Much needed maintenance work is overdue at U.S. Navy shipyards around the country that are unable to meet the service’s “operational needs,” and the price tag to overcome the problem will be high, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office.
The GAO warned that the backlogged restoration and maintenance projects at the shipyards will cost an estimated $4.86 billion, a 41 percent increase over five years, National Defensereported Wednesday. The backlog will take at least 19 years to complete.
The GAO report, titled “Naval Shipyards: Actions Needed to Improve Poor Conditions That Affect Operations,” found that the maintenance work must be done to properly maintain the Navy’s fleet, including nuclear-powered vessels.
“Although the Navy committed to increased capital investment and developed an improvement plan in 2013, the shipyards’ facilities and equipment remain in poor condition,” the report said. “Partly as a result of their poor condition, the shipyards have not been fully meeting the Navy’s operational needs.”
The problems are projected to continue.
“The Navy estimates that it will be unable to conduct 73 of 218 maintenance periods over the next 23 fiscal years due to insufficient capacity and other deficiencies,” according to the report.
The GAO warned that unless action is taken soon, the costs will grow immensely and could cripple the Navy’s operations.
“The Navy estimates that it will need at least $9 billion in capital investment over the next 12 fiscal years, but this estimate does not account for all expected costs, such as those for planning and modernizing the shipyards’ utility infrastructure,” the report said. “Unless it adopts a comprehensive, results-oriented approach to addressing its capital investment needs, the Navy risks continued deterioration of its shipyards, hindering its ability to efficiently and effectively support Navy readiness over the long term.”
The Navy currently owns four shipyards around the country: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Washington; and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Hawaii.
via Washington Free Beacon
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Obama DHS Interviewed Manhattan Terrorist About Suspected ‘Terror Ties’ — Let Him Walk Free
November 1, 2017 by Joshua Caplan
A new report reveals the Department of Homeland Security interviewed the Manhattan terrorist Sayfullo Saipov in 2015 over suspected ties to Islamic terror groups.
Agents let Saipov go free because they did not find enough evidence to open a case on him.
Saipov’s name and address was listed as a “point of contact” for two different men whose names were entered into the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit’s list after they came to the United States from “threat countries,” one federal official told ABC News.
One of the two men has vanished and is being actively sought by federal agents as a “suspected terrorist.”
[…]
Authorities say Saipov claimed in a handwritten note found near his truck that he carried out Tuesday’s attack on behalf of ISIS.
Following the Manhattan terror attack, where an Islamic jihadist killed 8 and injured several people, President Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen its ‘Extreme Vetting Program.’
“I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!,” tweeted President Trump.
I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!
Asked if he would send the terrorist to the Guantanamo Bay military prison, President Trump said, ‘I would certainly consider that, yes. I would certainly consider that. Send him to Gitmo.”
JUST IN: President Trump says he would “certainly consider” sending NYC attacker to Guantanamo Bay https://t.co/6v6vP5vXey
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via The Gateway Pundit
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He had a shrimp cocktail in one hand and his crank in another and he was jerking off in front of her with his fat belly hanging out. At least that is the story that a woman is telling about director Brett Ratner who is famous for the “Rush Hour” action movie franchise.
Hollywood is erupting with tales of sexual depravity, powerful men forcing themselves on actresses, sex assaults and even pedophilia as the fall of Harvey Weinstein has set off a chain reaction with no apparent end in sight.
No fewer than six women have come forward to accuse Ratner of sexual improprieties and predatory conduct spanning nearly two decades.
Hollywood film director Brett Ratner has been accused of sexual harassment by six actresses who say Ratner exhibited a range of sexual misconduct both in public and in private settings dating back two decades.
The LA Times interviewed six actresses who worked with Ratner who describe the “Rush Hour” franchise director as an aggressive predator who abused his power over women for sex.
“He strong-armed me in a real way. He physically forced himself on me,” actress Natasha Henstridge said. “At some point, I gave in and he did his thing.”
In an interview, “X-Men: Apocalypse” star and former Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn told the Times that Ratner masturbated in front of her while she was an aspiring actress when she went to deliver a meal to his trailer. Munn wrote about the incident without naming Ratner in 2010 in a series of essays.
“He walked out … with his belly sticking out, no pants on, shrimp cocktail in one hand and he was furiously masturbating in the other. And before I literally could even figure out where to escape or where to look, he ejaculated,” Munn said.
