[VIDEO] NEW VIDEO SHOWS PLANNED PARENTHOOD DISCUSSING SELLING INTACT ABORTED BABIES

A video just released by the Center for Medical Progress taken undercover in Texas shows a Planned Parenthood research director discussing the sale of whole intact aborted babies to a company that resells them to medical researchers.

David Daleiden, head of Center for Medical Progress, claims this is clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing on the part of Planned Parenthood.

Via: Breitbart

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] Matthews: Trump Looks Like More of a Leader Than Obama Did at the Start

Chris Matthews said tonight that Donald Trump comes across as a “leader” more so than President Obama did when he got his start in the presidential race.

He talked about how he’s been growing “Team Trump” or a “Trump party” with his popularity and support among people like Sarah Palin.

And then Matthews even called Trump a “leader.” He said you can tell leaders by whether they have lots of people following them and said, “That was a problem with Obama for a long time. Nobody back there, just him.”

Via: Mediaite

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] Obama Addresses (GOP) Critics of Clean Power Plan: 'If You Care About Low-Income Minority Communities...'

(CNSNews.com) - "No challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future generations than a changing climate," President Obama said Monday in a speech announcing his plan to achieve a 32-percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by the year 2030.

He spent about a third of his speech refuting critics and "cynics who say it cannot be done."

And he managed to sneak in a plug for Obamacare while he was at it:

"Today, an African American child is more than twice as likely to be hospitalized from asthma. A Latino child is 40 percent more likely to die from asthma. So if you care about low-income minority communities, start protecting the air that they breathe, and stop trying to rob them of health care.

"And you could also expand Medicaid in your states, by the way," the president said, prompting laughter.

The Democrats' Affordable Care Act required the states to expand their Medicaid programs to cover people at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. But two years later, in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court said the decision to expand Medicaid programs must be left to the individual states; the federal government could not compel such expansion. To date, 20 states still have not expanded their Medicaid programs.

Although President Obama did not name the critics of his Clean Power Plan on Monday, he clearly was addressing Republicans.

"We've hear the same stale arguments before," he said. "Every time America has made progress, it's been despite these kinds of claims. Whenever America sets clear rules and smarter standards for our air, our water, our children's health, we get the same scary stories about killing jobs and businesses and freedom."

Obama then told a story about arriving in Los Angeles for college as an 18-year-old, in late August.

"I was moving from Hawaii. And I got to the campus, and I decided I had a lot of pent-up energy, and I wanted to take a run, and after about five minutes, suddenly, I had this weird feeling like I couldn't breathe. And the reason was, back in 1979, Los Angeles still was so full of smog that there were days where people who were vulnerable just could not go outside, and they were fairly frequent."

He got personal again at the end of his speech:

"I don't want my grandkids not to be able to swim in Hawaii or not to be able to climb a mountain and see glacier because we didn't do something about it. I don't want millions of people's lives disrupted and this world more dangerous because we didn't do something about it. That'd be shameful of us.

"This is our moment to get this right and leave something better for our kids. Let's make most of that opportunity."

At Monday's White House briefing, spokesman Josh Earnest said the Clean Power Plan will prompt states and individual utilities to "ramp up their investments in efficiency, ramp up their investments in renewable energy, which is cheaper to produce than energy that's produced by coal, and making those kinds of investments will lead to savings in the utility bills of customers down the line, and that is what we're focused on, both in terms of saving consumers money but also a whole set of benefits that are associated with shifting to renewable energy or the use of less energy."

President Obama refuted critics who "claim that this plan will cost you money, even though this plan, the analysis shows, will ultimately save the average American nearly $85 a year on their energy bills."

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] Hillary Clinton Fans Support Her Plan Of Repealing The Bill Of Rights

Via: Weasel Zippers

Continue Reading....

U.S. Pays Black Comedian to Deliver Anti-White Racist Tirade at Fed Agency

The U.S. government paid a controversial civil rights activist/comedian to deliver an anti-white racist tirade at a major federal agency during Black History month and Judicial Watch has obtained the disturbing transcript of the offensive political rant.

