Border crisis: Central American leaders convening at White House

                             

Bailey: "Idiot pictured in middle to represent America?"

WASHINGTON –  President Barack Obama is summoning Central American leaders to the White House to discuss the influx of young immigrants from their countries to the U.S., hoping to show presidential action even as Congress remains deeply split over proposals to stem the crisis on the border.
The meeting comes as the administration is considering creating a pilot program giving refugee status to young people from Honduras, White House officials said Thursday. The plan would involve screening youths in their home country to determine whether they qualify for refugee status. The program would be limited and would start in Honduras but could be expanded to include other Central American countries.
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, speaking Thursday in Washington, said he hadn't heard about the plan but expected it to come up Friday. He said Central American nations have sought to pursue a unified approach. "We expect that the solution to this problem also is equal for the three countries," he said.
Besides Molina, Obama was to host Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and El Salvador's President Salvador Sanchez Ceren on Friday, the day after they met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are considering Obama's requests for emergency funds and additional authority to send unaccompanied children back to their home countries more quickly. Those lawmakers appear unlikely to resolve their differences on either front before leaving Washington late next week for their annual August recess.
With critics claiming Obama's own policies triggered the crisis, the president has been eager to demonstrate an aggressive approach to reducing the flow of immigrants and returning those found not to have a legitimate claim to stay here.
The U.S. has mounted a communications campaign to inform Central American residents that they won't be allowed to stay in the U.S., and Obama sent a team to Texas this week to weigh the possibility of dispatching the National Guard to the border.
Under the in-country screening program the White House is considering, the legal standard for youths to qualify for refugee status would remain the same as it is for those who seek the status after arriving in the U.S., officials said, adding that the goal is to deter children who would not ultimately qualify for refugee status from attempting the dangerous trek. The officials briefed reporters ahead of Obama's meeting on the condition they not be identified by name.
More than 57,000 minors have arrived since October, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The trio of nations has become one of the most violent regions in the world in recent years, with swaths of all three countries under the control of drug traffickers and street gangs that rob, rape and extort ordinary citizens with impunity.
In recent weeks the number of children being apprehended daily has fallen by roughly half, but White House officials said seasonal patterns or other factors unrelated to the administration's efforts may be to thank for some of the decline.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with the Guatemalan and Honduran presidents Thursday. He said he was impressed by what the leaders were doing to crack down on human trafficking. Yet he said he also made clear the responsibility those governments had to follow through as the U.S. considers sending more money to Central America to help address the problem.
Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency spending, but lawmakers were looking at cutting that number down significantly. At the same time, Republicans said they wouldn't agree to any money without policy changes to give the government more authority to turn kids around fast at the border and send them home.

IRS Cartoon

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/

Border crisis: Latino media not presenting a fair and balanced debate on immigration

Duh!

I’m going to take a strong stance on what I perceive to be biased reporting by a majority of the Latino media – most notably Univision, Telemundo and similar stations. In my opinion, these networks are presenting a prejudiced take on the crisis at the Texas border, in which thousands of children from Central America are crossing over into the United States.
I call it bias, because the only news stories I see from these networks paint the issue as a humanitarian catastrophe and depict some Americans as heartless or indifferent towards the issue. From Univision and Telemundo, I constantly hear about all of the human casualties near the border and how Central American refugees must be allowed to stay, no matter what.

It seems that the Latino networks just care about keeping their viewers happy and simpatico, so that they return each day to watch the latest programming.

