OBAMA CONFRONTS AMERICAN RELIGION

Despite heated American rhetoric as a result of his previous attempts to require religious organizations to provide contraceptives for their employees or insurance plans that do and despite his backing off a few months ago, the White House ruled Friday that employees of religious-affiliated, nonprofit institutions must receive insurance coverage for birth control under ObamaCare, ensuring more legal challenges.  

COMMENTS:

Since you won’t give up your Bibles and guns, Obama has decided to take your Bibles from you, ripping them out of your hands page by page.  And what are the leaders of your denomination doing about it? 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. I am shocked to hear that the Canadian government is again out confiscating guns.  What gives?  (Tao ~ Los Angeles, CA)

A. There had been flooding in Alberta.  People were forced out of their homes.  When they returned, they discovered their guns had been taken by police.  Law enforcement says they took them for safekeeping and that owners will be able to give them back after they prove ownership.  Now, there are a whole lot of Canadians and Americans who own guns who couldn’t prove ownership, so it is what it is. 

Q. Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio are really pushing this Amnesty deal.  I’m not too happy with what I can find out about it.  Americans are not happy with it.  Why are they, of all people, trying to cram this down our throats?  (Bella ~ Anderson, CA)

A. Because they want the Hispanic vote in 2016 and they’re willing to sell their souls in order to get it?    

Q. That jackass Bloomberg just won’t give up, will he?  Now he wants to ban the sale of sparklers during the 4^th of July.  Why doesn’t that moron go off to Russia or China?  (Duke ~ Yakima, WA)

A. Because Russia and China don’t want him either.  You know, as long as we let dolts like him monopolize the conversation, we deserve what we get. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy.” ~ Daniel Webster

TODAY’S VIDEO:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=WEPBQGu74oo&feature=player_embedded

CHICAGO AND LICENSED CONCEALED WEAPONS?

Chicago, home of the toughest gun laws in the country, is now up for licensed concealed carry.  How does that happen when the Mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, is more anti-gun than Obama and Holder combined?  A bill sits on Governor Pat Quinn’s desk to license concealed carry in Illinois, after a hard-fought compromise between conservative downstate lawmakers who opposed most gun restrictions and anti-gun lawmakers from Chicago and other urban areas. The legislation requires state police to issue a concealed-carry permit to any gun owner with a state-issued Firearm Owners Identification card, and who passes a background check, pays a $150 fee and undergoes 16 hours of training. 

COMMENTS:

Oh, my.  Well, the fact is this:  the more citizens who are licensed to carry concealed weapons the lower the violent gun crime rate is.  If Quinn signs it, it will be interesting to see what happens to the siege of violence that has plagued Chicago.  My prediction is that, if passed, you will see the violent crime rate in Chicago plummet. 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. Do you think they will actually drag Lois Lerner back into the House sub-committee to testify on the IRS case?  (Eden ~ Lawrence, KS)

A. Yes.  And, then what?  It is a real difficult situation to interrogate a hostile witness.  She could continue to plead the Fifth and refuse to answer and end up in jail and that would lead to a quick Supreme Court decision about whether or not she forfeited her Fifth Amendment rights when she made statements to Congress in her last hearing.  But, the Court is out of session for the summer.  This could be a very interesting, long and hot summer at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NE. 

Q. I have to admit that I am becoming paranoid.  Just what is the NSA and government keeping track about what I do?  (Horatio ~ Portland, OR)

A. Well, they certainly have access to anything you do that involves a monetary transaction or any matter of public record.  If you buy a gun, they can know it.  Fly to Jamaica using a credit card, they can know it.  Call a friend or relative in Israel or Jordan, they can know it.  Get a ticket for speeding, they can know it.  They can know anything they want to; the question is, do they want to?  You’ve heard stories about cops checking out potential dates and abusing their information privileges?  Can the NSA problem offer any less opportunity to check you out by people who don’t have the right?  The fact that they can do so is, as far as I am concerned, the opportunity for unlawful search and seizure. 

