Friday, September 09, 2016

IRS refuses to abandon targeting criteria used against tea party, conservative groups - Washington Times

IRS refuses to abandon targeting criteria used against tea party, conservative groups - Washington Times:

"The IRS is refusing to recant the targeting criteria it used to single out tea party groups for intrusive scrutiny, according to court filings made public Wednesday that show the tax agency still struggling with the fallout from the scandal.
At least three tea party groups are still awaiting approval from the IRS more than three years after agents publicly admitted they’d asked inappropriate questions and put the groups through unreasonable delays in obtaining tax-exempt status.
Last month the IRS told both Congress and a federal judge that it would start processing the outstanding applications — but the agency has refused to say how or when, leaving the groups themselves struggling to make sense of things."


Why?!!-----Iran May Have Received as Much as $33.6 Billion in Cash From U.S.

Iran May Have Received as Much as $33.6 Billion in Cash From U.S.:
"Iran may have received an additional $33.6 billion in secret cash and gold payments facilitated by the Obama administration between 2014 and 2016, according to testimony provided before Congress by an expert on last summer’s nuclear agreement with Iran.
Image result for obama iran cashBetween January 2014 and July 2015, when the Obama administration was hammering out the final details of the nuclear accord, Iran was paid $700 million every month from funds that had previously been frozen by U.S. sanctions.
A total of $11.9 billion was ultimately paid to Iran, but the details surrounding these payments remain shrouded in mystery, according to Mark Dubowitz, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
In total, “Iran may have received as much as $33.6 billion in cash or in gold and other precious metals,” Dubowitz disclosed.
New questions about these payments are emerging following confirmation from top Obama administration officials on Thursday that it was forced to pay Iran $1.7 billion in cash prior to the release of several U.S. hostages earlier this year.
The administration insisted that cash had to be used for this payment..."

Cognitive dissonance?-----Thursday afternoon links - AEI

Thursday afternoon links - AEI | Carpe Diem Blog » AEIdeas:
VennAppleWalmartNew
"2. Venn Diagram of the Day (above).
Why do progressives hate low profit-margin Walmart so much but love high-profit margin Apple?"

Chaffetz: Clinton bought used Blackberrys on eBay | Washington Examiner

Chaffetz: Clinton bought used Blackberrys on eBay | Washington Examiner:

"Reckless users and antiquated technology represent the federal government's most critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities, House Oversight Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz said on Wednesday, a problem he said was exemplified by Hillary Clinton's practice of buying Blackberry devices from eBay."




Is the Global Warming Debate Over?

Is the Global Warming Debate Over? | Power Line:
"IS THE GLOBAL WARMING DEBATE OVER?
One of the more laughable aspects of global warming alarmism is the constant claim that the debate about the hysterics’ claims is over.
In fact, the Earth’s climate is so poorly understood that it is more accurate to say that the debate has barely begun.
But there are some things we know.
For example: the increase in Earth’s temperature resulting from a doubling of CO2, based on any recognized energy calculation, is less than one degree Centigrade. 
Almost everyone agrees that this slight increase would be good. 
So how do the alarmists try to scare us?
They posit various positive feedbacks that turn one degree into three to six degrees.
Are these feedbacks proven?
Image result for global warming hoaxOf course not.
They are simply assumed.
In fact, some are clearly false.
As far as we know, the net feedbacks will be negative, not positive.
If you want to get a sense of how vigorous the scientific debate over feedbacks is, check out this post at Watts Up With That( https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/09/07/how-climate-feedback-is-fubar/), as well as the comments.
...Is the debate over catastrophic anthropogenic global warming over?
In one sense, it is.
One thing we know for sure is that the models that are the sole support for alarmism are wrong. 
The substantial heating they projected has failed to materialize.
Having been falsified by observation, we know that they are no good.
The alarmists will have to come up with something better than these discredited models if they want to convince the rest of us.
Meanwhile, any comprehensive understanding of the Earth’s climate is very far off."

