Baltimore MD., City school credit, procurement cards show culture of spending

Nearly $500,000 in charges include expensive dinners, extensive travel, and student lunch at Hooter's

Jerome Oberlton, the head of the Information Technology Department, will have to personally reimburse the system $5,000 for charges school officials deemed inappropriate. (Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun / April 26, 2012)

Despite tightening school budgets and a perpetual rallying cry for more funding, Baltimore school administrators spent roughly $500,000 during the past year and a half on expenses such as a $7,300 office retreat at a downtown hotel, $300-per-night stays at hotels, and a $1,000 dinner at an exclusive members-only club, credit card statements show.

City school officials defend the majority of the credit card expenditures — outlined in statements and receipts obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a Maryland Public Information Act request — as "the cost of doing business," saying only a handful of "outliers" show questionable judgment or disregard for taxpayer money.

"We are working around the clock to engage our partners and move our agenda forward," said Tisha Edwards, chief of staff for the school system. "Every transaction has a business purpose in mind."

Among those transactions were a $450-per-person office retreat at the downtown Hilton, during which the 16 employees of the Information Technology Department were also treated to a $500 dinner at Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao; and a $264 lunch for students at Hooter's.

A review of credit card transactions and receipts by The Sun found that the bulk of the expenditures — about $300,000, generated by 16 central office employees — were made under a new procurement-card program that has operated with virtually no controls or oversight since it began in January 2011.

Card statements show that many of the expenditures violated the school system's own protocols and restrictions for use of the cards, such as a prohibition on using them for travel or to buy gifts for employees.

Via: The Baltimore Sun

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Chart of the Week: Tax Revenues Devoured by Entitlements

The looming unsustainability of the big three entitlement spending programs—Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—is not inevitable, but in order to avoid the catastrophic effects of consuming every bit of tax revenue in just one generation, reform is a necessity.

Take a look at Medicare, the largest portion of the projected entitlement expense by the year 2045.

Here’s the projected outlook of spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security by 2045, when entitlement spending matches tax revenues, from Heritage’s Federal Budget in Pictures, using Congressional Budget Office figures:

The need for Medicare reform in light of the impending crisis going forward has elicited the acknowledgement of all sides, which Heritage’s Amy Payne highlighted in a recent Morning Bell:

Via: The Foundry

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Mitt Romney: President Obama Has ‘Admitted Defeat’ On The Economy

This hits pretty close to the mark, if you've been listening to what Obama has been saying these past few months.

The Hill:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused President Obama on Saturday of giving up on trying to fix the economy, saying he had "admitted defeat."

In his weekly podcast, Romney pounced on a recent government report, which found that the unemployment rate rose in 44 states last month.

He accused Obama of blaming the "stalemate in Washington" instead of working to boost job creation.

With millions of Americans hurting like never before, the President has admitted defeat. With five months to go before his term his up, he's saying he won't even try anymore," Romney claimed.

The presumptive Republican nominee for president argued that he has the executive experience necessary to turn the economy around.

"I've led companies. I've overseen an Olympic Games. And I've governed a great American state," Romney said. "When people are telling you to give up, that's when you find a way to try harder. When others are pointing fingers, that's when you extend an open hand. And when Americans are hurting and families are falling apart, that's when you put politics aside and find a way to get them some help. In a word, you lead."

Romney will accept his party's presidential nomination in Tampa, Fla. next week.

"Look to Tampa. Two days from now, leaders from all across the country will gather to show Americans that help is on the way," Romney said.

Romney's line is reminiscent of the acceptance speech of 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, who repeatedly said, "America can do better. And help is on the way."

The fact is, President Obama has failed miserably in trying to "stimulate" the economy by pouring hundreds of billions of dollars in "investments" for green energy, infrastructure projects, and other temporary measures that have done nothing except drive up the deficit.

Instead if removing obstacles to job creation, the president has put up more roadblocks to recovery. One simply cannot reconcile Mr. Obama's policies with his whining about a lack of job creation. If he can't realize that you can't have stifling regulations and growing uncertainty in the business community because of the effects of Obamacare, and healthy job creation at the same time, we really need to replace our clueless chief executive with someone who can make the connection -- and address the problem intelligently.

Via: American Thinker

THE ‘CONVENTION BOUNCE’ – WHAT IS IT? DOES IT DETERMINE WHO WINS?