Q. Do you think Edward Snowden will ever return to the U.S.?  (Carole ~ Burns, OR)

A. Only in a casket. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“A wingnut is someone on the far-right wing or far-left wing of the political spectrum - the professional partisans, the unhinged activists and the paranoid conspiracy theorists. They're the people who always try to divide rather than unite us.” ~ John Avlon

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2506893572001/the-great-obama-disconnect/?intcmp=obinsite

JEB BUSH WILL GIVE HILLARY CLINTON PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

Jeb Bush will present Hillary Clinton with the 2013 Liberty Medal this fall in Philadelphia.  “Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,” Bush said in a statement announcing the award. “These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.” 

COMMENTS:

My, isn’t that nice?  Mark my words, the old-guard Republican hierarchy is already busy engineering Bush’s Republican nomination in 2016, just as they did Mitt Romney’s and John McCain’s nominations before. 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. I was astonished to hear that Newt Gingrich is going to work for CNN. What gives?  (Tania ~  San Clemente, CA)

A. He’s going to host a new version of “Crossfire.”  They’ll have S.E. Cupp on there with him representing Conservatives, and Stephanie Cutter and Van Jones representing Liberals.  I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker, that I championed your candidacy.  Anyone who would go on the air with Van Jones under ANY circumstances has lost my respect. 

 

Q. What’s your opinion about Obama’s saying that he shouldn't  have to call Putin to get his hands on Snowden; that’s for people on lower levels of government to do?  (Wesley ~ Oroville, CA)

A. Humility is not one of Obama’s faults.  Besides, when you suffer from delusions of imperial grandeur, such a move is beneath one’s dignity.  Lah, dee, dah. 

Q. Justice Scalia almost went over the top with his criticism of the Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act.  Now that the dust has settled a bit, do you agree?  (Beau ~ Sand Point, ID)

A. There are two sides to this.  One is the legal side regarding Constitutional equality: you can’t allow heterosexual married couples to have benefits that are denied to gay married couples.  In that regard, the Court was correct in overturning the DOMA.  However, I do not believe that government should be sticking its nose into a matter of religion, and marriage is shrouded in religion.  As to the overall gist of things and as Justice Scalia so eloquently iterated, "Today's opinion aggrandizes the power of the court to pronounce the law.  It will have the predictable consequence of diminishing the ‘power of our people to govern themselves.’”  He was joined in his dissent by Justices Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts, while Justice Samuel Alito wrote a separate dissenting opinion. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

"Some will rejoice in today’s decision, and some will despair at it; that is the nature of a controversy that matters so much to so many. But the Court has cheated both sides, robbing the winners of an honest victory, and the losers of the peace that comes from a fair defeat. We owed both of them better." ~ Justice Antonin Scalia on the recent Supreme Court decision regarding DOMA. 

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7xEc7CFbYw

AMBASSADOR STEVENS’ DIARY TO BE PUBLISHED

Chris Stevens kept a diary.  About 2-3 weeks after the Benghazi Massacre, the F.B.I. finally showed up and went through the place.  To the chagrin of the F.B.I. and subsequent to that, CNN showed up and went through the place and found Stevens’ diary.  Of course, the F.B.I. wanted the diary, but it has been under wraps.  CNN finally announced it would release the contents of the diary yesterday, after removal of personal and non-relative notes. 

COMMENTS:

It is asserted that the journal contains strong evidence to support allegations of a subsequent cover-up.  Hopefully, it contains the names of some of the people who were on the ground during the attack that Congress might subpoena for testimony, names that the Administration has flatly refused to release. 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. What’s your reaction to yesterday’s Supreme Court rulings about gay marriage?  (Deidre ~ Mt. Pleasant, UT)

A. Both decisions were legally correct, although one was somewhat disagreeable with me from the standpoint of my religious convictions.  The DOMA law is discriminatory on its face, placing gay married couples in a different class and allowing heterosexual couples certain benefits gay couples could not have access to.  As for the California case, after losing in a lower Court hearing which struck the law down, California authorities refused to appeal the case to a higher Court; for this, they should be removed for malfeasance / misfeasance in office; they had a fundamental duty to represent the will of the people, whether they agreed with it or not.  A Pro-Prop 8 group stepped in to take the case and appeal it.  The Supreme Court ruled that the new group "lacked standing" to litigate the matter, which is entirely correct.    