It took place at the United States Census Bureau earlier this year and the paid speaker was Dick Gregory, a self-professed humanitarian and drum major for justice who claims that his social satire changed the way white Americans perceive African American comedians. But Gregory’s angry outburst at the Census Bureau was not funny to some employees and the agency was forced to explain that it will thoroughly review its procedures for selecting future speakers to “ensure their views are appropriate for the federal workplace.”

Based on Gregory’s well-known reputation as a fiery race-baiter, it’s unlikely that the government officials who booked him didn’t know about his discriminating, shock-based performances. The Census Bureau paid Gregory $1,400 to “share a wealth of history as a Civil Rights Activist,” according to the records obtained by JW under the federal public records law known as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Instead, American taxpayers funded a disgusting stand-up routine filled with the “N word” and replete with conspiracy theories about whites and the U.S. government targeting prominent blacks—including Martin Luther King and Malcom X—for assassination or career destruction (golfer Tiger Woods and beleaguered comedian Bill Cosby).

Gregory also said whites stole black inventions, such as ice hockey and the cotton gin, and accused the U.S. government of conspiring to kill Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio. The movie King Kong is really a depiction of former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson dating white women, 

Gregory claimed at the Census Bureau performance, and whites treat President Obama “like dirt” and “like he’s a Redneck Cracker that can’t read or write.” Gregory delivered most of his routine in Ebonics (also known as African American Vernacular English) and advised his black audience not to obey “white racist cops,” which he also referred to as “filth.”

The rioters who destroyed Ferguson after a cop fatally shot a black man with an extensive criminal record who had just committed a robbery, didn’t steal enough merchandise from the businesses they looted, Gregory told his government audience. “I was complaining about Ferguson because the N_ _ _ _ _ _ wasn’t getting enough,” Gregory said, according to the transcript obtained by JW. “Did you see the brother go in there and walk out with a half-pint, I said ‘Get some tips.’ And, y’all be trying to trick them White folks and say rebellion. No rebellion is put together, predicated, on some White person shooting a Black person and that tips it off. Those was riots, riots.”

Gregory also told his audience of public servants that if he were president of the United States no white people would be in his cabinet. “Had I been elected to be the President, listen good White folks, none of y’all would be in my cabinet,” he says. “Now don’t worry about Black folks who be saying ‘oh, he didn’t mean it.’ So, I’ll say it ten times, non of y’all be in my cabinet, none of y’all be in my cabinet, none of y’all be in my cabinet.”

Via: Judicial Watch

Continue Reading....

Planned Parenthood’s pathetic ‘3 percent’ lie

The nation’s premier provider of abortions doesn’t want to be known for providing abortions.

Planned Parenthood, embroiled in a scandal over secret videos capturing its cavalier dismemberment of unborn babies and sale of their body parts, insists that abortion is only 3 percent of what it does.

Practically every defender of the organization, fighting to preserve its federal funding, reverts to the 3 percent figure.

How could you possibly, they ask, defund a group that devotes itself overwhelmingly to uncontroversial procedures and services for women?

The 3 percent figure is an artifice and a dodge, but even taking it on its own terms, it’s not much of a defense. Only Planned Parenthood would think saying that they only kill babies 3 percent of the time is something to brag about.

How much credit would we give someone for saying he only drives drunk 3 percent of the time, or only cheats on business trips 3 percent of the time, or only hits his wife during 3 percent of domestic disputes?

The 3 percent factoid is crafted to obscure the reality of Planned Parenthood’s business.

The group performs about 330,000 abortions a year, or roughly 30 percent of all the abortions in the country. By its own accounting in its 2013-2014 annual report, it provides about as many abortions as Pap tests (380,000). The group does more breast exams and provides more breast-care services (490,000), but not by that much.

The 3 percent figure is derived by counting abortion as just another service like much less consequential services.

So abortion is considered a service no different than a pregnancy test (1.1 million), even though a box with two pregnancy tests can be procured from the local drugstore for less than $10.

By Planned Parenthood’s math, a woman who gets an abortion but also a pregnancy test, an STD test and some contraceptives has received four services, and only 25 percent of them are abortion. This is a little like performing an abortion and giving a woman an aspirin, and saying only half of what you do is abortion.

