Conservative Blogger
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Trump’s locked and loaded
TRUMP’S LOCKED AND LOADED
When Donald Trump delivers a speech on national security from the deck of a WWII era battleship on the Los Angeles waterfront today his message to rivals ahead of tomorrow’s debate is clear: If attacked, I’ve got broadsides loaded, ready to fire. Riding a wave of polls, the Republican frontrunner knows his target profile is high and that critics say foreign policy is a chink in his armor. So in typical Trump fashion, he’s none-to-subtly saying, bring it.
The address aboard the USS Iowa before a conservative veterans group – which will reportedly focus on international challenges and veterans’ issues – gives Trump the opportunity to dispel questions over his knowledge of foreign affairs and strengthen his standing with the military community, which took a hit early on in his campaign over dismissive remarks about Sen. John McCain’s service record. Whether Trump, who has said he’d solve veterans’ health care issues by “firing everyone at the VA” will offer policy specifics is unclear.
One thing is clear: while the GOP field seeks to claim the Reagan mantle, Trump’s spectacle will convey an image of strength to a candidate with no military background, just hours before he takes center stage at the former president’s library.
[Watch Fox: Chief Political Correspondent Campaign Carl Cameron reports on Trumps speech from the Los Angeles waterfront]
And he’s is here to stay, or so he says - The Hill: “Trump had a message to his critics at a massive, sold-out rally in Dallas on Monday…‘I’m not going anywhere and we’re not going anywhere,’ Trump told a packed American Airlines Center, where an estimated 20,000 rallied. ‘We are killing it. They mentioned a little while ago about the silent majority — it’s back. And it’s not silent. Maybe we should call it the noisy, aggressive, wanting to win — wanting-to-win majority.’”
But still no details - Time: “The closest Trump got to discussing policy was when he said, ‘We’ve got to lower taxes for a lot of people. Corporations are paying far too much, middle income people are being decimated.’ He said he would announce a ‘great tax plan’ within the next few weeks.”
Club for Growth thwacks Trump in Iowa - In two visceral attack ads, the political arm of the conservative group Club for Growth targets Donald Trump as “the worst Republican candidate on economic issues” according to their president David McIntosh. The ads will run in Iowa on all platforms including broadcast, cable, satellite television as well as on digital media. The total ad buy exceeds $1 million.
Poll: Carson closes in on Trump - CBS News: “At 27 percent nationally, Donald Trump maintains his frontrunner status among Republican primary voters, but Ben Carson is now close behind him, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds. Carson’s support has risen significantly since early August, from 6 percent then, to 23 percent now, putting him in second place…. Trump has a slight edge among the most conservative voters, while the race is close among women and Tea Party supporters. Trump holds a larger lead among men and evangelical voters. And while Trump leads Carson among voters who have not graduated from college, 30 percent to 19 percent, among college graduates, Carson has 29 percent to Trump's 21 percent.
Walker tweaks reboot amid talk of staff moves - Wash Ex: “…The governor’s team said it has decided to redouble its efforts in the early primary states and will focus on detailing his specific policy proposals. Ed Goeas, a Walker senior adviser and veteran Republican pollster, said he has not heard any talk about bringing in the super PAC’s advisers, and added that the campaign is instead focused on its ‘organizational muscle’ in early nominating states.”
[Ambassador John Bolton replaces Walker at the California Republican Party Fall Convention this Saturday. Walker was supposed to headline the event, but withdrew to focus on early state primaries, according to an event release.]
Fiorina says she’s top-tier - In an interview with the Wash Ex, Carly Fiorina said, “My name ID remains the lowest in the field, and so once again, this is a big opportunity to introduce myself. But now, obviously I’m introducing myself as a real contender in the top tier.”
[Taking criticism from Donald Trump and turning it into a positive spin, Fiorina’s PAC released a web ad featuring all types of women. Fiorina says, “look at all of your faces – the face of leadership.”]
