Category: US Politics

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Confirmed: 99% of Union Donations Go to Liberal-Leaning Causes

Unions across the country donated $765 million to various organizations over the last four years, and 99 percent of that cash went to liberal-leaning causes.

Labor unions gave $764,952,394 to left-wing special interests between 2012 and 2016, according to the Center for Union Facts. Of the nearly $765 million, 99 percent of union political contributions went to left-wing causes. The Center for Union Facts compiled a comprehensive database of information about labor unions in the United States: outlining union spending, salary information, dues revenue data, and more using data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

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The department’s data show between 2012 and 2016, roughly $240 million went to left-wing political groups. Labor unions gave $77 million to special-interest groups and another $13 million to environmental groups. Over $25 million went to groups like the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

During this same time frame, almost $307 million went to the Democratic Party and aligned groups, including Media Matters, the Clinton Foundation, Mi Familia Vota, the National Democratic Club, the Advocacy Fund, Progressive Democrats of America, and Planned Parenthood.

Money given to these groups and labor union spending on abortion funding, however, is almost exclusively unapproved. Union members must consent to candidate contributions and super PAC spending by affirming they are part of the union, but the same is not true for political advocacy. Thus, union member dues end up going toward political causes—like abortion advocacy—disguised as representational activity.

Here’s how much a few pro-abortion groups received from labor unions since 2007, according to Luka Ladan, communications director for the Center for Union Facts:

  • Planned Parenthood: $1.18 million
  • Emily’s List: $810,000
  • NARAL Pro-Choice America: $45,000

Here are the dollar amounts since 2007 that a few labor unions have given for abortion lobby funding:

  • American Federation of Teachers: $1,150,000
  • American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees: $520,100
  • International Association of Firefighters: $10,000
  • Service Employees International Union: $180,000
  • United Association: $40,000
  • United Auto Workers: $100,000
  • United Food and Commercial Workers International Union: $35,000

Groups like the Coalition of Labor Union Women also support abortion advocacy projects like the Contraceptive Equity Project that fights to guarantee insurance companies will cover comprehensive contraception services, including abortion. The group did not reply to multiple requests for comment.

The Service Employees International Union spent $12.1 million in the 2010 campaign cycle to advocate for Democratic candidates and another $3.5 million to oppose Republican candidates. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees also spent more than $12.4 million, $9.5 million of which went to combatting Republican candidates, according to federal campaign filings.

Union membership is far from unanimous politically. Roughly 40 percent of union household members vote Republican in any given election.

“For years, labor unions have hijacked member dues to fund Planned Parenthood, Emily’s List, and other pro-abortion groups,” Ladan, from the Center for Union Facts, said. “Yet many union members oppose the abortion lobby. The Employee Rights Act would require union officials to obtain permission before spending dues dollars on left-wing political advocacy.”

The Employee Rights Act, which was introduced in the House in May, would stop unfair labor union practices and provide workers with protections, enabling them to select or refrain from representation by labor unions. The bill would require union officials to obtain permission from their members before spending dues money on liberal causes they may oppose.

Unions have done a poor job of listening to members, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale said in July on a “listening tour,” explaining the union’s approach to politics should change.

“We may have gotten too close to one party,” Bloomingdale said. “We should be for people who are for us, regardless of party label.” Bloomingdale did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The majority of union members, including pro-life members, also have no idea their money is funding the abortion lobby, said Ladan. “Big Labor doesn’t really want to publicize it,” he added.

The National Education Association, United Auto Workers, American Federation of Teachers, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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11 GOP Senators Ask for 24/7 Schedule to Accomplish Trump’s ‘Agenda’

Nine GOP senators wrote a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to extend the chamber’s work hours to a 24/7 schedule “ to advance the president’s agenda.”

“Over 1,000 Trump nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation,” said Caroline Vanvick, deputy communications director to Sen. David Perdue, one of the signers of the letter,  in an email with the Daily Signal.