Such cracked reasoning could be used to obscure the purpose of any organization.

The sponsors of the New York City Marathon could count each small cup of water they hand out (some 2 million cups, compared with 45,000 runners) and say they are mainly in the hydration business.

Or Major League Baseball teams could say that they sell about 20 million hot dogs and play 2,430 games in a season, so baseball is only .012 percent of what they do.

Supporters of Planned Parenthood want to use its health services as leverage to preserve its abortions, as if you can’t get one without the other.

Of course, this is nonsense.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides free or low-cost breast and cervical cancer screenings — without aborting babies. State health departments provide free cancer screenings — without aborting babies. Community health centers provide a range of medical services — without aborting babies.

These organizations are genuinely committed to women’s health, with no ideological commitment to abortion.

Planned Parenthood’s twisted conception of “reproductive health” doesn’t extend to the baby that has been reproduced. All you need to know about its priorities is that it only provides 19,000 “prenatal services,” which means that it performs roughly 17 times more abortions.

Via: New York Post

Continue Reading....

Members of the Military Have a Right to Effective Self-Defense

Since 2008, at least 34 service-members and civilians have died in multiple-casualty shootings at military facilities. Dozens more have been injured. Fort Hood, Little Rock, the Washington Navy Yard, Fort Hood again, and Chattanooga — the names are sadly familiar, with at least three attackers apparently sharing jihadist motivations.

 Reading the accounts of these attacks, they tend to share the same, terrible storylines. In each case there’s a deadly lag between the time of the attack and the first police response; in each case trained (but unarmed) warriors either desperately try to scramble to safety or throw themselves at attackers in suicidal, hopeless charges. In only one instance — at Chattanooga — is there evidence that a service-member fired shots in self-defense, and in that case he may have actually defied Department of Defense directives to attempt to save his own life and the lives of others.

It has never made much sense to mandate that America’s military bases and recruiting centers become, in essence, gun-free zones, where our most well-trained men and women live largely under the protection of civilian police. In 1992, when President George H. W. Bush’s administration implemented the policy, American soldiers were under threat from Islamic terrorists as they are now. Today, the nonsensical nature of the policy is just even more obvious, when we know that ISIS, al-Qaeda, and so-called “lone wolf” jihadists are actively seeking to kill American soldiers here at home. 

Thankfully, years overdue, the Department of Defense is taking steps to increase security and may at long last allow at least some of our warriors to defend themselves. Last Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter issued a two-page memorandum in response to the “ongoing threat” from the deadly euphemism of the month, “Homegrown Violent Extremists.” In the memo, he noted that existing Pentagon policy includes the “option of additional armed personnel” for “security, law enforcement, and counterintelligence duties.” In other words, there is already some leeway to implement basic security measures (which raises a separate question as to why “additional armed personnel” hadn’t already been deployed). But he went further, directing “all Components to consider any additional protection measures including changes to policies and procedures that protect our force against the evolving threat.” He gave a short timeline, indicating that he wants to review proposals by August 21, in less than three weeks.

Via: National Review

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Law Just Came Back To Bite Them In A Totally Unexpected Way

Early indicators suggest that the $15 minimum wage is a "lose, lose" proposition for employers and employees.

As the push continues in various locations around the country to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, the real world consequences of such a move have begun to surface.

Seattle became the first city in the nation to implement the $15 per hour minimum wage this past spring. Fox News reports that one unintended effect is that workers who are earning the higher wage are asking for fewer hours, so they can remain eligible for low income government benefits like childcare and tax credits.

Full Life Care, a home nursing nonprofit, told KIRO-TV in Seattle that several workers want to work less.

Local radio talk show host Jason Rantz on KIRO-FM noted the irony: “If [employees] cut down their hours to stay on those subsidies because the $15 per hour minimum wage didn’t actually help get them out of poverty, all you’ve done is put a burden on the business and given false hope to a lot of people.”

“Despite a booming economy throughout western Washington, the state’s welfare caseload has dropped very little since the higher wage phase began in Seattle in April. In March 130,851 people were enrolled in the Basic Food program. In April, the caseload dropped to 130,376,” according to Fox News.

