Joe Arpaio Restricts Unpatriotic Inmates To Diet Of Bread, Water

Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has issued a bold threat to any unpatriotic inmates in his jails.

According to CBS5, Arpaio is threatening to put any inmates who deface or vandalize the American flag on a diet of only bread and water. Arpaio told CBS5 10 inmates are already on the bread-and-water diet.

CBS5 reports:

Each cell is getting a sticker of an American flag. Any inmate who vandalizes the flag will be punished with the restricted diet.

In keeping with the patriotic theme, Arpaio has ordered that the playing of God Bless America and the National Anthem be done daily in every jail facility over the public address system and for all the inmates, regardless of national origin, to hear and sing-a-long.

This isn't Arpaio's first questionable move regarding inmates' diets. In March 2013, Arpaio announced he would start charging inmates $1 per meal. In September, he announced plans to transition all inmates to a cost-saving vegetarian diet.

Arpaio has a history of stirring controversy with his treatment of Maricopa County inmates. He's been criticized for making prisoners wear pink underwear and ordering his deputies to stay armed at all times -- even while off duty.

Via: Huffington Post

Continue Reading.....

Now small businesses are receiving health insurance cancellation notices

Just like people with individual health insurance polices, small businesses are grappling with unexpected changes to their policies and premiums because of the standards set by the Affordable Care Act.

In Arizona, Drs. Courtney and Matthew Dunn own DunnOrthodontics in central Phoenix. It’s a small but profitable practice, which they’ve had for about seven years. They don’t have to offer health insurance, but Matthew Dunn says, they choose to.  

"We’ve always offered health insurance.  It was easy in the beginning because we only had one employee, now we have 13 full-time employees."

On Tuesday, the Dunns received a letter from their health insurer, Humana. It was labeled, "Important information regarding your coverage."  It informed them that they would not be able to continue with their current medical plan in 2014,  as it did not meet all of the ACA requirements.  The letter included information on a new Humana medical plan did comply with the ACA's standards, but it would raise the Dunns' premiums by 60 percent. 

Courtney Dunn says she was shocked.  

"I got a text from Matt letting me know, and my heart just stopped."

She thought they had a good plan. Their employees have used their existing plan to cover surgeries, births and emergency room visits.  Dunn says she'd figured they could keep their plan, hang onto it for a year and see how the Affordable Care Act played out before jumping into the marketplace. 

Now the Dunns have about six weeks to figure out what their plan lacks and what they want to do. In the meantime, they’re meeting with their employees to explain the situation and get input.

Karen Yant is Dunn Orthodontic's receptionist. She has a bad back.  She wondered whether, if her employers no longer offered health insurance, employees would get extra money to pay for it themselves.  

Courtney Dunn told Yant that was one option they were talking about, but it's still early and they just don't know.

Via: Marketplace Health Care

Continue Reading.....

ObamaCare Will Raise Average Insurance Claims By 32% For Individual Coverage The Next Four Years

In my search for the truth about how much ObamaCare will increase the cost of health care insurance, I came upon a frightening map of the United States that projected what the percentage hikes would be state by state for people with individual coverage. The projections, prepared by the Society of Actuaries in March 2013 predicted some pretty outrageous total health care increases for people with individual coverage in the likes of California (62%), Alabama (60%), Texas (34%) and Arizona (41%). Only in  New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey would the premiums decline slightly for people with individual coverage, a segment of the market that is expected to increase from 11.9 million people at present to 25.6 million as more Americans sign up for insurance coverage under ObamaCare.

The Society of Actuaries contacted me this morning to explain that the large percent increases are the projected estimate for “underlying claims costs… not the expected premium. So, I was incorrect in pinning the 32% just on the rise in the cost of buying health insurance, but rather it refers to the projected average increase in the insurance claims to be paid by the health insurance companies.

Via: Forbes

Continue Reading.....

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD THREATENED WITH EXPULSION FOR DRAWING NINJA WITH GUN

An eight-year-old at Scottsdale, Arizona's Country Day School was threatened with expulsion after drawing a picture of soldier with a gun as an idea for a Halloween costume.

The child's name has not been released—to protect his identity—but his parents pulled him from the school last week after he was threatened with expulsion for drawing a picture of a soldier with a gun, a ninja warrior with a gun, and a Star Wars character holding laser guns. 

According to CBS 5 Arizona, the child's father, who also remains anonymous, said this is a situation where the headmaster literally "bullied" his son over the drawings, and "bullied the parents" too.

The father said the headmaster pointed to writings in the eight-year-old's journal where he wrote of adventures filled with "booby traps" and "shooting gadgets [like] a rope gun." The boy also wrote about doing away with nuclear weapons, "saving the earth and protecting humanity."

