‘I. Am. The. Mom.’: It Didn’t Go Over Well When a Hospital Allegedly Told a Mother They’d Need to Have a ‘Private’ Conversation With Her Teenage Daughter | TheBlaze.com

‘I. Am. The. Mom.’: It Didn’t Go Over Well When a Hospital Allegedly Told a Mother They’d Need to Have a ‘Private’ Conversation With Her Teenage Daughter | TheBlaze.com:
"The receptionist closed the window. Almost immediately, the office manager turned the corner and said, “Mrs. Duffy, may I speak with you?”
She said there was a new policy that would allow a child to access his/her medical records online and the child would be allowed to block a parent from viewing the website. The nurse would also inform my children that the doctor’s office is a safe place for them to receive information about STDs, HIV and birth control. That is what the nurse would be chatting about with my children without any pesky parental oversight."

VodkaPundit » Why? Why Why Why Why Why Why Why?

VodkaPundit » Why? Why Why Why Why Why Why Why?:
"Ralph Peters says the White House was “blindsided” by the reaction. Here he is in NRO:

The president, too, appears stunned. He has so little understanding of (or interest in) the values and traditions of our troops that he and his advisers really believed that those in uniform would erupt into public joy at the news of Bergdahl’s release — as D.C. frat kids did when Osama bin Laden’s death was trumpeted.

This is exactly why an executive has people he needs to listen to, to avoid stepping in such giant piles of his own doo. 

Instead, Obama put his hands over his ears and shouted LALALALALALALA while arranging the release of five of the most dangerous killers in the world in exchange for a deserter. 

If Obama was blindsided, it’s because he chose to be willfully and inexcusably blind.

The Single Best Commencement Speech Of 2014

The Single Best Commencement Speech Of 2014 | Zero Hedge:

It’s commencement speech season again, when, as Bloomberg notes, lots of important people say lots of wise things to freshly minted graduates. 

While Michael Burry's "Brutal Hangover Is Inevitable" speech is among the best ever, this year has seen plenty of witty, inspiring speeches from the likes of President Obama, Steve Ballmer, Sean Combs, and Sarah Palin; but only Bloomberg has the one commencement speech you absolutely can’t miss: an epic supercut weaving all of 2014’s best speeches into one...

My Two Favorite Questions for Global Warmists

Articles: My Two Favorite Questions for Global Warmists:

Now it’s time for my Favorite Global Warmism Question #1:

• Did you know that there’s no such thing as a greenhouse gas?

Hey, I admit it: Question #1 is something of a semantic teaser. 

But now it’s time for Favorite Global Warmism Question #2, and this one is really serious:

• How much actual CO2 is there in the atmosphere?

Be Very Afraid of the Underfunded Public Pensions Nuclear Solution

Be Very Afraid of the Underfunded Public Pensions Nuclear Solution :: The Market Oracle :: Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website:
With few exceptions, state and local pension funds are woefully underfunded. 
Five heavily populated states—California, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, and Texas—collectively lack $431.5 billion; money that won’t be paid out to hopeful pensioners. 
That’s according to those states’ own accounts published in a 2012 Harvard University study that was led by former Assistant Treasury Secretary Tom Healy.

And the real numbers may be even worse: Accounting for current low interest rates, Healy and his coauthors estimate that the true extent of underfunding is $1.26 trillion.
.......The Little Guys Are Walking Too
Speaking of taxes, individual taxpayers are no more inclined to pay for underfunded pension promises than corporations are.
Just like Office Max, Illinois residents are voting with their feet.
And why shouldn’t they?
Legislators can’t hike taxes indefinitely to cover underfunded pensions and other government debts, and then gasp in surprise when their constituents walk.
In fact, my wife and I sold our Illinois home because we were fed up with the high taxes.
In the book How Money Walks, author Travis H. Brown writes that from 1992 to 2011, Illinois lost $31.27 billion in taxes per year because former residents like myself refused to put up with its predatory taxation.
..States and cities can’t tax their way out of the public pension crisis. 
More and more people will simply get up and move. Would the last person out the door please turn out the lights?