Via: Western Journalism

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] CAMPAIGN 2016: Fox News Announces Candidate Lineup for Prime Time Debate

Fox News has announced the line-up for the prime-time Republican presidential debate this Thursday, and here's who qualified: 

Real estate magnate Donald Trump; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. 

The roster of 10 candidates was determined based on an average of the five most recent national polls. Trump as expected made the cut, securing the top slot. Right behind him were Bush and Walker, who each have posted strong numbers in recent surveys. 

The drama, rather, was at the edge of the top 10. Christie and Kasich, who were hovering by that edge in recent polling, were able to qualify. 

Kasich, who leads the state where the debate is being held, said in a statement, "As governor, I am glad to welcome my fellow debate participants to our great state and I look forward to discussing the issues facing our country with them on Thursday." 

But former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and several others will not be on the prime-time, 9 p.m. ET stage. The seven who did not make the top 10 will be invited to a separate 5 p.m. ET debate. Aside from Perry and Santorum, this includes Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; former HP head Carly Fiorina; South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham; former New York Gov. George Pataki; and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore. 

Via: Fox News

Continue Reading....

This Housing Bubble Will End Badly, Too

We’ve inflated another bubble; count on the crash. People complain about high prices when they’re buying, not when they’re selling, and that’s why housing bubbles are always politically popular: The sort of people who own homes are the sort of people who vote and volunteer on political campaigns and make donations. And the fact that tax revenue tends to increase as housing prices rise doesn’t go unnoticed by the nation’s mayors and governors. Renters tend to have more sensible views — you’ll never hear a renter say, “Hey, my rent is doubling this year — that’s awesome! The economy must be doing great!” But nobody listens to them. 

And that’s why we’ve inflated a second housing bubble.

In some ways, the current housing bubble is even more bonkers than the last one — which, if you’ll recall, sorta-kinda almost destroyed the world’s financial system. 

As of this writing, the median U.S. home price is just 3 percent shy of its 2007 peak. (Existing-home prices already are at a record high.) But that does not even begin to capture the story. In San Francisco, the median price of a single-family home has doubled since 2012. The median San Francisco home is now nearly $1.4 million, or 50 percent higher than it was at the peak of the last bubble. The median household income in San Francisco is about $77,000. Put another way: The median home price in San Francisco is now 18 times the median household income. 

Does that sound like a stable position to you? 

Via: National Review

Continue Reading.....

Obama-Clinton's New War On Wages

Obama And Clinton's New Clean Power Plan Threatens Wages, Jobs, And States' Electric Grids

CLINTON CONTINUES HER ASSAULT ON COAL FAMILIES WITH HER SUPPORT OF OBAMA'S CLEAN POWER PLAN

Clinton Called Obama's Flawed Clean Power Plan (CPP) A "Significant Step Forward"

Clinton Has Vowed To Defend And "Build On" Obama's New Clean Power Plan If Elected President, Calling It A "Significant Step Forward." "Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged Sunday that if elected she will build on a new White House clean energy program and defend it against those she called 'Republican doubters and defeatists.' Clinton was the first 2016 candidate to respond to the ambitious plan that President Obama will debut on Monday. Details of the program, which aims to cut greenhouse-gas pollution, were released over the weekend. The new regulation will require every state to reduce emissions from coal-burning power plants. In a statement Sunday, Clinton called the plan 'a significant step forward in meeting the urgent threat of climate change.'" (Anne Gearan, "Hillary Clinton Promises To Build On Obama Climate Plan As President," The Washington Post , 8/2/15)

JOBS AND WAGES WILL BOTH BE IN DECLINE IN THE HARDEST HIT AREAS

The United Mine Workers Of America Predict Job Losses Of 75,000

United Mine Workers Of America's President Cecil Roberts: "The proposed rule issued today by the Environmental Protection Agency will lead to long-term and irreversible job losses for thousands of coal miners, electrical workers, utility workers, boilermakers, railroad workers and others without achieving any significant reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions." ( Press Release, "EPA Existing Source Emissions Rule Puts American Jobs At Risk, Does Nothing To Address Climate Change," United Mine Workers Of America, 6/2/14)

