Friday, January 19, 2018

MAD Magazine?: Comey to teach ethical leadership course at William & Mary

Via Billy

Comey to teach ethical leadership course at William & Mary

Former FBI Director James Comey has landed a teaching gig at his alma mater, the College of William & Mary, and will join the ranks of the school's teaching faculty this fall with a course on ethical leadership.

The Washington Post reports that Comey has accepted a nontenured position as an executive professor in education with the school, and will teach the course on ethical leadership in fall 2018, spring 2019 and summer 2019 semesters.

In a statement, the former FBI director said he was "thrilled" to have the chance to teach students.

“I am thrilled to have the chance to engage with William & Mary students about a vital topic — ethical leadership,” Comey said in a statement.

More @ The Hill

Fierce battle erupts over releasing intelligence report

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A battle erupted Friday over a push by Republican lawmakers to release a report they say will reveal high-level government abuse around the federal investigation into possible ties between Trump campaign officials and Russia.

Even as Congress hurtled toward a shutdown, Republicans in the House were buzzing over the contents of a classified memo on alleged surveillance abuses that was produced by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).

Scores of Republicans viewed the controversial memo in secure settings at the Capitol and concluded it contains hard evidence that the special counsel investigation into whether Trump’s campaign officials had improper contacts with Russia were sparked by the politically motivated actions of senior FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials.

More @ The Hill

GOP senator amid looming shutdown: Country 'being run by idiots'


Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) blasted Congress on Friday as a government funding deadline approached, slamming the government as being “run by idiots.”

"Our country was founded by geniuses, but it's being run by idiots," Kennedy told reporters hours before the government was set to enter a shutdown.

Another of Kennedy’s colleagues, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), made similar remarks on the Senate floor, saying that the Senate has “some really stupid people.”

More @ The Hill

Las Vegas shooter began to act 'strangely' leading up to carnage, girlfriend says, as motive remains a mystery

Via Billy

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Stephen Paddock gambled large sums of money, kept child pornography on his computer and purchased more than 55 weapons in the year leading up to the largest mass shooting in modern American history.

On Friday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department released an 81-page report that revealed fresh insights into the behaviors and patterns of Paddock prior to the night he opened fire from his 32nd floor room at the Mandalay Bay on Oct. 1, killing 58 people. In all, 871 people were injured, with 422 suffering gunshot wounds.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo — holding his first news conference since mid-October — said he hoped the report would help answer some lingering questions that have given extended life to a variety of conspiracy theories that included the rumor of the massacre being tied to Islamic State or terrorism.

CNN Poll Shows Amnesty Advocates Are Big Loser in Shutdown

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A CNN poll shows that the Democrats’ push for amnesty is the big loser in the government shutdown fight — and likely will hurt Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections.

According to CNN:56% overall say approving a budget agreement to avoid a shutdown is more important than continuing the DACA program, while just 34% choose DACA over a shutdown.

Democrats break narrowly in favor of DACA — 49% say it’s more important vs. 42% who say avoiding a shutdown is the priority — while majorities of both Republicans (75%) and independents (57%) say avoiding a shutdown is more important.

The poll shows that only the Democrats’ base supports their amnesty-before-budget push:

More @ Breitbart

Betsy DeVos: "......at the U.S. Department of Education, Common Core is dead."

 

For several turbulent years, the Common Core State Standards Initiative, better known simply as Common Core, was the hot new trend in education. As such, it was finally at long last going to make our kids smarter and more academically well-rounded for college and career. Sold as a replacement for the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind program, Common Core got its big push from Barack Obama’s administration when it dangled federal stimulus money in front of the states during its initial Race to the Top program — but only for including Common Core standards in their efforts. No Common Core, no cash. At its peak, all but five states took the money.

Robert E. Lee, Man of Honor

Via Billy


Today marks the 211th anniversary of the birth of Robert Edward Lee, best remembered as General-in-Chief of the Confederate army during the War Between the States. Living as we do in a day when history is oft forgotten — or deliberately rewritten and its monuments destroyed — it is worthwhile to consider the legacy of such an iconic American figure.

Robert E. Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807, in northeastern Virginia, to Anne Hill Carter Lee and Revolutionary War hero Colonel Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee. The elder Lee was a cavalry leader under General George Washington who was later elected governor of Virginia, and then to Congress.

Sadly, Henry Lee’s reputation was tarnished by financial troubles, and he traveled to the West Indies when Robert was six years old, never returning. It was under these circumstances that Robert was raised by his mother, who instilled in him a strong sense of honor and duty.


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New Documents Reveal More Instances of Classified Information on Hillary Clinton’s Unsecure, Non-‘State.gov’ System

 Image result for Judicial Watch: New Documents Reveal More Instances of Classified Information on Hillary Clinton’s Unsecure, Non-‘State.gov’ System

Judicial Watch today released 78 pages of new documents from the U.S. Department of State containing emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent and received over her unsecure, non-“state.gov” email system. Three of the email exchanges include classified information. The emails also reveal that Clinton had detailed knowledge about the security issues with in her non-State Department email system.

On March 8, 2011, Hillary Clinton sent classified information regarding Bahrain to Justin Cooper, who reportedly had no security clearance, with instructions to show it to Bill Clinton. Cooper was the Bill Clinton aide, who asked State Department IT specialist Bryan Pagliano to build a server for Mrs. Clinton in early 2009 as she started her new job as Secretary of State.