Obama Admits: ‘Absolutely’ a Chance Five Gitmo Detainees Released Could Return to Terrorism | TheBlaze.com

Obama Admits: ‘Absolutely’ a Chance Five Gitmo Detainees Released Could Return to Terrorism | TheBlaze.com:
“Is there the possibility of some of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us?  Absolutely,” Obama continued. “That’s been true of all the prisoners that were released from Guantanamo.  There’s a certain recidivism rate that takes place. I wouldn’t be doing it if I thought that it was contrary to American national security.”

France will defy U.S. and train crew for Russian warships

France will defy U.S. and train crew for Russian warships
France is preparing to train hundreds of Russian naval crew to operate a powerful French-made warship this month, defying calls from the U.S. and other Western allies to keep the vessel out of the Kremlin’s hands, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

A group of 400 Russian sailors are scheduled to arrive on June 22 in the French Atlantic port of Saint-Nazaire to undergo months of instruction aboard two Mistral-class warships, which 

The Russian cwill significantly enhance Russian naval power at a time of tensions over Ukraine and concerns about President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in the Baltic.

“The training is a pivotal step that deepens France's commitment to fulfilling the €1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) contract to supply Russia with the carriers, which are built to launch amphibious attacks with landing craft, helicopters and tanks.”

Save OUR family! Desperate parents release videos of couple held with their baby by the Taliban since 2012 as they blast government for rescuing 'deserter' Bowe Bergdahl and not them

Save OUR family! Desperate parents release videos of couple held with their baby by the Taliban since 2012 as they blast government for rescuing 'deserter' Bowe Bergdahl and not them | Mail Online:
Save OUR family! Desperate parents release videos of couple held with their baby by the Taliban since 2012 as they blast government for rescuing 'deserter' Bowe Bergdahl and not them

• Caitlin Coleman and her husband Joshua Boyle appear in two videos believed to be released by the Taliban 
• Pregnant Coleman, of York County, Pennsylvania, and Boyle, of Ottawa, went missing in October 2012 while traveling near Kabul 
• The couple were due to return home in December ahead of Coleman's due date
• The video messages were sent by email to James Coleman, Caitlan's father, by email from someone who claimed to be linked to the Taliban 
• US authorities believe they are authentic and say they bear similarities to those of Bowe Bergdahl
• Their child - now believed to be around 18 months after being born in captivity - does not feature in the videos but is referenced by Coleman in her pleas for help 
• In one of the tapes the American woman appeals directly to Obama for assistance
• Parents of both Coleman and Boyle expressed their disappointment that the deal to free Bowe Bergdahl didn't include any provision to save their children and grandchild
• A spokesman for the Taliban has previously denied holding the couple

Why Hollywood Hasn’t Made a Tiananmen Movie

Why Hollywood Hasn’t Made a Tiananmen Movie:
"It’s not surprising China wants everybody to forget Tiananmen – and Hollywood may be influenced by that. After all, Hollywood receives significant funding from China.
One of my friends in Hollywood, Ben Shapiro, told me yesterday that “everyone is scared of the Chinese market being closed to particular films or studios.” 
Indeed, in 2012 Chinese audiences shelled out $2.7 billion in box office sales for “Meiguo Da pian”—big American movies –and studios from Disney to Fox co-produce movies with China. DreamWorks has even struck a deal with two government-owned Chinese companies to create “Oriental DreamWorks.” One Chinese media fund alone—the Harvest Seven Stars Media Private Equity—has about $1 billion to invest in Hollywood.

....China has also been able to buy a good chunk of academia, showering millions on some 450 Confucius Institutes installed at U.S. schools and universities. These centers, which aid in the teaching of the Chinese language and culture, are run by people who work at the Chinese Embassy or different consulates across the U.S., who themselves report back to Beijing. They are known to mix Communist Party propaganda with the lessons and bully dissenting teachers.