“It feels as if I keep going up against the same bully at school who just won’t quit,” Munn told the Times, adding she “made specific, conscientious choices not to work with Brett Ratner.”
It would seem that by taking out Weinstein who by all accounts was a serious scumbucket as well as a vicious bully, a seal was broken on liberal silence in a town long notorious for the casting couch and how many a career could be made by submitting to the perverted whims of producers and directors and now years of pent-up tales of humiliation and abuses are spilling out.
Most conservatives have long been privy to the debauchery in the land of dreams and it has to be more than a bit satisfying to see the stories piling up as the left is in full panic mode and terrified that it may be their names in the newspapers next. There seems to have been a serious dropoff in liberal loudmouths attacking President Trump the last few weeks, could it be that some really big names are trying to fly under the radar?
It will take a lot more than the toxic tales that have already seeped out of the Hollywood sewers before all of these sanctimonious celebrities and late-night talk show smartasses get those smug smirks wiped off of their faces but the trickle could soon become a great flood.
It’s always been ridiculous that anyone in Hollyweird is able to sneer down on normal Americans and lecture them about morality when the entire town has been sitting on a keg of dynamite and playing with matches for a hell of a long time now.
It could be that America finally gets to see the truth about these filthy swine who need to be silenced and shunned like lepers instead of worshipped like gods and goddesses.
via Downtrend.com
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A pair of Democrats and Republicans introduced a new bill on Tuesday that would subject bump-fire stocks and other devices to the same regulations as machine guns and other highly regulated firearms.
The bill, named the Closing the Bump-Stock Loophole Act, would add “a reciprocating stock, or any other device which is designed to accelerate substantially the rate of fire of a semiautomatic weapon” to the purview of the National Firearms Act, which currently regulates machine guns, short-barreled rifles or shotguns, silencers, and other firearms. The bill does not define what a “reciprocating stock” is or set a standard for what constitutes a substantial increase to the rate of fire of a semi-automatic weapon. The bill would give those who already own devices covered under the new regulations a year to comply with them by completing the background checks, registration, and pay the tax stamp required by the National Firearms Act. Those caught with unregistered devices after that point would be subject to federal prosecution.
The bill was introduced by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Dan Kildee (D., Mich.), Dina Titus (D., Nev.), and Dave Trott (R., Mich.).
“This bipartisan legislation will block the availability of these and other dangerous devices, and demonstrates a serious bipartisan commitment to keeping our communities safe,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “We must do everything in our power to prevent the kind of evil we see in horrifying incidents like the Las Vegas shootings, and resolve as a nation to confront this evil through meaningful, bipartisan legislative action and an ongoing commitment to keep our communities safe from gun violence.”
Rep. Kildee said the bill would not prevent all gun deaths but will allow law enforcement to further control the availability of bump-fire stocks and other devices designed to increase a semi-automatic firearm’s rate of fire.
“This bill will not prevent all senseless gun deaths—rather, it seeks to address one dangerous loophole in existing law that allows anyone to acquire a bump stock, no questions asked,” Kildee said. “This bipartisan legislation will give law enforcement the ability to regulate bump stocks and keep them out of the hands of criminals and violent people. Such deadly devices that can turn firearms into fully automatic machine guns have no place on America’s streets.”
Bump-fire stocks do not turn semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic firearms. A fully automatic firearm will continue to fire so long as the trigger is depressed, whereas a semi-automatic firearm will only fire once each time the trigger is depressed. Instead, bump-fire stocks use the recoil of the firearm to significantly increase how quickly the shooter can pull the trigger.
The bill is different from a previous bump-fire stock bill introduced a few weeks ago by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats which would make it outright illegal to “manufacture, possess, or transfer any part or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle.” Just as with that bill, though, the National Rifle Association has come out in opposition.
The gun-rights group’s lobbying arm said it sees the same flaw in both bills: overly broad language.
“The NRA opposes the overly broad legislation being offered by congressman Fitzpatrick, which is not limited to bumpstocks and includes many commonly owned firearm accessories,” Jennifer Baker, a spokesperson for the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, told the Washington Free Beacon.
The NRA reiterated its position that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) should reconsider its 2010 classification of bump-fire stocks as outside the purview of federal firearms laws.
“The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) approved the manufacture and sale of bump-fire devices during the Obama administration,” Baker said. “The NRA has called for the ATF to review its decision and determine whether these devices should be regulated differently. Despite the false assertions being made by anti-gun politicians and lobbyists, this is within ATF’s regulatory authority.”