Too big to fail!!-----5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired after 2 million fake accounts discovered

5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired after 2 million fake accounts discovered | Ars Technica:
"Since at least 2011, Wells Fargo employees have been creating fake accounts using customers’ identities to boost their sales numbers, federal regulators said on Thursday.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined the bank $100 million after a third-party consulting firm found that 2 million fake deposit and credit card accounts had been made without the consent of the person whose name was on the account.
Image result for too big to failAccording to CNN Money, the bank fired 5,300 employees for taking part in the scheme, which constitutes about 1 percent of the bank’s payroll.
In order to boost their sales numbers, employees opened 1.5 million deposit accounts and 565,000 credit card accounts on customers’ behalf but without authorization from those customers. “Employees then transferred funds from consumers’ authorized accounts to temporarily fund the new, unauthorized accounts,” the CFPB wrote.
“This widespread practice gave the employees credit for opening the new accounts, allowing them to earn additional compensation and to meet the bank’s sales goals.”
In the meantime, customers real accounts were temporarily drained, leaving them with insufficient funds charges and overdraft fees.
The CFPB also noted that employees were issuing and activating debit cards without authorization, "going so far as to create PINs without telling consumers."
In addition, some employees created fake e-mail addresses to sign customers up for online banking programs without their knowledge..."

Lunch video-----BLACK LIVES MATTER KILLS PEOPLE

Noon-toon

Shapiro: Hillary's email scandal takes down the FBI

Shapiro: Hillary's email scandal takes down the FBI:

"For months Americans wondered whether the FBI, led by Director James Comey, would take down the most corrupt woman in the history of American politics, Hillary Clinton.

As it turns out, Hillary Clinton took down the FBI.

According to new documents from the FBI's investigation of Clinton, the agency was fully aware that Clinton lied when she said she set up a private server in order to utilize one Blackberry device -- she used 13 mobile devices and two phone numbers. The FBI knew that Clinton's aides destroyed old Blackberrys by cracking them in half or hitting them with a hammer. The FBI knew full well that Clinton had passed classified information over her private server -- "

DPS principal: I buried kids with my cash, ‘I don’t deserve this'

DPS principal: I buried kids with my cash, ‘I don’t deserve this'

Ronald Alexander is angry.
And he wants the world to know why.
In a federal courtroom this morning, the charismatic principal, who cried on national television when his school won a  $500,000 giveaway on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," got choked up again, this time lambasting the government for portraying him as a criminal.
The former Spain Elementary principal is headed to prison for a year for taking $23,000 in kickbacks from vendor Norman Shy as a reward for approving fraudulent invoices for school supplies that were paid for but never delivered.

Alexander, who faced up to nearly four years in prison under his sentencing guidelines, wanted to stay out of prison so that he could care for his elderly mother. But more than that, Alexander argued, he doesn't belong in prison, not given all he's done for DPS in the four decades he worked there.
Here is what he told the judge before learning his punishment:
He started by saying that in his 40 years at DPS: "All I've ever done was service the children of the Detroit Public Schools."
Alexander then spoke of inheriting Spain Elementary, a school that was plagued with drugs, fighting and low test scores and turning it around.
Then he talked about burying children.
"I buried three students because the kids' parents didn't have money, out of my own pocket,"  Alexander said. "I buried those children ... only because I loved" the school and surrounding neighborhood. 
Then he brought up the businessman whose fraudulent invoices he approved.
"Mr. Shy, he did me wrong. He was saying he gave me donations," Alexander said, referring to the gift cards and checks that Shy gave him over the years.
Alexander said he used the gift cards and checks on the kids.
"I did not pad my pockets .. some of the gift cards are still at home,"  he said, later blaming Shy again. "He's a known crook and he's been doing it for years."
He also talked about the pain and embarrassment he's suffered since being charged in March, alongside 11 other principals, one assistant superintendent and Shy, who was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for billing DPS $2.7 million for supplies that were never delivered. He did it, prosecutors said, with the help of principals like Alexander.
"Nobody knows how bad I feel to have to go out from my job like this," Alexander said, noting he was not allowed to return to Spain to collect his belongings after being charged. He also wasn't allowed to attend the eighth-grade graduation ceremony.
"I love this school. It think it's unfair," Alexander said. "I have buried children ... I have done nothing but serve God ... It's just unfair to me, and your honor, I don't deserve it."
...U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts conceded that Alexander had done plenty of good in his life and helped many people. But he pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks from a vendor and cheating his students out of paid-for supplies, she reminded him. And the crime warranted a prison sentence, she said.
"Mr. Alexander has admitted that he took bribes," Roberts said. "The crime that Mr. Alexander committed was serious."

