Former L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Angered by Questions About Still Receiving Perks

2012 DNC Chairman initially laughs at reporter: 'The beautiful thing is I don't have to answer you anymore'

Former Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may have left office weeks ago, but he still receives its perks and bristled at a journalist asking why L.A. taxpayers should pay for them, CBS2 reports.

After Villaraigosa announced his first private sector job since leaving office last week, CBS investigative reporter David Goldstein confronted him about having six months of security “chauffeuring him around, with taxpayers footing the bill.”

Villaraigosa was not pleased to see Goldstein.

“The beautiful thing is, I don’t have to answer you anymore,” Villaraigosa said, chortling.

Goldstein also asked Villaraigosa, as he got in the passenger seat of an unmarked police vehicle, why he deserved a city car and city driver as an ex-mayor.

“Why don’t you ask Chief Beck about that?” he said before slamming the door:

In a statement, Chief Charlie Beck said, “We do not discuss the protection/security arrangements for our protectees.”

“Public figures often gather threats as a result of their public service to the city,” Cmdr. Andrew Smith added.

The duo wouldn’t say if there were any specific threats, but Villaraigosa is not the first former Los Angeles mayor to get special treatment.

Jim Hahn confirmed that he also received six months of security when he left office in 2005. Former Mayor Richard Riordan, however, said he didn’t.

Via: WFB

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A Teachable Moment on Recess Appointments

Obama's brazen attempt to nullify the separation of powers has been slapped down by yet a third federal court. The 4th Circuit held in National Labor Relations Board v. Enterprise Leasing Company Southeast, LLC that orders compelling two companies to recognize unions as their employees' bargaining agents cannot be enforced because the NLRB lacked a quorum when the orders were issued. The reason no quorum existed: Obama evaded the Senate's power of advice and consent by making recess appointments while Congress was in session. And that, the court said, is unconstitutional.

The decision was not exactly groundbreaking, since the 4th Circuit was following in the footsteps of the DC Circuit (Noel Canning v. NLRB) and the 3rd Circuit (NLRB v. New Vista Nursing). But although Enterprise Leasing closely adheres to Noel Canning, it offers a teachable moment all its own about the arrogance of Obama and his water-carriers in robes. Once the three-judge panel agreed that the NLRB rulings were correct, the question ofthe constitutionality of Obama's recess appointments took center stage. What ensued was a lively three-way debate over the meaning of the recess appointments clause. (The three arguments on the constitutionality of recess appointments can be read here: Hamilton at 56, with a rebuttal of the dissent at 104; Duncan at 126; and Diaz at 130.)

Via: American Thinker

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White House: Congress Trying to ‘Trump Up Phony Scandals’

A senior White House official griped on Monday that Congress wanted to “trump up phony scandals” rather than help middle-class Americans as the Obama administration faces increasing questions about the IRS-Tea Party scandal, National Security Agency surveillance, Benghazi and other controversies.

Instead of focusing on the important issues, “too many in Congress are trying to score political points, refight old battles, and trump up phony scandals,” said White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer made his remarks on Monday in a blog post and e-mail to supporters previewing President Barack Obama’s Wednesday speech on the economy in Galesburg, Ill. He will speak about the same topic that day in Warrensburg, Mo.

“But the President thinks Washington has largely taken its eye off the ball on the most important issue facing the country,” Pfeiffer wrote. “Instead of talking about how to help the middle class, too many in Congress are trying to score political points, refight old battles, and trump up phony scandals. And in a couple of months, we will face some more critical budget deadlines that require Congressional action, not showdowns that only serve to harm families and businesses -- and the President wants to talk about the issues that should be at the core of that debate.”

Via: CNS News

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You won’t believe what teachers plan to tell kids about Trayvon Martin

In the wake of the verdict in the Trayvon Martin shooting, several teachers said they would invoke mob justice, vigilantism and the idea that Florida law allows people to hunt and kill black kids when discussing the case with their students.

The Hairpin, a prominent liberal women’s blog, asked several teachers, counselors and professors to explain how they would talk about the case — which reached its conclusion last week after George Zimmerman was found innocent of Martin’s murder — in their classrooms.

An anonymous English teacher in Alabama said that she would be hesitant to formally “teach” the subject, but nonetheless thought it could be brought up in relation to vigilantism in literature such as “To Kill A Mockingbird” and the works of William Faulkner.

Via: The Daily Caller

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No confidence: Obama plummets in the eyes of Americans

President Obama’s job approval rating has plunged nine points since April to 41 percent, according to a new poll from McClatchy/Marist — his worst mark since hitting 39 percent in September 2011.

Mr. Obama, though, still enjoys a higher approval rating than lawmakers at the other end of of Pennsylvania Avenue. Twenty-two percent approve of Congressional Republicans and one-third of registered voters approve of Congressional Democrats’ job performance.

Mr. Obama is slated to kick off a series of speeches on the economy Wednesday; 37 percent of respondents approve of his handling of the economy, while 56 percent disapprove.

Mr. Obama’s disapproval rating is at 48 percent in the poll, up slightly from April’s 46 percent.

“Clearly six months into his second term there’s been falloff across the board. It’s not like one group bailed on him,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in New York. “When [Obama] gets away from talking about the economy, numbers have a tendency to slide.”

A Real Clear Politics average of polls from June 28 to July 21 puts Mr. Obama’s approval rating at 45.6 percent and his disapproval rating at 49.2 percent. On Christmas Eve last year, he was safely above water; he had an average 53.8 percent approval rating and 41.8 percent disapproval average.