Jeb PAC potentially could spend highest TV ad campaign in political history - Boston Globe: “The super PAC supporting former Florida governor Jeb Bush plans to begin airing what could be the most expensive television advertising campaign in the history of presidential primary politics. On Tuesday, Right to Rise, will begin airing $1.2 million worth of ads on Boston, New Hampshire, and cable stations. A digital campaign and radio advertising will also begin in days. In addition to New Hampshire, the ads will air in Iowa, followed by the next week beginning in South Carolina.” Watch the ad here.
Could Jeb do with a little dose of Dubya? - Boston Globe writer Joan Vennochi writes that in this year’s election season the “brainier” Bush needs to get a dose of big brother's real politicking talents writing, “George W. Bush didn’t need an exclamation point next to his name to connote excitement…he was very good at retail politics and at relating to average voters — the exact opposite of Jeb, who is having trouble exciting them.”
Rubio rumbles in ‘MNF’ vid - Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., highlighted his college athlete days with a web video that features the Florida senator catching footballs and answering questions. Rubio also poked fun at his water bottle moment from the State of the Union response a few years back saying when prepping for a big game or big speech “make sure there is water nearby, like right now” catching a bottle of water that’s tossed to him.
Top Romney advisor joins Rubio team - WaPo: “Lanhee Chen, one of the Republican Party’s most sought-after policy experts, said Monday he has signed on to Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign and will counsel the Florida senator on issues foreign and domestic. As policy director on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, Chen was the GOP’s nominee’s chief policy adviser and a senior strategist.”
WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE…
As fall rolls around and the breeze changes from a cozy greeting to a chilly whisper, many people turn to hearty comfort foods like a warm bowl of tomato basil soup with a toasty grilled cheese made from…pigs? Well, that might be an option for some big-spending cheese lovers because pig’s milk cheese is now on the market. As Food World News reports, “…A family-run farm in the Netherlands has produced the world’s first cheese made from pig’s milk. And it is more costly than the former most expensive cheese which is from Balkan donkey milk…the process of getting milk from pigs was labour-intensive, only managing to produce a few [gallons] of milk with as many as ten people working…After 40 hours of milking the pigs and several failed attempts, they were able only to produce a few pounds of cheese from the pig’s milk. From [one pound] of cheese that was produced, a part of it was sold to an anonymous buyer who said that the cheese tasted ‘chalky and a little bit salty.’ This exclusive cheese was sold for a whooping price of $2,300 per [pound].”
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POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 46.3 percent//Disapprove – 49.9 percent
Directions of Country: Right Direction – 28.6 percent//Wrong Track – 62.4 percent
BAIER TRACKS: BERNIE PLAN COULD BERN THE ECONOMY…
“More and more Democrat voters are ‘Feeling the Bern’ lately, expressing support for the surging Senator Bernie Sanders. He’s seeing huge crowds in early primary and caucus states and even got a warm reception Monday at conservative Liberty University. Most of the stories about Sanders explore the groundswell of support for the independent socialist senator who wants to be the Democrats’ nominee.
But this piece in the WSJ explores the actual cost of the policies that Sanders is proposing on the trail. This is an eye opener! 18 trillion dollars in new spending. Trillion with a T. Remember that the country faces a national debt that has surpassed 18 trillion dollars and is currently climbing quickly to 20 trillion dollars. At 24 trillion – many experts believe the country starts to crater from the debt burden. If interest rates increase one percentage point today – the country will be paying more for interest on the national debt than we spend on the Pentagon budget. We could continue to roll out the stats.
For Bluedog Democrats – the fiscally conservative Democrats – a shrinking breed in Congress, those numbers are scary. But, now ‘Feeling the Bern’ is the flavor of the moment for Democrats – we’ll see if ‘Seeing the Price tag’ affects that momentum at all” - Bret Baier.
Bernie says we need to talk to those with differing views - WSJ: “When [Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.] of Vermont–the least religious state in the U.S.–spoke [at Liberty University] on Monday, a few of his supporters were in attendance…The candidate began by emphasizing his support for gay rights and said he is pro-choice. Then he said: ‘I believe from the bottom of my heart that it is vitally important for those of us who hold different views to be able to engage in a civil discourse.’”
Hillary emails show five-month gap - Daily Caller: “Five months’ worth of messages are missing from the emails former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to the government, according to documents newly obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch. ‘A five month email gap,’ Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said at the non-profit group’s inaugural Leadership Summit Monday. ‘I want an explanation about that.’ Some of the gaps were as long as a month or more, Fitton said.”