At this time, President Donald Trump has had 172 nominees confirmed. At the same time in their presidencies, President Barack Obama had had 359 nominees confirmed, and President George W. Bush 375, according to CNN.

Besides Perdue, R-Ga.. the letter was signed by Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.; Dean Heller, R-Nev.; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Mike Rounds, R-.S.D; Luther Strange, R-Ala.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss; Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; and James Lankford, R-Okla.

The letter was done after McConnell announced at a party lunch on Tuesday that he planned to extend the chamber’s work hours to Fridays and possibly weekends. According to Politico, the schedule was extended to give the Senate the opportunity to approve President Donald Trump’s nominees as well as pass tax reform before the end of the year.

The letter proposes an even more vigorous schedule in order “to combat partisan obstruction and get results for the American people,” according to a press release sent by Lesley Fulop, press secretary to Perdue.

This wasn’t the first time GOP members asked McConnell to extend the session time in the Senate.

“In August,” said Perdue in a statement, “we sent a letter to Leader McConnell and asked him to postpone the August state work period so we could confirm more nominees and make progress on agenda items.”

As a result, the Senate approved nearly 70 nominees.

“Now, with 36 legislative days left in the year,” said Perdue. “we have been raising these concerns again and urging Leader McConnell to turn the Senate on full-time so we can get all of our priorities done from the budget, funding the government, and tax this year.”

In the letter, Perdue and the other GOP senators accuse the Senate minority for trying, “to imperil the new administration and its agenda,” and emphasizes the need for the GOP to take measures to ensure their goals are met.

“Our conference should always remember that we are fighting for hardworking Americans….We owe them the same unrelenting effort in the job they gave us to do,” the letter ends.

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MRC President Brent Bozell Slams Media Blackout of Clinton-Uranium Scandal

Reston, VA — Media Research Center (MRC) President Brent Bozell issued the following statement, Thursday, in response to the media blackout of the recent developments in the Clinton-Uranium scandal. On Tuesday, The Hill revealed the FBI had found evidence of a Russian bribery plot before the Obama Administration’s controversial 2010 nuclear deal with Moscow. The Senate Judiciary Committee has opened an investigation into the scandal which reportedly involves millions in kickbacks to the Clinton Foundation.
 
A new report from the Media Research Center found that the Big Three Networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) have devoted zero seconds of coverage to the initial story and developments thereafter.
 
MRC President Brent Bozell:

“The media’s censorship of this scandal is irresponsible and unacceptable. How is it that this demands the attention of the Senate Judiciary Committee but not the press? The media’s silence speaks volumes. Clearly they are only interested in stories about potential wrongdoing with the Kremlin if it can be used against President Trump. The President was right to call them out today. Their bias is on full display.”

via NewsBusters – Exposing Liberal Media Bias

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Conservatives Plan to Send Patriotic Message, Boycott NFL on Veterans Day Weekend

Conservatives Plan to Send Patriotic Message, Boycott NFL on Veterans Day Weekend

by Penny Starr18 Oct 20170

18 Oct, 2017
18 Oct, 2017

Main Street Patriots are rallying fellow citizens to show their support across the United States for the American flag and the national anthem on Veteran’s Day weekend as a way to send a message about the importance of standing and saluting during the playing of the national anthem at NFL football games.

The conservative group is encouraging Americans to join their Flags Across America movement next month.

“I have watched professional football since the time there were two separate leagues – AFL and NFL in the late 60’s,” Debbie Dooley, co-founder of the group told Breitbart News. “Sports has always been an arena where we are united in support of our favorite teams.”

“We are not Democrats or Republicans, we are simply fans,” Dooley said, adding that the NFL players are “seeking to change that by attempting to shove their political views down the throats of fans.”

Dooley is hoping people will fly flags everywhere over the weekend and on Veterans Day — even if it’s not in an NFL stadium.

“I urge patriotic Americans to exercise their First Amendment rights and boycott the NFL and their sponsors,” Dooley said.