40% Of GDP Per Year: Goldman Calculates The True Growth Rate Of China's Debt

40% Of GDP Per Year: Goldman Calculates The True Growth Rate Of China's Debt | Zero Hedge
"For a long time when it came to Chinese loan creation, analysts would only look at the broadest reported aggregate: the so-called Total Social Financing. 
And, for a long time, it was sufficient - TSF showed that in under a decade, China had created over $20 trillion in new loans, vastly more than all the "developed market" QE, the proceeds of which were used to kickstart growth after the 2009 global depression, to fund the biggest capital misallocation bubble the world has ever seen and create trillions in nonperforming loans.
However, a problem emerged about a year ago, when it was revealed that not even China's TSF statistic was sufficient to fully capture the grand total of total new loan creation in China. 
We profiled this three months ago in a post titled "China's Debt Is Far Greater Than Anyone Thought", where, according to Goldman, "a substantial amount of money was created last year, evidencing a very large supply of credit, to the tune of RMB 25tn (36% of 2015 GDP)." 
This massive number was 9% higher than the TSF data, which implied that "only" a quarter of China's 2015 GDP was the result of new loans. 
What this really means, is that China's debt/GDP, estimated most recently by the IIF at 300%..."

Almost Entire County Commission Overthrown After Spending Splurge

Almost Entire County Commission Overthrown After Spending Splurge [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"While primary elections for local offices rarely garner much attention, the results of the August election were dramatic for one county in northern lower Michigan.
Of seven members of the current county commission, only one will be on the fall ballot.
“I did not anticipate such a dramatic and historic turnover on the Emmet County board,” said Commissioner Charlie MacInnis, who ran unopposed in the primary.
Image result for robin hood anti government“The community clearly didn’t support the massive spending projects that were undertaken without adequate planning or voter approval.”
Four of the seven incumbents lost primary contests while another two did not seek re-election.
Last year, county commissioners built a $1.7 million substation for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and planned to break ground on a $9 million “dark sky” observatory. MacInnis criticized both decisions.
Nancy Sarowski, chairperson of the Emmet County Republican Party, pointed to MacInnis’ commentaries written in local newspapers to explain the election results.
The commentaries gave details on county projects that the commissioner got through the Freedom of Information Act.
Many people, at first, thought he was exaggerating: no contracts, except an hourly rate, no scope of project, no budget, no performance bonds and the like.
When the sitting commissioners failed to rebut Charlie, the public began to pay attention,” she said.
...Sarowski says many people have told her the election gave them hope.
“Hope that wrongs can be righted.
Hope that good people can be elected.
Hope that liberally (bent) newspapers can do good reporting.
Hope that our tax money can be allocated responsibly,” said Sarowski."

Obama: Americans Too ‘Lazy’ to Know Anything About the Rest of the World - Breitbart

Obama: Americans Too ‘Lazy’ to Know Anything About the Rest of the World - Breitbart:

"Wednesday at a a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) town hall in Luang Prabang, Laos, President Barack Obama said Americans can be “lazy” because we are so big we think “We don’t have to know anything about other people.”"

'How To Be a White Ally' posters say all white people are racist

'How To Be a White Ally' posters say all white people are racist
New students at Pomona College were welcomed to campus with posters in their dorms giving instructions on “How to be a (Better) White Ally” and stating that all white people are racist.