Hillary: Bubba as VP has ‘crossed my mind’ - Hillary Clinton sat down with “Extra” in an interview Monday on a wide range of topics from Kim Kardashian to her husband Bill. The former secretary of state said the idea of her husband as Vice President has “crossed my mind” but unfortunately, she points out, under the constitution he would not be eligible to succeed her if necessary.
DEMS SEEK TO EXPAND SUPER PAC ROLE
NYT: “The plans, laid out by the [Democratic party’s] top election lawyers in an emergency request filed with the Federal Election Commission on Friday, would pave the way for the creation of a host of new super PACs tailored to individual House and Senate candidates. But the filing also suggests that Democrats would, if allowed, seek to use tactics pioneered by Republican presidential candidates this cycle, helping prospective candidates establish and raise money for super PACs before they officially declare their intent to run.”
WHAT WOULD DOGGIE MUNCHIES EVEN LOOK LIKE?
TheStreet: “The cannabis industry is getting a whole new class of potential customers: our dogs and cats. Denver-based Dixie Brands is launching a new line of pet wellness products made with industrial hemp. ‘Immediately, I want to debunk the myth: Those four-legged family members are not going to experience a high,’ explained Tripp Keber, CEO of Dixie Brands…Dixie Brands’ pet products line, called Therabis, is marketed as targeting common pet problems such as separation anxiety and itching. Therabis products will launch in November and initially will be sold online, but Keber said there is already significant retail interest. According to the Therabis Web site, the products are ‘harnessing the power of hemp to make your best friends feel better.’”
Debate night: The media want a Trump fight, with blood and bruises
The press is full of chatter about what the other candidates could, should, must do to derail the Trump juggernaut at tonight’s CNN debate.
Naturally, the big audience for the second presidential debate offers the other Republicans a prime opportunity to make a lasting impression in this Donald-dominated campaign. So I expect there will be no shortage of canned zingers.
But every candidate on that stage has to be wary of getting into an insult contest with a gut fighter who doesn’t play by the usual rules of political politeness.
It’s all well and good for candidates to talk about creating a “moment,” but that can’t seem artificial or staged, or the attacker will look phony and a tad desperate. Trump’s rivals have to deliver a positive message about themselves while drawing a sharp contrast with the real estate mogul, not just denounce him, as Bobby Jindal did, as a narcissist and egomaniac.
And consider this: If half of the other 10 candidates try to whack Trump, won’t that make him look larger? Won’t that reinforce the narrative that Trump has so shaken the Republican establishment that his opponents are feverishly trying to bring him down?
Trump’s task is far easier: He can uncork his usual lines about the “very, very stupid people” running the government, and jab back at those who challenge him (bad polls, low energy and so on). And—remember the Fox debate—if he gets a detailed question that he doesn’t like, he can take a swipe at the media and the “gotcha” game.
In terms of the media’s focus, it’s going to be Trump vs. Whoever—as long as Whoever is named Carly, Ben or Jeb. The truth is that journalists have lost interest in most of the other candidates, who are mired in single digits (as is Jeb, but he’s still got the money, the Bush name, and the fading aura of the person the pundits thought would be The Man to Beat). That could change, but right now they're eclipsed by Trump.
Carson told me in the interview we aired Sunday on "Media Buzz" that he would not be throwing punches in this campaign, and that he regretted questioning Trump’s faith and felt he needed to apologize. So even though yesterday’s CBS/New York Times poll has him at 23 percent, close behind Trump’s 27 percent, I don’t expect Carson to take him on. The question for the “okay doctor” (in Trump’s words) is how he handles it if The Donald starts denigrating him.
The media are really hoping for a dustup involving Fiorina, whose Super PAC made a clever ad aimed at women, boasting she has earned every wrinkle on her 61-year-old face, after Trump told a Rolling Stone reporter, “Look at that face.” Trump has taken to hitting her as a failed CEO dumped by Hewlett-Packard, but keep in mind that she took him on in the Fox happy-hour debate, even though he wasn’t there.
