Friday, December 4, 2015

Defense Secretary Ash Carter Cartoon


Senate OKs Republican bill unraveling health care law




With Republicans openly welcoming a preordained veto, the Senate on Thursday approved legislation aimed at crippling two of their favorite targets: President Barack Obama's health care law and Planned Parenthood.

With a House rubber stamp expected in days, the bill would be the first to reach Obama's desk demolishing his 2010 health care overhaul, one of his proudest domestic achievements, and halting federal payments to Planned Parenthood. Congress has voted dozens of times to repeal or weaken the health law and repeatedly against Planned Parenthood's funding, but until now Democrats thwarted Republicans from shipping the legislation to the White House.

Thursday's vote was a near party-line 52-47.

Republicans said an Obama veto — which the White House has promised — will underscore that a GOP triumph in next year's presidential and congressional elections would mean repeal of a statute they blame for surging medical costs and insurers abandoning some markets. They lack the two-thirds House and Senate majorities needed to override vetoes, assuring that the bill's chief purpose will be for campaign talking points.

"President Obama will have a choice," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "He can defend a status quo that's failed the middle class by vetoing the bill, or he can work toward a new beginning and better care by signing it."

Republicans blame the bill for surging health care costs and insurers abandoning some markets. Government officials said this week that health care spending grew at 5.3 percent in 2014, the steepest climb since Obama took office.

Democrats noted that under the law, millions of people have become insured and said their coverage has improved, with policies now required to insure a wide range of medical services.

"Do they talk to their constituents? Do they meet with them?" Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said of Republicans.

With just a 54-46 edge, Republicans had previously failed push such legislation through the Senate. This time, they used a special budget procedure that prevents filibusters — delays that take 60 votes to halt — and let them prevail with a simple majority.

Party leaders initially encountered objections from some more moderate Republicans leery of cutting Planned Parenthood's funds and from presidential contenders, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, who threatened to oppose the measure if it wasn't strong enough.

In the end, Cruz and Rubio voted "yes." Moderate GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois voted no, the only lawmakers to cross party lines, while Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., did not vote.

The Senate bill would all but erase the health care overhaul by dismantling some of its key pillars, including requirements that most people obtain coverage and larger employers offer it to workers.

Also eliminated would be its expansion of Medicaid coverage to additional lower-income people and the government's subsidies for many who buy policies on newly created insurance marketplaces. And it would end taxes the law imposed to cover its costs, including levies on higher-income people, expensive insurance policies, medical devices and indoor tanning salons.

The bill would also terminate the roughly $450 million yearly in federal dollars that go to Planned Parenthood, about a third of its budget. Federal funds can be used for abortions only in rare cases.

A perennial target of conservatives, the group has been under intensified GOP pressure this year for its role in providing fetal tissue to scientists. Citing secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing such sales, some abortion foes have accused the organization of illegally providing the tissue for profit. The group says the videos were deceptively doctored and say it's done nothing illegal.

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Dawn Laguens said the Senate had given the group's millions of clients "the cold shoulder of indifference."

Senators voted on over a dozen amendments — all symbolic, since the measure was destined to never become law.

They rejected two amendments that would have restored Planned Parenthood's money. They blocked proposals for tightening gun curbs, a response to Wednesday's mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, last week's fatal attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado and last month's terrorist massacre in Paris.

They also voted 90-10 to permanently repeal taxes on high-priced "Cadillac" insurance policies, a strong signal of growing congressional momentum for erasing that levy.

GOP lawmakers said the overall bill could serve as a bridge to a future Republican health care law. Though Obama's overhaul was enacted five years ago, Republicans have yet to produce a detailed proposal to replace it.

"It's either repeal or nothing," Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who heads the Senate Democratic campaign committee, said of the GOP's failure to propose an alternative. "I'll take that to the polls and we'll talk about it until the cows come home."

Republicans argued voters were on their side.

"We've reached a pretty scary time in our nation's history where we have Americans writing and calling their elected representatives saying they need relief from their own government," said No. 2 Senate Leader John Cornyn of Texas. "We have a mandate, I believe, to repeal this terrible law."

