Presumptuous Politics : Jun 1, 2016

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Politically Correct Cartoons

Do Louisiana lawmakers really think the Declaration of Independence is racist and sexist?

Days before the 1983 gubernatorial election in Louisiana, Democrat Edwin Edwards infamously declared that “the only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.”
Edwards was elected governor that year – demonstrating the low bar Democrats must hurdle to hold public office in the Bayou State.
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Edwards may have been a scoundrel (not to mention a convicted felon) but at least he didn’t slander our Founding Fathers or the Declaration of Independence.
Rep. Barbara Norton managed to do both during a bizarre May 25^th rant on the floor of the Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane as they say in Cajun Country.
“All men are not created equal,” the Gentle Lady from Shreveport ranted. “We’re teaching them a lie.”
Rep. Norton was fired up hotter than a bottle of Tabasco from Avery Island.
Lawmakers had been asked to consider a bill authored by Republican Rep. Valarie Hodges that would have required children in grades four, five and six to recite portions of the Declaration of Independence.
“I want students to understand that the Declaration of Independence is the cornerstone of our republic – and what gives us liberty,” Rep. Hodges told me. “I want them to not just memorize it – but to understand what that document did – it changed the course of history.”
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A noble cause indeed – to teach young Americans that they live in a most exceptional nation.
“It’s important that we fight for these values,” she told me. “The future of our republic depends on the next generation – whether or not they are prepared for citizenship.”
And as my Fox News colleague Jesse Watters demonstrates on a weekly basis in his “Watter’s World” segment – our public school system is doing a subpar job of teaching kids what it means to be an American.
“The Left is pushing against this very hard – trying to rewrite history,” she said. “Instead of believing that America is an exceptional nation – there are some radicals who want to rewrite history and teach our children the opposite of what is truth.”
And that brings me back to Rep. Norton – railing on about the Declaration of Independence.
“We’re teaching them a lie,” she declared.
“When I think back in 1776 July 4^th – African Americans were slaves and for you to bring a bill to request that our children will recite the Declaration – I think it’s a little bit unfair to us to ask those children to recite something that is not true,” she said.
House Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger III (another Democrat) took issue with the “All men are created equal” portion – and said it needed to be taught with historical context.
“Men and women were not seen as equals at that time nor were blacks considered to be men that were equal to others,” he said during a committee hearing.
Rep. Hodges was dumbfounded by the hostility.
“I feel sadness that that level of hatred was displayed against the Founding Fathers and the documents that give us the ability as women and black people and Caucasians to run for office,” she said. “The lack of understanding to me is saddening and frightening.”
Hodges ended up pulling her bill – under pressure from lawmakers and a mountain of amendments.
Democrats don’t believe we should teach young Americans that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. And they sure don’t want them to pursue happiness.
That, boys and girls, is what we call a self-evident truth.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard on hundreds of radio stations. His latest book is "God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values." Follow Todd on Twitter@ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.

