the opening salvos at Lexington and Concord to establish American Liberty — working Americans also endure the April 15th deadline to forcibly surrender a growing portion of our earned income to a gravely bloated central government, which redistributes much of that income to ensure constituent support for its malignant growth. Mark Alexander addresses oppressive taxation in his Wednesday column this afternoon, “Taxing Patriots.”
The Negotiator Strikes Again
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| Barack and Raul |
Once again, Barack Obama has demonstrated his brand of “diplomacy,” which can only be described as “on my knees” statesmanship. He makes Neville Chamberlain look like Muhammad Ali.
After meeting with Raul Castro and other Latin American leaders over the weekend, our fearless leader announced he would be removing Cuba from the list of states supporting terrorists — his first move toward normalizing relations with Cuba. This comes on the heels of 18 months’ worth of secret meetings between Obama’s and Castro’s negotiators. Considering what came of the negotiations, we can’t understand why it took 18 month, or even 18 days.
Obama reassured Congress that Cuba “has not provided any support for international terrorism” for at least the last six months, and, furthermore, “has provided assurances it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.” And if you believe that we have some beautiful property in the Whitewater development at rock bottom prices.
As Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen observes, “There will be no mention from the White House of terrorists being protected and supported by the Castro regime, such as Joanne Chesimard — who murdered a New Jersey state trooper and was named in 2013 by Obama’s own FBI as one of its Most Wanted Terrorists. There will be no mention of the 70 other U.S. fugitives that Obama’s own State Department reports ‘The Cuban government continued to harbor’ while providing ‘support such as housing, food ration books, and medical care’ — or of the Spanish and Colombian terrorists receiving similar support from the Castro brothers.”
Obama’s move puts him at odds with the previous 10 presidents — both Democrat and Republican — who have all recognized that Cuba’s anti-American, despotic communist government terrorizes its formerly prosperous, hard-working people, keeps them in poverty, and locks up political dissenters who often languish for years in Cuban prison holes.
The ignorance of the American public is Obama’s best hope. Leftmedia newsreaders cheer Obama’s “courageous” move to finally recognize our island neighbor, which they say has suffered under the U.S. embargo and its other unjust policies. At first, a majority of low-information Americans agree that Obama is doing the right thing. But when told that Cuba is harboring Russian ships in its ports, opposition for normalization rises to 58%. And, Thiessen notes, when told that Cuba “attempts to smuggle 240 tons of weaponry to North Korea, opposition jumps to 63 percent and support plummets to 26 percent. When … told that Cuba is harboring a cop-killer and terrorists, opposition jumps to 63 percent and support plummets to 23 percent … and when asked whether Cuba’s designation as a supporter of terrorism should be maintained because it harbors terrorists, respondents agreed 68 percent to 16 percent.”
Americans aren’t quite as dumb as you think, Señior Obama.
Being the consummate negotiator he is, as demonstrated with the Iranians, Obama displays his brilliant “give all, take nothing” diplomacy as he moves toward the goal of normalization. Castro refuses to complete the deal until the U.S. pulls out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and, of course, our president would gladly oblige if that pesky Congress weren’t in the way. The military also sees Gitmo as essential to our national defense.
There also remains the small issue of congressional approval on the way to his lifting the trade embargo and later recognizing Cuba. But Obama doesn’t often concern himself with the niceties of constitutionality, so he could very well decide to recognize Cuba without Congress. Sadly, Congress will probably blather about it but do nothing else.
Obama has angered many Americans, including politicians on both sides of the aisle, with his apologizing to dictators for America’s offenses and now with his kissing up to the Castro regime.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), whose parents came to America from Cuba just before his birth, said, “President Obama’s actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), also born of Cuban immigrants, likewise slammed Obama’s actions. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Rubio wrote that Obama’s giving Castro’s regime diplomatic legitimacy “isn’t just bad for the oppressed Cuban people or for the millions who live in exile and lost everything at the hands of the dictatorship. Mr. Obama’s new Cuba policy is a victory for oppressive governments the world over and will have real, negative consequences for the American people.”
We have to say that all this comes as no surprise. Obama did promise to fundamentally transform the country, and his communist mentoring means he must lean in that direction. Actually, many people have suggested that’s where he stands. As Red State’s Erick Erickson writes, Obama’s “mentor, communist Frank Marshall Davis, would be proud of him.”
TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
- Arnold Ahlert: Congress’ Stand Against the Obama-Iran Nuke Deal
- Terence Jeffrey: Strong Families Are Linked to Higher Incomes
- Jonah Goldberg: Obama Coalition Isn’t a Coupon That Hillary Can Redeem for Votes
- Walter Williams: Reality May Be Optional
- Michelle Malkin: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Poverty Voyeurism
OPINION IN BRIEF
Plato (429-347 BC): “Democracy leads to anarchy, which is mob rule.”