Via: Washington Times

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FORMER OBAMA CAR CZAR: BAIL OUT DETROIT

President Obama’s former car czar, Steven Rattner, now says that federal taxpayers should bail out the entire city of Detroit. In a Friday op-ed for the New York Times, Rattner writes, “neither the state nor the federal government has evinced any inclination to provide meaningful financial assistance. That’s a mistake. No one likes bailouts or the prospect of rewarding Detroit’s historic fiscal mismanagement. But apart from voting in elections, the 700,000 remaining residents of the Motor City are no more responsible for Detroit’s problems than were the victims of Hurricane Sandy for theirs, and eventually Congress decided to help them.”

Except, of course, that the citizens of Detroit have voted repeatedly for the same politicians who got them into this mess over and over. But Rattner continues, “America is just as much about aiding those less fortunate as it is about personal responsibility. Government does this in so many ways; why shouldn’t it help Detroit rebuild itself?”

The big problem with this proposal is that it puts the burden on federal taxpayers for bad local decisionmaking. But that doesn’t bother Rattner: “Given the depth of Detroit’s hole, no one should doubt that one of the important principles of the auto rescue — shared sacrifice by creditors, workers and other stakeholders — should be maintained.”

The only problem is that the sacrifice is consistently made by taxpayers, not by those who make policy or benefit from it.

Via: Breitbart

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OBAMAPHONE COMPANY LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT NEGATIVE IMAGE

Popular opposition to the “Lifeline” program, colloquially known since last year as the “Obamaphone” program, appears to be growing. Tracfone Wireless, the company that most benefits from the government subsidy, is now advertising on inside-the-beltway news websites in an effort to save it.

“Obamaphone? Obamaphone?” a flashing banner ad running interchangeably with other ads at the top of Politico’s website reads. “Think again. Lifeline. Created by Reagan.”

“Impact on the deficit? Zero,” another flashing slide argues.

The banner ad takes those who click on it to LifelineFacts.com, an advertising website run by TracFone. “TracFone has worked together with the FCC to adopt tough new reforms to protect the integrity of the Lifeline program,” the bottom of the website reads. “We support ongoing efforts to minimize fraud and ensure that benefits only go to those who qualify and truly need the assistance.”

The Lifeline program was started by Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s but has since grown exponentially. In 2008, it was expanded to allow benefit recipients to use the subsidy for wireless cell phones. During the last election cycle, Drudge Report popularized the term “Obamaphone” after Obama campaign supporters published online videos in which they praised Obama for giving them free cell phones, paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

Via: Breitbart

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Mood turns somber for Democrats in 2014 contest for Senate control

President Obama talked earlier this year of a Democratic takeover of the House, but instead his party is now in danger of losing the Senate.

The latest blow to their hopes of keeping the upper chamber came from former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D),who opted out of a race to replace retiring Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)

Schweitzer’s decision deflated the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s annual retreat on Martha’s Vineyard, where many senators heard the news.

“People were very upset,” said a Democratic donor who was there.

That party seems likely to lose seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia, where it cannot find find strong candidates.

The GOP will probably need to capture six Democratic seats in 2014 to grab the majority, as Newark mayor Cory Booker is well positioned to win the seat held by interim Sen. Jeff Chiesa (R-N.J.) in a special election. Democrats hold a 54 to 46 advantage, counting two independents who caucus with them.

But they must also defend four vulnerable incumbents and the seat soon to be vacated by Sen. Tom Harkin (D) in Iowa, a swing state.

Sens. Mark Pryor and Mark Begich, Democrats from Arkansas and Alaska, where Obama lost badly in 2012, are in greatest danger. Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a three-term survivor perpetually on the GOP target list, and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who had a solid lead in a recent Public Policy Polling survey, will also have competitive races.

Pryor is seen as the most vulnerable, though Begich is a close second.

Via: The Hill

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Zimmerman verdict: 86 percent of African Americans disapprove

African Americans have a mostly shared and sharply negative reaction to the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the not-guilty verdict in the resulting trial, while whites are far more divided, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

At least eight in 10 African Americans say the shooting of the Florida teenager was unjustified, recoil at the verdict in the trial and want the shooter, George Zimmerman, tried in federal court for violating Martin’s civil rights.

On the Martin shooting in particular, the racial gaps are extremely wide.

Among African Americans, 87 percent say the shooting was unjustified; among whites, just 33 percent say so. A slim majority of whites (51 percent) approve of the not-guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial, while African Americans overwhelmingly and strongly disapprove. Some 86 percent of blacks disagree with the verdict — almost all of them disapproving “strongly.”

There is also a partisan tinge to the public views. Among whites, 70 percent of Republicans but only 30 percent of Democrats say they approve of the verdict.

Via: Washington Post

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Obama Meets With Moonbat Celebrities To Enlist Their Help Pushing Obamacare Propaganda…

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is enrolling some star power to promote health care.

Obama stopped by a private White House meeting Monday with celebrities including singer Jennifer Hudson and actors Amy Poehler, Michael Cera and Kal Penn.

The White House says the artists expressed interest in helping spread the word about the health insurance marketplaces opening Oct. 1.

The White House says Obama told the artists they could help reach young uninsured Americans who will be vital to his signature law's success. Insurers need healthy young customers to help offset the costs of older, sicker consumers.

The group also included representatives for Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys and Bon Jovi. Also in attendance were officials with Internet video makers YouTube and Funny or Die, which are working on promotions featuring comedians.

Via: Huffington Post

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