DOJ fights federal judge's order for lawyers to attend ethics training

The Justice Department moved Tuesday to fight a federal judge’s order that its lawyers undergo mandatory ethics training, digging in after the DOJ was accused of misleading the courts over President Obama's immigration executive actions.
In filings Tuesday, the department said the order would "far exceed the bounds of appropriate remedies" and would cost the department millions.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, of Texas, had issued the order earlier this month, after alleging DOJ attorneys misled him about the implementation of Obama’s executive orders on illegal immigrants.
Attorneys had told Hanen that a key component – an expansion of a 2012 program to protect illegal immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. as children – hadn’t been implemented. But officials later revealed they had given more than 108,000 people three-year reprieves from deportation under the expanded rules, as well as work permits.
Hanen blocked Obama's actions and the case is now before the Supreme Court.
Hanen’s scathing order filed on May 19 accused the DOJ of a “calculated plan of unethical conduct.” He ordered that all DOJ lawyers attend a yearly ethics course. He also ordered the department to turn over the names of those who received the reprieves.
"Such conduct is certainly not worthy of any department whose name includes the word 'Justice,'" Hanen said.
The Department of Justice responded in the court filing Tuesday, saying that it "emphatically" disagrees with the judge’s ruling, claiming that none of its lawyers intended to deceive. The filing requests Hanen’s order be put on hold so federal lawyers can review.
In Tuesday’s filing, the DOJ estimated that the ethics training mandated would cost upwards of $7.8 million.
"The sanctions ordered by the Court far exceed the bounds of appropriate remedies for what this Court concluded were intentional misrepresentations, a conclusion that was reached without proper procedural protections and that lacks sufficient evidentiary support," lawyers for the department said.
“Compounding matters, the sanctions imposed by this Court exceed the scope of its authority and unjustifiably impose irreparable injury on the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and thousands of innocent third parties,” the filing said.
The department also argued the order to turn over the list of those who were given reprieves would undermine trust in the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to maintain the confidentiality of personal information, which it said was vital to its mission.
“The Department emphatically disagrees with the sanctions orders and will seek review of this matter in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals," a Department of Justice spokesman said in a statement.

Lawyers for Clinton aide block questioning on IT specialist who set up server

What are they trying to hide?

Lawyers for senior Hillary Clinton aide Cheryl Mills, during a nearly five-hour deposition last week in Washington, repeatedly objected to questions about IT specialist Bryan Pagliano’s role in setting up the former secretary of state’s private server.
According to a transcript of the deposition with watchdog group Judicial Watch released on Tuesday, Mills attorney Beth Wilkinson – as well as Obama administration lawyers – objected to the line of questioning about Pagliano, who has emerged as a central figure in the FBI's ongoing criminal probe of Clinton's email practices.
“I'm going to instruct her not to answer. It's a legal question,” Wilkinson responded, when asked by Judicial Watch whether Pagliano was an “agent of the Clintons” when the server was set up.
This was a pattern repeated throughout the deposition by the seven lawyers for Mills -- including four attorneys representing the State and Justice departments, as well as her personal representatives.
Asked direct questions about when Mills spoke with Pagliano, Mills' lawyer also objected.
In other exchanges relating to the server's set-up, Mills said she did not know how to answer either.
"I don't know how to answer your question because I don't know the time period,” Mills said, when asked when she spoke with Pagliano. She did clarify that she met him in 2008 during Clinton's first presidential campaign. Mills served as Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department and her counsel.
Pagliano, a former State Department employee, cut an immunity deal last fall with the Justice Department amid the FBI probe. He was recently described to Fox News by an intelligence source as a "devastating witness."
Mills had recently gone to court to make sure that recordings of this past Friday’s deposition were not released. The request was granted by the court, though Judicial Watch was still able to release the transcript.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told Fox News on Tuesday that they have “more information than we did before the deposition despite difficult questioning.”
He added, “Mills’ attorneys directed her not to discuss conversations with Pagliano.”
Mills also testified under oath that the server existed before Clinton became secretary of state in 2009.
“President Clinton had established a server for the purposes of his own staff office, and … her email was subsequently put on that,” Mills said, adding that she learned about the server’s origin after the fact.