New students at Pomona College were welcomed to campus with posters in their dorms giving instructions on “How to be a (Better) White Ally” and stating that all white people are racist.
The signs state white people should “acknowledge your privilege” and “apologize if you’ve offended someone,” adding that offensive language includes words like “sassy” and “riot,” which are “racially coded.”
“Understand that you are white, so it is inevitable that you have unconsciously learned racism.”   
“Everyone is problematic and even the most educated and well-intentioned people will screw up,” the poster states.
The sign then gives three steps for white allies to follow:
“1. Be prepared to make mistakes.
2. Listen and apologize.
3. Make sure to change.”
“Remember, just because POC [person of color] #1 isn’t offended by something, does not mean that POC #2 will not be offended by it either,” it says.
The poster goes on to states that “social justice is about BOTH elevating oppressed groups and simultaneously unpacking the privilege of dominant groups. These aspects are equally as important!”
Additionally, the sign claims that all white people are racist.
“Understand that you are white, so it is inevitable that you have unconsciously learned racism,” it asserts. “Your unearned advantage must be acknowledged and your racism unlearned.”
Further, the poster claims that white people should “just listen!” rather than explaining their own perspective.
“Comparing a POC’s situation with some experience of your own is not helpful. You do not & can not understand our oppression!” The guide recommends that white people should “listen to a diverse selection of marginalized voices” and notes that “POC will always understand racism in a way that you cannot—you need to listen to them!”
Pomona College had several events last year that white students were not allowed to attend, yet the school’s website states that “Pomona College seeks to maintain an environment of mutual respect among all members of its community” and that discrimination on the basis of race “destroy[s] the foundation for such respect and violate[s] the sense of community vital to the College’s education enterprise.”
This article was originally published in The Claremont Independent, a conservative student newspaper affiliated with the Leadership Institute's Campus Leadership Program. Its articles are republished here with permission.

AM Fruitcake

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13690813_10155095174714126_4915965229175916867_n.jpg?oh=8ac6027aaac47039f5ee6708b98e4c02&oe=58352CF6

History for September 9


History for September 9 - On-This-Day.com
Colonel Harland Sanders 1890, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder 1923, Cliff Robertson 1925 
  

Otis Redding 1941, Tom Wopat 1951, Adam Sandler 1966 


490 B.C. - The Battle of Marathon took place between the invading Persian army and the Athenian Army. The marathon race was derived from the events that occurred surrounding this battle.


1776 - The second Continental Congress officially made the term "United States", replacing the previous term "United Colonies."


1948 - North Korea became the People's Democratic Republic of Korea.


1957 - The first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction was signed into law by republican U.S. President Eisenhower.


1971 - Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings retired from the National Hockey League (NHL).


1979 - Tracy Austin, at 16, became the youngest player to win the U.S. Open women’s tennis title.


1986 - Ted Turner presented the first of his colorized films on WTBS in Atlanta, GA.


1994 - The U.S. agreed to accept about 20,000 Cuban immigrants a year. This was in return for Cuba's promise to halt the flight of refugees.

Thursday, September 08, 2016

Bill Clinton Compares Himself To Robin Hood On Labor Day | The Daily Caller

Bill Clinton Compares Himself To Robin Hood On Labor Day | The Daily Caller:

"While speaking at campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cincinnati, Ohio Monday, the former president said he thought attacks from conservatives on the Clinton Foundation were “funny.”

“They even went after my foundation last week,” Clinton told the crowd at the AFL-CIO picnic. “Now that was really funny. I was sort of Robin Hood, except I didn’t rob anybody.”"

How California Is Turning The Rest Of The West Blue

How California Is Turning The Rest Of The West Blue : It's All Politics : NPR
"Colorado's politics have become positively Californian lately. 
There are new restrictions on guns. 
Pot is legal. 
Image result for California liberalsThe legislative agenda featured an expansion of alternative-energy use requirements for rural consumers. 
Gay couples can now enter into civil unions.
There's a reason for all this.
Lots of Californians have moved to Denver and its environs, bringing a progressive strain of politics with them and angering more conservative parts of the state — so much so that 10 northeastern counties are planning symbolic but serious votes on secession this fall.
Conservatives have discovered that living on the far side of the Rockies is no longer far enough to get away from the influence of West Coast liberals.
"California migration, to a degree, has altered Colorado politics," says Mike Krause, vice president of the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in Denver. 
"I see California license plates in my neighborhood and on my commute all the time..."