I know that a whole lot of people, particularly in California, are ticked off because they have voted twice to ban same sex marriage.  I certainly sympathize with them, inasmuch as the will of the people is being thwarted by legal technicalities.   Nevertheless, the Court cannot justifiably step beyond the limits of its jurisdiction.  The matter needs to be re-appealed, if that can be done.  The plain and simple truth here, in the California case, is that the State of California has inserted a matter of religious belief into a governmental decision; the definition of marriage is a matter for the church.  With respect to benefits, such as employment insurance, then the State has a right to define under what circumstances people are entitled to those benefits; that must include gay couples, whether married or not.  In allowing the lower court ruling to stand, the Supremes negated the effect of Proposition 8 and ignored the will of the public.  Hopefully, Californians will have yet another run at it.   

Q. What do you think Obama thinks about his plummeting poll ratings?  (Erin ~ Sacramento, CA)

A. I really don’t think he cares.  He won a second term, he is in charge and in his mind can do as he pleases; he thinks there is not a damned thing you can do about it.  In a sense, he’s correct, but you can certainly put a helluva lot of pressure on Congress to do something about it, and they can. 

Q. LIGNET is reporting that, while addressing an audience on Capitol Hill on June 14, R. James Woolsey, a long-time foreign policy expert who served as head of the CIA from 1993-1995, warned that North Korea probably already has a nuclear weapon specifically designed to generate an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) so powerful that if it were used in an on attack the United States, it would threaten the future of American civilization. The question is: What does the United States do about it?  (Gregory ~ Woodland, CA)

A. Take a trip to Africa.  Pardon my cynicism, but Obama is not the answer.  If we were to confirm that such a weapon exists, then we should tell China to get it removed before we do it. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“The genius of impeachment lay in the fact that it could punish the man without punishing the office.” ~ Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2510130453001/do-more-citizens-need-guns/

ILLEGALS WILL GET HIRED FIRST!

The new immigration bill just passed by the Senate committee stipulates that illegals getting “amnesty” can’t use ObamaCare. 

COMMENTS:

As an employer, you will hire the illegal first and save yourself the annual $3,000 ObamaCare premium.  The sick illegals, however, will continue to show up at the E.R. and we’ll still pay the tab for that.  The government is making such a mess out of everything it touches lately that one would think they are all both incompetent and insane. 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. I understand there was a rally that turned into a confrontation in Pennsylvania over gun rights.  What happened?  (Claire ~ Colusa, CA)

A. Well, protesters showed up to a gun-rights rally in Erie with their firearms out in the open—purposely defying a local ordinance that prohibits guns at city parks.  Predictably, some law enforcement showed up and started issuing tickets.  There was no ruckus, but there could have been and that would have played right into the hands of the gun banners. 

Q. I hear the Benghazi story is heating up again.  Who are these guys getting the subpoenas?  (Violet ~ Jackson, WY)

A. Eric Boswell, who was assistant secretary at the Bureau of Diplomatic Security; Scott Bultrowicz, director of the Diplomatic Security service; Elizabeth Dibble, former principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; and her boss, Elizabeth Jones, the bureau’s acting assistant secretary.  We’re still not getting at the eye-witnesses who were on the ground at the time. 

Q. So now we hear that the IRS agents used their official credit cards to buy porn, wine and romance novels.  This is outrageous!  (Greg ~ Salt Lake City, UT)

A. Are you suggesting it would have been okay if they had purchased Holy Bibles, bottled water and mystery novels?  Theft is theft, and that’s that.  But, it goes deeper; receipts still had to be submitted and someone had to approve those credit card charges.  I wonder if they made any donations to Republican candidates? 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“I haven't reported my missing credit card to the police because whoever stole it is spending less than my wife.” ~ Ilie Nastase

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2503654689001/hume-what-else-is-in-immigration-bill/?intcmp=obinsite

I.R.S. TARGETING WIDER THAN REPORTED

The new Director at the IRS reported yesterday that IRS targeting included those who used the words “occupy, progressive or Israel.”  Daniel Werfel said the abuse continued last month and only stopped after he took control. 

