Conservative Happenings

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

7 Homosexual U.S. Ambassadors: Trade Deals Should Advance LGBTI Rights

Six openly gay U.S. ambassadors meet in Washington in March 2015. They are, from left, Ambassador to Australia John Berry, Ambassador to the Dominican Republic James Brewster, Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford, Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Daniel Baer, Ambassador to Spain James Costos, and Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius (Photo: Blake Bergen/Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies)

(CNSNews.com) – International free-trade agreements like those being negotiated with countries in the Pacific and Europe should help to export American values such as human rights, including for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, according to seven openly homosexual U.S. ambassadors.

The seven, joined by the State Department’s first “special envoy for LGBTI persons,” Randy Berry, signed a joint letter published Tuesday in the national gay and lesbian newsmagazine The Advocate, and re-posted by the White House.

“Through the President’s trade agenda, we will not only support more American jobs, but we can also promote greater justice beyond our borders,” they wrote.

“We are committed to working closely with the White House to ensure that any trade arrangement approved by Congress is a force for progress on human rights for everyone, including for LGBTI persons.”

The letter comes as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a contentious piece of legislation known as trade promotion authority, giving the president “fast track” authority to negotiate trade deals. The Senate passed it by a 62-37 vote last month. The administration has been lobbying hard to win support, especially from Democrats worried about the potential impact on workers and wages.

“With America’s interests and values on the line, we hope Congress passes trade promotion authority without delay,” the diplomats wrote.

Via: CNS News

Escaped killer ‘won’ prison worker’s heart — then left her

He used her until he had no more use for her.

Escaped killer Richard Matt won the heart of prison supervisor Joyce “Tillie’’ Mitchell so he could get the tools he needed to break out — and then vanished without so much as a thank you, sources told The Post on Tuesday.

“She really doesn’t have much to tell about where they were going or what they were doing after,” a source said of Mitchell, who is suspected of helping Matt and fellow murderer David Sweat escape.

The married 51-year-old seamstress risked everything because “she thought there was something more between’’ her and Matt, 48, the source said.
“He’s a con man,’’ the source said of Matt.

Convicted murderers David Sweat and Richard MattPhoto: Getty Images

Authorities believe that the smooth-talking con, who has brooding good looks — and steel front teeth — convinced Mitchell to help the men escape.

The unlikely pair met in the tailor shop at the Clinton Correctional Facility, where Mitchell supervised inmates on projects. Matt and Sweat had been assigned to the shop as a perk for behaving behind bars.

Mitchell and Matt share interests that include the US military. She posted a photo on Facebook in March 2014 of herself with her son in his Air Force uniform. She was wearing a red shirt that read, “AIR FORCE Mom, I raised a hero.’’

Matt, meanwhile, sports a large tattoo of the US Marines insignia on his right shoulder.

Mitchell’s son, Tobey, doesn’t believe his mom’s involvement.

“She’s not going to risk her life or other people’s lives to help these guys escape,” he told NBC. “She’s always been a good person.”

Her husband, Lyle Mitchell, also works as a prison supervisor at Clinton. Authorities believe he had no idea what his wife was up to, sources told The Post.

Joyce Mitchell, a former tax collector in the family’s home town of Dickinson, was clearly proud of her prison work. In a 2013 Facebook posting she wrote, “It takes balls to work behind the walls. No guns . . . just pure guts.”

Via: New York Post

POLL: MAJORITY OF AMERICANS OPPOSE OBAMA’S TRADE AGREEMENT, HURTS AMERICAN WORKERS

A recent NBC News online survey shows a majority of Americans think President Obama’s trade agreement would harm American workers and companies.

“Two-thirds of Americans say protecting American industries and jobs by limiting imports is more important than allowing free trade so they can buy products at lower prices from any country,” reported NBC.

The survey found that this viewpoint was shared across political parties — with Republicans, Democrats and Independents all saying limiting inexpensive goods in order to protect U.S. jobs is more important than being able to purchase low-cost products.

Roughly four out of 10 people with college degrees believe “free trade is more important than limiting imports.”

Only one out of every four people with some college education, “and a third of those with high school degrees or less favor free trade over protecting American industries and jobs.”

The survey was conducted nationally using SurveyMonkey. It sampled 2,153 adults over the age of 18. There is a plus or minus 3 percent rate of error. The poll was held June 3rd through 5th.