“Never before in American presidential politics has a candidate who has drawn accusations of sexism and bullying been forced to personally confront the female recipient of his insults on live television,” the New York Times declares. “And with Mrs. Fiorina bragging that she is getting under Mr. Trump’s skin, their showdown is emerging as one of the most intriguing subplots of the second debate.”
And here’s the Wall Street Journal: “After punching her way onto the big stage, Carly Fiorina
is poised to take on her party’s heavyweights in Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate, where she will come face-to-face with the candidate who found fault with her face.”
Still, Carly was very restrained in responding to Facegate, telling Megyn Kelly only that she must be getting under Trump’s skin. So don’t expect any pro wrestling.
What’s getting a lot of traction online is Mark Halperin’s Bloomberg analysis of why Trump has a commanding position:
“With Trump, the rules have changed. So far, he has proven to be largely immune from attack, and also a master killer himself, with a unique political arsenal. With a few months to go before voters vote, Trump has squashed the poll numbers and personas of a host of his rivals, without resorting to significant traditional opposition research, paid media, or surrogates. He simply uses Instagram, Twitter, and his virtually unlimited access to the news media to unsheathe his sharp tongue, cutthroat sensibility, and unerring perverse humor. And Trump can shift to kill mode without strain or hesitation.
“From the get-go of his entrance in June, Trump has engaged intuitively in kill-or-be-killed tactics.”
Deadly rhetoric aside, one of the reasons I warned from the beginning that Trump shouldn’t be underestimated is that I saw how his buzzsaw style was sharpened in New York’s tabloid culture. But you can’t just be a Don Rickles figure. Some voters are also drawn to his successful career in real estate and reality TV, and the wealth that enables Trump to thumb his nose at the donor class.
One thing to watch: If Trump uses the debate to raise his recent arguments about overpaid CEOs and taxing hedge-fund millionaires, you’ll know he’s decided to shrug off the not-really-a-conservative attacks and stay on his populist path.
China reportedly compiling 'Facebook' of U.S. government employees
A private industry IT security firm tells Fox News that personal data stolen over the span of several high-profile U.S. cyber breaches is being indexed by China's intelligence service into a massive Facebook-like network.
According to CrowdStrike founder Dmitri Alperovitch, Chinese hackers are using information gained from the breaches of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, as well as intrusions into the Anthem and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield health insurance networks, to build a complete profile of federal employees in what the company calls a "Facebook of Everything."
"That can now be used to embarrass you publicly and force you to work for the Chinese government," Alperovitch told Fox News. "It's, in effect, a private version of Facebook with much more detail about your life than even Facebook has that the Chinese now have access to." Current and former intelligence officials echoed the assessment.
As Fox News has reported, the most sensitive information stolen in the OPM breach was lifted from what is known as the Standard Form 86, or SF-86. The 127-page security clearance application is essentially a road map to your life. It contains highly detailed information on everything from where an applicant lived and worked, to personal references, family members, friends and associates, as well as drug history and intimate health information.
What's startling is the fact that virtually all government employees and contractors who hold the top echelon of U.S. security clearances were impacted by the OPM breach, even the Director of the FBI. James Comey joked at an intelligence and national security summit last week that had his SF-86 been stored in a strongly encrypted database "maybe someone wouldn't be reading it today."
According to a law enforcement source close to the OPM investigation, the scope of the data stolen in the breach makes this a "generational problem." Fox News is told that the big worry among those in the Intelligence Community is the possibility that applicants’ associates, friends and family will be impacted. Of particular concern, according to this source, is the likelihood that information on applicants’ children could be leveraged against them down the road.
“To try to get them to reveal some information about their parent’s work and use that, eventually, for espionage activities,” Alperovitch explained to Fox News. “Information that has been collected about them may be used decades later.”
There is much concern among victims over the government’s response to the cyberattack, which left sensitive information on some 21.5 million individuals compromised. An intelligence source close to the OPM investigation tells Fox News that this is not an issue that can be fixed with merely a few years of credit monitoring – referring to the government’s current program that offers victims and their dependents credit and identity theft monitoring services free of charge.