“Flags Across America symbolizes Americans coming together and showing respect and honor to our nation’s flag and the freedom and liberty it symbolizes to the world,” co-founder Ralph King said. “It is also to honor the veterans that fought and died so we can maintain that freedom and liberty.”

“The U.S. flag and the freedom for which it stands, at levels never before witnessed in our country, is under constant attack from the Left and now pampered sports figures,” King said. “We cannot allow these attacks to go unanswered.”

“Now is the time to be united standing in defense and proper recognition of Old Glory,” King said.

Updates and rally locations can be found here: http://ift.tt/2xRvjqp.

via Breitbart News

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Law Enforcement Posts Large Sign off Highway About NFL Protesters

Politics

Law Enforcement Posts Large Sign off Highway About NFL Protesters

By V Saxena
on October 19, 2017 at 9:32am

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In response to the NFL’s national anthem protests, one sheriff in Virginia has spent his own money to erect a roadside sign that makes it clear to the world how he and his fellow law enforcement agents feel about America and its flag.

“Law enforcement stands & places hand over heart for national anthem!” reads the sign put up by Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown. “We kneel when we pray!”

Right on.

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Take a look at the sign below:

Speaking this week with Lynchburg station WSET, Brown revealed that, like many other Americans, he used to love the NFL up until its players starting acting like pig-headed buffoons.

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“I’ve always been a Redskins fan  … (but) I quit watching,” he said, adding that the team’s decision to kneel during the anthem last month was unacceptable. “I applaud demonstrating for social justice, that’s great, but do it some other way than disrespecting our great country, and this flag.

“It’s the greatest country in the world, it’s been that way because of our military, and our law enforcement,” he added.

But Brown wasn’t done yet. He’s also purchased similarly designed bumper stickers that he plans to place on his department’s vehicles and will give to any police chief or sheriff who asks, as long as supplies last, according to WSET.

Save for a few knuckleheads, his community has been very receptive to his ideas, but particularly the sign.

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“It definitely shows the law enforcement is behind the community,” Sherri Stayton, a Bedford County resident, told WSET. “I’m proud of it absolutely.”

“It shows respect for our country and the freedoms that we have, everything is related to that flag,” added fellow resident Jeff Scott.

There’s no denying that people like the spoiled and crime-prone ingrates in the NFL have the right to act like boneheads. But thanks to the U.S. Constitution, men like Sheriff Brown have the equally valid right to let the world know how much they love America.

H/T TheBlaze

Please share this story on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown’s bold decision to take a self-funded “stand” for the flag.

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ICE Director: Suspected Wine Country Arsonist Is Illegal Alien Mexican National

ICE Director: Suspected Wine Country Arsonist Is Illegal Alien Mexican National

Sonoma Wine Country fire (Josh Adelson / AFP / Getty)

Josh Adelson / AFP / Getty

by Michelle Moons19 Oct 20170

19 Oct, 2017
19 Oct, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tom Homan confirmed on Thursday that a man arrested in connection with setting a fire in Sonoma County Wine Country is an illegal alien from Mexico who has been twice returned to his “home country.”

Homan also confirmed that ICE has issued detainer requests for Jesus Fabian Gonzalez five times now in the past year alone, including the one issued on October 16 in relation to his most recent arrest on suspicion of arson. All of the arrests were made “by Sonoma County on various felony and misdemeanor charges,” according to Homan.

Sonoma County is considered a sanctuary jurisdiction and does not fully cooperate with federal immigration officials. That includes not honoring ICE detainer requests. “ICE was never notified of Mr. Gonzalez’ various releases,” Homan wrote in the statement regarding Gonzalez.

There were several fires in the region, and it is not clear what role the fires Gonzales allegedly set played in the overall disaster.