Arnold Ahlert: “In a rare Democratic rebuke of President Obama, the bipartisan Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously to advance the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). The bill would grant Congress the ability to review the deal currently being crafted by the Obama administration and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program. President Obama, sensing rebellion from within his own party, stated for the first time publicly that he would be willing to sign the bill. Thus, the lobbying effort undertaken by the Obama administration fell flat. … For the moment, Congress has asserted itself. However, the true test will come when the accord with Iran is finalized in a few short months. It remains to be seen whether lawmakers, including those in Obama’s own party, will hold the president accountable for his reckless deal-making. So far prospects are promising, but far from certain.”
Terence Jeffrey: “Married couples with children under 18 years of age, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (Table HINC-04), made an average household income of $107,054 in 2013 and a median household income of $85,087. … [M]arried couples with no children under 18 had an average household income of $91,870 in 2013 and a median household income of $70,995. … Unmarried couples with children under 18 had an average household income of $65,337 and a median of $50,031. … Unmarried couples with no children did only a little bit better, with average household incomes of $76,609 and median household incomes of $62,126. … Why do married couples with kids have higher household incomes? Perhaps it is because they are not primarily driven by greed but something quite the opposite: a willingness to make sacrifices so their children may live better lives. It is telling that married couples with children tend to end up with higher incomes than people who only need to maintain a household for themselves. And it is a telling irony that some politicians would like to redistribute wealth from the former type of household to the latter while making fewer people dependent on themselves and their families and more dependent on government.”
Humorist Frank Fleming: “Hillary Clinton is going to run for president again? Cool. Last time, a charismatic empty suit dashed her dreams, but she’s not deterred.”
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
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Police protests spread across US citiesPosted: 15 Apr 2015 07:02 AM PDT
Demonstrators climb over a fence during a protest against police brutality against minorities in New York, April 14, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Protesters in several U.S. cities blocked highways and swarmed police precincts, leading to at least two dozen arrests in demonstrations touched off by fresh cases of police violence against unarmed black men. About 250 activists marched across New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, holding up signs that read “Stop murder by police” and “Stop killer cops”. At least 12 people, some of whom appeared to be school-aged, were arrested following a brief scuffle with police after they crossed the bridge, and long traffic delays were reported. The demonstration was organized by the Stop Mass Incarceration Network following the April 4 fatal shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina. The killing — just one of a succession of fatal police shootings — was captured on video, and the officer has been charged with murder. Police in Los Angeles said they arrested 15 protesters from a group of nearly 100 after they stopped on Metro Rail tracks and ignored orders to disperse. Elsewhere on the West Coast, more than 100 protesters surrounded a police station in San Francisco and disrupted a meeting at City Hall. In nearby Oakland, demonstrators massed outside the Oakland Police Department and poured onto Interstate 880, television broadcasts showed. MORE The post Police protests spread across US cities appeared first on End Time Headlines. |
| UK scrambles jets as Russian ships enter English ChannelPosted: 15 Apr 2015 06:56 AM PDT
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| Education departments, textbook publishers now spying on students’ social media accountsPosted: 14 Apr 2015 09:20 PM PDT
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| Islamic Extremists Have Seized Control Of U.S. Cities, Says NRA SeminarPosted: 14 Apr 2015 09:08 PM PDT
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On today’s Episode of The Briefing
1) Moral contradiction of life of Nobel winner Günter Grass shows absolute need for divine grace
Günter Grass Dies at 87; Writer Pried Open Germany’s Past but Hid His Own, New York Times (Stephen Kinzer)
2) 150 years after Lincoln assassination, moral weight of slavery on America cannot be ignored
A President Who Lived and Died for Liberty, Wall Street Journal (James L. Swanson and Michael F. Bishop)
3) Death of sibling of last Chinese emperor reminder of proximity of history
Jin Youzhi, Sibling of China’s Last Emperor, Dies at 96, New York Times (Patrick Boehler)
In other news…
Police: Home church pastors starved tot, thinking he was demon-possessed
Woman arrested in connection with child’s death in home church
Sex abuse trial begins of ‘cult-like’ church pastor, with parade of accusers to testify
Oklahoma Satanist church wants permission to distribute books in elementary school
Michigan Church to Establish ‘Special Fund’ to Repay $300K Donated by Ponzi Scammer
World Prepares for Russian Aggression
Is Gog Stirring?