While refusing to delve too far into specifics, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook on Tuesday acknowledged the severity of the lingering vulnerabilities associated with the breach and offered assurances that the government is working vigorously to mend the damage.
“This is going to be a wide-ranging effort on the part of the federal government to try and address this," Cook told reporters at a press briefing.
Probe of Illinois officer's death marked by tension between cops, coroner
The investigation into the death of an Illinois police officer earlier this month has been beset by clashes between the task force looking into the case and the local coroner, reports say.
Late Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that investigators met with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz last week without Lake County coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd's knowledge. The pathologist, identified as Manny Montez, confirmed to the paper that the meeting took place.
"They called me and told me to be present, so I showed up,” Montez said. “We went over my findings. They had copies of my sketches because I haven’t finalized my [autopsy] report yet."
Fox News first reported last week that two sources close to the case say evidence suggests that Gliniewicz, 52, a 30-year veteran of the Fox Lake, Ill. police force, could have shot himself, despite the original characterization of his death as an execution-style murder by police. Authorities say that while they continue to actively investigate the case as a homicide, they say they aren't ruling out suicide.
Rudd told the Sun-Times that he was "totally confused" when told that the meeting had happened without him. Montez's role is to report his autopsy findings to Rudd, who will make the final determination about the cause of Glieniewicz's death.
Rudd told Fox News last that Gliniewicz died from a “single, devastating” shot to the torso. He said he hasn’t made a ruling in the death and that suicide is a possibility. Earlier Tuesday, Lake County Sheriff's spokesman Christopher Covelli criticized Rudd to reporters, saying that the coroner had released details that could damage the investigation and claimed that Rudd had not told investigators that he would make such statements to the media.
Meanwhile, Fox 32 Chicago reported that authorities are also still waiting for the result of ballistics and DNA tests that could determine both whether Glinieweicz, 52, was shot with his own service weapon and if unknown DNA found at the scene matches anyone in a criminal database.The station also reported that computers belonging to Gliniewicz are being forensically analyzed at a laboratory and his social media presence is also being scrutinized. However, investigators are still waiting for certain websites to comply with requests by law enforcement.
The drama began on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 1 when Gliniewicz radioed in from a remote, marshy area that he was beginning a foot pursuit with three suspects, two white males and one black male. Shortly after that, his radio communication cut off—leaving police with minimal description of the men.
Minutes later, backup officers arrived and discovered Gliniewicz had been shot and killed. An enormous manhunt followed. Police quickly alerted the public to be on the lookout for the three suspects.
Sources tell Fox News two shell casings were found about 100 feet apart from each other near Gliniewicz’s body, which was discovered face down. His hand was in a gun position, the firearm “dropped at his body.”
One bullet hit Gliniewicz in his bulletproof vest. The second and fatal shot struck him underneath his vest, fired in a downward trajectory, near the heart. There was no sign of a struggle or defensive wounds—especially one to save his own life.
Two weeks after the officer’s death there are more questions than answers as police remain tight-lipped. There have been no arrests. There are no witnesses, suspects or concrete leads in the death of the father of four, who was regarded as a pillar of the community and known as “G.I. Joe.”
The FBI, ATF and Homeland Security participated in the investigation along with the Fox Lake Police Department, under the direction of Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko.
The story gained national attention as teams of media crews flooded the quiet town.
In the following days, Filenko hosted a series of news conferences in which he told reporters and the anxious community that nearby traffic cameras and home surveillance systems captured video depicting what appeared to be the three suspects—but it would take time to verify what was on the tapes.
As the unsolved death investigation carried on into the Labor Day weekend, neighbors and tourists in the picturesque “Chain O' Lakes” area took to the streets and blue waters with caution. Three “cop killers” were on the run, but people weren’t quite sure who or what they should be looking for.
The tree-lined streets of the quaint community were lined with blue ribbons and signs in Gliniewicz’s honor. A long line formed at a print shop that was giving out free posters depicting Gliniewicz. A local Motorola company offered a $50,000 reward for a tip and information leading to an arrest.
The following Monday, Gliniewicz was given a ceremonial funeral attended by over 5,000 police officers from around the country. Thousands of mourners stood along the streets and in their yards as the procession of over 1,600 police cars took hours to drive the 18-mile route to the cemetery. Gliniewicz was hailed as a hero, the latest officer to be killed in the line of duty.