COMMENTS:

What everyone wants to hear is whether or not Obama either personally ordered the discrimination or knew of it and did nothing to curb it.  I think this issue goes straight in to the Oval Office; we already know that it goes at least to the White House and, allegedly, the Chief of Staff.  So, what’s going to happen with that? 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. Doesn’t Jay Carney ever answer a question?  As a Press Secretary, he’s as worthless as tits on a boar hog.”  (Edin ~ Shasta Lake City, CA)

A. Yahoo News reports that, during 500 or so press conferences, Carney ducked on at least 9,486 questions.  That’s an average of 19 times per press conference.  Obviously, he leaves the issue of transparency to Barack. 

Q. Here we have the Democrats bellyaching over Sequestration and we have the Immigration Bill working its way through the Senate.  Harry Reid has inserted into the bill a law that would extend government assistance to Las Vegas advertising costs forever.  He should be shot.  (Harriett ~ Larkspur, CA)

A. Nevada Senator Dean Heller, a Republican, signed onto that ploy.  That’s why I keep saying there’s not an honest, patriotic member in Congress willing to do what is proper and necessary for the county. 

Q. Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia says that the Supreme Court members should not be ruling on moral issues and only on Constitutional issues.  Do you agree?  (Martis ~ Phoenix, AZ)

A. Absolutely.  It’s interesting that his remarks come only days before the Court is scheduled to release its decision on California’s Proposition 8, wherein the citizens overwhelmingly voted down gay marriage.  Moral issues are supposed to be in the realm of the church and the voting booth. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“The debate we won't be having is whether or not the debt ceiling should be raised. We will not have a situation where people will hold the American economy hostage in order to achieve a specific agenda - at least not until 2013. So we think that is incredibly important as a matter of economic good.” ~ Jay Carney

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2501679147001/priest-challenges-pelosi-to-condemn-abortion-or-quit-church/?playlist_id=2114913880001

IMMIGRATION BILL GETS WORSE

The Senate is proclaiming it has resolved all problems with the Immigration Bill by passing an Amendment that will beef up border security.  What they are not saying, according to Senator Sessions, is that the hiring of additional border security agents will not occur until years after the immigration bill is passed. 

COMMENTS:

It’s not 2,700 pages yet, but I suppose it’s a law that will simply have to pass so that we can read it after the fog of deception has cleared the room. 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:

Q. Have they dropped Benghazi?  With all of these other scandals floating around, we haven’t heard a word about Benghazi lately.  (Karen ~ Chino Hills, CA)

A. And I keep saying that the real story on the Benghazi Massacre and the I.R.S. thing are the two scandals that have all of the potential of ending Obama’s Imperial Presidency.  I think that the hierarchy of the Republican Party is so old and senile that they are incapable of dealing with more than one issue at a time, and even then they need to double-dose on prune juice.   

Q. Remember back in the 2008 election when the New Black Panther Party intimidated voters in Philadelphia and Holder let them off the legal hook?  Well, I hear one of them has just been arrested for carrying a concealed and unlicensed gun.  Do you honestly think he’s now going to be held accountable for his actions?  (Charina ~ Minden, NV)

A. The police arrested him because he was wearing a large, bulky ballistic vest.  They then discovered the illegal and loaded gun.  His attorney is arguing that police “jumped” him without justification as he was leaving the meeting and that the party does numerous charitable things in the community.  Does any of that alter the fact that he was illegally carrying a concealed, loaded and unlicensed gun?  I’m with you; I think charges will be dropped.  They, Holder included, only respect the law when it can be used against whites. 

Q. Chuck Schumer came unglued at Putin [yesterday] because Putin and Russia helped Snowden leave Hong Kong and go on to Cuba, or Ecuador, or Venezuela or wherever he ends up.  How come he’s not vilifying the Chinese who gave Snowden safe-haven and let him go to Russia?  (Jocelyn ~ Helena, MT)

A. "The bottom line is very simple -- allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States, whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden," Schumer said on CNN's "State of the Union."  If Schumer has a problem with U.S. – Russian relations, he should take the matter up with the Omnipotent One, the all-seeing, all bowing President.  Maybe he can get an audience in between scandals?  As far as China is concerned, Schumer knows if it weren’t for China, he wouldn’t be getting a paycheck right now. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“Even if Reagan is dead, if he were still in the White House, he’d still be doing a far better job as President than the live wire we have in there now.” ~ The Unknown Scribbler

TODAY’S VIDEO:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/22/you-suck-nancy-pelosi-booed-heckled-by-liberal-activists-over-snowden-comments/