Via: Breitbart

After 4 decades in solitary, Albert Woodfox's release ordered by federal judge

A federal judge in Baton Rouge has called for the unconditional release of Albert Woodfox, the only remaining imprisoned member of the Angola 3.

For more than 40 years, Woodfox, 68, has been in solitary confinement at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, and other state prisons, for reasons related to the 1972 murder of prison guard Brent Miller. Woodfox has twice been convicted of Miller's murder, but courts later overturned both the convictions.

U.S. District Judge James Brady issued a ruling Monday (June 8) afternoon calling for the unconditional release of Woodfox from state custody and barring a third trial of the murder charge.

Woodfox has always maintained his innocence, claiming he was implicated in the murder of the 23-year-old guard to silence his activism as an organizing member of the prison's Black Panther Party chapter.

His attorney Carine Williams said Woodfox would spend Monday night at a pretrial detention center in West Feliciana Parish, where he's been since February. He was transferred to the parish facility from a state prison after a grand jury there handed down Woodfox his third indictment in the 43-year-old murder case.

Via: Times-Picayune

White House, Senate rooms briefly evacuated over bomb threats

In a bizarre string of security scares, rooms at the White House and on Capitol Hill were briefly evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a pair of bomb threats.

A threat made shortly before 2 p.m. ET specifically concerned the White House Briefing Room, officials said, leading the Secret Service to clear reporters out of the room in the middle of the daily briefing.

Security officers subsequently let reporters back in, after giving the all-clear at the scene.

The incident came after several floors of a Senate office building were briefly evacuated earlier in the day over another bomb threat, though investigators did not find anything hazardous. A senior security source at the Capitol told Fox News they believe the same person who called in that threat also phoned in the threat to the White House. That possible connection is currently being investigated by the Secret Service and FBI.

Although parts of the White House have been evacuated before, including after a fence-jumper made it inside the White House last year, this was the first time that an evacuation occurred during a televised press briefing.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said they moved people out as a precaution.

Still, while reporters were evacuated, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, "At the time of the Briefing Room evacuation, the president remained in the Oval Office and was not evacuated by the Secret Service. The First Lady, Malia and Sasha were in the residence and were not evacuated.

Via: Fox News

Four Reasons Oil Could Fall to $40 a Barrel

The OPEC oil cartel's meeting in Vienna on Friday went largely as expected. Production was maintained at 30 million barrels per day with unofficial production numbers about 1.5 million barrels above that as Saudi Arabia opens the spigots and redoubles its price war against U.S. shale oil producers who, for their part, are also increasing production. Moreover, if Iranian economic sanctions are dropped later this month as part of a nuclear deal, another million barrels per day would be pumped.

Long story short: While oil prices have held near the $60-a-barrel level thanks to a slight inventory drawdown associated with the start of the U.S. summer driving season, a combination of deepening oversupply, still high inventories, extended bullish positioning and the regular demand slowdown at the end of the summer suggests prices should start sliding again soon. Storage tank capacity could be tested as soon as September.

According to research by Credit Suisse, futures market positioning suggests downside price risk of about 30 percent — which would be enough to take West Texas Intermediate back toward $40 a barrel in a test of the March lows.

The chart above puts OPEC's decision in the context of an epic supply glut. Remember also that while the U.S. drilling rig count is down about 60 percent from its peak, total production increased in the week of May 22 to a new all-time high of 9.6 million barrels per day.

Via: The Fiscal Times

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Predicting Earthquakes. Not.

The president of the Space and Science Research Corporation, John Casey, is also the author of “Cold Sun: A Dangerous ‘Hibernation’ of the Sun Has Begun!” and has called attention to a meteorological cycle that until the global warming hoax occurred, was largely unknown to many people and, to a large degree still is.

Nature has not cooperated with the charlatans who made claims about a dramatic warming of the Earth. Since 1998 the planet along with the Sun has been in a solar cycle distinguished by very few, if any, sun spots—evidence of solar storms—and a cooling of the Earth that has some predicting a forthcoming new Little Ice Age.

As Wikipedia reports: “Solar Cycle 24 is the 24th solar cycle since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began. It is the current solar cycle, and began on January 4, 2008, but there was minimal activity until early 2010. It is on track to be the Solar Cycle with the lowest recorded sunspot activity since accurate records began in 1750.” These cycles occur every eleven years.