The next day, one week after Gliniewicz died, Filenko hosted his final news conference to date in which he told the public the three suspects who were caught on tape, as described in Gliniewicz’s radio call, were cleared. Receipts and affidavits showed they were not the cop killers.
Filenko said investigators still consider the officer’s death a homicide and were analyzing crucial DNA found at the crime scene—which they said does not belong to Gliniewicz. But he would not specify what it was.
As the mystery deepens and theories abound, police insist the investigation will be a “marathon not a sprint.”
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Trump riles up conservative crowd over illegal immigration, sanctuary cities
Kicking off a busy week of campaigning, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump Monday got a sizeable crowd at Dallas’ American Airlines Center riled up over hot-button issues that he says anger conservative voters.
Trump received the most applause for his position on illegal immigration, which many voters in the crowd say the federal government is handling poorly. “It’s a massive problem we have to stop illegal immigration,” he explained. “It’s disgusting what is happening to our country, we are a dumping ground for the rest of the world.”
The crowd erupted when Trump went on the attack over sanctuary cities, in particular, the murder of Kate Steinle allegedly by an illegal immigrant, Francisco Sanchez. “Kate in San Francisco - this magnificent young woman shot in the back by a guy that was sent over here, probably pushed over, who knows but it was an illegal immigrant came over went to San Francisco - we have to end this sanctuary cities.”
Trump told the crowd that a wall would go a long way to contain illegal immigration. “We have to build a wall folks, and a wall works … we are going to have a great border, they are all over the place, we want people to be in our country legally.”
One voter in the crowd, who went by “John” explained to FoxNews.com that his family’s concerns over U.S. immigration policy is a main reason he’s rallying behind Trump.
Trump also went on the attack over American companies like Ford Motor Company opening up operations in Mexico. The U.S. car manufacturer announced earlier this year they would spend $2.5 billion on new engine and transmission plants in Mexico.
“A Ford plant is being built in Mexico for cars and trucks and everything and it’s actually not a bad idea, and they will save a fortune,” he explained.
If elected, Trump explained, he would impose a high tax on those imported cars. Thus, he says, “I would get a call from the head of Ford and I guarantee you after I tell them all no, they will call up and decide to move their plant back to the United States.”
Seattle sued over recycling inspectors keeping tabs on residents' trash
When it comes to garbage, the city of Seattle has launched a waste war.
Nine full-time solid waste inspectors have been hired as part of a controversial program to check city trash to make sure people are recycling. Additionally, contracted waste haulers have been effectively deputized as trash police, given the authority to tag bins when people fail to recycle and compost enough.
The program is now the subject of a lawsuit, as residents fume over what some call an intrusive government program.
“I understand people have noble goals,” said Keli Carender, who got tagged two weeks in a row, an offense that soon could bring a fine. “But at some point we have to say, you can’t violate my rights to achieve this noble goal.”
Carender is among 14,000 residential and commercial customers this year to get tagged. The sticker warns them that more than 10 percent of their trash content should have been recycled or put into compost bins.
She and several other so-called landfill scofflaws have sued the city, claiming it’s an invasion of their privacy. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled garbage, once left at the curb, is not protected private property under the 4th Amendment of the Constitution, residents have additional privacy protections in the Evergreen State.
“The Supreme Court of Washington state went the other direction,” said Ethan Blevins, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation who filed the lawsuit. “[It] said our state Constitution provides better protection, and we believe that people expect that our garbage is going to be protected from prying eyes.”
Blevins cites a ruling in which a criminal conviction was overturned on the grounds that the police found a key piece of evidence in the suspect’s trash without first obtaining a search warrant.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes issued a defense of the policy in a written response to the lawsuit. He said he believes the policy upholds the state Constitution and civil liberties because, “there is no intention of opening trash bags. Containers are only tagged if the contamination is clearly visible.”
The mandatory composting ordinance calls for fines ranging from $1 to $50 starting Jan. 1. There isn’t an appeals process, because the evidence is hauled away to the landfill.