However, the headmaster focused on the drawings—like the one of the soldier with a gun—and said he "couldn't guarantee the safety of other student's with [the eight-year-old] around."

Via: Breitbart

Continue Reading....

WATCH: Arizona Voters Savage John McCain’s Syria Support at Town Hall

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) came face-to-face with his constituents Thursday during a tense town hall event in Phoenix, Arizona. The senator, who has perhaps been the loudest Republican voice supporting military action in Syria met voters who were vehemently opposed to intervention and let their voices be heard.

According to a report by CNN’s Kevin Liptak, one man told McCain, “We didn’t send you to make war for us. We sent you to stop the war,” drawing applause from the crowd. Another man held up a bag on marshmallows, telling him, “This is what I think of Congress. They are a bunch of marshmallows. That’s what they are. That’s what they’ve become. Why are you not listening to the people and staying out of Syria? It’s not our fight.”

Videos captured at the event show McCain contending with the often angry crowd. At one point, a man repeatedly attempted to interrupt McCain mid-speech, causing the senator to stop and address him. “What you’re doing is not just disrespectful to me, but disrespectful to others who want their opinions and views heard.”

Later, a woman who said she had a young cousin living in Syria delivered an emotional plea to McCain. “For me, to listen to you say there is no good option in Syria-–I refuse to believe that,” she told him. “The good option right now is to take Saudi Arabia and Iran and force them to stop supporting the two sides in Syria. And you could do it. You can do it by diplomacy, not bombs, Sen. McCain. We cannot afford to shed more Syrian blood.”

McCain thanked the woman, who got loud support from the crowd, for her “emotional plea,” but disputed what he saw as her support for the Assad regime. “To say that Bashar Assad is anything but a merciless butcher, then we have a strong disagreement.”

Watch the two exchanges in the video below:

Via: Mediaite.com

Continue Reading....

Arizona AG: Arrests made in state’s largest undercover food stamp operation seizure

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne announced the state’s largest undercover food stamp fraud bust and the arrests of three individuals involved on Thursday.

K & S convenience store employees Kameel Sweiss, 51, Ameer Sweis, 22, Faday Sweiss, 33, were arrested Wednesday for allegedly illegally conducting an enterprise, fraudulent schemes and artifices, money laundering, unlawful use of food stamps and computer tampering.

According to Horne, Wednesday morning SWAT units of the Phoenix Police Department entered the K & S convenience store to execute search warrants and seized $32,876 in cash, a key to a private bank vault holding $550,480 in cash, bank records, accounts, food stamp cards, business ledgers and three vehicles.

The arrests came following months of an undercover investigation involving the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Phoenix Police Department, United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, Arizona Department of Economic Security, as well as the Arizona Department of Revenue, which is conducting a separate and ongoing investigation.

“This business was stealing taxpayer money by allowing a person with a food stamp card to purchase something small, such as a bag of chips, and then overcharge that card to make a fraudulent profit,” Horne explained in a statement.

“This seizure is the largest in our state’s history with regard to food stamp fraud and should serve as a strong warning to those who continue to engage in these kinds of illegal actions,” he added.

The defendants appeared before a judge Wednesday night, in addition to the $100,00 bonds all are required to turn over their passports and if they are able to post bond, the judge ordered they will have to wear an ankle monitor.

“The Office of Inspector General at USDA remains committed, alongside our law enforcement partners, to investigate individuals and retailers involved in the trafficking of food stamp benefits in exchange for cash,” deputy counsel for the Office of the Inspector General Paul Feeney added.

Via: The Daily Caller

Continue Reading....

Sheriff Arpaio Putting Armed Posse In Schools

In response to a nearby county’s announcement that it will arm teachers and principals to prevent a Newtown, Conn.-style massacre at its schools, America’s most famous sheriff said he will send members of his armed posse to schools around his county.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he would send members of his posse to protect the 50 schools that are located in areas that his department is singularly responsible for protecting, according to KTVK-TV in Phoenix.

“I have the authority to mobilize private citizens and fight crime in this county,” Arpaio said. “[Politicians] are going to be talking about the guns now for years. But I have certain resources at my disposal and I'm not going to talk about it. I'm going to do it.”

Arpaio created the 3,000-strong posse during the 1993 holiday season in response to violent incidents at malls. There haven’t been any violent acts in malls there since the volunteer police force was created.

Posse members will be sent to the 50 or so schools that are in areas the Sheriff’s Office patrols, a response to nearby Pinal County officials saying they’d like to arm teachers and principals.