On August 24, 2010, Clinton emailed Cooper additional classified information to print, including the secretary’s call sheet for Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Mulvaney battles Acosta over shutdown blame


Border Wall Models Thwart US Commandos In Tests

Via Billy

gettyimages 865157896 Border Wall Models Thwart US Commandos In Tests

Recent assaults by tactical teams on prototypes of President Donald Trump’s proposed wall with Mexico indicate their imposing heights should stop border crossers, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the rigorous assessment told The Associated Press.

Military special forces based in Florida and U.S. Customs and Border Protection special units spent three weeks trying to breach and scale the eight models in San Diego, using jackhammers, saws, torches and other tools and climbing devices, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not authorized for public release.

More @ CBS

NC Freedom Caucus chair wants to work with Trump on term limits

 Freedom Caucus chair wants to work with Trump on term limits

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said during an interview on The Hill’s Power Politics podcast that one cure for what ails Congress could be term limits.

“I think we need to really start talking about it,” Meadows said, adding he and some of his colleagues hope to meet with President Trump soon to discuss term limits, which Trump supports.

“The fact is this place is broken,” Meadows said a day after House Republicans approved a short-term spending bill that would defer major budget and policy debates into February. The Senate faces a midnight deadline on Friday to pass a government funding bill before a shutdown takes effect.

More @ The Hill

Trump opens door for states to defund Planned Parenthood

Via Billy

The Trump administration is rescinding an April 2016 letter that the Obama administration sent to states warning them that restricting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood could violate federal law. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via Bloomberg)

The Trump administration is overturning Obama-era advisories aimed at preventing states from cutting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.

The administration is rescinding an April 2016 letter that the Obama administration sent to states warning them that restricting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood could violate federal law.

Administration officials said Friday it is rescinding the guidance to give states more flexibility over how they manage Medicaid.

“States who run Medicaid jointly have had a say in whether providers in borders eligible to participate in Medicaid program,” said Charmaine Yoest, assistant secretary for public affairs at Health and Human Services.

57.9% of Illegals Caught at U.S.-Mexico Border in FY17 Not Mexican; From 111 Other Countries

Via Billy


Only 42.1 percent of the “deportable aliens” that the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 2017 were citizens of Mexico, according to data collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A significant majority—57.9 percent—came from 111 other countries.

In fact, during fiscal year 2017, the Border Patrol apprehended deportable aliens along the U.S.-Mexico border who came from 84 countries that are not in the Americas.

More @ CNS

‘We will prosecute’ employers who help immigration sweeps, California AG says

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The state’s top cop issued a warning to California employers Thursday that businesses face legal repercussions, including fines up to $10,000, if they assist federal immigration authorities with a potential widespread immigration crackdown.

“It’s important, given these rumors that are out there, to let people know – more specifically today, employers – that if they voluntarily start giving up information about their employees or access to their employees in ways that contradict our new California laws, they subject themselves to actions by my office,” state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a news conference. “We will prosecute those who violate the law.”


Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article195434409.html#storylink=cpyMore @ The Sacramento Bee

OUR CORRUPTION COMA


Gaetz: ‘I Believe There Are People Who Will Go to Jail’ Over Intel Memo

Via Billy

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Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” in an appearance with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) followed up on an earlier statement he made regarding a House Intelligence Committee memo he argued should be released to the public.

The memo regards the FBI, the Department of Justice and President Donald Trump and Gaetz claims it goes “to the very foundations of democracy.”

Gaetz described the investigation underway by special counsel Robert Mueller as “a lie built on corruption” and claimed people would “go to jail” over the contents of the memo.

“I think that this will not end just with firings,” Gaetz said. “I believe there are people who will go to jail. I was very persuaded by the evidence. And it also became clear to me why Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham felt it so important to refer this matter for criminal prosecution. You don’t get to try to undermine our country, undermine our elections and then simply get fired. So, I think there will be criminal implications here. And we have to underscore the point that you and Jim Jordan just made.” 

“Every single Democrat on the Intelligence Committee voted against even allowing other members of Congress to see this information, so you know they’re going to fight against release to the American people,” he added. “What are the Democrats so afraid of? Why don’t they want the American people to know the truth about what was going on with the government, how that impacted the president, his transition, his campaign and it just seems interesting to me that Democrats don’t want us to know what the entire basis was in the first place for the Mueller probe they want to drag this out through the midterm elections to try to embarrass this president and distract this Congress from the critical work we have to do to save this great country. Let’s release the documents.”

Congressman Makes Claim About ‘Potential Terrorist Infiltration’ In Vegas Shooting, Offers No Evidence

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Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday and claimed that he has been “made aware” of “credible information regarding potential terrorist infiltration through the southern border” on the Las Vegas massacre.

More with video @ The Daily Caller

There are 3.6M 'DREAMers' — a number far greater than commonly known

Via John

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The political debate over the fate of "DREAMers" — undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — has overlooked just how many there are in the country today: about 3.6 million.

That number of people whose lives risk being uprooted is not widely known, in large part because so much public attention has been focused recently on 800,000 mostly young DREAMers accepted into the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 

This smaller group of DREAMers is in the spotlight because President Trump terminated DACA in September, saying it was an illegal overreach of executive authority that can only come from Congress, which is negotiating with Trump on a compromise immigration plan.

More @ USA Today

Hannity: Mueller & His Band of 'Democratic Witch Hunters' Need to Be Disbanded Immediately

Via Billy