B-Man
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Posts posted by B-Man
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So it seems like Congress needs to pass some new laws or update existing ones to ensure that the federal gov't does it's job?
I'm not being critical of you Joe, but you see how that sentence reads.
"Congress has to pass (or update) a few federal laws, to make sure that the government follows its previous laws"
a fools errand........
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Perhaps if the Department of Justice and the Attorney General weren't of the mind that they only have to enforce the laws that the agree with....
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Another view, by the one and only, Mark Steyn
Blood MoneyBy Mark Steyn
June 25, 2012
The account of a traffic fatality in South Carolina is perplexing in many ways. For example, is it customary for the deceased to be charged with having his own blood washed off the asphalt?
“I had to pay to have the vehicle towed,” she said. “I had to pay for the vehicle removed and to clean up the street from Justin’s blood on the ground.”
Robinson [the victim's mother] said that was the bill that stung the most – paying $50 to have the street cleaned.
“First of all, having to open the mail and look at the charge to the deceased, Justin Darryl Walker — the deceased! It’s just a hard thing to deal with in the context of your child,” she said.
The headline chooses its words carefully:
"After Drunken Driver Kills Son, Mother Billed For Cleanup"
“Drunken driver”? .................The perp, Anna Gonzalez, is an illegal immigrant who has been driving in the United States without a license for 12 years.
Does WYFF Channel 4 share Ms. Gonzalez’s blithe disdain for the tedious business of acquiring a valid driver’s license? Judging from the way the key facts about Ms. Gonzalez are withheld until the antepenultimate paragraph, one would almost get the impression WYFF is cool with illegal immigrants driving illegally as long as they make sure they’re sober when they run over the natives.
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Despite the "Obama Won" of much of the media's reaction, I don't think it was that straightforward
Ask the man on the street what he thinks the Arizona law is about (whether he’s for it or against it)
and he’d say the requirement that police check legal status of people they encounter in lawful stops — and that’s the part that was upheld by the Court.
The other three provisions that were challenged were preempted by federal law, according to the Court, but could you even name what those parts are?
I can't.
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High Court Rejects Part of Arizona Immigration Law
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizona's crackdown on immigrants.
But the court said Monday that one much-debated part of the law could go forward — the portion requiring police to check the status of someone they suspect is not in the United States legally. Even there, though, the justices said the provision could be subject to additional legal challenges.
The decision upholds the "show me your papers" provision for the moment. But it takes the teeth out of it by prohibiting police officers from arresting people on minor immigration charges.
Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion for the court that was unanimous on allowing the status check to go forward. The court was divided on striking down the other portions.
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It’s unfortunate that Obamacare has forced the Court’s nine justices — and their clerks — to make life-or-death decisions for the private insurance market.
“You really expect the Court to do that?” exclaimed Antonin Scalia at oral argument. “Or do you expect us to give this function to our law clerks? Is this not totally unrealistic, that we are going to go through this enormous bill item by item and decide each one?”
America desperately needs true health reform. There are too many Americans without health insurance, and too few taxpayer dollars to sustain our existing system.
But Obamacare’s byzantine complexity leaves the Court little choice. It must overturn the entirety of the law, and ask Congress to try again.
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Washington Post article on the weekend. Full panic mode, as evidenced by the laughable first line.
Obama’s legal tactics seen as possibly hurting chances to save health-care lawBy Peter Wallsten
Some prominent legal scholars say a series of tactical decisions by President Obama’s legal team may have hurt the chances of saving his landmark health-care legislation from being gutted by Supreme Court conservatives.
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Yeah...but soliciting people to ask for political donations in lieu of wedding gifts is...something. God, I can't even think of a word to describe it.
Really Tom ?..................just of the top of my head ,
crass, insensitive, coarse, asinine, boorish, obtuse, witless......................
The word that really comes to mind with this administration is......................................................typical
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I feel bad for those people out there, who so want to donate, but because of the tough economy (Bush's fault) they just don't have the money.
If only the federal government could direct the "Julia's" who need guidance as to what to do.
Perhaps, they could sell their hair, or donate blood....................
Obama/Biden 2012
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From the site;
Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up?Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.
Why stop there ? ? ?
Take my Christmas Club.