Obama’s revamped college evaluation site ripped as ‘misleading,’ unnecessary
President Obama has launched a scaled-back college evaluation website that does not include what some in the higher-ed world had feared -- a government rating system of America’s roughly 7,000 colleges and universities.
But the site still has Washington asking questions about why the Department of Education is doing it in the first place.
Among the concerns is why spend taxpayer dollars when such for-profit operations as Barron's, The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report have for years been providing similar information and rankings.
“It’s definitely a government overreach, though less than they had talked about,” Neal McCluskey, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, told FoxNews.com on Monday. “The federal government shouldn’t be involved in assessing whether a college is good or bad.”
He also said underlying problems included little context about such factors as student bodies and suggested the federal government felt compelled to make the assessments given the roughly $150 billion it gives out annually in grants and loans.
Obama said in announcing a draft plan in 2013 that the administration would design a ratings system to judge colleges and universities on affordability and return on investment.
However, the ranking idea immediately encountered a backlash from congressional Republicans, who called it government overreach, and from many in higher education who feared it would be arbitrary and unfair.
Terry Hartle, the American Council on Education's senior vice president for government and public affairs, suggested the project is well intended, considering Americans want more information about the economic returns of going to a particular school.
However, he argued the scorecard has several “weaknesses,” including that it measures only students receiving financial aid, fails to break out the data according to school departments or majors and counts dropouts as wells as graduates.
“I think it’s incomplete and misleading,” Hartle said. “I hope people who look at it don’t read too much into it.”
The Department of Education did not return a request Monday for information about the cost of the project or keeping it updated.
After scrapping the rating idea, the administration announced earlier this summer that the scorecard would instead offer more data to help students and their families make better choices -- and draw their own conclusions.
The scorecard indeed provides innovative information like how much debt students leave with and what percentage can repay their loans.
And it offers the first comprehensive look at after-college earnings for students who attended all types of undergraduate institutions, based on tax records.
"Everyone should be able to find clear, reliable, open data on college affordability and value," Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio address. "
Cold War weaponry and modern military hardware: Inside the ISIS arsenal
In January the U.S. Central Command announced that U.S. and coalition airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria destroyed some 184 Humvees, 58 tanks and nearly 700 other vehicles. The number of ISIS military vehicles destroyed may seem significant, but is really just a drop in the bucket compared to the militants' overall firepower.
While specific numbers are difficult to come by, reports suggest that ISIS has a huge fleet of vehicles – including tanks - its possession. Last year, for example, the jihadists captured 2,300 Humvees from Iraqi forces when they captured the city of Mosul, some of which were then converted to armored vehicles.
Unlike traditional nation states ISIS doesn't produce tanks or other weapons in factories, and unlike past insurgent forces that were supported by a nation state ISIS isn't being armed or equipped by a major power either. Yet the group's fleet of vehicles continues to grow. In May ISIS captured U.S.-built equipment, including M1A1 tanks after the group took control of the town of Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad. The militants’ haul reportedly included about 100 wheeled vehicles and dozens of tracked vehicles.
Related: Historic tanks in pictures
There should be concern that ISIS has become so well armed, experts warn. In addition to modern military hardware, militants have also captured Cold War-era weaponry from Syrian forces. The nation was supported throughout the Cold War by the Soviet Union and built up vast quantities of Warsaw Pact armaments. Today those weapons – everything from AK-47 assault rifles to T-72 main battle tanks – are being utilized by all sides in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
"Syrian rebel groups probably make the most extensive use of heavy equipment at the moment, thanks largely to battlefield successes," Jeremy Binnie, Middle East/Africa Editor for IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, told FoxNews.com. "But that is also a product of the Syrian military's vast inventory of Soviet-era weapons and equipment, (as well as) its inability to destroy this materiel after it has been captured."
Many of these Syrian rebels likely served in the military at some point and this may provide them with the knowledge to operate and, more importantly, maintain the equipment.