Homan’s public statement highlights the lack of cooperation from Sonoma County officials and the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the region:

Once again, a non-cooperative jurisdiction has left their community vulnerable to dangerous individuals and preventable crimes. ICE lodged a detainer against Jesus Gonzalez with Sonoma County jail officials on October 16, following his arrest on felony charges for maliciously setting fire to a property. This is especially troubling in light of the massive wildfires already devastating the region. Over the past year, ICE has lodged detainers against Mr. Gonzalez after four separate arrests by Sonoma County on various felony and misdemeanor charges. ICE was never notified of Mr. Gonzalez’ various releases. Additionally, Mr. Gonzales has been returned to his home country of Mexico on two separate occasions. The residents of Sonoma County, and the state of California, deserve better than policies that expose them to avoidable dangers. Non-cooperation policies – now enshrined in California state law – ensure only one thing: criminals who would otherwise be deported will be released and left free to reoffend as they please.

California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill that makes California a sanctuary state.

Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana 

Photo: file

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Samantha Power: Somebody else must have made those unmasking requests with my name on them

Remember when unmasking was all the rage in the Russia, Russia, Russia investigation? Perhaps not, since much of the media didn’t seem quite so enthusiastic about covering a story which might have cast the Obama administration in a bad light. But the story still has legs and members of Congress are looking into it.

One of the biggest players in this particular game turned out to be Samantha Power. That was unusual in and of itself because, while authorized to be involved in such sensitive intelligence questions, the UN Ambassador was rather far down on the list of people you’d expect to be digging into such subjects. And yet Power was not only involved in the unmasking of Americans, she was setting land speed records at it, averaging one per business day for her last year in office.

But now she’s pushing back on the claims which have been made, saying some of them might have been made by other people using her name. Katy bar the door, because an answer like that is going to get very messy very quickly.(Daily Caller)

Someone within the Obama administration’s intelligence apparatus made requests to unmask the identity of Americans named in intelligence reports on behalf of Samantha Power, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

That’s what Power told the House Intelligence Committee last week during a closed-door interview.

South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy revealed in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday that Power was “emphatic” on the point that someone else in the Obama administration made the unmasking requests that have been attributed to her.

Trey Gowdy, from the Intelligence Committee, is all over this question now. (There’s a video of him discussing it on Fox News at the Daily Caller article linked above.) But the number of questions this claim raises are staggering. We’re talking about information which is held to the highest levels. Unmasking the identity of an American citizen who shows up as part of a foreign intelligence sweep is something which is only done with the greatest caution and there aren’t a lot of people with the authority to do it.

Any time such a request is made, wouldn’t you assume that our government has a firm grip on who is doing the asking and why they want to know? So who are these “other people” who are allegedly putting in such requests? If they are authorized to gather such information, why didnt’ they make the request under their own name? And if they aren’t, how in Sam Hill was Samantha Power allowing them to use her clearance to do it?

We’re not getting enough details here which makes what we know of her answers seem a bit on the sketchy side. Gowdy claims that her sworn testimony includes the statement (possibly paraphrased), “they may be under my name, but I did not make those requests.” Are we supposed to take away the idea that she’s saying she doesn’t even know who made the requests using her name? If so, that’s a massive security failure on the part of the Obama administration.

If, on the other hand, she’s just being cagey and knows who wanted the information but she doesn’t want to say, then even more questions arise. As noted above, it’s odd enough that the UN Ambassador needed so many of these details for her normal line of work, but if she was passing that information on to somebody else we obviously need to know who that was. Was it someone else in the intelligence community working on the investigation but without the appropriate level of access? Or was it someone with a more political position? (Power was always a regular on the cable news circuit acting as an administration cheerleader.) Maybe it was the Russians? (Hey… it’s as good a guess as anything else these days.)

If this was some perfectly innocent glitch in the structure of the intelligence apparatus a few quick answers could have cleared it up. But as it is, it sounds like Power is being quite evasive and the public deserves to know why.