I was surprised to receive a news release from the Space and Science Research Corporation (SSRC) on Monday with the headline “Earthquake and Volcano Threat Increases” because, frankly, I could have put out the same release and, if such activity did increase, I could claim credit for predicting it and, if not, few if any would recall I had made such a claim. While earthquake activity has been studied for decades, even the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) makes no claim to being able to predicting when or where one will occur.

What the USGS can tell you is that their scientists (and others) “estimate earthquake probabilities in two ways: by studying the history of large earthquakes in a specific area and the rate at which strain accumulates in the rock.” A translation of this is that they have only the most minimal clues when and where one will occur. A recent International Business Times article reported that this may change as the introduction of “big data analytics” kicks in to provide “a leap of accuracy of quake predictions.”

Via: Canada Free Press

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Dem Governor Says Lobbying For CAP Was His ‘Dream Job’

Former Democratic Ohio governor and former congressman Ted Strickland revealed that being a high-paid liberal lobbyist was his “dream job.”

“I want to tell you, I had a job last year that was a dream job, paid me more money than I’ve ever made in my life,” Strickland said Sunday during a campaign stop at Vern Riffe Vocational School in Piketon, Ohio.

Strickland, who is running for Senate in 2016, was referring to his work as the president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the lobbying arm of John Podesta’s left-wing think tank the Center for American Progress. The group spent $40,000 on lobbying in 2014.

Via: The Daily Caller

HERE WE GO: NATIONAL RACE-BAITER HEADED TO MCKINNEY TO STOKE THE FLAMES OF RACISM

McKinney is about to turn into another Ferguson. Al Sharpton told the USA Today that he’s going there to hold a rally to demand that the police officer who pulled his gun should be fired:

USA TODAY – The Rev. Al Sharpton told USA TODAY on Monday that he was alerted to watch the video by the Dallas chapter of his National Action Network (NAN). He described McKinney as indicative of a police community that has a “tendency to throw police procedures into the wind.”

“I was praying it didn’t end in (the officer) shooting someone,” Sharpton said in a phone interview from New York. “(He) was a trigger away from yet another police shooting, which is why he should be prosecuted.”

Sharpton said cellphones and technology are bringing to people’s living rooms evidence of what activists have been saying all along — that some white officers have a complete disregard for black lives.

…

Sharpton said he is considering holding a rally in McKinney as early as this weekend to demand that the officer who pulled the gun be fired.

It’s plain to anyone who has watched the video carefully that the reason the cop drew his gun is because two punks ran around to his side as if to threaten the him and one looked like he was about to pull a weapon.

Via: The Right Scoop

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Marilyn Mosby’s Gag Motion Denied After Filing in Wrong Court

Judge Charles J. Peters denied the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s motion on Tuesday for a gag order relating to the prosecution of six officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray. Marilyn Mosby‘s request was denied on the grounds that her staff sent the request in the wrong court at the time.

Mosby’s motion was filed in Baltimore’s circuit court on May 14, and was meant to forbid any public disclosure about the Gray case by any witnesses, attorneys and police involved. Peters declared that the motion lacked standing in the proceeding because until the officers’ May 21 indictment, the case was still under the jurisdiction of the District Court.

Prosecution spokeswoman Rochelle Ritchie, refused to say whether the state had any plans to file a new motion. “We’re not going to litigate this case in the media and discuss our trial strategy,” Ritchie said, in line with the gag request’s intended objective.

The attorneys representing the six officers had asked the court to strike the motion on procedural grounds. The Baltimore Sun and several other media outlets also filed motions opposing the order.

This is not the first procedural misstep made by Mosby’s office on this case. Mosby has been the subject of criticism and calls for removal from the case since an incident on May 1, when her office listed the wrong addresses for two of the charged officers, causing a media frenzy when the charges were directed to two people sharing the same names. She has also been described as an inexperienced prosecutor with a greater interest in activism than in the procedures of legal justice.

Other gag orders recently filed by Mosby include a request to block the release of Gray’s autopsy and other “sensitive” documents. The defense team has called this order “unfair”, claiming it would excessively include references made to the sensitive information in documents otherwise deemed non-sensitive.

Via: Mediaite

[VIDEO] Chris Matthews still gets a thrill out of the president

It has been seven years since President Obama first thrilled MSNBC's Chris Matthews — and it looks like the thrill is not gone.

"I'm a political romantic, as many of you know now, I love stories of the Kennedys and Franklin Roosevelt," Matthews said this week.