Related Image
File
photo - Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along
the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
"Rocket-fired grenades and shoulder-launched missiles have long been available in black markets in the Middle East and Africa, but this higher-end stuff is coming from other sources," Seth Jones, director of international security and defense policy center at the RAND Corp. told FoxNews.com. "This really shows that conventional weapons are a reason for concern. In many ways we're largely past the stage of nuclear proliferation unless it was provided by a state, and that isn't likely to happen. However, these anti-aircraft weapon systems of all sizes are still a reason for concern."
Armored vehicles are increasingly a problem as well, and one factor is that tanks – especially Soviet era ones – aren't that difficult to maintain and are difficult to destroy.
"Modest investment in an old tank can become a successful weapons platform," David Willey, curator of The Tank Museum in the U.K., told FoxNews.com. "Today's modern anti-tank weapons now cost as much as what an old tank costs on the black market, so it makes destroying a tank an expensive proposition."
Related: High-tech military gear
The cost factor is largely because western doctrine in destroying a tank is far different to the likely tactics of a rebel force. "There is the cost of flying a combat aircraft and its weapons system," Robert Farley, assistant professor at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, told FoxNews.com.
Rebel groups might just as easily use a gasoline bomb – much like the Finnish-devised "Molotov Cocktail" of World War II – or other IED (improvised explosive device) added Farley. It may be rare that such improvised weapons could truly take out a tank but it would certainly put the crew at risk, especially if they are not locked inside the tank.
ISIS and other rebel groups, have largely, not attempted their own aerial sorties, despite the fact that combat aircraft from Iraq and Syria have also been captured.
"There are number of reasons why ISIS hasn't taken to the sky, even as there are reports that they do have people who could fly," Farley told FoxNews.com. "In the case of Iraq there are Sunni pilots who are likely fighting with ISIS, and the group even likely has maintenance crews who could prepare the planes for flight."
However, there are logistics to overcome, including the lack of proper fuel, not to mention spare parts. There is also the fact that a single plane can only do so much.
"You drive a tank down the road, and if it breaks you still have a tank that you can repair and the crew, which can still fight," Farley added. "If you put a vintage Soviet Mig21 in the air and it crashes it doesn't make a lot of sense."
The final equation for why ISIS aircraft remains grounded is likely a psychological, according to Farley, "ISIS knows that there are American fighter jocks who want nothing more than to put an ISIS flag on the cockpit and have a combat air kill. It is quick death for anyone who gets into an ISIS plane."
In fact, ISIS is just one of several group that have built up powerful arsenals that include weapons that were typically only fielded by major powers.
"The extent to which non-government forces use heavy weapons typically depends on the level of external support they receive, the local availability of such equipment, and their ability to maintain it," Binnie told FoxNews.com. “The Polisario Front [in Western Sahara] has numerous Soviet-era armored vehicles thanks to Algerian support rather than victories over the Moroccan military.”
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Other nations such as Libya and Iran have been the alleged suppliers of weapons to groups such as Al-Shabaab in Somalia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Since the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi large quantities of weapons have flown out of Libya and across the region. This included not only Gaddafi's vast caches of convention weapons but also small arms and other weapons intended to be used by the Libyan rebels. Now some of these weapons are reportedly in the hands of Al Qaeda-linked militants and other radicalized groups.
"It is certainly unhelpful to the west that a range of rebel groups in Africa, the Middle East and as far away as South East Asia have acquired everything from small arms to tanks," added Rand Corp.’s Jones. "It has facilitated their ability to achieve their objectives and there isn't enough emphasis that this access to weapons has given rise to rebel groups."
Al Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Shabaab and other groups certainly could have gotten weapons on the black market, but the lack of stable governments in Libya and Syria have made it easier for these groups to get armed – and with weapons past insurgents might have only dreamt of possessing.
"The collapse of the Libyan military in 2011 has allowed many of the militias in that country to obtain heavy equipment," added Binnie. "The same is true in Iraq after the military collapse in 2014, although the ISIS struggles to keep that equipment operational due to coalition airstrikes and probably a lack of spares and familiarity with U.S. equipment."
While the ISIS arsenal remains an ongoing concern for the U.S. and its allies in Operation Inherent Resolve, other shadows of the Cold War remain visible in the Middle East. The Pentagon, for example, has been warily eyeing a Russian military buildup in Syria as Moscow protects its interests in the civil-war ravaged country.
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