The Flight 93 Election

The Flight 93 Election
"2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die.
You may die anyway.
You—or the leader of your party—may make it into the cockpit and not know how to fly or land the plane.
There are no guarantees.
Except one: if you don’t try, death is certain. 
To compound the metaphor: a Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto. 
With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances.
To ordinary conservative ears, this sounds histrionic.
Image result for flight 93 let s rollThe stakes can’t be that high because they are never that high—except perhaps in the pages of Gibbon.
Conservative intellectuals will insist that there has been no “end of history” and that all human outcomes are still possible.
...But how great is the crisis?
Can things really be so bad if eight years of Obama can be followed by eight more of Hillary, and yet Constitutionalist conservatives can still reasonably hope for a restoration of our cherished ideals? Cruz in 2024!
...The truth is that Trump articulated, if incompletely and inconsistently, the right stances on the right issues—immigration, trade, and war—right from the beginning.
...But for those of you who are sober: can you sketch a more plausible long-term future than the prior four following a Trump defeat? I can’t either.
The election of 2016 is a test—in my view, the final test—of whether there is any virtù left in what used to be the core of the American nation.
If they cannot rouse themselves simply to vote for the first candidate in a generation who pledges to advance their interests, and to vote against the one who openly boasts that she will do the opposite (a million more Syrians, anyone?), then they are doomed.
They may not deserve the fate that will befall them, but they will suffer it regardless."

Clinton Foundation Deceived IRS On Tax Exemption | The Daily Caller

Clinton Foundation Deceived IRS On Tax Exemption | The Daily Caller:

"Clinton Foundation officials repeatedly skirted or ignored federal laws and regulations while converting the non-profit from its tax-exempt purpose of building a presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas, into a $2 billion global machine selling political influence and access on an unprecedented scale, according to documents reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Non-profit foundations are required by the IRS to conduct activities that support the officially approved tax-exempt purpose for which the federal agency allows them to offer donors the ability to deduct contributions. Officials must report annually via the IRS Tax Form 990 to show their non-profit’s compliance with its exempt purpose."

Reviving a Constitutional Congress

Reviving a Constitutional Congress:

"The struggle for power and advantage is a constant of human society. In democracies, that struggle is organized and advertised through political campaigns and elections. It is equally present within government, but there it is not always observable. In the parliamentary systems of Europe, open competition ends with the election returns and formation of a government. At this point legislative and executive powers are fused. Struggles over policy continue, but they work themselves out in private within ministry offices and leadership councils. A well-led government can present, at least for a time, a unified, dignified, self-confident public face."

The Real Reason Hillary's Health Is an Issue

The Real Reason Hillary's Health Is an Issue | PJ Media:
"We live in age of medical miracles.
Doctors often can ameliorate all but the most extreme diseases so people can function, at least for a while.
So why should we concern ourselves with Hillary Clinton's relatively minor (most probably) coughing fits?
For the most obvious reason: like virtually everything else, she lies about it!
As the age-old legal principle goes, Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.
Her health is yet another example of Clinton's pathological tilt toward dishonesty.
Her first response to anything almost always is to prevaricate.
Image result for Cartoons Hillary LiesOn Monday at an event in Cleveland, Ohio, when confronted about her coughing fit, she blamed it on an allergy to Donald Trump.
Besides being a mediocre joke at best, it was a reflex, a reach for the untrue response before any other, as if the truth would literally dissolve her in a puddle.
This fear of the truth is likely from childhood, but has morphed through years of political combat into a kind of domestic taqiyya.
Hillary, though also obviously not Muslim, observes her version of that Islamic doctrine in which it is permissible, often even required, to lie to the enemy for the good of the cause--the cause, in this case and with regularity, being the maintenance of her power.
Clinton has indeed lived her life in a world of lies, where lying was for all intents and purposes the norm.
Imagine the level of dishonesty in her communications with her husband over the years..."