Is it all about “the bounce?”

Of course we are referring to the post-convention bounce in the polls typically seen immediately after the convention closes. Do political parties and presidential candidates really benefit from three days of speeches and rallies? The Republicans should know the answer to that question a week from today, and the Democrats will find out on September 9th — the Sunday after they wrap up in Charlotte.

One the eve of the GOP National convention in Tampa, many in the news media are speculating about the size of the “bounce” in Mitt Romney’s poll numbers after he is officially nominated by the Republicans, accepts that nomination, and delivers his speech to close the convention on Thursday night.

Of course there are statistics to support just about any theory you might want to offer on behalf of either candidate, no matter how big or how small their bounce.

Gerhard Peters and John Wolley of the American Presidency Project studied the last 12 presidential conventions, each candidate’s bounce, and the results of the November elections.

From 1964 to 2008:

Six of the bounce winners went on win the White House

Five of the bounce winners LOST the election.

And in closest presidential election in American history, the 2000 Bush and Gore tied — both men generated an 8% post convention bounce in the polls.

Via: The Blaze

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The two faces of Charlie Crist

Tis the season for endorsements, and in the key swing state of Florida, former Governor Charlie Crist has found the horse he wants to back in this race: President Barack Obama. So strongly does he feel about it that he took to the editorial pages to recite this paean of love.

As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I’m confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation. I applaud and share his vision of a future built by a strong and confident middle class in an economy that gives us the opportunity to reap prosperity through hard work and personal responsibility…

President Obama has a strong record of doing what is best for America and Florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes. That’s what makes him the right leader for our times, and that’s why I’m proud to stand with him today.

My, my, that’s certainly a glowing endorsement, and Crist is well within his rights to choose for himself and speak up. But there are some other folks who have expressed less confidence in Obama and his future fit for the nation.

“I think the people wanted a change,” the Florida Republican said, speaking of the election of Obama in November while drawing similarities to events decades earlier.

“They wanted a change back in 1976. You remember? Richard Nixon had been president. That ended. Gerald Ford took over. The people decided they wanted a change. They got one-Jimmy Carter. Four years later, they took care of business-Ronald Reagan.”

“It may happen again… I believe that the people have seen that they wanted a change but not this much. Not this kind, and not this way. America is awake and we’re coming back.”

Who would say such a thing? Why, none other than Charlie Crist. (Crist predicts Carter-esque loss for Obama) Oh what a difference a couple of years makes. What could account for such a change of heart? I suppose it must be how spectacularly well things are going in the country, proving Crist’s original misgivings over the President’s policies false. (Excuse me… I have to wipe the coffee off my monitor.)

Or could it be instead that a bitter, sore loser from some brutal in-party fighting has a political ax to grind? And he’s now going to try to stick it to his old party in a fit of pique?

Naw… couldn’t be. I’m probably just being overly cynical as usual. Your Sunday bonus video: Crist discusses his deep Republican roots and his pride in being part of the party of Reagan.

Via: Hot Air

NY Times Reports Romney Paid Federal Income Taxes-Will Harry Reid Apologize?

Even though he has not released his returns from earlier years, the 2010 return sheds some light on those years.

That’s because Mr. Romney paid income tax to foreign countries, and as result claimed in 2010 a $129,697 foreign tax credit, which he used to offset taxes he owed in the United States. American taxpayers who claim the foreign tax credit are required to report their total foreign taxes paid and tax credits used for the previous 10 years. So that return contains foreign tax data going back to 2000.

The good news for Mr. Romney is the forms suggest that he paid at least some federal income tax every year, as he has said he did. He used the foreign tax credit every year to offset his taxes in the United States, and American taxpayers can’t use a tax credit if they owe no federal income tax. This casts even more doubt on the claim by the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, attributed to an unnamed Bain Capital source, that Mr. Romney paid no income taxes during that time.

Not that there was any real credence given to Harry Reid's appalling accusations, but this ought to at least shame Reid into publicly admitting he was wrong.

Via: Fox News

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Government charges SEIU with intimidation and threats

Kicking in screen doors, shouting down union members, threatening assault, lying about wages and benefits, and destruction and removal of personal property.

The State of California has officially charged SEIU with all these illegal acts, and more. Three years after Fresno homecare workers filed complaints that SEIU broke the law with lies, threats and intimidation in their 2009 election to leave SEIU, the government agency charged with protecting public employees has filed an official complaint against SEIU-UHW.