Getting 'nervous'? Clinton plans California campaign spree as Sanders eyes upset

Hillary Clinton is packing her campaign schedule with new stops across California ahead of next week’s delegate-rich primary, in an apparent bid to forestall a Bernie Sanders win as her rival climbs in the polls and barnstorms the state in pursuit of a dramatic upset.
The campaign hastily scrapped a planned New Jersey stop later in the week, and instead announced the Democratic presidential front-runner will camp out in California from Thursday through Monday, right up until the June 7 primary.
In a boost ahead of her West Coast swing, Clinton also snagged the endorsement Tuesday of California Gov. Jerry Brown, who in an “open letter” said Clinton represents “the only path forward to win the presidency and stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump.”
He wrote, “Hillary Clinton has convincingly made the case that she knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the Democratic agenda.”
The developments come amid signs that the campaign-finale contest could be close. A recent poll, by the Public Policy Institute of California, showed Clinton’s lead in the state narrowing from double digits to just 2 points. Sanders, meanwhile, has been crisscrossing California for days and on Monday boldly predicted a victory in the Golden State, where 475 pledged delegates are at stake.
“She’s getting very nervous lately,” Sanders claimed of Clinton.
Clinton does not have to be nervous about whether she’ll effectively secure the nomination by June 7 – she’s just 71 delegates shy of the 2,383 needed to clinch, and is assured of crossing that threshold by next Tuesday night. Six states, including California and New Jersey, are voting on Tuesday, the last major primary election day.
But she wants to avoid a high-profile loss in the Democratic stronghold, at a time when she's trying to unify the party. A Sanders upset victory could energize the Vermont senator’s vows to take his fight all the way to the convention.
Speaking Monday in Oakland, Calif., Sanders insisted the race will not be over next Tuesday. He again vowed to keep working to persuade so-called superdelegates – party insiders and officials free to support any candidate – to cross over to his side in the weeks ahead. (While Clinton is sure to exceed the 2,383-delegate threshold on Tuesday, Sanders' campaign for weeks has questioned whether her superdelegate support should count toward that tally.)
On Tuesday, Sanders was continuing his extended swing through California with stops in Emeryville, Santa Cruz and Monterey.
Clinton has not revealed exact details on where she’ll be campaigning when she travels from New Jersey to California later in the week.
Her attention to New Jersey in recent days may reflect the campaign’s back-up plan in case California is tight. Clinton aides recently told Fox News they're hoping for an overwhelming win in New Jersey‎ on June 7, which could possibly seal the nomination for Clinton before the polls even close in California.
"If things go our way in New Jersey," one senior Clinton official said, "we could wrap up the nomination and the rest of the country will already be asleep before the results are even final in California."
Sanders aides told Fox News they plan to spend most of their time in California in the lead-up to Tuesday and feel they are closing strong in the nation's most populous state.
"We feel it's an important state," Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs told Fox News. "And we plan to campaign hard there and turn these huge crowds and momentum into a big win."

List of veterans groups receiving Trump fundraiser donations

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday released a list of veterans groups that received money from a fundraiser the billionaire held in late January.
The groups and the amount given to each are as follows, according to a list from the Trump campaign:
22Kill -- $200,000
Achilles International Inc. -- $200,000
American Hero Adventures -- $100,000
Americans for Equal Living -- $100,000
America's Vetdogs - The Veterans K9 Corps Inc. -- $75,000
AMVETS -- $75,000
Armed Services YMCA of the USA -- $75,000
Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Inc. -- $75,000
Central Iowa Shelter and Services -- $100,000
Connected Warriors Inc. -- $75,000
Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust -- $115,000
Fisher House Foundation -- $115,000
Folds of Honor Foundation -- $200,000
Foundation for American Veterans -- $75,000
Freedom Alliance -- $75,000
Green Beret Foundation -- $350,000
Hire Heroes USA -- $75,000
Homes for Our Troops -- $50,000
Honoring America's Warriors -- $100,000
Hope for the Warriors -- $65,000
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund -- $175,000
K9s for Warriors -- $50,000
Liberty House -- $100,000
Marine Corps- Law Enforcement Foundation -- $1,100,000
Navy Seal Foundation -- $465,000
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society -- $75,000
New Englands Wounded Veterans Inc. -- $75,000
Operation Homefront -- $65,000
Partners for Patriots -- $100,000
Project for Patriots -- $100,000 (pending)
Puppy Jake Foundation -- $100,000
Racing for Heroes Inc. -- $200,000
Support Siouxland Soldiers -- $100,000
Task Force Dagger Foundation -- $50,000
The Mission Continues -- $75,000
The National Military Family Association Inc. -- $75,000
Veterans Airlift Command -- $100,000
Veterans Count 25,000 Veterans-In-Command Inc. -- $150,000
Vietnam Veterans Workshop Inc. -- $75,000
Warriors for Freedom Foundation -- $50,000
Total: $5,600,000