I certainly don't need to spend any more money or vacation time with my family,
Not when Obama/Biden needs it..................................Its a gift we all can appreciate.
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Dr. Charles Krauthammer on the announcement yesterday that the administration will assert executive privilege to keep certain Department of Justice documents from disclosure to Congress:
"And it has several immediate effects. The first is there is no way that the mainstream media, which have studiously tried to ignore this, can do that anymore. In fact, NBC, which has shown exactly 10 seconds of coverage of this [Fast and Furious] on the evening news in the last year-and-a-half, is now going to have to explain the whole thing — since the viewership has no idea what it’s about. So, number one, it becomes a huge national issue.
Secondly, it involves the president. Not that he was involved in the actual communications, but he is the one that has to issue… the claim of executive privilege. Once he does that, clearly he is connected…. Nobody is saying it was… communications with the president which are now being protected. It’s being claimed on a second level of “executive deliberation,” meaning something happened inside the Justice Department.
On the importance of investigating Fast and Furious:
"What makes what would ordinarily be — and there are many — ordinary Washington scandals, potential cover-ups, into a tragedy is that there are [allegedly] two American agents, honorable men in the service of their country, who are dead in part at least as a result of this operation. So I think it gives added valence, emotional impact. When the family says we want to know, it does make the administration look like it’s covering up.
Remember, the documents that it is refusing to reveal — the Justice Department itself says are not documents about the operation [Fast and Furious itself] but about the communication within the Department [of Justice] on how to respond to the investigation — which sounds like cover-up."
On the political fallout of the escalating Fast and Furious investigation:
"I think A.B. touched upon the disconnect between what Democrats said about this kind of investigation under Bush and what they are saying now. There is a second one, more recent disconnect, which is in the Holder statement — he says: I’ve cooperated with the request [for documents], except that I won’t make disclosures that would endanger the American people or agents in the field.
Well, this is an administration that has just leaked everything you want to know about Stuxnet, the secret war against Iran, just leaked details about the drone war, the double agent in Yemen — including, this morning in the Washington Post, [disclosures about] the Flame virus, the other one [cyber attack] now active.
It’s not a leak, but a flood. What does all that [public disclosure of foreign policy secrets] have in common? It’s a way to show how strong and assertive this administration is in foreign affairs. This [Fast and Furious] might show negatively on the administration. That is the only difference. If it’s national security, then they have no regard for secrets — and here [with Fast and Furious] all of a sudden they are extremely guarded."
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Same PROGRAM. Different OPERATIONS. And F&F was, for all practical purposes, a clone of the earlier operation (same tactical plan, put together and run by the same guy in the same Arizona office.) ATF and DOJ themselves, in their own memos which have been made public and provided to Congress, have explicitly said just that.
Whatever sources are telling you otherwise suck.
Operation Wide Receiver is the Obama administration’s desperate excuse/distraction from their gunrunning activities;
it was a Bush-era program that was supposedly identical to Operation Fast & Furious............ except that attempts were made to keep track of the guns being sold (Operation Fast & Furious did not),
OWR was conducted with the awareness and cooperation of the Mexican government (OF&F was not),
and – contra the earnest attempts of the Obama administration – the program ended before Bush left office. So, in other words, it wasn’t particularly identical to Operation Fast & Furious at all.
By the way: my source for the first two points of difference?
The sworn testimony of Attorney General Eric Holder, back when Sen. John Cornyn was raking him over the coals in 2011. Here is a clip, you can see Holder admitting the differences, and explicitly denying that the two operations were the same.
Of course, Tom may still be right...........................................There's always a good chance that Holder was...............lying
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Summer of Recovery.................................III
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I present WH spokesman, the one and only.....................Carney for some laughs.
Ouch......................
That 4th clip (Carney forgot the name of the slain border patrol agent who died as a result of Fast and Furious.)
Thats not very helpful to their cause.
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If you can't see this as what it is...you straight up cannot talk about anything with anyone except other people who 1) are stupid enough to feel they have a "team" plain and simple in politics and 2) who have your team and are enthusiastic about it. This is as transparent as it gets. It's that simple.