But what I don’t hear is a balanced debate about immigration control or any criticism of these refugees' countries, such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras or even Mexico – nations which have been overrun by gangs and police and government corruption. 
I don’t hear enough Latino journalists discussing how these nations bear a responsibility to ensure the safety of their citizens. 
Nor do I hear Latino journalists discussing how citizens of these countries should demand better elected officials so that there would be no need for them to run from their homelands.
The crisis reminds me of that old saying: “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” We need to discuss ways to fix the root of this problem, rather than address its symptoms.
But the reason most Americans don’t comment on this media bias is because all these news broadcasts are in Spanish, tailor-made for these specific ethnic groups. To me, it seems that the Latino networks just care about keeping their viewers happy and simpatico, so that they return each day to watch the latest programming. Meanwhile, the networks are not presenting them with alternative view points, discussions about problem solving or scenarios that could arise from an out-of-control border.
Tuesday night on "The Factor," Bill O’Reilly made a brilliant observation about an anchor from Univision named Jorge Ramos. To me, the only talking point from Mr. Ramos on this immigration debate revolves around the humanitarian issue, but he has no words on how to control it, or who should be held responsible. Now I tell you, what do you think he and his peers are saying in the Latino media?
Mr. Ramos even tried to compare the immigration crisis to the Cuban exile – something I found offensive. The Cuban exile is a political exodus, in which an oppressive regime, similar to that of North Korea has been destroying individual freedoms and repressing the rights of its citizens to self-express. In Cuba, nearly everything is controlled by the government, and you can go to jail on the drop of a dime – and hundreds of Cubans have died under this oppressive regime.
Countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador have freedom of expression, open markets, and other civil liberties. Instead, their problems consist of corruption and a lack of a moral compass. So don’t compare the Cuban exile with the problems seen in Central America. 
At the end of the day, Latino media is just going to keep on growing. But as journalistic entities in America, they also bear the responsibility of being fair and balanced rather than picking stories that fit a biased narrative. There’s only one United States of America, and we must all protect its integrity and future.

Fox News Poll: Voters say Obama exceeded authority, but oppose impeachment

Idiot Voters!

Despite believing Barack Obama has overstepped his authority as president, most voters reject calls to impeach him for that -- or for any other reason.
By a 58-37 percent margin, the latest Fox News poll finds that voters think President Obama exceeded his authority under the Constitution when he unilaterally changed the health care law by executive order. 
Click here for the poll results.
And, more generally, a similar majority disapproves of Obama bypassing Congress, acting unilaterally and refusing to enforce laws he disagrees with: 37 percent approve, while 58 percent disapprove. 
Obama’s use of executive power plays well with the party faithful, as a 64-percent majority of Democrats approves of his actions, while a majority of every other demographic group disapproves (including fully 91 percent of Republicans). 
Some prominent Republicans, including 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, have called for the president’s impeachment. Yet more than six voters in 10 oppose impeaching Obama for changing some laws and failing to enforce others or “for any other reason” (61 percent). Some 36 percent favor impeachment.
Nearly four in 10 Democrats think Obama is guilty of executive overreach on changing the Obamacare law (39 percent), and one in five Democrats favors impeaching their party’s leader (20 percent).
Among Republicans, 83 percent consider Obama’s actions on the health care law a violation of the Constitution. Yet far fewer Republicans -- although still a 56-percent majority -- favor impeachment. 
Fifty-five percent of independents believe Obama violated the Constitution, and 37 percent favor impeachment (61 percent are opposed).
The highest level of support for impeaching Obama -- 68 percent -- is among those who are part of the Tea Party movement.
Overall, 81 percent of those favoring impeachment believe President Obama went beyond his authority when he changed the health care law unilaterally. 
Charges that Obama has violated the Constitution have helped raise the political temperature in Washington this summer. In early July, House Speaker John Boehner took steps to file a lawsuit against Obama for his “failure to follow the Constitution” on the health care law by altering the individual mandate via executive order. On Tuesday two federal appeals courts took opposing views on whether Obama illegally ignored the language of the Obamacare law to give federal subsidies to people who are not entitled to them. Despite one court ruling that says he did, the White House announced subsidies will continue. 
Forty-one percent of voters approve of how Obama is handling health care, while 54 percent disapprove. That’s a bit of an improvement from last month’s 41-56 percent rating. It also makes health care his best issue, topping the job performance ratings he receives on the economy (40-57 percent), foreign policy (36-56 percent) and immigration (34-58 percent). 
Pollpourri
Obama has the most powerful job in the world -- and all the perks that go with that. Yet he’s been criticized by some for seeming disengaged and frustrated with his job. What does the public think? The poll finds a large 41-percent minority thinks Obama doesn’t even want to be president anymore. Still, just over half of voters think he does (52 percent). 
Forty-seven percent of independents, 44 percent of Republicans and 37 percent of Democrats think Obama is tired of being president.
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,057 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from July 20-22, 2014. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Hamas resists Kerry's attempts at cease-fire deal as fighting rages