As a result, today is one of the most important historic dates you may know nothing about – and may well never see featured in a trailer in a movie theater near you"

Creepy Kids in Creepy Vintage Ads

Creepy Kids in Creepy Vintage Ads | Wait But Why:

Bergdahl’s Team Leader Drops Unsettling Details About What Happened After the Soldier ‘Deserted’ Army Base | Video | TheBlaze.com

Bergdahl’s Team Leader Drops Unsettling Details About What Happened After the Soldier ‘Deserted’ Army Base | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow, who was reportedly Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s team leader on the night he vanished from his base in Afghanistan, claims the military intercepted radio communications shortly after Bergdahl’s disappearance indicating that an American was searching for someone who spoke English so he could talk with the Taliban."

Rosen: Sources Claim Bergdahl's Collaboration 'Serious As You Can Imagine'

Rosen: Sources Claim Bergdahl's Collaboration 'Serious As You Can Imagine' | The Daily Caller

Fox News reporter James Rosen claimed intelligence sources have told him not only that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl willingly collaborated with the Taliban, but that his involvement with the terrorist group may be “as serious as you can imagine.”

...“But my reporting on this is that there are many inside the intelligence community who harbor outstanding concerns not just that Sgt. Bergdahl may have been a deserter, but that he became an active collaborator with the enemy.”

The reporter reiterated information regarding Bergdahl’s emails, the packing up of his personal effects, his failure to take certain equipment with him before he left his post and “anecdotal evidence” from Taliban commanders — including how Bergdahl taught Islamist fighters how to reprogram a mobile phone into an IED.

“The last thing I will tell you is — I’m still working on this story, I’m talking to a broad range of sources in and out of the government, in and out of the military,” Rosen explained. “And all I will say is, there are many forms that active collaboration can take. I’m investigating claims that it could go as serious as you could imagine.”

CA Bill Demands Verbal or Written Consent for Sex on College Campuses

CA Bill Demands Verbal or Written Consent for Sex on College Campuses:
"A newly amended bill from a California lawmaker would require college students to stop in the heat of passion and establish verbal or written consent before having sex anywhere on campus, reports L.A. Weekly.
SB 967, amended last week by state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), would mandate that college students obtain "an affirmative, unambiguous, and conscious decision by each participant to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity.""

History for June 5

History for June 5 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversaries of Adam Smith (1723-1790), Scottish economist and philosopher, and John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), British economist.

Happy Birthday! Ken Follett, Bill Moyers, Mark Wahlberg

1752 - Benjamin Franklin flew a kite for the first time to demonstrate that lightning was a form of electricity. 


1827 - Athens fell to the Ottomans. 


1851 - Harriet Beecher Stow published the first installment of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in "The National Era." 


1884 - U.S. Civil War General William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." 


1927 - Johnny Weissmuller set two world records in swimming events. Weissmuller set marks in the 100-yard, and 200-yard, free-style swimming competition. 


1933 - President Roosevelt signed the bill that took the U.S. off of the gold standard. 






1944 - The first B-29 bombing raid hit the Japanese rail line in Bangkok, Thailand. 


1947 - U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he outlined the Marshall Plan. 


1967 - The Six Day War between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan began. 


1981 - In the U.S., the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five men in Los Angeles were suffering from a rare pneumonia found in patients with weakened immune systems. They were the first recognized cases of what came to be known as AIDS. 


1998 - A strike began at a General Motors Corp. parts factory near Detroit, MI, that closed five assembly plants and idled workers across the U.S. for seven weeks. 


1998 - C-Span reported that Bob Hope had died. The report was false and had begun with an inaccurate obituary on the Associated Press website. 

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2014/06/scandal-of-week-by-tammy-derouin.html

It’s easy to see the lack of American knowledge in the younger generations.  It’s also easy to see why.  The Pledge of Allegiance is controversial.  Wearing red, white and blue may offend non-citizens.  Expressing your belief and support for the Bill of Rights labels you as a radical and possibly dangerous.  We are told the Constitution is old, dusty, and full of negative liberties.