The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) cited SEIU’s “physical and verbal threats,” “menacing and abusive behavior,” “unlawful destruction and removal” of property and a campaign of lies about wages and benefits intended to mislead 10,000 Fresno homecare workers into voting to stay trapped in SEIU.

FOX News Fresno covered the complaint, and showed chilling footage of SEIU-UHW CEO Dave Regan screaming and urging 1,000 SEIU staffers assembled in Fresno to “kick those S.O.B.s in Fresno County.”

The coverage goes on to show a Fresno homecare worker testifying that SEIU “pressured me into voting for them.  The SEIU came and threatened that they will come everyday, all the time.”

As a healthcare worker in Fresno, this  coverage disturbs me. Why would any healthcare union act this way?  As a Kaiser worker, knowing that SEIU also broke the law and lied and intimidated workers in our 2010 election, this coverage makes me angry.

But, with yet another government agency filing charges that SEIU broke the law and violated workers’ rights, my bottom line question is simple:   

Why on earth is Kaiser management celebrating their “partnership” with Dave Regan and SEIU

Via:NUHW

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Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund planning revenge on Mitt Romney

Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund plans to spend more than $3 million in Ohio and Virginia against Mitt Romney in the wake of his pledge to “get rid” of the women’s health advocacy group.

The group is one of several liberal-leaning women’s organizations planning to spend millions of dollars in crucial election states to swing undecided female voters toward President Obama.

Joining them are NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List, two abortion-rights groups who are also planning aggressive campaigns.

Their message is in line with Obama’s increased courtship of female voters.

Several women will address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. And the campaign announced on Friday a “Romney/Ryan: Wrong For Women” tour for next week that will feature prominent female supporters traveling to swing states to promote the president’s record on women issues.

The support from women’s groups can boost those efforts. Their advertising offensive comes months after Romney pledged to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood.

"Of course you get rid of ‘ObamaCare,’ that's the easy one, but there are others," he said in March. "Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that."

Planned Parenthood Action Fund — which is the political arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America — will spend $3.2 million on television ads in Ohio and Virginia beginning in mid-September.

Via: The Hill

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36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes

How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their "fair share" of taxes.

Because how unfair -- indeed, un-American -- it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet's secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up paying a much smaller tax rate.

Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether.

A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama's executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven't paid any share, let alone their fair share.

Previous reports have shown how well-paid Obama's White House staff is, with 457 aides pulling down more than $37 million last year. That's up seven workers and nearly $4 million from the Bush administration's last year.

Nearly one-third of Obama's aides make more than $100,000 with 21 being paid the top White House salary of $172,200, each. 

The IRS' 2010 delinquent tax revelations come as part of a required annual agency report on federal employees' tax compliance. Turns out, an awful lot of folks being paid by taxpayers are not paying their own income taxes.

The report finds that thousands of federal employees owe the country more than $3.4 billion in back taxes. That's up 3% in the past year.

Via: Investor's Business Daily

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Mass. losing millions to welfare fraud

Includes abuse of welfare, food stamps, childcare

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Hundreds of people using public assistance programs have been caught trying to cheat the state out of millions of dollars. 

The state auditor's office found that more than 500 people defrauded the state of close to $3 million in April, May and June of this year alone.

The investigation includes fraud involving public assistance money like welfare, food stamps, childcare services, health care benefits, public housingor cash assistance.  The people that are caught have to pay back the money or potentially face jail time. 

Elroy Barber, from Holyoke, told 22News that this doesn't surprise him at all.

Barber said, "Based on Holyoke experience, I'd have to say there's a lot of fraud out there and they're probably not uncovering it. I'm sure they're trying their hardest, but I think they don't have enough inspectors to look for this stuff.”

What's more difficult to track is cash. 85 percent of the money in the state's EBT program is taken out at ATMs.

Via:WWLP.com

Chicago Pushes ‘Wellness’ Program On Its Employees

(CNSNews.com) - Sign up or pay up. The City of Chicago is urging its employees and their eligible spouses to join the city's "innovative wellness program," or else pay an additional $50 a month for their health care plan.

"Our program will change lives, make our workforce healthier, and save taxpayers money," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Thursday. "It will only work if people join, and I'm so pleased to report that we've had well over 22,000 employees or spouses join the program."