The ATF has explained its classification process in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting but has not specifically commented on whether or not it would review its previous decision on bump-fire stocks. The congressmen behind the new bill believe the ATF needs further legislative authority to reclassify bump-fire stocks and other devices.
“This bill ends the cycle of knee-jerk legislation, hastily thrown together in the wake of these all-too-common tragedies,” Rep. Trott said in a statement. “Rather, this is a proactive approach that gives the ATF the regulatory flexibility it needs to hold these devices to the highest level of scrutiny while protecting Americans’ Second Amendment right.”
via Washington Free Beacon
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Chris Matthews has put in a strong entry for the title of stupidest reaction to the Halloween jihad massacre in Lower Manhattan. Was there a memo at NBC News that forbade any mention of Islam or Jihad in discussing Sayfullo Saipov? Or is Matthews really that stupid?
Was this madness was passed down from the suits at 30 Rock? Or does Chris Matthews wear such huge blinders that he can’t connect the dots and see that this attack is like Barcelona, Nice, and several other examples of jihadis renting truck and mowing down infidels?
His colleague, Brian Williams, the fabulist still employed as a purported ”newsman” at NBC News, expressed equal bafflement.
This will take less than a minute of your life, and should never be forgetten when listening to Matthews spout his analysis.
Here is a hint for Chris: Muslims who follow the scripture of their religion see themselves as members of the ummah (the community of Muslims worldwide), not as citizens of some nation-state, a concept that didn’t exist at the time of Mohammed’s life, and therefore is something to be shunned. Because seventh century Arabia is the model for all of us to use on living our lives.
Chris Matthews has put in a strong entry for the title of stupidest reaction to the Halloween jihad massacre in Lower Manhattan. Was there a memo at NBC News that forbade any mention of Islam or Jihad in discussing Sayfullo Saipov? Or is Matthews really that stupid?
Was this madness was passed down from the suits at 30 Rock? Or does Chris Matthews wear such huge blinders that he can’t connect the dots and see that this attack is like Barcelona, Nice, and several other examples of jihadis renting truck and mowing down infidels?
His colleague, Brian Williams, the fabulist still employed as a purported ”newsman” at NBC News, expressed equal bafflement.
This will take less than a minute of your life, and should never be forgetten when listening to Matthews spout his analysis.
Here is a hint for Chris: Muslims who follow the scripture of their religion see themselves as members of the ummah (the community of Muslims worldwide), not as citizens of some nation-state, a concept that didn’t exist at the time of Mohammed’s life, and therefore is something to be shunned. Because seventh century Arabia is the model for all of us to use on living our lives.
via American Thinker Blog
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As President Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, goes down in the first indictment from the Mueller special prosecution, on charges of failing to file as a registered foreign agent, there’s been speculation about why Tony Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager’s brother, didn’t get indicted, too. He was involved with the same pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank as Manafort.
The Podesta Group belatedly filed severalnew disclosures with the Justice Department on Aug. 17 related to work the firm completed between 2012 and 2014 on behalf of a pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank.
Back in April, the powerful Washington lobbying firm run by Clinton ally Tony Podesta filed a document admitting its work for the pro-Russia European Centre for a Modern Ukraine may have principally benefited a foreign government. New disclosuresrevealed dozens of previously unreported interactions the firm made with influential government offices, including Hillary Clinton’s State Department and the office of former Vice President Joe Biden, while lobbying on behalf of the center. Embattled ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort failed to disclose his extensive lobbying efforts on behalf of the center at the time as well.
So around the time Mueller was being appointed Special Counsel, on May 17, 2017, the Podestas were getting their papers in order. The first filing came in April, so there was probably less tipoff than writing on the wall as the political turmoil intensified. But other filings came in August, which GatewayPundit thinks could signal a tipoff.
Did such a tipoff come from Mueller’s office to protect these lawbreakers while taking down Manafort? Two things say yes: that Mueller’s office consists almost exclusively of hired leftists, with a curious absence of conservatives, meaning there are probably some loyalties among that crew to the Democrats the Podestas representes, and that Mueller’s office is leak-prone, as this past week’s CNN scoop on the coming indictments Monday showed. A leak to CNN could just as easily be a leak to the Podestas, meaning, tipoff.
What’s perhaps an even larger issue is why the Podestas could go for years without filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and then somehow make it all right by retroactively filing the papers. Can Manafort do that too, now that he’s been indicted? The Podestas got away with it. It’s just astonishing that the law could work this way and Manafort could be headed for prison all because the Special Counsel got to him before he could get his retroactive papers filed (for the exact same activity with the exact same think tank). This doesn’t sound like justice.
