Category Archives: Constitution

04.18.13
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Marketwatch: No decisions made on gun-control bill: Boehner

House committee chairmen are looking at gun violence proposals but no decisions
have been made about legislation, House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.
“When we have a decision to announce, we’ll announce it,” Boehner told
reporters, a day after the Senate defeated an amendment that would have expanded
background checks for gun buyers.

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Do Republicans also need an education on the Second Amendment?  What do you think?  This is an interesting statement from the top GOP in the House.  Click below for the direct link.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/no-decisions-made-on-gun-control-bill-boehner-2013-04-18?siteid=yhoof2

04.18.13
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Associated Press on Murder Case: Abortion clinic worker says “I saw 10 babies breathe”

former abortion clinic worker capped the five-week murder trial of her former boss with powerful testimony that she saw more than 10 babies breathe before they were killed.

“I thought they were breathing,” Kareema Cross testified Thursday, explaining that she saw their chests go up and down in the clinic run by Dr. Kermit Gosnell. “He would say they’re not really breathing.”

Cross, 28, is the final prosecution witness in the capital murder case against Gosnell. He is charged in the deaths of a patient and seven babies allegedly born alive.

Cross also described seeing three babies move, one after being born in a toilet, and heard a fourth give a “soft whine.”

Cross, who worked at the clinic from 2005 to 2009, was so disturbed by its operation that she took photos and called authorities, although she gave a relative’s name.

A 2011 grand jury report blasts state and city officials for failing to inspect or shut down Gosnell’s busy clinic in West Philadelphia. A 2010 FBI raid over Gosnell’s separate pain management practice ultimately led to its closure.

The defense has denied that babies were born alive, and Cross is sure to face strenuous questioning Thursday afternoon from Gosnell’s lawyer, Jack McMahon.

Click below for the full article.

http://news.yahoo.com/abortion-clinic-worker-saw-10-babies-breathe-183731159.html

04.18.13
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Medals for Drones??? Say it ain’t So!!! Reuters: Pentagon scraps medal for drone pilots after uproar

 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel rolled back a decision by his predecessor, Leon Panetta, who two months ago unveiled a “Distinguished Warfare Medal” outranking the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, awarded to wounded troops.

Hagel, a Vietnam veteran with two Purple Hearts, said instead the Pentagon would create a “distinguishing device” that can be affixed to existing medals.

Opponents had decried Panetta’s high placement of the medal, which was meant to be a nod to the changing nature of warfare and represented the most substantial shakeup in the hierarchy of military medals since World War Two.

Brian Jopek, whose 20-year-old son, Ryan, earned a Bronze Star when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006, had branded Panetta’s decision a “slap in the face.

Click below for the full article.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/us-usa-pentagon-medal-idUSBRE93E12V20130415

 

04.18.13
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Business Insider: Pentagon to take over CIA’s drone program?

Drone Operator

Recently divulged plans to shift the drone program away from the CIA and solely  into the hands of the Defense Department (DoD) highlights a huge issue  about targeted killings by CIA drone pilots.

 

Daniel Klaidman of the Daily Beast reports (emphasis  ours):

“CIA and DoD operators would begin to  work more closely together to ensure a smooth hand-off. The CIA would remain  involved in lethal targeting, at least on the intelligence side, but would not actually control the unmanned aerial vehicles.”

“Since the inception of the drone  program, targeting decisions have been made inside the CIA with  little or no input from other agencies, though the White House sometimes  weighs in … [but Obama] does not … sign  off on all CIA strikes.”

The disclosure may explain how U.S. drones kill people whose  identities aren’t confirmed.

Read more:  http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-taking-over-drone-strikes-2013-3#ixzz2Qs63gKh9

Click below for the full article.

http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-taking-over-drone-strikes-2013-3

04.18.13
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AP: Al-Qaida’s No. 2 in Yemen slams US drone strikes

The deputy leader of al-Qaida in Yemen is calling on Saudis to revolt against the king, slamming the use of bases in Saudi Arabia to launch lethal U.S. drone strikes.

Saeed al-Shihri’s audio recording appeared to back up al-Qaida denials that he was killed in a drone attack. Al-Shihri calls the Saudi royal family “the greatest agent of America.”

The 14-minute audio recording was made public on Wednesday. It was not known when it was recorded.

Click below for the full article.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/world/story/Al-Qaidas-No-2-in-Yemen-slams-US-drone-strikes/8Ss4_J2FF0KzgmNWcVvFfA.cspx

04.18.13
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News Daily: Iran condemns Boston blast, criticizes US policy

Iran condemns Boston but criticizes US policy

Iran’s top leader on Wednesday condemned the twin bombing attacks in Boston, yet chided the U.S. for employing a double standard when it comes to drone attacks that kill innocent civilians.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, which follows the logic of Islam, is opposed to any bombings and killings of innocent people no matter if it is in Boston, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria and condemns it,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian military leaders he was addressing in Tehran.

Khamenei criticized the U.S. for killing people with drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan and backing forces that kill others in Iraq and Syria.

“What kind of logic is this that if children and women are killed by Americans in Afghanistan and Pakistan and by U.S.-backed terrorists in Iraq and Syria is not a problem, but if a bombing happens in the U.S. or another Western country, the whole world should pay the cost?” he asked in his comments, which were posted on his website.

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What do you think?  Do you think that United States Foreign Policy conflicts with its goal of spreading peace, prosperty, liberty, freedom, and democracy?

http://www.newsdaily.com/article/5605e8c7ed7059672cf5d0f464e3b85f/iran-condemns-boston-blast-criticizes-us-policy

04.17.13
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Yahoo News: For Obama, stinging gun bill defeat is personal and political

What happens to a president who romps to reelection, channels a national tragedy that sparked coast-to-coast outrage into a deeply personal crusade, then fails to get a measure backed by nine out of ten Americans through the Senate, where his party holds a majority? Thanks to the NRA-fueled defeat of a bill that might have mildly tightened limits on gun sales, President Barack Obama is learning the hard way.