Emanuel noted that another 25,000 have not yet let the city know if they plan to join; and so far, 54 employees or spouses have refused.

Chicago Lives Healthy provides free annual health screenings, physical and mental health checkups, call-ins, and “wellness activities” for employees. The city calls it the largest municipal wellness program in the world.

The first step, the sign-up period, runs through Aug. 31. Starting on Sept. 10, employees will begin their free biometric screenings (including blood work), which can be scheduled during work hours at Walgreens outlets or at a doctor’s office.

The third step is a "Well-Being Assessment" – described as "a confidential questionnaire that assesses life and environmental factors that are critical to your health, well-being and your ability to improve both." The assessment consists of 60 questions "to get a better sense of factors that can't be tested." Those factors include one’s health history, mental health, stress, and "barriers to change."

Via:CNSNews

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Massachusetts Voters Splitting The Ticket

Scott Brown Up By 6 Over Warren

SPRINGFIELD, Ma., Aug. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a Kimball Political Consulting survey of registered voters in Massachusetts, Senator Scott Brown has a 6 point lead over Democrat Elizabeth Warren (49 percent to 43 percent) with 9 percent undecided. The figure is just within the survey's 4 percent margin of error.

President Obama continues to hold a double digit lead over former Massachusetts Mitt Romney (52 percent to 41 percent) with 7 percent undecided. Poll results are based on a sample of respondents most likely to vote in November.

"Senator Brown is winning decisively among independents but Warren still has a chance to come back. The data suggest that for Warren to close the gap it may be time for her to change her emphasis, from the cost of education to job creation," said Spencer Kimball, Political Consultant and President of Kimball Political Consulting. "Romney, on the other hand, needs to repair his image in the Commonwealth where 54 percent of likely voters have an unfavorable opinion of him. However, his choice of Paul Ryan may help him with defining the deficit as the most important issue for voters and help his support among a strong Irish Catholic voting bloc in the bay state."

Independent voters are splitting their voting choices between President Obama and Senator Brown; 56% of Independents favor the Senator and 44% intend to vote for the President.  Warren also needs to shore up her base of Democrat support with 21% of Democrats saying they would vote for Brown.

The most important issue facing likely voters in Massachusetts is jobs at 40 percent followed by the deficit at 21 percent.

The statewide survey of 592 Massachusetts likely voters was conducted August 21, 2012, using automated telephone interviews of landline and cell phone users. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Frequencies and full cross-tabulation data are available on the following links below.

Via: U.S. Poltics Today

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Neil Armstrong dead at 82

The first man to walk on the surface of another world is dead.

American Neil Armstrong, who walked on the surface of the moon on July 21, 1969, died Saturday afternoon following complications from heart bypass surgery.

NBC News:

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died Saturday, weeks after heart surgery and days after his 82nd birthday.

His family reported the death at 2:45 p.m. ET. A statement said he died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. 

Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, and he radioed back to Earth the historic news: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

He spent nearly three hours walking on the moon with fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

Armstrong and his wife, Carol, married in 1999, made their home in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill, but he had largely stayed out of public view in recent years. His birthday was Aug. 5.

Armstrong was an intensely private man who always made a point to emphasize the fact that the Apollo 11 mission that went to the surface of the moon couldn't have occurred without the assistance of literally hundreds of thousands of workers, technicians, mission control personnel, and other astronauts. It is estimated that 500,000 people laid hands on the Saturn V rocket, the service module, and the lunar lander before it left the earth. That is more workers than the number that built the Panama and Suez canals, the Great Pyramid, and the transcontinental railroad -- combined.

As long as humans are writing history, Neil Armstrong's name will be mentioned.

Via: American Thinker

OBAMA'S 'REPUBLICAN' WOMAN A REGISTERED DEMOCRAT

One of Barack Obama's recent ads for his re-election campaign purports to feature Republican women who have turned away from the GOP to support Obama/Biden. But, as it turns out, one of the women in the ad is not so "Republican." 

Maria Ciano has been a registered Democrat for the last six years -- several years longer than Obama has been president -- according to her voting records.

This makes her a Democrat since before Obama ever ran for president. This also means that Barack Obama had no role in her decision to become a Democrat (and neither did Romney). Her appearance in this Obama ad is specious at best.