The Simple Arabic Phrase Bowe Bergdahl’s Father Said at a Press Conference With Obama That Has Sparked a Heated Debate | TheBlaze.com

The Simple Arabic Phrase Bowe Bergdahl’s Father Said at a Press Conference With Obama That Has Sparked a Heated Debate | TheBlaze.com:
"So why did Robert Bergdahl use the phrase? Exactly what message was he trying to send?
That’s the debate that’s currently raging on the Internet, with some alleging that the father was “claiming” the White House for Islam and others downplaying it as a very common, innocent phrase. Meanwhile, many people are simply struggling to understand why he chose that specific phrase and if there is more significance to it than meets the eye."

Prepare to drop more in that Detroit bucket------Rating agency warns of possible downgrade for Detroit water bonds

Rating agency warns of possible downgrade for Detroit water bonds | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
Fitch Ratings agency has warned it may dramatically downgrade its ratings for Detroit Water & Sewerage bonds if Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s reorganization plan for the department goes into effect.
In an analysis dated Friday, Fitch warned that it might downgrade $5.7 billion of the city’s water and sewer debt to as low as D -- junk status -- from its current much higher ratings of BB-plus and BB if U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes approves the city’s plan of adjustment as Orr has proposed it.
.....“Fitch believes that there is no legal basis to compel bondholders to accept such impairment as proposed,” Fitch analyst Adrienne M. Booker wrote in the report.
.....And if agencies like Fitch were to downgrade the water department debt to junk status, it would cost the water system more to borrow money for future needs because lower ratings translate into higher interest costs for borrowers.

Government at work for you?--------Traffic at Ambassador Bridge slow; too few customs workers cited

Traffic at Ambassador Bridge slow; too few customs workers cited | The Detroit News:
"Traffic at the Ambassador Bridge was backed up for hours Tuesday night after an apparent lack of open customs booths on the Canadian side.

Only six of more than 20 booths were available at 11 p.m., said Mickey Blashfield, director of government relations for the Detroit International Bridge Co.
It wasn’t clear why all were not fully staffed, but customs officials were informed and traffic personnel were working to address the matter, he said.
“It’s purely a matter of customs not having booths open to accommodate the traffic that exists,” Blashfield said, adding there was no indication of how long the situation would last.
At one point, the tie-up extended as far as Interstate 75 and Junction on the Detroit side, he said.

SHOCK: VA Employees Spent WHOPPING 998,483 ‘Official’ Hours on Union Business in 2011

SHOCK: VA Employees Spent WHOPPING 998,483 ‘Official’ Hours on Union Business in 2011 | Progressives Today:
The American Federation of Government Employees – the union representing Veterans Administration workers – used the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to call for the hiring of more employees.
“Our rank-and-file members have sounded the alarm on poor management practices and inadequate staffing time and time again,” an AFGE press statement read.
But a review of data published by the Office of Personnel Management may indict both management and the union.
In 2011 – the last year the office published such numbers – employees of the VA reported spending 998,483 “official” hours on union business.
That is to say, they spent taxpayer-funded work time furthering their union’s objectives instead of serving veterans.
Remarkably, that was a 23.3 percent increase over 2010’s 809,740 hours.

What could possibly go wrong...........Muskegon Area Intermediate School District issues proposal to provide management services for Muskegon Heights

Muskegon Area Intermediate School District issues proposal to provide management services for Muskegon Heights | MLive.com:

...."There was a concern that started to surface: 'Would there be a new management company that would be willing to bid on the services for Muskegon Heights?'" Sipka said. 

"I literally woke up at 3 in the morning after I heard that. 

I thought, 'What happens if nobody bids on it? 

The ISD board would have to, in a very short time, break the district up.'

"I don't think that's what the governor wants, I don't think that's what the Muskegon Heights community wants."