The MSNBC host's remarks came during a larger discussion with panel guests on the friendship between Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Matthews and his guests also touched on the recent death of the vice president's son, Beau, who died in late May of brain cancer.

"Winston Churchill and Charles deGaulle and yes, I got a thrill from the early speeches of Barack Obama. But nothing in that was as human as what we witnessed this weekend [at the vice president's son's funeral]," he said.

Since 2008, Matthews has battled constant mockery over his claiming once that a speech by Obama sent a "thrill" up his leg.

"I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech," he said during an evening newscast. "My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

Via: Washington Examiner

Don't believe the liberal spin. ObamaCare is sputtering.

This month, the Supreme Court may well deliver a fatal blow to ObamaCare in King vs. Burwell, by ruling that the health insurance subsidies handed out through federal exchanges in 36 states are illegal. Many liberals seem to think that the only thing preventing the president's crowning domestic achievement from becoming a rip-roaring success is this largely specious and semantic lawsuit. But here's the thing: ObamaCare is teetering due to its own internal contradictions that have nothing to do with the lawsuit.

ObamaCare's supporters would like everyone to believe that with Healthcare.gov now functioning, everything is just fine and dandy. Contrary to what the conservative press (which I guess would include me) has been saying about the many problems of ObamaCare, Vox's Ezra Klein declared last September that "in the real world, it's working." In February, his fellow Voxland inhabitant Sarah Kliff rattled off eight ways in which the law had proved its critics wrong.

But has it? Not really.

For starters, the exchanges have enrolled about 3 million fewer people than the Congressional Budget Office projected in 2010. And far fewer of the enrollees are from the ranks of the uninsured than hoped. Medicaid enrollment is lower too, for the simple reason that states refused to expand the program.

The core of President Obama's sales pitch to America was that the program, which he called the Affordable Care Act, would "bend the health care cost curve" and save an average family $2,500 on their premiums each year. How would it accomplish this feat? Essentially, he said, by forcing uninsured "free loaders" who show up in the emergency room to obtain free care to either buy (subsidized) coverage on the insurance exchange or sign up for the expanded Medicaid program. The point was that if they had coverage, they'd get cheaper care sooner in a doctor's office rather than more expensive care later in a hospital emergency room.

Via: The Week

An Issue of Race or Police Under Siege? What Really Happened at This Texas Pool Party?

MEGYN KELLY, HOST, "THE KELLY FILE": Breaking tonight, angry protesters hitting the streets over what they call the latest incident of racist policing in America. What the folks in the middle of this mess say the video today seen by millions only tells part of the story.

Welcome to THE KELLY FILE, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. The Black Lives Matter protest group has tonight organized what they call a march for justice in McKinney, Texas just getting underway there. It started with the Friday evening party in McKinney that quickly went bad. Residents say a rowdy group of teens first started trespassing. Then began harassing the neighbors. Then the confrontation turned really ugly. With alleged racial slurs, fights and one police officer caught on camera. Now being held up as the latest in a media narrative about cops out of control. Here are parts of the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Move! Move!

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It was that guy. It was that guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Get on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I told you to stay.

Get down on the ground. (Bleep). (Bleep).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Sir, we just got here. Sir, we just came to a birthday party. Please.

Via: Fox News

Mayor 'disturbed' by lack of diversity in CPD command staff

Mayor John Cranley says he is disturbed by the lack of minorities in the city's police command staff. (FOX19 NOW/file)

(Cincinnati, OH) Mayor John Cranley and the Sentinel Police Association want to change testing procedures used to determine promotions in the city's police department.

"Mayor Cranley is disturbed by the lack of diversity in the police department's command staff," reads a prepared statement from the mayor's office. "Of the three assistant chiefs, none are African-American; and of the 12 police captains, only one is African-American."

U.S. Census statistics indicate the city of Cincinnati's population is 49.3 percent Caucasian and 44.8 percent African-American, the statement reads.

A police department should reflect the city it serves to effectively police the community and to develop a good relationship with residents.

“We clearly need some diversity in our command staff to foster trust and cooperation with the community,” Cranley said. “For years, the Sentinels have said the way we test and grade the examination process for promotions is unfair.”

An upcoming vacancy in the captains' ranks will create an opportunity to add diversity in the command staff of the police department. Last week, Assistant Chief Paul Humphries announced he is leaving later this month for an out-of-state job.