"People like me and my family have realized that the Republican Party once was in line with our views, but are no longer," Ciano says in the ad.

After this news broke, John Hinderaker did a bit more legwork and discovered Ciano’s Facebook page. On that page, Ciano lists a long string of extremist left-wing groups that she “likes.”

Via: Breitbart

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Beyond Isaac, Dems also looking to rain on Republicans' party

Tropical Storm Isaac isn't the only force threatening to rain on the Republican National Convention next week. 

Democrats are planning to break from the tradition of keeping a low profile during the rival party’s convention, dispatching Vice President Biden to the host city and putting other A-list surrogates on the campaign trail to perhaps steal some of the spotlight.

Biden will not, however, be in Tampa for opening day, as inclement weather has forced the vice president to postpone his trip. He will be joined in Orlando by Hollywood actress and Obama for America co-chairwoman Eva Longoria, who is also expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention the following week in Charlotte, N.C.

Meanwhile, President Obama has scheduled campaign stops Tuesday and Wednesday in the battleground states of Ohio, Colorado and Virginia.

And first lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to appear on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on Wednesday, hours after GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is expected to deliver his speech.

The move marks a concerted effort to make sure the Democratic message is not drowned out, not even for a week, in what is shaping up to be a tightening presidential race.  

“Decorum has broken down,” said Christopher Arterton, former dean of the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. “It’s accepted practice now. We may well see each party make news during the other’s convention.”

Arterton points out that Obama being president makes whatever he says newsworthy. “So it’s easier to intrude,” particularly after a news event “like a hurricane, just suppose,” he said.

Arterton also said convention week is great for rival-party fundraising because campaigns can get donors together to “yell at the TV” while the other convention is being broadcast.

Via: Fox News

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EXCLUSIVE: GOP Platform includes Internet Freedom, language indicates influence of Rand Paul and libertarian-Republicans

Republicans could soon champion the protection of Internet Freedom as an official party issue, The Daily Caller has learned. Language in the final draft of the Internet freedom proposal was obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller.

The language was finalized on Tuesday, a source in the Republican Party told The Daily Caller, but it awaits party approval next week at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Approval of the newly finalized draft language, however, would make the party the first of the two dominant political parties to fully and officially embrace Internet freedom. It also signals what Republicans view as important and necessary to keep the Internet open and free.

“Internet Freedom”, according to the finalized draft language, would entail the removal of “regulatory barriers” for technology businesses, resistance to international governance of the Internet and the “constitutional protection” of personal data.

“We will remove regulatory barriers that protect outdated technologies and business plans from innovation and competition, while preventing legacy regulation from interfering with new technologies such as mobile delivery of voice and video data as they become crucial components of the Internet ecosystem,” said the finalized draft.

“We will resist any effort to shift control away from the successful multi-stakeholder approach of Internet governance and toward governance by international or other intergovernmental organizations,” it said.

“We will ensure that personal data receives full constitutional protection from government overreach and that individuals retain the right to control the use of their data by third parties,” it said.

Via: The Daily Caller

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SEAN HANNITY: STEPHEN K. BANNON'S 'THE HOPE AND THE CHANGE' 'MOST POWERFUL DOCUMENTARY I'VE EVER SEEN'

This evening on Fox News’ "Hannity," Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon, director of "The Hope & the Change," David Bossie of Citizens United, producers of the film, and adviser Pat Caddell appeared to discuss the massive disillusionment of Democrats and independents with President Barack Obama – and their film, which details that disillusionment in devastating detail.

The show opened with a promo of former Obama voter after former Obama voter decrying Obama’s horrible record and their own disappointment with the Obama administration. “I fear for my children,” says one. “I’m exhausted, and I’m tired,” says another.

The film will premiere on Tuesday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. 

“This is the most powerful documentary I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Sean Hannity. “There’s no way that anybody who watches this film can vote for Barack Obama. It’s impossible. You bring us back and walk us through the whole election cycle.”

Via: Breitbart

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Is Obama Administration ‘Cooking The Books’ To Achieve Record Deportation Numbers?

Internal documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee show that the Obama administration has been “cooking the books” in order to reach their “record” number of deported illegal immigrants, chairman Rep. Lamar Smith said Friday.

Based on the internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents, the number of removals are actually down, the opposite of what the administration has been claiming.