Lack of skilled labor threatens manufacturing

Lack of skilled labor threatens manufacturing | TheHill:
"During the 2016 primary election, several presidential candidates repeatedly lamented the loss of American manufacturing jobs.
...Over the last 20 years, low-skilled manufacturing jobs have vanished from the U.S. while high skilled jobs flourish.
The central political narrative is that jobs are primarily lost to overseas competitors.
While this may be anecdotally true, low-skilled manufacturing jobs disappeared primarily as the result of automation — which, ironically, is produced by US manufacturers.
Offshoring only happened as a result of automating low-skilled operations.
Image result for Lack of skilled labor threatens manufacturingI work in manufacturing (specifically metal machining) and my experience has given me much needed perspective on the issue.
Most people do not realize that manufacturing is a cannibalizing industry in terms of employment.
For example, Ethicon contracted an American engineering firm to design and build equipment that automates the production of surgical suture packets.
Prior to this equipment, American labor manually assembled each suture packet, completing one about every three to five minutes.
American manufacturers produced enough machines to outfit Ethicon’s facility in Puerto Rico.
Now, surgical suture assemblies are built at a rate of one per minute — a threefold improvement.
In other words, an American manufacturer was contracted by an American corporation to produce equipment that would send American jobs overseas. 
Once automated, production no longer requires the same skill and high wages, thus it is sent where lower wage labor simply monitors the equipment and refills materials..."

Lunch video-----The video Hillary Clinton And Obama Dont Want You To See!

Noon-toon

Ben Carson SILENCES Dems After Pointing Out 1 Bill Clinton Video That'll Give Hillary Migraines

Ben Carson SILENCES Dems After Pointing Out 1 Bill Clinton Video That'll Give Hillary Migraines:

"Carson appeared on Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday” this weekend and pointed out that Clinton’s stance on the deportation of illegal immigrants is eerily similar to that of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Carson referenced a “State of the Union” speech Clinton gave in 1995 where he called for deporting illegal immigrants."

Instapundit-Hope and Change

Instapundit:
THERE’S NO WORSE CRIME THAN MAKING A WOMAN FEEL BAD ABOUT HERSELF: “A woman who was body-shamed by Playboy model Dani Mathers at an LA Fitness gym has been found—and Mathers may be facing jail time for her actions.”

Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain

Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain - The New York Times
Image result for Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain"As a woman of a certain age who consumes a well-balanced diet of all the usual food groups, including reasonable amounts of animal protein, I tend to dismiss advice to take a multivitamin supplement.
I’ve been told repeatedly by nutrition experts that the overuse of dietary supplements for “nutritional insurance” has given Americans the most expensive urine in the world.
I do take a daily supplement of vitamin D, based on considerable evidence of its multiple health benefits, especially for older people. However, based on advice from the National Academy of Medicine and an examination of accumulating research, I’m prompted to consider also taking a vitamin B12 supplement in hopes of protecting my aging brain..."
Read on!

Cal State University LA offers segregated housing to shield black students from 'microaggressions'

Image result for no cloroedsCal State University LA offers segregated housing to shield black students from 'microaggressions' - Washington Times:
"Segregated housing will now be available to black students at California State University Los Angeles as a means of combating “microaggressions” and “racially insensitive remarks.”
School officials have honored requests by CSLA's Black Student Union and will offer “housing space delegated for Black students” at the Halisi Scholars Black Living-Learning Community..."

NY Deli Owner Ahmed Alshami Charged with Food Stamps Fraud, Wife Yells F*ck America - Breitbart

NY Deli Owner Ahmed Alshami Charged with Food Stamps Fraud, Wife Yells F*ck America - Breitbart:

"Alshami, who owns the IGA Community Express Mart along with his wife, Nadia Alhaj, was arrested on August 19 and arraigned on August 23 on charges of misuse of food stamps, third-degree burglary, and second-degree criminal possession of public benefit cards.

After his court hearing, Alshami’s daughter flipped off local reporters while his while was caught on camera yelling, “Are you happy now? F*ck you. F*ck America.”"