Analysis From The UMWA Show A Direct Loss Of 75,000 Jobs In Coal Generation By 2020, Because Of CPP. "'Our initial analysis indicates that there will be a loss of 75,000 direct coal generation jobs in the United States by 2020. Those are jobs primarily in coal mines, power plants, and railroads.'" ( Press Release, "EPA Existing Source Emissions Rule Puts American Jobs At Risk, Does Nothing To Address Climate Change," United Mine Workers Of America, 6/2/14)

"By 2035, Those Job Losses Will More Than Double To 152,000," A 50 Percent Cut In "Well-Paying, Highly Skilled Jobs. "'By 2035, those job losses will more than double to 152,000. That amounts to about a 50 percent cut in these well-paying, highly skilled jobs. When a U.S. government economic multiplier used to calculate the impact of job losses is applied to the entire economy, we estimate that the total impact will be about 485,000 permanent jobs lost.'" ( Press Release, "EPA Existing Source Emissions Rule Puts American Jobs At Risk, Does Nothing To Address Climate Change," United Mine Workers Of America, 6/2/14)

The Left-Leaning Economic Policy Institute's Review Of The CPP Show That Job Losses Will Be "Geographically Concentrated"

Economic Policy Institute's Josh Bivens Authored A Report That Showed How Jobs Losses From Obama's Climate Plan Would Be "Geographically Concentrated." "Gross job losses are likely to be geographically concentrated, raising the challenge of ensuring a fair transition for workers in sectors likely to contract due to the CPP." (Josh Bivens, "A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Employment Impacts Of The EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan," Economic Policy Institute, 6/9/15)

This Movement Away From Coal-Fired Power Will Lead To "Significant Declines" In Coal Mining Jobs. "The switch from coal-fired generation will lead to a reduction in demand for coal, and subsequent significant declines in both the short and long term for coal mining jobs." (Josh Bivens, "A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Employment Impacts Of The EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan," Economic Policy Institute, 6/9/15)

• By 2025, Coal Mining Jobs Will Be Reduced By Over 15,000. "In 2020, coal extraction employment is down 12,600 jobs relative to the non-CPP baseline. This means that employment in coal mining is lower by 12,600 jobs than would otherwise be expected in that year because of the CPP. In 2025, coal extraction employment is down 15,300 jobs relative to the baseline." (Josh Bivens, "A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Employment Impacts Of The EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan," Economic Policy Institute, 6/9/15)

Wages Will Decline In Reaction To Rising Energy Prices. "There will also be supply-side reductions as the (slight) decline in real wages spurred by rising energy prices affects labor supply decisions." (Josh Bivens, "A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Employment Impacts Of The EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan," Economic Policy Institute, 6/9/15)

The Report Also Shows How Electricity Rates Will Be Raised, Affecting Employment. "Another channel through which the CPP could affect employment that is missing from EPA estimates concerns the effect of electricity price increases. The CPP is estimated to raise electricity prices by 5 percent in 2020, and by smaller amounts in 2025 and 2030." (Josh Bivens, "A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Employment Impacts Of The EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan," Economic Policy Institute, 6/9/15)

POLLING SHOWS HISPANICS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE AGAINST NEW REGULATIONS

Hispanics Believe "Creating More Jobs" Should Be The Nation's Top Priority

41% Hispanic Voters Chose "Creating More Jobs," As The Top Priority For The Obama Administration, "Improving Air Quality" Came In Last With 4%. "More than four in 10 Hispanic voters (41%) chose 'creating more jobs' as the top priority for the Obama administration out of a list of six popular political issues, with 'improving air quality' coming in last with only 4 percent of Hispanic voters having chosen it." (Morning Consult Polling, 1,094 Hispanic Voters, MoE 3%, 6/15-6/16/15)