According to the committee’s review, in 2011 officials at the Department of Homeland Security began including the number of individuals removed through the Alien Transfer Exit Program (ATEP) in its annual removal numbers. ATEP is a program which moves apprehended illegal immigrants to another point along the border.

The committee chair claims that counting those individuals as removals is misleading because there are no repercussions for illegal immigrants who are deported through the program, and they can simply try to re-enter.

“It is dishonest to count illegal immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol along the border as ICE removals,” Smith explained in a statement. “And these ‘removals’ from the Border Patrol program do not subject the illegal immigrant to any penalties or bars for returning to the U.S. This means a single illegal immigrant can show up at the border and be removed numerous times in a single year — and counted each time as a removal.”

Given the new information, the committee’s Republican majority subtracted the ATEP removals from ICE’s deportation totals.

With the ATEP subtraction, in 2011 the estimated 397,000 deportations become approximately 360,000, and the 2012 removals to date drop from about 334,000 to an estimated 263,000, according to the committee estimates. Projections for number of people to be deported by end of the year drops from 400,000 to 315,000 removals.

Via: The Daily Caller

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FIRST BOX OFFICE: Anti-Obama Movie #1

FRIDAY 2 PM: The anti-Obama movie 2016 Obama’s America went into wider release around America today and is opening right now in first place at the domestic box office. That’s quite a feat since the Rocky Mountain Pictures political documentary is still playing in only 1,090 North American theaters – or about 1/3 as many theaters as big-budget actioner The Expendables 2 (3,355 theaters). But these political documentaries like faith-based films are frontloaded. The Stallone picture from Millenium/Lionsgate is still expected to end the weekend #1 and should top the box office tonight. And, based on matinee trends, 2016 Obama’s America looks to gross $1.2M-$1.7M Friday for a $3.7M-$5.0M weekend. But right now it has grossed $700,000 today compared to $300,000 for The Expendables 2. Its new cume after this weekend could make it the #1 conservative documentary (ahead ofExpelled: No Intelligence Allowed’s$7.7M). The success of the anti-Obama pic is based on big pre-sales leading into the Republican National Convention August 27-30, and exhibitors are reporting busloads of filmgoers arriving at theaters around the country in pre-organized trips. It also employed much of the same marketing techniques used to garner attention and support for faith-based films, understandable since the audience is overlapping. Its campaign included advertising nationally over the past two weeks on talk radio and cable news channels including Fox News Channel, A&E, History and MSNBC.

Both online ticket-sellers Fandango and MovieTickets.com showed advance buying for 2016 Obama’s America were accounting for 35% to 28% respectively before this weekend. The pic is based on conservative author and commentator Dinesh D’Souza’s New York Times bestselling 2010 book The Roots Of Obama’s Rageand co-directed by D’Souza and John Sullivan and produced by Academy Award winner Gerald R. Molen (co-producer of Schindler’s List). It opened on July 13th in a preview on a single screen in Texas grossing almost $32,000 during its opening weekend, then expanded into 61 theaters including New York and Los Angeles. In August, the film widened to 169 theaters nationwide and expanded again this weekend. “Yes, I also didn’t believe it when I first saw the film taking off in pre-sales on Tuesday,” an exhibition insider tells me. “Because there’s not a lot of new product that’s taking off.”

Head Propaganda Czar Jay Carney: We “Haven’t Rejected” The Keystone Pipeline…

(CNSNews.com) – White House Spokesman Jay Carney said that the Obama administration had not “rejected” the Keystone pipeline, despite the fact that the president did, in fact, cancel the project after congressional Republicans forced him to make a decision.

“First of all, the Keystone Pipeline is a process. We haven’t rejected anything,” Carney told reporters Thursday.

Carney had been asked by ABC News’ Jake Tapper why the White House used the term ‘all-of-the-above’ to describe its energy policy when it had rejected Republican ideas like Keystone.

“It’s a process that is underway at the State Department that was delayed because – for two reasons – one because of concern by folks in Nebraska including the Republican governor about the original proposed route and then because of Congress’ [and] House Republicans’ insistence on including it as part of the payroll tax cut extension,” Carney continued.

However, the White House did reject the Keystone Pipeline in January, formally denying the application of TransCanada – the company hoping to build the pipeline – to begin work on the project. Federal permission was needed because the pipeline crossed national boundaries – running from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Via: CNSNews

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