Category: US Politics

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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.

via Downtrend.com

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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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Delta passengers try to sing national anthem for fallen soldier. A flight attendant shuts them down.

Dr. Pamela Gaudry found out the hard way that singing the national anthem on a Delta Air lines aircraft might just ruffle some feathers.

In a weekend Facebook video, Gaudry described an idea she had while she was on a flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta after learning that a fallen U.S. soldier was on board.

What was in the video?

In her video, Gaudry — the wife of a deceased Navy captain — was tearful and relayed her story with a shaking voice.

“I just did the most uncourageous thing in my life today, and I’m sharing it,” Gaudry said. “I hope somehow it gets to people all around, even the President.”

Gaudry revealed that the flight crew announced Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright’s casket would be leaving the plane first.

She said that she went around the plane and asked all of the passengers if they would like to sing the national anthem as Wright’s casket was removed from the aircraft.

Gaudry said that most of the people she spoke to were quite receptive, and some even cried at the idea.

However, before Gaudry and the other passengers could begin, a flight attendant approached Gaudry and told her that they would not be able to sing the anthem, and said it was against Delta’s company policy to do so.

Gaudry, taken aback, told the flight attendant that she would not be the one to tell the passengers they couldn’t sing, so an announcement was made to the passengers over the plane’s intercom.

Gaudry reported that the flight attendant later told her that there were passengers from other countries who told the crew that they were not comfortable hearing America’s national anthem.

“I didn’t know what would happen to me if I started to sing,” Gaudry said. “I’m humiliated by my lack of courage to sing the national anthem on my own country on American soil, with a deceased soldier on the plane.”

She added, “I wish I could have been an example for my children. I’m glad my former husband is deceased. He would have been profoundly disappointed in me.”

Gaudry said that she hoped that the video would go viral, and that “people will know that it is a policy of Delta to not be able to sing the national anthem on one of their planes.”

Since sharing the video on Saturday, Gaudry’s video has received 2.7 million views.

What did Delta have to say?

In a statement obtained by The Hill, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines revealed that the company does not actually have such a policy.

“The respectful ceremony of the Delta Honor Guard is one symbol of Delta’s pledge to the men and women of the armed forces, and it represents our broad commitment to our veterans and active-duty service members,” the spokesperson said.

“Delta does not have a policy regarding the national anthem. We have reached out to the customer and are looking into this situation,” the spokesperson added.

Did Gaudry respond to Delta’s statement?

Yes.

Gaudry shared an update on Sunday that revealed Delta had contacted her and had apologized for the miscommunication.

“Delta has apologized to me. Profusely. I accept,” Gaudry said.

via TheBlaze.com – Stories

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Pro-Abortion Topless Feminists Attack Catholic Church With Firebombs And Poop

On Sunday, some 40,000 pro-abortion topless feminists hit the streets of Resistencia, Argentina, to demand taxpayer-funded on-demand abortion and the legalization of prostitution in a so-called “Boob Protest.”

The Argentina government adheres to the scientific truth that human life begins at conception and outright outlaws abortion except for rare cases where the mother is deemed in danger.

According to a report from Crux, some of the “boob protesters” attacked buildings and a Catholic church in Pope Francis’ native country with tampons and pads covered in red paint, rocks, a Molotov cocktail, feces, inflamed garbage cans, and balloons filled with paint.

“To the Catholic, apostolic, Roman Church, that wants to place itself in our bed, we say that we want to be whores, transvestites and lesbians,” reportedly chanted the women. “If the pope was a woman, abortion would be law,” they also yelled.

The totally sane feminists also painted the phrases, “death to the pope,” “abort the macho,” and “lesbianize yourself” on nearby public buildings.

Moreover, the boob protest participants were allowed access to some interesting workshops:

There were 71 workshops for participants, including “Women and feminism,” which focused on taking the patriarchy out of politics, “Women and sexuality,” “Women and lesbianism,” “Women and maternity,” “Women and sexual and reproductive rights,” “Strategies for legal, safe and free abortion,” “Women and disabilities,” “Women in the fight against drug addiction and drug trafficking,” “Women and cannabis,” “Violence, abuse and sexual harassment,” “Femicides,” and “Feminization of poverty.”