• "In Fact, Nearly Seven In 10 Hispanic Voters (69%) Are Satisfied With The Air Quality In Their City Or Local Area." ( Morning Consult Polling, 1,094 Hispanic Voters, MoE 3%, 6/15-6/16/15)
• "When Asked Directly, A Majority Of Hispanic Voters (63%) Said That The United States Should Focus On Creating Jobs And Growing The Economy Over Adding More Air Standards." ( Morning Consult Polling, 1,094 Hispanic Voters, MoE 3%, 6/15-6/16/15)

Hispanic Voters Also Feel That Costs Associated With The New Regulations Will Impact The Average American More Than Businesses

Via: Republican National Commiittee

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] Clinton’s Dark Money Hypocrisy

CLINTON BASHES DARK, UNACCOUNTABLE MONEY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Clinton: "[W]e've Got To Get All This Dark, Unaccountable Money Out Of Our Political System." CLINTON: "And we've got to get all this dark, unaccountable money out of our political system. This is really a problem with the Supreme Court because they've made two very bad decisions-The Buckley decision and The Citizens United Decision, so people say, what can you do about it? Well, first of all, we have to see everything we can possibly get done by law, we have to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will begin to reverse the pernicious effects of these decisions and, if necessary, we have to have a constitutional amendment because if we let this go too long, the corruption will be worse than the Robber Barons. Because, as it is right now, we have no enforcement of our election-our finance laws in Washington because the Federal Elections Commission is divided 3 Republicans 3 Democrats and so they can't make a decision. The Republicans are pushing up against the line, if not going over the line. Basically using their so-called Super PACs to be part of their campaign. And then you've got these phony non-profits, that are advocating for candidates and they don't even have to tell you where the money's from." (Hillary Clinton, Speech At House Party, Ottumwa, IA, 7/7/15)

Click Here To Watch

However, Clinton's Super PAC Accepted A "Seven-Figure Check" From A "Pair Of Dark Money Groups"

A Super PAC, "Financed By A Pair Of Dark Money Groups Wrote A Seven-Figure Check To Hillary Clinton's Super PAC In June, Infusing A Key Pro-Clinton Outfit With Money Whose Sources Are Virtually Untraceable." "A Democrat-aligned super PAC financed by a pair of dark money groups wrote a seven-figure check to Hillary Clinton's super PAC in June, infusing a key pro-Clinton outfit with money whose sources are virtually untraceable." (Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

• The Washington Free Beacon Headline: "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC"(Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

The Democratic Super PAC, "Fair Share Action (FSA) Donated $1 Million To Pro-Clinton Super PAC Priorities USA Action In Late June…" "Fair Share Action (FSA) donated $1 million to pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action in late June, one of eight million-dollar contributions the pro-Clinton group has received so far this year from various sources." (Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC,"The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

• "FSA Also Gave $5,000 To Another Pro-Clinton Super PAC In April." (Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

"The Source Of FSA's Money Is Nearly Impossible To Trace." (Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

FSA Has Only Received Two Contributions This Year, Both From Dark Money Groups, Including Fair Share, Inc. And Environment America. "It's received just two contributions this year: $300,000 from Fair Share Inc., its 501(c)(4) dark money affiliate, and $800,000 from another dark money group called Environment America." (Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

• "Neither Environment America Nor Fair Share Disclose Their Individual Donors, Making It Difficult To Know Who Exactly Is Bankrolling Their Large Contributions To Priorities." (Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)
• "Neither Organization Returned A Request For Information On Their Finances."(Lachlan Markay, "Dark Money Floods Into Hillary Super PAC," The Washington Free Beacon, 8/4/15)

Via: Republican National Committee

Continue Reading....

NPR Anchor Can't Say the Words 'Selling Fetal Tissue'

The Planned Parenthood scandal surprisingly came up in the Friday “Week in Politics” segment on NPR’s All Things Considered. (We can't say the same for the PBS NewsHour.) Both the liberal and the pseudo-conservative spoke up a bit for the humanity of the unborn. But anchor Audie Cornish developed a bad case of the euphemisms.