For the families of those killed or wounded by gun violence and who watched with judging eyes as the Senate killed the measure by a vote of 54-46 (it needed a supermajority of 60 votes to pass) what to make of the vote was an easy call.

“Shame on you!” Patricia Maisch shouted from the visitors gallery above the Senate floor.

Maisch, a grandmotherly figure who disarmed the shooter in the Tucson carnage that nearly claimed the life of former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was happy to elaborate as reporters swarmed her after the vote. “I decided I could not sit still,” she said. “They have no souls, they have no compassion.”

But on Wednesday, they had the votes.

That’s Message One for Obama from this stinging legislative defeat: Having emotion and the majority on your side isn’t enough. NRA leader Wayne LaPierre, after all, didn’t even need to show up.

The knock on Obama has often been that he’s Mr. Spock, viewing his approach as the most logical and assuming that logic will trump the other’s side’s arguments and emotions. But only the most cynical observers will argue that the president didn’t take this fight personally – with frequent flashes of very public anger and anguish ever since the slaughter of 20 schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary. And supporters of the legislation deployed the families of the slain as lobbyists in the weeks leading up to the vote.

Moreover, as the White House never tired of pointing out, polls show roughly 90 percent of Americans support expanded background checks.

“I will put everything I’ve got into this, and so will Joe,” Obama promised in January, with Vice President Biden at his side. “But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.”

In the end, though, four red-state Democrats joined 41 of the Senate’s 45 Republicans to defeat the bill. Why stick their necks out for legislation whose death in the Republican-led House of Representatives was essentially foreordained?

Click below for the full article.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-stinging-gun-bill-defeat-personal-political-234849868–politics.html;_ylt=AhMEeTY6VfIiF8QAHtN7SpvyWed_;_ylu=X3oDMTQzNzlxa2ZiBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIFRvcFN0b3JpZXMEcGtnA2QzMGIyZjAzLTk5OTEtMzY3My1hOWJiLTUwMTBjNjhkNmE5MgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDTWVkaWFTZWN0aW9uTGlzdAR2ZXIDYjBlMGU5NDMtYTdjMi0xMWUyLWFmZmUtNzM5MDdkZGMxMTA0;_ylg=X3oDMTNqcDRvMzU3BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMjEwZTBhNzAtMzljNC0zNDg0LTg4MmUtZDAzYWU0ZTg3YjgxBHBzdGNhdAN1LXN8Y3JpbWVzYW5kdHJpYWxzBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0A1FFX1Rlc3Q-;_ylv=3

04.17.13
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CNN: Senate rejects expanded gun background checks

In a major defeat for supporters of tougher gun laws, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday defeated a compromise plan to expand background checks on firearms sales as well as a proposal to ban some semi-automatic weapons modeled after military assault weapons.

The votes were on a series of amendments to a broad package of gun laws pushed by President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in the aftermath of the Newtown school massacre in December.

However, fierce opposition by the powerful National Rifle Association led a backlash by conservative Republicans and a few Democrats from pro-gun states that doomed key proposals in the gun package, even after they had been watered down to try to satisfy opponents.

After the votes, Obama angrily criticized the NRA and senators who voted against the expanded background checks for rejecting a compromise he said was supported by a strong majority of Americans.

Click below for the full article.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/politics/senate-guns-vote/index.html

04.17.13
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ABC News: Avoiding Stumbling Blocks on the Pathway to Citizenship

So eight senators have agreed on a “pathway to citizenship” for America’s undocumented, leaving a mere 92 to go.  And make no mistake, there are many stumbling blocks on this road to legalization.

Pro-pathway advocates are concerned that too many people are being left out, because anyone here after December 2011 will not be eligible for citizenship and will still be vulnerable to deportation.

For many on the other side, the border will never be secure enough, even if this new immigration reform bill does call for $4.5 million in funding for new border patrol agents, equipment including drones and more security fencing.

Plus history is working against the bill.  A similar version failed in 2007 because of conservative outcry.

But at the White House today after Senators John McCain and Charles Schumer say they received the president’s seal of approval on the legislation, quote “very supportive of the bill” the two senators defended its chances, saying the American people have changed since 2007.

Americans’ views of immigration have pushed to support by a 2-1 margin.

According to a newly released ABC News/Washington Post poll, Americans were evenly split on the issue (49 percent to 46 percent) in 2007, whereas today that number is 63 percent to 33 percent.

That may mean the difference between the 2012 bill’s passage and the 2007 bill’s demise. Schumer said the fact that labor is on board now, when in 2007 they were most definitely not, means this bill has a greater chance of success.

Attitude of American people has changed since 2007,” McCain said at the press briefing today, including the effect of the Latino turnout in the election of President Obama, which he said “quite frankly” had an “impact as well.”

Click below for the full article.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/avoiding-stumbling-blocks-on-the-pathway-to-citizenship-2/

04.17.13
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Wall St. Cheat Sheet: Are Your Income Taxes Fair?

With the official tax deadline in the rear view mirror, many Americans can now reflect on how much they paid Uncle Sam. If you feel like you are paying more than your “fair share,” you are not alone.

Unsurprisingly, Americans are losing faith in the fairness of income taxes. According to the latest Gallup survey, only 55 percent of Americans regard the income tax they pay as fair, the lowest reading since 2001. The results are based on Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance poll and includes adults from all 50 states. It was conducted in the early part of April.

Click below for the full article.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/are-your-income-taxes-fair.html/?ref=YF