Here’s another aspect of the case that casts aspersions on the whole process.
Writing in Politico magazine, Ken Silverstein notes that failing to register as a foreign agent is rarely ever enforced. His headline sums it up well:
The real news in the indictment of Paul Manafort on charges of laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent is that someone has actually been prosecuted under a foreign lobbying law that has existed for decades but has almost never been enforced. The indictment may or may not prove that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government, but it has already proved how flawed the foreign lobbying rules have always been and how easily they are flouted.
I’m not going to weigh in on whether Manafort or his associate, Rick Gates, did in fact launder more than $18 million dollars, largely gathered as fees from Ukrainian strongman and Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych, but I can say with certainty that the law, which Manafort is accused of violating, known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, is a complete joke. The law was enacted in 1938, but it’s been under-enforced or not enforced at all for ages.
Silverstein, it should be noted, is an open lefty, so he’s not writing this because he likes Manafort. It’s just the way things are.
The retroactive FARA registration and the rarity of any enforcement of the FARA laws, as well as the possibility of a tipoff to the the Podestas suggest that this Special Counsel investigation has always been a witch hunt, not a quest for justice. Every one of these faultlines gives Manafort a case for the dismissal of the charges against him on technicalities. If it’s found that the Podestas were tipped off by Mueller’s office, they most certainly should be. And whoever did the tipping off is the one who ought to be in the dock.
As President Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, goes down in the first indictment from the Mueller special prosecution, on charges of failing to file as a registered foreign agent, there’s been speculation about why Tony Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager’s brother, didn’t get indicted, too. He was involved with the same pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank as Manafort.
The Podesta Group belatedly filed severalnew disclosures with the Justice Department on Aug. 17 related to work the firm completed between 2012 and 2014 on behalf of a pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank.
Back in April, the powerful Washington lobbying firm run by Clinton ally Tony Podesta filed a document admitting its work for the pro-Russia European Centre for a Modern Ukraine may have principally benefited a foreign government. New disclosuresrevealed dozens of previously unreported interactions the firm made with influential government offices, including Hillary Clinton’s State Department and the office of former Vice President Joe Biden, while lobbying on behalf of the center. Embattled ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort failed to disclose his extensive lobbying efforts on behalf of the center at the time as well.
So around the time Mueller was being appointed Special Counsel, on May 17, 2017, the Podestas were getting their papers in order. The first filing came in April, so there was probably less tipoff than writing on the wall as the political turmoil intensified. But other filings came in August, which GatewayPundit thinks could signal a tipoff.
Did such a tipoff come from Mueller’s office to protect these lawbreakers while taking down Manafort? Two things say yes: that Mueller’s office consists almost exclusively of hired leftists, with a curious absence of conservatives, meaning there are probably some loyalties among that crew to the Democrats the Podestas representes, and that Mueller’s office is leak-prone, as this past week’s CNN scoop on the coming indictments Monday showed. A leak to CNN could just as easily be a leak to the Podestas, meaning, tipoff.
What’s perhaps an even larger issue is why the Podestas could go for years without filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and then somehow make it all right by retroactively filing the papers. Can Manafort do that too, now that he’s been indicted? The Podestas got away with it. It’s just astonishing that the law could work this way and Manafort could be headed for prison all because the Special Counsel got to him before he could get his retroactive papers filed (for the exact same activity with the exact same think tank). This doesn’t sound like justice.
Here’s another aspect of the case that casts aspersions on the whole process.
Writing in Politico magazine, Ken Silverstein notes that failing to register as a foreign agent is rarely ever enforced. His headline sums it up well:
The real news in the indictment of Paul Manafort on charges of laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent is that someone has actually been prosecuted under a foreign lobbying law that has existed for decades but has almost never been enforced. The indictment may or may not prove that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government, but it has already proved how flawed the foreign lobbying rules have always been and how easily they are flouted.
I’m not going to weigh in on whether Manafort or his associate, Rick Gates, did in fact launder more than $18 million dollars, largely gathered as fees from Ukrainian strongman and Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych, but I can say with certainty that the law, which Manafort is accused of violating, known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, is a complete joke. The law was enacted in 1938, but it’s been under-enforced or not enforced at all for ages.
Silverstein, it should be noted, is an open lefty, so he’s not writing this because he likes Manafort. It’s just the way things are.