Carter telling military to open all combat jobs to women


Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women, rebuffing requests by the Marine Corps to exclude women from certain front-line combat jobs.
Declaring that "we are a joint force," Carter said that while moving women into these jobs will present challenges, the military can no longer afford to exclude half of the population from grueling military jobs.
He said that any man or woman who meets the standards should be able to serve, and he gave the armed services 30 days to submit plans to make the historic change.
Carter's order opens the final 10 percent of military positions to women, and allows them to serve in the military's most demanding and difficult jobs, including as special operations forces, such as the Army Delta units and Navy SEALs.The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, former Marine Corps commandant, had argued that the Marines should be allowed to keep women out of certain front-line combat jobs, citing studies showing that mixed-gender units aren't as capable as all-male units.
Carter said he came to a different conclusion, but he said the integration of women into the combat jobs will be deliberate and methodical and will address the Marine Corps concerns.Dunford did not attend the news conference to announce the change, and when asked about that absence, Carter said he has discussed his decision multiple times with the chairman. In a prepared statement, Dunford said he provided his best military advice on the issue, and now his focus is "to lead the full integration of women in a manner that maintains our joint warfighting capability, ensures the health and welfare of our people, and optimizes how we leverage talent across the joint force.
"While noting that, on average, men and women have different physical abilities, Carter said the services must assign tasks and jobs based on ability, rather than on gender. He said that would likely result in smaller numbers of women in some jobs. Equal opportunity, he said, will not mean equal participation in some specialty jobs. But he added that combat effectiveness is still the main goal, and there will be no quotas for women in any posts.
The decision comes after several years of study, and will wipe away generations of limits on how and where women can fight for their country.Only the Marine Corps sought any exceptions in removing the long-held ban on allowing women to serve in dangerous combat jobs. The Army, Navy and Air Force have moved steadily toward allowing women to serve in all posts, and only the most risky jobs remain closed.
A senior defense official said the services will have to begin putting plans in place by April 1. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Carter has hinted at this decision for months, telling U.S. troops in Sicily in October that limiting his search for qualified military candidates to just half the population would be "crazy.
"He had given Dunford until the end of October to forward his review of the services' recommendations on which jobs, if any, should remain closed to women. As Marine commandant, Dunford was the only service chief to recommend that some front-line combat jobs stay male-only, according to several U.S. officials.
Carter had pledged to thoroughly review the recommendations, particularly those of the Marine Corps, but said he generally believes that any qualified candidate should be allowed to compete for jobs.
But the senior defense official said that while Carter recognizes there may be difficulties in opening the jobs to women, he has made his decision and all the services will follow it.
Answering a question from a Marine in Sicily, Carter said, "You have to recruit from the American population. Half the American population is female. So I'd be crazy not to be, so to speak, fishing in that pond for qualified service members."For that reason, the defense secretary said the military should recruit women into as many specialties as possible.

GOP memo suggests Trump reality check for establishment


'If you can’t beat him, join him’ appears to be the new directive coming from the Republican establishment, as Donald Trump maintains his lead for the 2016 the GOP nomination, months after political prognosticators had predicted his flame-out and demise.
A recently leaked memo by the National Republican Senatorial Committee calls Trump a “misguided missile,” but argues, ultimately, that he is worthy of emulation rather than condemnation.
The success of Republicans running for senate next year could count on it.
“Conventional wisdom has counted Trump out on several occasions.
But, Trump continues to rise and the criticisms seem to make him stronger, writes NRSC Executive Director Ward Bake in the seven-page missive, which was not supposed to be made public but was leaked to The Washington Post.
Several news organizations have reported on it since. Fox News has verified its authenticity.
“Trump has been gaining Democrat adherents and he’s solidifying
GOP cohorts who feel they’ve been totally ignored by the Washington Ruling Class. If the environment aligns properly, Trump could win,” Ward writes. “It’s not a bet most would place now, but it could happen. That’s why it’s important for our candidates to run their own races, limit the Trump criticisms (other than obvious free kicks), and grab onto the best elements of the anti-Washington populist agenda.”
The memo also offers several “lessons” on how candidates can deal with the “Trump phenomenon” without getting tarred when Trump indulges in more explosive policy positions, off-color jokes, or seemingly radioactive political rhetoric.
“Trump is subject to farcical fits,” writes Ward. While trying to keep out of the fray, continue to take “Trump to task on outrageous statements where the media won’t let you off the hook. Choose opportunities to take the moral high ground while exerting your independence.”
This would include what appeared to be his mocking of a disabled reporter and a host of comments about women’s looks, like openly asking if Hillary Clinton is wearing a wig.
“Donald Trump has said some wacky things about women. Candidates shouldn’t go near this ground other than to say that your wife or daughter is offended by what Trump said,” writes Ward. “We do not want to reengage the “war on women” fight so isolate Trump on this issue by offering a quick condemnation of it.”
That said, he memo not only suggests the establishment has accepted that Trump may be the presidential nominee in 2016, but is also willing to walk the fine line between keeping a check on the self-funding billionaire candidate, while taking advantage of the things that make him popular with Republican voters today.
“Trump has risen because voters see him as authentic, independent, direct, firm --- and believe he can’t be bought. These are the same character traits our candidates should be advancing in 2016. That’s Trump lesson #1."
"Trump is saying that the Emperor has no clothes and he challenges our politically correct times. Our candidates shouldn’t miss this point,” continues Ward. “Don’t insult key voter cohorts by ignoring that America has significant problems and that Trump is offering some basic solutions. Understand the populist points Trump makes and ride that wave.”
Contacted by Foxnews.com on Thursday, the NRSC said it was merely engaging in pragmatic political planning. “It would be malpractice for the Senatorial committee not to prepare our candidates for every possible Republican and Democrat nominee and election scenario,” NRSC spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said.
Aside from telling candidates to “run your own race,” and “show
your independence,” the memo suggests tapping into Trump’s ability to resonate with working people who have long decided Washington could not be trusted. It makes suggestions on using constituents to tell the story and “to bring the campaign back to real people and their daily struggle,” and not be afraid to take on China and immigration through the same Trump lens.
“You don’t have to go along with his more extreme positioning,” the memo reads. “Instead you should stake out turf in the same issue zone and offer your own ideas.” Just don’t spend “full time attacking our own nominee,” reads the memo, which Ward said was “written with the assumption that Donald Trump wins the nomination.”
“That will only serve to topple GOP candidates at every level.”