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/24/kerry-attempts-to-coax-cease-fire-agreement-out-hamas-as-gaza-violence-rages/

Fox News Poll: 58 percent say Obama administration incompetent at managing gov't

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/23/fox-news-poll-58-percent-say-obama-administration-incompetent-at-managing-govt/

Purged by ISIS, Iraq's Christians appeal to world for help

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/23/purged-by-isis-iraq-christians-appeal-to-world-for-help/

Iraqi Christians are begging for help from the civilized world after Mosul, the northern city where they have lived and worshiped for 2,000 years, was purged of non-Muslims by ISIS, the jihadist terror group that claims to have established its own nation in the region.
Assyrian Christians, including Chaldean and Syriac Catholics, Syriac Orthodox and followers of the Assyrian Church of the East have roots in present day Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran that stretch back to the time of Jesus Christ. While they have long been a minority and have faced persecution in the past, they had never been driven completely from their homes as has happened in Mosul under ISIS. When the terror group ordered all to convert to Islam, pay a religious tax or face execution, many chose another option: flight.
"By 12 noon on Saturday, the Christians -- all of them -- left the city," Yousif Habash, an Iraqi-born bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church, told FoxNews.com.
Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, included 60,000 Christians in 2003. By last month, the number had dwindled to just 35,000. It now stands at zero, according to Ignatius Yousef Younan III, patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church.
"We have to pray to wake our master, the Lord Jesus," a somber Younan, who was in Mosul earlier this month and has discussed the situation with the Pope, said Wednesday on Fox & Friends. 
Habash, who roundly criticized the Obama administration and the United Nations, specifically, for what he called their "careless absence" in taking action against the militants, said such violent intolerance demanded action from the international community.

"Where is the conscience of the world? Where is the United Nations? Where is the American administration to protect peace and justice?"- Yousif Habash, Iraqi-born bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church

"Where is the conscience of the world? Where is the United Nations? Where is the American administration to protect peace and justice?" he asked. "Nobody has said a word."
Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, is the "first cradle of Christianity in Iraq," Habash said. But after Islamic militants seized the city on June 10, Arabic letters with a chilling ultimatum were left at the homes of Iraqi Christians.
"The letter said that if you don't convert or if you don't pay, there is a sword between you and us, meaning execution," Habash said. 
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned ISIS's actions on Sunday, a day after Mosul's Christian population fled to other areas, such as the nearby self-rule Kurdish region. 
"What is being done by the Daesh terrorist gang against our Christian citizens in Ninevah province, and their aggression against the churches and houses of worship in the areas under their control reveals beyond any doubt the extremist criminal and terrorist nature of this group," al-Maliki said in a statement released by his office. "Those people, through their crimes, are revealing their true identity and the false allegations made here and there about the existence of revolutionaries among their ranks."
Pope Francis also called for an end to Christian persecution in Mosul, holding a moment of silence Sunday in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
"Violence isn't overcome with violence. Violence is conquered with peace," the pope told the crowd. "Our brothers and sisters are persecuted, they are chased away."
The U.N. said on Sunday that at least 400 families from Mosul -- including other religious and ethnic minority groups -- had sought refuge in the northern provinces of Irbil and Dohuk.
Dr. Sallama Al Khafaji, a member of the Iraq High Commission for Human Rights, reportedly told a local news agency that ISIS militants forced their way into the home of an Assyrian family in Mosul, demanding a "jizya" or poll tax. When the family said they could not produce the money, three jihadist militants raped the mother and daughter in front of the husband and father, who later committed suicide, according to the report. 
Mosul is home to some of the most ancient Christian communities, but the number of Christians has dwindled since 2003. On Sunday, militants seized the 1,800-year old Mar Behnam Monastery, about 15 miles south of Mosul. The resident clergymen left to the nearby city of Qaraqoush, according to local residents.
Irbil's governor, Nawzad Hadi, has pledged to protect fleeing Christians and other minority groups. The territory is currently home to more than 2 million refugees and internally displaced people from Iraq and Syria, according to the United Nations.