As for the "programs" argument...it's irrelevant. It's the practice that matters...that's what the ATF had been doing period...for quite sometime...it was messing it up for a while...and finally after a huge mess up was ended under Holder. That's it. "Program" labels matter not the entire dispute over 1 program continuing and morphing or 2 programs is stupid. It was all 1 big thing they had been doing...
1st paragraph.) This what is known in my field (healthcare) as projection.
You have decided that its one (team) of politicians against the other, not I.
I still believe that there are some good, dedicated folks in Congress................its that simple.
2nd paragraph) "it was messing up for a while and finally ended under Holder" is whats known as denial.
The Fast and Furious program was NOT a continuation, but a NEW program (albeit similar) that was started by the Obama Justice dpt.
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Yes, it is. And that's the situation...ATF down there had for some time engaged in stings selling guns and lost quite a few, culminating in a sale where they lost a ton...then the practice was ended (by HOlder himself)...now it's being investigated by everybody b/c why? Eric Holder is in contempt of Congress by vote exactly down the party line why? B/c of a search for the truth and a remedy to this issue? Take off the blinder brother.
It must be difficult for you. I guess I can assume you don't vote, because everything a politician does is self-serving, so why vote, right?
You deliberately overstate both sides of the argument, no one can be trying to find the truth, its only being done for political reasons, everyone who doesnt accept that "all or nothing" appoach has blinders on........................................sad.
Under a program that spans two administrations...but only this one exercised bad judgement...
...no, wait. I can almost buy that logic.
You have been given clear links (and are well-read enough to know) that the two programs were NOT the same, but you keep repeating it to try and make a point.
(Most) everyone agrees that both programs were awful, so your second comment is quite superfluous.
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Blaming the gun for the death of that border patrol agent is.
No, it is not.
The "blame" , as you so casually phrase it, is on the shooter/killer.
There is also the responsibilities of those who helped provide guns to killers, that is what is being investigated.
illogic, calling it pro-gun control.
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Ironically making the argument for greater regulation and gun control.
Repetition does not make it so, sir.
Its not an either/or situation.
Pushing for a complete investigation of "Fast and Furious" is not the same thing as taking the "gun control" side.
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Because, as everyone knows, the only guns in all of Mexico are the guns lost by the idiots running Fast & Furious.
So if F&F hadn't happened, that Border Patrol Agent would be alive today.
Thats a pretty half-assed statement...............................I wish that I could see the future like you.
The fact is, it was a F&F weapon that killed the agent................no amount of snarkiness changes that.
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Who exactly authorized the program, what the highest level of knowledge was about the program, whether Holder lied under oath about when he found out about F&F, why the president is or can be allowed to exercise executive privilege for something Holder says Obama was never involved with or knew about.
And maybe above all, what I want an answer for is why the asshat local DOJ officials who concocted the idea and designed it to fail at every level, and then tried to cover up this scheme were actually given promotions to DOJ headquarters in D.C.? ... and what can be done about this injustice.
The thought that these people are now responsible for even wider-scope activities is just galling.
Thank you.
Everyone agrees that the program was ill-concieved.
Everyone agrees that we do not want it to happen again.
but when the committee is stonewalled regarding their investigation for almost a year,
we get........"its just political"................................and..........."whats the point?"
Some consistency, about a very serious subject, would be nice.
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Chuck Grassley Schools CNN's Soledad OBrien over Fast and Furious
By Jeffrey Meyer
It appears as though CNN anchor Soledad OBrien has joined the ranks in +the liberal media who argue that the GOP is engaging in a political witch hunt over the lethal Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal. During an interview with Sen. Chuck Grassley this morning, Soledad pressed the Iowa Republican about GOP congressmen's motives behind the contempt of Congress vote against Attorney General Eric Holder.
O'Brien hyped Maryland Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings's charge that the the House GOP's vote for the contempt charge was purely partisan politics. O'Brien agreed, noting the partisan breakdown of the contempt vote.
To O'Brien, that necessarily means, of course, that only Republicans are acting in a "partisan" manner while Democrats -- who toed their party line defense of a Democratic president's attorney general -- presumably are acting purely out love of country.
I'm motivated to get the facts out, to make sure the law is faithfully executed, to make sure [the] Terry family gets the information, and make sure a stupid program like this never happens again," Grassley snapped.