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Russia Boomerangs on Dems as Senate to Probe Obama Era Uranium Cover-Up

It was always likely that the longer that the Democrats persisted with the Trump-Russia witch hunt that it would one day come back to bite them in their own asses.

That day has now arrived.

On Tuesday, The Hill published a blockbuster of a report alleging that the Obama regime not only knew that the Clinton crime family was the recipient of bribes and kickbacks from a Putin-connected company seeking to gain partial control of the U.S. uranium supply but that the FBI had a confidential witness working within the Russian nuclear industry.

On Wednesday, The Hill published a follow-up story reporting that the confidential witness was blocked by Obama’s Justice Department from communicating with Congress over the bribery and criminality that he saw and was threatened with punishment including to possibility of being thrown into prison.

This is a very big deal because, during the timeframe specified by the investigation, the two men who were running the FBI were named Robert Mueller and later, James Comey. The latter was once again ripped by President Trump today on Twitter for participating in the coverup of Hillary Clinton’s crimes.

Now in what could be an overwhelming blow the entire contrived Trump-Russia conspiracy, the Senate Judiciary Committee has opened an investigation into the Russian Uranium matter and the subsequent cover-up involving the very same man who has been given sweeping power and vast amounts of taxpayer money to find an impeachable offense against Trump.

Via The Hill “Senate Judiciary opens probe into Obama-era Russian nuclear bribery case”:

The Senate Judiciary Committee has launched a probe into a Russian nuclear bribery case, demanding several federal agencies disclose whether they knew the FBI had uncovered the corruption before the Obama administration in 2010 approved a controversial uranium deal with Moscow.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee chairman, on Wednesday raised the issue in public during questioning of Attorney General Jeff Sessions during an oversight hearing.

The senator cited a series of The Hill stories that showed the FBI had evidence that Russian nuclear officials were involved in a racketeering scheme as early as 2009, well before the uranium deal was approved.

“According to government documents and recent news reports, the Justice Department had an ongoing criminal investigation for bribery, extortion, money laundering, into officials for a Russian company making purchase of Uranium One,” Grassley said. “That purchase was approved during previous administration and resulted in Russians owning 20 percent of America’s uranium mining capacity.

“What are you doing to find out how Russian takeover of American uranium was allowed to occur despite criminal conduct by Russian company that the Obama administration approved to make the purchase?” he asked Sessions.

Sessions responded: “I would offer that some people have gone to jail in that transaction already, but the article talks about other issues. Without confirming or denying existence of any particular investigation, I would say I hear your concerns and they will be reviewed.”

Considering the record up to this point its hard to have much faith in Sessions going after the Clinton criminal empire and its Deep State allies but it could a much different story when it comes to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

How about a special counsel to investigate the special counsel?

Maybe Hillary will indeed end up behind bars where she belongs, along with all of the rest of those involved in this endeavor. You could probably open a new wing at Gitmo for them including Mr. Obama himself.

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Mass High School Students Assigned To “Be Muslim” During “Simulated Hajj To Mecca”….

Shockingly, not everyone thought this was a good idea.

Via Fox News:

Massachusetts high school students pretended to be Muslims in the “Islamic” city of Jerusalem as part of a class assignment used in Newton Public Schools to teach about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a new report revealed.

One father was particularly upset when he discovered his daughter had been assigned what he described as an inflammatory pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel article, according to the report. The man was allegedly told by the school’s principal that lessons the next year would be even more upsetting to him.

The class assignment, “Cities: Connecting the Islamic Word,” was published in an excerpt from a book by CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting.

“As our concluding project on the Islamic world, you will work in groups to simulate a historical hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in class,” a teacher wrote in the assignment description. “Each of you will be part of a group of Muslim pilgrims from one of the following eight Islamic cities or regions, around a rough time period.”

One of the eight “Islamic” cities is Jerusalem, and students are instructed to set up a “tent,” which will display newspaper articles about “their” cities and cultural artifacts to represent their Islamic “hometowns.”

via Weasel Zippers

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