As reported by The Daily Wire in March, feminists in Argentina staged an abortion of baby Jesus outside of a Catholic church.

Persuasive stuff.

via Daily Wire

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Video Shows Where Puerto Rico’s Aid Went (Spoiler: It’s In A Dumpster In Puerto Rico)

In light of the outcry from one particularly vocal Democratic mayor in Puerto Rico about relief efforts after Hurricane Maria, a video is quickly making its way across the internet purportedly showing what happened to many of the supplies sent to help the locals who were devastated by the storm.

The video’s description reads, “Fully packed meals in Trash Dumpster in Patilla, P.R. and Starvation still in effect in most of the island”:

VIDEO

The video shows a man shocked to find what looks like a shipping container-sized bin filled with box after box of unopened meals that have been discarded. When the camera pans, you can see a semi-truck trailer right behind the dumpster, begging the question, “Did those supplies go straight from the truck to the trash?”

It turns out the man in the dumpster happens to be the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, Luis Rivera Marin, who then spoke to CBS News Correspondent David Begnaud about what he found:

Marin states: “We got tipped about the mishandling of some of the supplies in a distribution center in Patilla, and we were able to corroborate what we didn’t want to see. In a garbage dump truck we found pallets full of meals ready to be distributed at one time but now all spoiled. They were left under the rain in the open air under the sun subject to rodents and animals.”

Just two weeks ago, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz gave an impassioned speech calling out President Trump for what she sees as sub-par relief efforts while standing in front of pallets of unopened supplies donated by companies.

As NBC reported at the time,

The mayor of Puerto Rico’s largest city was rebuked by President Donald Trump on Saturday after pleading for more federal assistance in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

“We are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy,” San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said Friday at a news conference. She highlighted donations from companies and others, including 200,000 pounds of food donated by Goya, as a contrast to federal help.

“This is what we got last night: four pallets of water, three pallets of meals and 12 pallets of infant food — which I gave them to the people of Comerio, where people are drinking off a creek,” she said. “So I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell.”

President Trump responded to Cruz via Twitter:

Exit thought from Conservative News:

via Daily Wire

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Actress Slams Hollywood Hypocrites for Being Blind to ‘Glaring Injustice’

Someone in Hollywood actually pointed out that actors and actresses have no room to criticize Trump after ignoring predator Harvey Weinstein for three decades.

At Elle Magazine’s Women in Entertainment event, according to Hollywood Reporter, actress Jessica Chastain spoke out against the hypocrisy in Hollywood, saying, “This is an industry rife with racism, sexism, and homophobia. It is so closely woven into the fabric of the business that we have become snowblind to the glaring injustices happening every day.”

She also addressed the issue of celebrities who lump President Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein in the same sentence: “We rally against the presidential candidate who slants a narrative of his sexual assault as mere locker room talk, but at the same time we ignore the stories and warnings of sexual predators in our offices.”

Chastain also stated that while Hollywood is “very quick to point the finger at others and address the issue with social action and fundraising,” there is “a clear disconnect between how we practice what we preach in our industry.”

She also told the story of how she was sexually harassed, not by Weinstein, but by another producer, and stayed silent because she feared “that I would be made unhirable.”

via NewsBusters – Exposing Liberal Media Bias

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Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Caught Having Sex With ‘Numerous’ Women at the Office

Seal_of_the_United_States_Marshals_Service

Wikimedia Commons

BY:

October 18, 2017 1:57 pm

Achief deputy U.S. Marshal was caught having sex with numerous women at the office, according to the inspector general.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation of a Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal (CDUSM) based on information it received that the CDUSM engaged in misconduct by engaging in sexual activity with numerous different women within government space,” the inspector general said in an investigative summary released Monday.