Arpaio said he’s a fan of school resource officers and though funding has been cut in recent years for their presence, he thinks putting them back in schools will make them safer.

“I support arming cops in the schools," Arpaio said. "If you have a cop that's armed you don't need a teacher that's armed."

Via: Newsmax

Continue Reading...

University of Michigan uses school funds — against rules — to promote left-wing event

The University of Michigan used school resources and state tax dollars to advertise a partisan event entitled “The Republican War on Women,” according to the Michigan Capitol Confidential website. Such paid advertising violates the school’s own policies charges a candidate for the University’s Board of Regents, Robert Steele.

According to the University of Michigan’s own website, Michigan law prohibits “using an official University e-mail list or listserv to campaign for or against a ballot initiative or candidate running for office.” Michigan law also prohibits “purporting to speak on behalf of the University when supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot initiative.”

The event, sponsored by the Communications Studies Department, is scheduled to occur tonight on Michigan’s hallowed Ann Arbor campus.

Steele has charged that the “Republican War on Women” was listed as a factual statement for the event and that the University used its email system to advertise the event.

After Steele raised a ruckus about the event, the University of Michigan website quickly changed the title by adding a question mark. However, Michigan Capitol Confidential preserved the original image.

“The question mark came on only after people started complaining,” Steele said, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. “Because they are so liberal in their mindset, it never occurs to them that they violate their own rules.”

The school also changed the graphic associated with the event. The original graphic prominently included a red shooting target eerily similar to the one for which Sarah Palin was so roundly criticized after Arizona Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot. In the aftermath of that shooting, many on the left called for a “return to civility.”

Each speaker at the event is a severe critic of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and a left winger straight out of central casting.

Via: The Daily Caller

Continue Reading...

Judge: Police to enforce Ariz. immigration law now

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge in Arizona ruled Tuesday that police can immediately start enforcing the most contentious section of the state's immigration law, marking the first time officers can carry out the so-called "show me your papers" provision.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton is the latest milestone in a two-year legal battle over the requirement. It culminated in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that upheld the provision on the grounds that it doesn't conflict with federal law.

Now, with the requirement finally in full effect, both sides are anxious to see the outcome.

The supporters want local police to use it vigorously, but worry federal immigration officials won't respond to calls to come arrest people.

"I am mulling what I will do if they don't respond," said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who more than any other police boss in the state pushed the bounds of immigration enforcement. "I don't feel comfortable letting the illegal alien back on the street."

Federal officials said they will check people's immigration status when officers call. But they'll only send an agent to arrest someone if it fits with their priorities, such as catching repeat violators and those who are a threat to public safety and national security.

Meanwhile, civil rights advocates are preparing for a battle.

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading...

ARIZ. GOV. JAN BREWER SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLIC BENEFITS TO YOUNG ILLEGAL ALIENS

(TheBlaze/AP) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Wednesday ordered state agencies to deny driver’s licenses and other public benefits to young illegal immigrants who obtain work authorizations under a new Obama administration policy.

In an executive order, Brewer said she was reaffirming the intent of current Arizona law denying taxpayer-funded public benefits and state identification to illegal immigrants.

Young illegal immigrants around the nation on Wednesday began the process of applying for federal work permits under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

The federal policy defers deportations for that group if they meet certain criteria, including arrival in the United States before they turned 16 and no convictions for certain crimes.

After President Barack Obama announced the policy change in June, Brewer labeled it “backdoor amnesty” and political pandering by the Democratic president.

Arizona has been in the vanguard of states enacting laws against illegal immigration.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned parts of the Arizona enforcement law known as SB1070 but ruled that a key provision on requiring police to ask people about their immigration status under certain circumstances can be implemented.

The Obama administration challenged that law in 2010 after Brewer signed it into law.

Via: The Blaze

Continue Reading...

ICE Chief Of Staff On Leave After New Allegations Of Lewd Conduct Surface

The top Homeland Security official accused of cultivating a "frat-house"-style work environment has "voluntarily placed herself on leave" amid an internal review, the department told FoxNews.com late Tuesday evening -- just hours after FoxNews.com contacted the agency about new allegations against her. 

The official, Suzanne Barr, is chief of staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Two more ICE employees came forward this week to complain about "lewd" conduct inside the agency, submitting sworn affidavits that depict graphic comments made by two top officials working under DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. 

The affidavits were given as part of a discrimination and retaliation suit filed earlier this year by James T. Hayes Jr., the head of the New York office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The two new affidavits described separate incidents in 2009. Both accounts described the actions of Barr, who was also mentioned in Hayes' lawsuit. 

Via Fox News

Continue Reading