".... not only will an assistant chief's position be filled due to a retirement, but presumably a captain's position will be vacated if a captain is promoted to assistant chief," the mayor's statement reads.

The Sentinels say they believe the lack of diversity stems from promotional tests that were written and graded by the command staff. They are calling for a fair test that is “double blind” – written and graded by outsiders, and graded anonymously.

Cranley agrees and asked city officials a few months ago to begin implementing the change.

"We just want a fair testing system. We believe that if we have a fair testing system, it will lead to greater diversity,” Mayor John Cranley said on Monday.

City Manager Harry Black – who is not related to the Sentinel president – is in the process of making changes to the promotional exam process. The new procedures will be used in the next round of captain's exams that will be administered soon.

“I want to thank the administration for listening to the Sentinels and me to develop a fairer method of testing,” Cranley said.

Cranley wants the city manager and Human Resources Director Georgetta Kelly to meet with the Sentinel's president again to discuss the new process and ensure the Sentinels' concerns are being adequately addressed.

Via: Fox19 Now

NYPD Commish: Hard to Hire Black Cops Because ‘So Many Have Spent Time in Jail’

According to New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, the reason black males are underrepresented by the city’s police force is because so many would-be recruits have served jail time.

In an interview with The Guardian, Bratton addressed the gap by saying: “We have a significant population gap among African American males because so many of them have spent time in jail and, as such, we can’t hire them.”

Indeed, data updated by the New York Times earlier this year shows that the New York Police Department is 21 percentage points more white than its residents. Only 16% of the NYPD is black, while the city’s population is 23% black, suggesting a slight racial gap in the force. That being said, the NYPD is actually quite diverse compared to many other police departments, partially due to court-ordered mandates.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

[FLASHBACK] Highlights From the New York Times’ 2008 Hillary Clinton Endorsement

In June 2007, just as the Democratic presidential primary was heating up, Bill and Hillary Clinton wrote a $100,000 check to a New York Times charity group. In January 2008, the Times editorial board endorsed Hillary over her much trendier rival, Barack Obama. The endorsement makes for an intriguing read in retrospect. Here are some highlights:

Fawning praise

The Times editor clearly had a difficult time choosing between the “brilliant” Hillary Clinton and the “incandescent” Barack Obama. Ultimately, it seems, it was Hillary’s “abiding, powerful intellect” that won the day. “We are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience,” the editors wrote.

‘Firstness’ fatigue

The Times was definitely excited to have a choice between two historic candidates, but was getting tired of hearing about it all the time:

By choosing Mrs. Clinton, we are not denying Mr. Obama’s appeal or his gifts. The idea of the first African-American nominee of a major party also is exhilarating, and so is the prospect of the first woman nominee. “Firstness” is not a reason to choose. The times that false choice has been raised, more often by Mrs. Clinton, have tarnished the campaign.

No doubt the Times will maintain its intellectual consistency on the issue of “firstness” throughout the 2016 campaign.

If you like your plan, you can keep it

On the issue of healthcare, the Times favored Hillary because “She understands that all Americans must be covered—but must be allowed to choose their coverage, including keeping their current plans.”

Oops.

Obama’s naivety re: Iraq

Despite Hillary Clinton’s more hawkish voting record, the Times argued she was better equipped to handle the situation in Iraq. Obama, the Times presciently observed, most likely had not thought through his plans for Iraq beyond “end the war,” which could lead to disastrous consequences:

Mrs. Clinton seems not only more aware than Mr. Obama of the consequences of withdrawal, but is already thinking through the diplomatic and military steps that will be required to contain Iraq’s chaos after American troops leave.

Via: WFB

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Rubio Pushes Back Against NYT Story Citing Financial Imprudence

The Rubio campaign has hit back at a New York Times story Tuesday claiming that the Florida senator's personal financial habits have been "imprudent" and at times extravagant.

"First, The New York Times attacks Marco over traffic tickets, and now they think he doesn't have enough money," said Rubio spokesman Alex Conant, according to USA Today. "Of course, if he was worth millions, the Times would then attack him for being too rich, like they did to Mitt Romney."

Tuesday's story by the Times, headlined, "Struggles with Finances Track Marco Rubio's Career" said that Rubio stands out not only for his youth and dramatic political rise but also for persistent doubts about his personal financial management.