The threat of Russian expansionism also has other Eastern European countries taking notice, and preparing for the possibility of war. While American military vehicles patrol the Russian border in the hopes of reassuring Europe they are safe from Putin’s aggression, citizens in the border nations are training for the worst just in case.
‘I Met Messiah’: New Website Shares Video Testimonies of Jews Who Received Jesus
Launched by Eitan Bar, a Messianic Jew himself, IMetMessiah.com is an evangelistic effort to speak to Jews curious about Jesus.
“As Jewish people, most of us grow up without considering whether or not Yeshua is the Messiah expected by our people for millennia,” he explains on the site. “Yet, something happened in our lives that changed each of us and caused us to rethink the usual Jewish views about Jesus.”
Hillary Clinton Campaign Uses Same-Sex Twosome in Presidential Race Announcement
by Marsha West
Christian News Network reports:
In announcing Hillary Clinton’s run for president of the United States on Sunday, her campaign staff included a same-sex couple in her video presentation.
According to reports, the video was to have focused on “everyday Americans,” and included short segments of citizens talking about what they are “getting ready” for, including preparing for a baby, opening a business and moving to a new area with better schools.
‘Pope Francis effect’ leads to exorcism boom
by Marsha West
According to the Telegraph, many Roman Catholics are no longer embarrassed by the resurgence of the unbiblical practice of exorcism, thanks largely to what is known as the “Pope Francis effect.” Seems there has been a boom in the demand for exorcisms because of the pontiff’s “fire-and-brimstone language and frequent references to the Devil.”
Lesbians4Hillary Is Clinton’s First Major Endorsement
Hillary Clinton has garnered one of her first major endorsements in run bid for the White House: The nation’s largest lesbian political action committee.
On The View last year, co-host Jenny McCarthy speculated that one of the reasons why Hillary Clinton has stayed with philandering Bill so long was because she is a lesbian who only uses Bill for access to political power.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” McCarthy suggested Hillary Clinton might be a lesbian. The remark came up during a discussion about Ronald Kessler’s new book,The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of Presidents. The book claims Bill Clinton has a mistress nicknamed “The Energizer,” according to the New York Post.
“I see former President William Clinton and he always seems to be so in love with his wife,” co-host Sherri Shepherd said. “They’ve weathered so many storms together.”
“Well, maybe he has his girlfriends and she has her girlfriends, you never know,” McCarthy added, smiling. “Maybe they have an arrangement.”
Lesbians4Hillary, co-chaired by pioneering tennis great Billie Jean King, said: ‘Hillary Clinton is a proven leader and she has a strong track record when it comes to inclusion — specifically for women and the LGBTQ community.
‘Her entire career has been a road map to get her to this moment and she has earned my respect and my vote to become the next President of the United States of America. I am honored to join LPAC and help lead our effort to elect Hillary Clinton in 2016.’
King, who was outed as a lesbian in 1981, was a leader of the group ‘Women for Hillary’ in 2008, as well.
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Confirmed ISIS Training Camp Found Near El Paso, Texas
ISIS is operating a camp just a few miles from El Paso, Texas, according to Judicial Watch sources that include a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police Inspector.
The exact location where the terrorist group has established its base is around eight miles from the U.S. border in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Another ISIS cell to the west of Ciudad Juárez, in Puerto Palomas, targets the New Mexico towns of Columbus and Deming for easy access to the United States, the same knowledgeable sources confirm.
During the course of a joint operation last week, Mexican Army and federal law enforcement officials discovered documents in Arabic and Urdu, as well as “plans” of Fort Bliss – the sprawling military installation that houses the US Army’s 1st Armored Division. Muslim prayer rugs were recovered with the documents during the operation.
Law enforcement and intelligence sources report the area around Anapra is dominated by the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Cartel (“Juárez Cartel”), La Línea (the enforcement arm of the cartel) and the Barrio Azteca (a gang originally formed in the jails of El Paso). Cartel control of the Anapra area make it an extremely dangerous and hostile operating environment for Mexican Army and Federal Police operations.
According to these same sources, “coyotes” engaged in human smuggling – and working for Juárez Cartel – help move ISIS terrorists through the desert and across the border between Santa Teresa and Sunland Park, New Mexico. To the east of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, cartel-backed “coyotes” are also smuggling ISIS terrorists through the porous border between Acala and Fort Hancock, Texas. These specific areas were targeted for exploitation by ISIS because of their understaffed municipal and county police forces, and the relative safe-havens the areas provide for the unchecked large-scale drug smuggling that was already ongoing.