The retroactive FARA registration and the rarity of any enforcement of the FARA laws, as well as the possibility of a tipoff to the the Podestas suggest that this Special Counsel investigation has always been a witch hunt, not a quest for justice. Every one of these faultlines gives Manafort a case for the dismissal of the charges against him on technicalities. If it’s found that the Podestas were tipped off by Mueller’s office, they most certainly should be. And whoever did the tipping off is the one who ought to be in the dock.
via American Thinker Blog
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President Donald Trump signaled on Twitter that he was prepared to crack down on immigration visa programs in the wake of the terrorist attack in New York City.
“We are fighting hard for Merit Based immigration, no more Democrat Lottery Systems,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter).”
We are fighting hard for Merit Based immigration, no more Democrat Lottery Systems. We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter). @foxandfriends
Trump criticized the program that allowed the suspected terrorist, Sayfullo Saipov, into the United States who allegedly killed eight and injured 11 people with a rented Home Depot truck on Tuesday.
“The terrorist came into our country through what is called the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery Program,’ a Chuck Schumer beauty,” Trump said. “I want merit based.”
The terrorist came into our country through what is called the “Diversity Visa Lottery Program,” a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based.
The Democrats’ Senate leader, N.Y. Sen. Chuck Schumer helped create the diversity visa program which reportedly provided a green card to the Islamic immigrant who allegedly killed eight New Yorkers on October 31.
The diversity visa program was created in 1990 by then-Rep. Schumer in response to Irish lobbies in his New York district. Twenty-seven years later, it annually awards 50,000 visas by annual lottery to entrants from around the world, ensuring a cascade of subsequent chain-migrants.
An August poll shows that only one-in-six Americans strongly favors the program, despite much political and media pressure to welcome migrants. Politico and Morning Consult conducted the poll of 1,992 registered voters, which showed:
Other polls show that the public strongly opposes elements of the program which offers green cards to people with few skills, little earning ability and little ability to assimilate into the United States’ non-Islamic society.
President Donald Trump and several GOP legislators, including Georgia Sen David Perdue and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, has called for the diversity visa program to be ended. But the program is praised by progressives for imposing variety on Americans’ civic society. According to a progressive website, Qz.com:
Supporters believe the DV program, despite its relatively small size is essential in keeping the US a truly multicultural society by providing an opportunity for people from communities that aren’t largely represented in recent immigration flows to have a shot at America.
Schumer’s diversity visa plan was included in the House-approved “Family Unity and Employment Opportunity Immigration Act of 1990” when it was combined with a proposal by a Democratic from Boston. The resulting “Schumer visa” measure was included in the completed Immigration Act of 1990, which also raised the annual inflow of legal immigrants up from 500,000 up to 700,000. The bill was signed by then-President George H.W. Bush.
The diversity visa program offers green cards to 50,000 lottery applicants each year. Lottery winners undergo a State Department interview and health check, and can then bring their spouses and minor children to the United States and get them on a five-year track to citizenship.
Once a winner and a spouse become citizens, they can import their parents, their in-laws and their children, plus the parents of their in-laws, such as the winner’s spouse’s sister’s husband’s parents. In turn, the relatives can later become citizens and import their relatives. The chain-migration process does not set any skill tests for admission, and so delivers a growing flow of unskilled and uneducated — and often ill, elderly and retired migrants — to the nation’s extensive welfare system.
One of the Schumer-visa winners was Sayfulloh Saipov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan or neighboring Kyrgyzstan, who got his green card in 2010. He is reportedly the driver who killed eight New Yorkers — likely all of whom were Schumer’s constituents — by hitting them with a rented truck.
3/ FB page of “Sayfulloh Saipov” had 3 postings from 2011: 1.”assalomu alaykum” 2.”Allah u Akbar” 3.”Bismillah alRahman alRahim + Allah” http://pic.twitter.com/9ojmHRYYKm
WABC-NY reports: “Authorities say he came to the United States seven years ago … under what is called the Diversity Visa Program, which offers a lottery for people from countries with few immigrants in America.”
Schumer’s support for greater immigration was also visible in 2013 when he joined and pushed the so-called “Gang of Eight” amnesty-and-cheap-labor bill.
That push proved disastrous to Schumer and the Democratic Party because it provided an impetus for New York real-estate developer Donald Trump to run for the presidency in 2016, and it also helped flip nine Democratic seats in the 2014 Senate elections.
via Breitbart News
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