"A review of the Rubio family's finances — including many new documents — reveals a series of decisions over the past 15 years that experts called imprudent: significant debts; a penchant to spend heavily on luxury items like the [$80,000 speed] boat and the lease of a $50,000 2015 Audi Q7; a strikingly low savings rate, even when Mr. Rubio was earning large sums; and inattentive accounting that led to years of unpaid local government fees," the Times said.

The Times also said that, separate to his personal spending patterns, there were instances in which he intermingled personal and political money. He used a state Republican Party credit card to pay for a paving project to his home and travel to a family reunion. He also put relatives on campaign payrolls.

Conant said that Rubio has the same financial challenges as many Americans do and that he is not motivated by wealth.

"His goal at this stage in his life is to provide his four children with a good home, a quality education, and a safe and happy upbringing," Conant said in a statement, according to USA Today.

"As he wrote in his book, 'the mark I make in this world will not be decided by how much money I make or how many titles I attain. Rather, the greatest mark I can leave is the one I will make as a father and a husband.'"

A separate story by the Times last week detailed how Rubio was cited four times in 18 years for minor traffic violations while his wife received 13. The report said that the Rubios received tickets for violations that include speeding, driving through red lights, and careless driving.

Via: NewsMax

TSA whistleblowers describe security concerns, culture of 'fear and distrust'

Whistleblowers on Tuesday portrayed the beleaguered Transportation Security Administration as an agency mired in a culture of “fear and distrust” while raising security concerns over several programs -- including TSA PreCheck, in which passes for expedited screening allegedly are passed out “like Halloween candy.”

The TSA employees leveled their criticism during a Senate hearing that follows recent bombshell inspector general reports. One showed undercover agents were able to sneak fake explosives and banned weapons through airport checkpoints about 96 percent of the time; the findings led to the acting TSA secretary being reassigned last week. A second report released Monday showed the agency failed to flag 73 commercial airport workers "linked to terrorism."

As if to underscore the security concerns being addressed, the committee hearing was interrupted shortly after noon over a suspicious package report. Capitol Police emptied the committee room, and evacuated the floor of the Senate office building.

Earlier, Rebecca Roering, an assistant TSA federal security director at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the agency suffers from low morale. She said this is in part the result of agency leadership, composed of too many former commercial airline executives “placing more emphasis on customer service and passenger wait times than on security and detection rates.

Via: Fox News

CALIFORNIA: Free Rides Program for Drunk Senators Withers Under Public Criticism

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus tells us that when the Persians decided a matter while drunk, they made a rule to reconsider it when sober.

Recent news from Sacramento tells us that the state Legislature may have adopted at least the first part of the Persian ritual. Members of the Senate were recently issued cards with a phone number they could call 24/7 when inebriated, so they could be picked up at whatever location and be driven home by a Senate employee. When the program became public last week, it withered under public ridicule and the Senate leadership responded by attempting to quietly put the genie back in the bottle by canceling the free service to lawmakers late Friday afternoon.

However, if the “drunks ride free” cards are no longer valid, the questions raised by this elitist perk remain.

The program was probably a defensive reaction to the bad publicity stemming from the drunken driving arrests of four lawmakers in the last five years, but it makes one wonder: How serious is this problem? If taxpayers were expected to pay for this service, should money also be spent providing counseling or detox to those members of the Legislature who drink in excess? Perhaps these cards were a tacit admission that some legislators have a drinking problem,which may boost the argument that some have been making that drug testing should be required for elected officials. Just last year such a bill was introduced in the Florida Legislature.

Some will say that safety should be the primary concern, and they would be right, but aren’t our elected officials bright enough to call a cab when they are tipsy? Perhaps they don’t like dipping into their $142-a-day in tax free expense money, which they get on top of the highest legislative salaries in all 50 states. And considering their ability to influence government policy, is it fair to say that it is most likely that the drinks they consume are not paid for by them but by favor seekers?

Although the cost to taxpayers for the free ride program was relatively small – we have a state budget of $170 billion – it is another symbol of the arrogance of the political class when dealing with other people’s money. It is the same kind of thinking that allowed the Senate President Pro Tem to spend nearly $30,000 in taxpayers’ money on his “inauguration” held at the Los Angeles Music Center.

Via: California Political Review

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

A recent NBC News online survey shows a majority of Americans think President Obama’s trade agreement would harm American workers and companies.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Fawning praise

‘Firstness’ fatigue

If you like your plan, you can keep it

Obama’s naivety re: Iraq

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