.....In a memo posted on the MAISD website, Sipka praised the advances the district has made.

"Overall, we are pleased with the academic progress the students have made," Sipka wrote. 

.....The MAISD already meets regularly with officials at the Muskegon Heights school system to monitor grant funding, special education services and provide instructional support, Sipka said.

"I thought, 'We're already doing a lot -- why not take the next step?'" Sipka said.

...."One of the rubs about bringing in a for-profit company is that taxpayers' money leaves the state," Sipka said.

Mosaica Education is a for-profit corporation with headquarters in New York City. 

Muskegon Heights officials have not revealed the names or any other information about the companies that responded to the RFP.

EPA to Require Photo IDs to Attend Climate Change Hearings | TheBlaze.com

EPA to Require Photo IDs to Attend Climate Change Hearings | TheBlaze.com:
"Democrats have argued for the past few years that voter ID laws are being used by Republicans to create obstacles to voting by minorities, the elderly and others.
But on Monday, the Obama administration said it would require anyone who wants to attend critical environmental hearings later this summer to show a photo ID. The rule raises the question of whether everyone will have a fair shot of attending these hearings, which have the potential to shape environmental policy for the next few decades."

At some point, there won't be anyone to beg FROM!-------Begging ban fails in Grand Rapids; split vote leaves street-corner panhandling fair game

Begging ban fails in Grand Rapids; split vote leaves street-corner panhandling fair game | MLive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – With public objection pushing elected leaders away from a package of panhandling restrictions, two city commissioners urged that Grand Rapids at least ban begging from motorists.

But a 3-3 vote led by First Ward commissioners Dave Shaffer and Walt Gutowski on Tuesday, June 3, failed to get a majority.

For the time being, street-corner begging remains fair game.

Yes. EVERY vote does matter------Runoff in Mississippi

And, yes. A Tea Party victory!
 Runoff in Mississippi | National Review Online:

It was a virtually unknown candidate, real-estate broker Thomas Carey of Hernando, Miss., who determined the outcome: 
With 99.5 percent of precincts reporting, he had captured 1.6 percent of the vote, keeping both incumbent senator Thad Cochran, with 48.8 percent, and his insurgent challenger, state senator Chris McDaniel, with 49.6 percent, under the 50 percent margin required to seize victory. 

Vermont, Connecticut, Arizona Face Obamacare Premium Hikes

Vermont, Connecticut, Arizona Face Obamacare Premium Hikes | The Daily Caller:
"Vermont, Connecticut and Arizona Obamacare customers will almost universally be paying higher premiums in 2015, contrary to one of the central promises of the health-care law — lower health care costs.
Insurers are upping premiums for all Obamacare exchange customers in Vermont, which is working its way to a single-payer health-care system to encompass the whole state by 2017.
MVP Health Care has requested an average rate increase of 15.4 percent, while the only other insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, requested average hikes of 9.8 percent.
The lowest increase came from BCBS at 5.6 percent for the lowest-quality coverage, a high-deductible bronze plan, while the largest hike was an 18 percent increase for MVP’s silver plan — the most popular health plan type "

Panel: Jack Phillips Must Bake Cake for Same-Sex Wedding

Panel: Jack Phillips Must Bake Cake for Same-Sex Wedding:
"On Friday, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled unanimously that Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, must create wedding cakes for same-sex couples, even if doing so violates his beliefs. This victory for government coercion is the latest defeat for liberty and the rights of conscience."

Child abuse!-------------This poor child is confused, not 'transgendered.'

This poor child is confused, not 'transgendered.' | The Matt Walsh Blog

Is this it? 

Have we reached the basement? 

Is this our cultural rock bottom moment? 

.......It’s a story about Jeff and Hillary Whittington, who were given the coveted Inspiration Award at the famed and prestigious Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast (you might remember Harvey Milk as the statutory rapist who had sex with a bunch of drug addicted teenage boys). 

How have the Whittingtons earned such a high and pointless honor? 