Investigators probe whether wife radicalized husband before San Bernardino massacre




Federal investigators believe there is a "very serious" possibility that Tashfeen Malik, one of two shooters who murdered 14 people and wounded 21 others in San Bernardino, Calif. Wednesday, radicalized her husband and co-assailant, county restaurant inspector Syed Farook, Fox News has learned. 
Investigators also believe that the couple had planned a second attack after the shooting at a social service center for the disabled when they were killed in a shootout with local authorities approximately two miles away.
Little is known about Malik's background prior to her meeting Farook. However, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the two met and became engaged after Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia in September 2013. Malik, a Pakistani citizen, applied for a K-1 visa, reserved for the fiances of U.S. citizens, at the American embassy in Islamabad in May 2014 and Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia that July to bring her to the U.S. The Saudi Embassy in Washington has confirmed that Farook's 2014 trip lasted nine days.
They were married on Aug. 16, 2014, in nearby Riverside County, Calif. according to their marriage license. Both listed their religion as Muslim.
Investigators believe that on at least one of those trips to Saudi Arabia, Malik, Farook or both made contact with suspected Al Qaeda terrorists. The exact nature of that contact was not immediately clear.
Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that tracks and analyzes extremists, told the Associated Press it hasn't found any connection between Farook and jihadi groups. But she also said that some of Farook's social media posts seem to have been deleted before the attack.
However, law enforcement sources told Fox News late Thursday that there was a "very strong" possibility that Malik functioned as Farook's terror trainer and may have even put together the pipe bombs found by authorities at the various crime scenes Wednesday.
Officials said Thursday that Malik underwent and passed a Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism screening as part of the process of getting the K-1 visa. The visa would have been effective for 90 days, after which Malik would have had to apply for green card status through the Department of Homeland Security as the wife of an American. It was not immediately clear whether she did so.
Wearing black tactical gear and wielding assault rifles, Farook, 28, and Malik, 27, sprayed as many as 75 rounds into a room at the Inland Regional Center, where about 75 of Farook's co-workers had gathered Wednesday morning. Farook had attended the start of the event but slipped out and returned in battle dress.
Four hours later and two miles away, the couple died in a furious gun battle in which they fired 76 rounds, while 23 law officers unleashed about 380, police said.
As part of the complex investigation late Thursday, authorities were trying to piece together a money trail that would have enabled the suspects to acquire over $30,000 in guns and explosives. Public records show that Farook made approximately $51,000 per year as an employee of the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, making it unlikely he could have afforded such an arsenal out of his own pocket. There is no evidence that Malik had a job.
Among the weapons found were three rigged-together pipe bombs at the social service center, each equipped with a remote-control detonating device that apparently malfunctioned; more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition and multiple pipe bombs in the rented SUV where they died; and 12 pipe bombs, tools for making more, and over 3,000 additional rounds of ammunition at a family home in the nearby town of Redlands.
Officials were also looking for a man who bought the two AR-15 rifles the couple used in the attack. The Associated Press reported that Farook legally bought two pistols found on the couple, but an unidentified man bought the rifles. It was not immediately clear whether the man was acting on Farook's behalf when he bought the weapons or if they were stolen and then used in the attack. A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that all the guns were purchased legally in California.
Law enforcement sources told Fox News that investigators believe the couple's death prevented a second attack Wednesday, though they have not established what the target would have been. They point not only to the sheer amount of weaponry left unused, but also the fact that the couple's rented SUV was due to be returned Thursday. Authorities believe it unlikely that the couple would have wanted to take the chance of the SUV and any unused munitions being found if the vehicle was kept longer than its rental period.
Farook was a devout Muslim who prayed every day and recently memorized the Quran, according to brothers Nizaam and Rahemaan Ali, who attended Dar Al Uloom Al Islamiyah mosque in San Bernardino with Farook.
Rahemaan Ali said he last saw Farook three weeks ago, when he abruptly stopped going to the mosque. Ali said Farook seemed happy and his usual self, and the brothers never saw a violent side.
"He never ever talked about killing people or discussed politics, or said that he had problems at work," Rahemaan Ali said. "He always had a smile on his face."
A profile on a matchmaking website for South Asians that matched Farook's name, California hometown, county health job and Muslim faith said his interests included target shooting in his backyard. Though the date of the posting was not clear, it listed his age as 22 so it could have been six years old.
Two weeks ago, Farook and one of the co-workers he killed, 52-year-old Nicholas Thalasinos, had a heated conversation about Islam, according to Kuuleme Stephens, a friend of the victim.
Stephens said she happened to call Thalasinos while he was talking with Farook at work. She said Thalasinos told her Farook "doesn't agree that Islam is not a peaceful religion."

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