The inspector general confirmed the allegations and said the marshal would not be prosecuted.

“The OIG substantiated the allegation that the CDUSM engaged in sexual activity with several different women within government space, contacted some of the women identified and encouraged them not to disclose to the OIG any information concerning their sexual activity within the government space, and initially lied to the OIG about his sexual activity on government property,” the inspector general said.

“The OIG also found that in connection with his personal relationships, the CDUSM allowed multiple unauthorized non-government employees whom he was dating to park their personal vehicles within and in front of government property,” the inspector general added.

The marshal also gave a reporter nonpublic information about a case involving a fugitive and regularly brought his dog to work, against the government’s policies.

“Prosecution was declined,” the inspector general said.

via Washington Free Beacon

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Bipartisan ObamaCare compromise collapses even quicker than you’d expect

So much for the dawn of the New Era of Bipartisan Pragmatism. News emerged yesterday afternoon that Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray had reached a compromise to stabilize ObamaCare, restoring direct subsidies to insurers ended by Donald Trump in return for greater flexibility on mandates and state control. Murray declared that the deal would end the “uncertainty and disruption” in the health care industry that resulted from the “sabotage” of the Trump administration.

“When Republicans and Democrats take the time to work together under regular order rather than retreating into partisan corners,” Murray said in her announcement, “we can truly get things done that help people that we serve.”

Or …. maybe not:

Yet another last-ditch effort to tackle the nation’s health-care system stalled within hours of its release by a bipartisan pair of senators Tuesday, with President Trump sending mixed signals and Republicans either declining to endorse the proposal or outright opposing it.

The week began on Capitol Hill with a renewed sense of urgency to craft legislation following Trump’s decision last week to end key payments to health insurers that help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage but that the president argued were illegal under the Affordable Care Act.

The compromise offered by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday proposes authorizing those payments for two years in exchange for granting states greater flexibility to regulate health coverage under the ACA. Those payments help offset deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income consumers who obtain insurance through the law; critics of Trump’s decision said eliminating the subsidies would cause insurers to back out of marketplaces across the country.

The same critics who claim that are speaking warmly of another Democratic initiative, “Medicare-X”, which is the revived public option that got stricken from the original ObamaCare proposal. That would undercut prices on exchanges and force insurers out even more quickly than an end to CSR subsidies will do. The most acute impact of the ending of CSR payments is to force insurers to price premiums correctly rather than ask taxpayers to make up losses on the back end, which Democrats would continue in perpetuity.

What exactly did Republicans get in exchange for appropriating funds for CSRs the next two years? Democrats agreed to allow catastrophic insurance plans to be sold on the exchanges, but only for people 30 years of age and older, which is very odd. The target market for that would be younger Americans, not older, especially those without families. Democrats still want to force a wealth transfer from twenty-somethings to older Americans through mandated coverage they largely don’t need or want. It’s barely a concession at all.

The other Democratic compromises were no better.  The deal also loosened some restrictions on state waiver requests, but did nothing to expand them. It offers no relief at all on federally mandated essential health benefits (EHBs), nor did it address at all the mandate to cover pre-existing conditions at community-rating prices. In other words, all it does it maintain the backdoor bailout of the CSRs for two years while leaving the structural reason for them intact.

At first, Trump seemed optimistic about the opportunity to punt for the next two years. By this morning, he’d changed his mind:

That’s a lot more polite than Trump usually gets, which might be part of his new efforts at partnering up with Mitch McConnell. His other partner in leadership, House Speaker Paul Ryan, joined in opposing Alexander-Murray:

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s press secretary, Doug Andres, told Axios Wednesday that despite the bipartisan push behind the Alexander-Murray health bill, “The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on repeal and replace of Obamacare.”

Even if the bill got out of the Senate, which Axios reminds us would take 60 votes at some point in the process, Ryan’s opposition all but kills any chance of getting a majority in the House.

Not everything that’s “bipartisan” is wise. Alexander-Murray provides an excellent example of that principle.

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