Well, they’ve made some YouTube videos and bragged to the media about their daughter, Ryland, who began to “transition” into a boy at the age of two.

A wild claim, you would think.

…If you’re a bigot.

......A tragedy. 

A tragedy of nonsense. 

Horrible, abusive, pathetic, sad, bizarre, tragic nonsense.

This child didn’t ‘choose’ her gender. 

She didn’t choose to cut her hair and dress like a boy. 

Kids that age can only wear what you put on them, sport the haircut you assign them, play with the toys you give them, and mostly believe what you tell them they should believe. 

Tell them there’s a magical fat man who flies down the chimney to bring them presents every Christmas, and they’ll believe it.

 Tell them that they get to choose their own gender like it’s an ice cream flavor at Baskin Robbins, and they’ll believe it.

 Their reality is whatever you construct for them.

They are still years from approaching the age of reason. 

They are not reasonable beings. 

That’s why they can’t be left at home alone. 

That’s why they don’t vote. 

That’s why they don’t own homes or take out loans at the bank. 

They can’t be trusted to refrain from eating your pocket change, yet these parents think they should be able to exercise radical control over their ‘gender identity’?

That’s insane. 

This girl did not choose to be a boy. 

She can’t. 

She also didn’t choose to be a world famous face for the transgender movement. 

Her parents made that decision. 

Her parents decided to make her a ‘boy’ and alert the press.

Detroit conference for men will have to hire police protection, organizer says

Conference for men will have to hire police protection, organizer says | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "Organizers of a controversial conference scheduled to be held in Detroit later this month said they must pay police to provide security during the event, because of threats.
The International Conference on Men’s Issues is scheduled to take place at the DoubleTree Fort Shelby in downtown Detroit on June 26-28, but thousands of people signed a petition calling for it to be canceled.
Dean Esmay is helping to organize the conference put on by A Voice for Men and said the group’s mission is to fight for specific issues confronting men and boys, such as homelessness, suicide prevention and incarceration.
But the group has been critical of feminism, and Esmay said the presumption that one is “guilty until proven innocent” is a problem men have in sexual assault cases and domestic violence cases.
The group’s positions have drawn harsh critics locally and even internationally.
“The threats have escalated to include death threats, physical violence against our staff and other guests as well as damage to the property,” said a letter provided to the Free Press by a group official, who said it was sent by hotel staff."

Hunt for Bowe Bergdahl left 8 US troops dead and 22 wounded

Hunt for Bowe Bergdahl left 8 US troops dead and 22 wounded | Mail Online:

Revealed: Hunt for Bowe Bergdahl left troops unprotected in infamous Afghan battle that left EIGHT U.S. soldiers dead and 22 wounded and produced two Medal of Honor recipients

• Just 53 U.S. soldiers were left to defend an ammunition depot with no air support or reserves on Oct. 3, 2009 after nearly 350 Taliban attacked a combat outpost and 35 Afghan National Army soldiers fled their posts
• Sources tell MailOnline that 8 U.S. soldiers died and 22 were wounded because additional troops and air cover were diverted to hunt for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl
• 'Those guys didn't have the complete support they needed ... because all the assets and everything were diverted to us,' a member of Bergdahl's platoon said
• Combat Outpost Keating was the site of one of the bloodiest battles during America's engagement in Afghanistan, with 150 Taliban paying for the armed assault with their lives
• Two US Army sergeants won the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for bravery, in the Battle of Kamdesh in eastern Afghanistan

Here’s Why We Don’t Negotiate with Terrorists

Here’s Why We Don’t Negotiate with Terrorists:
"Now, it appears that Obama can make prison transfers without notifying Congress.
 Andrew Johnson was nearly impeached for significantly less than what Obama has done. Johnsons’s crime? He fired an official without the consent of Congress. For that, President Johnson almost lost the presidency.
 Not only did President Obama not have the authority to make the exchange, but doing so now places a bounty on capturing American soldiers."