Mexican intelligence sources report that ISIS intends to exploit the railways and airport facilities in the vicinity of Santa Teresa, NM (a US port-of-entry). The sources also say that ISIS has “spotters” located in the East Potrillo Mountains of New Mexico (largely managed by the Bureau of Land Management) to assist with terrorist border crossing operations. ISIS is conducting reconnaissance of regional universities; the White Sands Missile Range; government facilities in Alamogordo, NM; Ft. Bliss; and the electrical power facilities near Anapra and Chaparral, NM. source
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The LGBTQ Is Getting Ready To Add The ‘P’ (VIDEO)
When gay marriage was legalized in so many states, my concern turned to other perversions — especially pedophilia.
“Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:32 (KJV)
EDITOR’S NOTE: When the Gay Movement began it’s ascent to power, they realized pretty quickly that they did not have enough members in their ranks, with homosexual population in America being less than 5%. So they began to add various other perversions, forming the umbrella group that has become the LGBT. In the past year, they have been experimenting with adding the ‘Q’, which stands for queer. By the time they’re done, they will have also added a ‘P’, for pedophile.
If the unnatural and perverted act of homosexuality, spoken of clearly in the Word of God as an abomination unto the Lord, what would keep the pedophiles from jumping on that same band wagon, claiming that their’s too is just an alternate lifestyle?
Back in the 70’s and 80’s, pedophilia was considered by doctors to be a mental disorder, but so was homosexuality! Can you see the slippery slope effect coming into play?
“Since when is a crime a disability?” asked Jeff Herrity. His son, Brian was a victim of child molestation by Catholic priest, Gil Gustafson from 1977 to 1982, Brian was ten years old when the abuse began. “If that is the case, everyone in prison should be disabled”, said Herrity. This was thirty years ago, in 1983, Gustafson was convicted of molesting Brian and was sentenced to a forty dollar fine, ten years of probation, and six months in jail, he only served four and a half months and was released. The abuse “mentally and physically destroyed” him.
Brian died in 1995 at 28. It is estimated that Gustafson abused between four and fifteen victims. In 2002, Officials in Rome sentenced Gustafson to a life of prayer and penance. In July of 2006, Gustafson was declared disabled and collects disability checks in addition to the support the Pension for Priests gives him. Gustafson also runs his own ‘Leadership’ consulting firm and the church nudges clients his way. So, disability, a church pension, and his own firm, yeah, he’s living the life of a frugal priest, pardon me, ex, child molesting priest.
An assist professor at Rutgers University of Law is saying that pedophilia should be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The people with the mental disorder pedophilia should not be discriminated against, because they were possibly abused as children. She also claims that pedophilia might possibly be genetic, neurochemical, or neuroanatomic. There have been some clear distinctions made between pedophilia and child molestation. Pedophilia is the sexual attraction to prepubescent children, that is not acted upon. It is just the desire. However, if a pedophile acts on his/her sexual desires, then it becomes child molestation, therefore, a crime. Most people use the terms interchangeably, but there is a difference.
Controversy Over Push to Redefine Pedophilia
In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder. Since then, there has been a slow, progressive move toward making LGBT more and more main stream. Now they have taken over the stream and are trying to drown anyone who is straight, Christian, and disagrees with them. If God meant for us to bang anything, we would all have both working parts. Having a government that promotes the militant LGBT agenda, particularly by not defining sexual orientation, is making it easier to introduce pedophilia as a sexual orientation and not a sexual deviancy. In 2003, a group of mental health professionals formed a group called to redefine pedophilia as a sexual orientation, calling them ‘minor attracted people’ or MAP.
Their goal is to get MAPS protected under the same laws as LGBT. There is an underlying progression to sexualize children at younger and younger ages by promoting the idea that normal friendships are actually sexual attraction. Once that idea is accepted, pedophilia will be accepted. I guess pedophilia will be removed as a mental disorder and they will lose their disability status.” [1] – source
Do they not factor in all the children who are harmed and scarred for life, when they consider making pedophilia normal and culturally acceptable? It brings to mind the pro-death crowd, whose mantra has always been “It’s our body, we can do what we want with it!” But to that I’ve always rebutted that when a woman becomes pregnant, there are two bodies, not one!
In the same way, the pedophiles feel that they were born to desire pre-pubescent children in a sexual way. They care not about the children — only about themselves.”
I do hope and pray that our Lord Jesus comes to get His church away from this wasteland of sin and abominations.
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” Genesis 6:11-13 (KJV)
And as in the time of Noah, people on earth – oblivious to God — are eating and drinking and have no thought for tomorrow. They do not realize that the only safe place to be is in Jesus Christ our Savior.
MARANATHA DEAR LORD!!
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Our Time is Short
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
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New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
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