GRASSLEY: Well, I think there's several respects where it rises to this level. Number one, Congress passes laws. That doesn't -- that isn't the end of Congress' involvement. We are supposed to be a check on the executive branch to see that the laws are faithfully executed. When you're encouraging -- the government is encouraging guns to be sold illegally to people that shouldn't have them, you know the laws aren't being faithfully executed. So in order to be a check on the executive branch under our Constitution, we need this information.
O'BRIEN: Seems to I think give fodder to those like Elijah Cummings who I was talking to this morning who said this is purely partisan. Look at the vote. It was purely along partisan lines. Congress these days is viciously partisan. Here's what he told me a little earlier this morning, sir.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: This is not about the facts. This is about politics. And anybody who looks at this knows that. The chairman had made up his mind, and this is a result that I guess he wanted. And now we see where we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: There are lots of people besides the congressman saying that. What would you say to him?
GRASSLEY: Well, I would say to him -- he can say anything about members of the House of Representatives he wants to. But he knows me well enough in the three decades that Ive been in the Senate, I have established a reputation for vigorous oversight. And I have probably taken on more Republican presidents of my own party than I have Democrat presidents. So nobody can question whether or not I'm politically motivated by this. I'm motivated to get the facts out, to make sure the law is faithfully executed, to make sure Terry family gets the information, and make sure a stupid program like this never happens again.
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Obama Using Hispanics As Patsies
By Alicia Colon
Isn't President Obama a clever one? He ordered a change in policy via executive edict that could allow as many as 800,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally not only to remain in the country without fear of being deported, but to work legally. Now why would he do that after boasting that his deportation record of illegals was the strongest ever? Perhaps he fears that Mitt Romney will pick Sen. Marco Rubio as his V.P. and Rubio's modified Dream Act is certain to attract Hispanic voters to the GOP. Obama also knows that the immigration issue is a sure fire divider of the Republicans, many of whom unwisely regard amnesty as a reason to stay home in November.
I am a conservative who has argued time and again that the Hispanic community is not a monolithic one and it is insulting to those of us with a Hispanic heritage whenever politicians lump as all into one stewpot. Many of us are native born Americans first and our allegiance is to an America we regard as the greatest country in the world. It is exceptional. It is unique and unlike any other because it is made up of all countries.
It is a glaring fact that the president doesn't really care about Hispanics other than to view us as a voting bloc and it is vitally important for those Hispanics who are bona fide citizens and eligible to vote to recognize this con job against us. This executive edict is nothing more than an attempt to steal the November election by flooding the voter rolls with ineligible voters. Doesn't anybody recall what the Clinton/Gore campaign did in 1996 with its "Citizen USA" program which one Clinton aide said was meant to, "produce 1 million new citizens before Election Day" that November?
{snip}
Making it easier for employers to hire illegals at substandard wages is hardly beneficial to Hispanics struggling in this awful economy but if it gets Obama re-elected than it will be worth it, right?
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Brothers and Sisters, brothers and sisters PLEASE! Remember we are all Bills fans, no matter what else we may be. A shred of respect will go a long way...
While I agree with your sentiments,
I just don't like being lectured by a Gorn
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Holder Has Long Been Contemptible
By Aaron Goldstein
While the House Oversight Committee has now recommended that Congress hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for his conduct during the Fast and Furious scandal, one could make the case that Holder has long held the American public in contempt.
After all, how many cabinet secretaries begin their tenure by calling his fellow Americans "a nation of cowards" where it concerned the question of racism? Never mind that America has become a nation where racism is not only unacceptable but a nation where, outside of being called a murderer or a rapist, nothing is worse than being called a racist.
If anyone has behaved cowardly where it concerns racism, it is Holder. What can one say about a man who sees fit to drop a successfully prosecuted case of voter intimidation?
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Instead we have an Attorney General who uses the race card to immunize himself from criticism. In December 2011, Holder told the New York Times, "This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we're both African-American."
Ah yes, from the Janeane Garofalo School of Government which states that all Republican criticism of President Obama and, by extension, Eric Holder is motivated solely by race.
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Illegal Immigration Takes Its Toll
in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Posted
Well, you could hold the Attorney General (and DOJ) in contempt, but that would just be explained by the left as "partisan politics"
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