Businessman David Perdue defeats Rep. Jack Kingston in runoff to win Georgia GOP Senate nomination

Businessman David Perdue narrowly defeated 11-term Rep. Jack Kingston Tuesday in a Republican runoff election for Georgia's U.S. Senate nomination, setting up a general election race against Democrat Michelle Nunn with national implications. 
With all precincts reporting, Perdue led Kingston by approximately 8,500 votes out of over 480,000 cast. 
Perdue's victory validates the former corporate CEO's campaign as an outsider. The former CEO of Reebok, Dollar General and the failed textile firm Pillowtex, Perdue offered his private sector record and tremendous wealth as proof that he can help solve the nation's ills in a Congress largely devoid of experienced business titans. He spent more than $3 million of his own money blasting Kingston -- and other primary rivals before that -- as a career politician, including one ad depicting his rivals as crying babies.
"If we want to change Washington, then we've got to change the people we send to Washington," he would say as he met voters.
Perdue also received more votes than Kingston in the initial May primary, but both men fell well shy of the majority necessary to win without a runoff.
As he did in May, Kingston ran up huge margins across southeast Georgia, where he's represented Georgia's 1st Congressional District since 1993. In his home Chatham County, he won 86 percent, with about 12,500 more votes than Perdue. But Perdue erased Kingston's home base advantage by running more consistently around the rest of the state, particularly in the heavily populated Atlanta and its suburbs. Perdue won Fulton County and all the surrounding counties that make up the metropolitan area.
With the win, Perdue overcame a Kingston coalition that spanned the internal GOP struggle between tea party conservatives and traditional GOP powers. Kingston ran with the endorsement and more than $2.3 million in advertising support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a titan of the Washington establishment. But he also garnered backing from tea party leaders and Karen Handel, the tea party favorite who finished third in the May primary.
Kingston, 59, ran as an 11-term congressman in a year when voters have expressed widespread dissatisfaction with the nation's direction, arguing that his record proves his conservative credentials. He pitched his range of endorsements as proof of his appeal across ideological barriers.
Yet the returns suggest that wasn't enough to trump a political reality: Americans typically love their congressman but loathe Congress as a whole.
Kingston said leading up to the runoff vote that he would back Perdue in November if he won the nomination, saying that the higher priority is displacing Nevada Sen. Harry Reid as majority leader. Republicans need six more seats to win Senate control and cannot afford to lose retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss' seat.
"David Perdue is a strong leader with a proven business record, who will come to Washington with fresh ideas and a passion for solutions," Chambliss said in a statement late Tuesday. "Georgia deserves a representative who will work to solve our fiscal crisis and put our country back on track."
National Democrats view Nunn, the 47-year-old daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn, as one of their best opportunities to pick up a GOP-held seat. She's raised more than $9 million and reported $2.3 million left to spend earlier this month. Perdue reported less than $800,000, but his personal wealth ensures that his campaign doesn't have to worry about money.
Perdue's win could require a strategic shift for the new Republican nominee and his Democratic opponent, since they now can't simply run against the sitting Congress and its discord.
Nunn, an Atlanta nonprofit executive, uses her father, an old-guard Southern Democrat who served four terms, as an example of what kind of senator she'd be. She also eagerly highlights her tenure as executive of Republican former President George H.W. Bush's foundation.