 “I want to turn to another issue that's been very much in the news the last few weeks,” she began. “That's Planned Parenthood. The group is in crisis mode after a video sting operation by a group opposed to abortion has put Planned Parenthood in the spotlight for the practice of fetal tissue in medical research.” What does that mean, “the practice of fetal tissue”? Shouldn’t it have been “the practice of selling fetal tissue for medical research”?  NPR was never this nervous when it described Abu Ghraib photos or the American treatment of terrorists at Guantanamo. But with abortion clinic practices, it speaks in tortured phrasing. It has a bad case of "Planned Parenthood patriotism." 

She added “Now, elsewhere in the program, we're going to hear more details about the fetal tissue research industry.” But that one-sided Jennifer Ludden story underlined the claims that no one anywhere is making a profit, and no pro-lifers were interviewed to say “So why were they joking about Lamborghinis?” - 

Here’s how liberal columnist E.J. Dionne and pseudo-conservative columnist David Brooks at least expressed some horror at the videos:

DIONNE: Well, the response that that they haven't broken laws is very important. But the fact is, if you look at that video, I think whether you are for or against abortion, it was deeply disturbing to have what looks like a casual discussion of fetal parts over lunch is just going to bother a lot of people, and understandably so.

The irony is that if Planned Parenthood were put out of business -- and a pro-life congressman made this point some years back [?] -- you might well have more abortions because Planned Parenthood dedicates a lot of its work, much more of its work to contraceptive and to preventing unintended pregnancies. So this is -- I wish we could come to a time where we had a less inflamed and more sober discussion of abortion because it's an issue, I think, at least, where it shouldn't be hard to understand why there's such passion on both sides.

CORNISH: E.J., David, I want to give you a chance to answer this. I don't know if you've seen the videos, but what does this moment say to you about this discussion?

BROOKS: Oh, I've seen the videos, and I guess, to me, they are a sign of a sort of a gradual moral degradation that occurred. Whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, to talk in this way, suggests to me just a hardening of the heart that happens when you, I guess, deal with this on a daily basis and are not - don't remain morally sensitive to the issues involved. One of the oddities now is we may have a government shutdown over this as Republicans seek to defund federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and Democrats fight to preserve it. This unexpected showdown may actually lead to a real budget crisis because of these videos.

Via: Newsbusters

Continue Reading....

[VIDEO] New Nuclear Power Seen as Big Winner in Obama’s Clean Power Plan

The Obama administration gave the struggling U.S. nuclear industry a glimmer of hope this week by allowing new reactors to count more toward meeting federal emissions limits.

States can take more credit for carbon-free electricity to be generated by nuclear power plants that are still under construction as they work to comply with emissions-reduction targets set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The boost for new nuclear was outlined in the Obama administration’s final Clean Power Plan released Monday.

Under last year’s draft of the plan, the yet-to-be completed reactors were counted as existing units that wouldn’t be fully credited for carbon reductions generated in the future after they had started operating. The nuclear power industry complained that amounted to a penalty on the plants and made state targets harder to achieve.

“We tend to view new rules as potentially the first bit of good news for the struggling nuclear industry,” Julien Dumoulin-Smith, an analyst for UBS, wrote on Monday in a research note.

Nuclear operators are facing high maintenance and clean-up costs, as well as competition from cheap natural-gas fueled power plants and low-cost wind and solar generation. About 10 percent of the nation’s nuclear output may retire early because of low energy prices, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The question of waste disposal also hangs over the industry as efforts to establish a federal repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada have stalled.

Existing Reactors

The Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based trade group, said it was “pleased” that the EPA recognized that nuclear plants under construction “should count toward compliance when they are operating.”

Marvin Fertel, president of the nuclear trade group, said by e-mail that the industry was disappointed that existing reactors won’t get credit for their carbon-reduction value, given that some are at risk of early retirement.

New reactor projects, the first in decades, have been plagued by delays and cost increases.

Beneficiaries of the rule changes would include Southern Co. and Scana Corp., which are building new reactors in Georgia and South Carolina, respectively. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which is building a reactor at its Watts Bar facility near Spring City, Tennessee, would also get a boost.

“Nuclear facilities will be credited because it’s new, zero-carbon generation that will be credited as part of a compliance strategy,” said U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “That’s entirely consistent and appropriate.”

Via: Bloomberg

Continue Reading....