Saturday, April 4, 2015

A false choice and a flawed deal


The deal that the United States has negotiated with Iran poses a grave threat to American security at home and abroad.
U.S. officials know that Iran has had a long-term plan to gain a nuclear weapon and destabilize the region through its support of terrorist organizations. And it is known that President Rouhani has never agreed to full and unfettered United Nations inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The Iranian government has repeatedly, flagrantly violated sanctions put in place by the United Nations. We know that they have flat-out lied about every nuclear facility they have built over the last three decades.
This is not the behavior of a potential ally or of a partner. These are the actions of a country trying to bluff its way into persuading the United Nations, the United States, and its allies to allow it the freedom to develop a nuclear weapon for military purposes.
Because of these facts, we cannot trust anything they sign. Until Iran is prepared to (and opens its nuclear facilities to) full and unfettered UN-sanctioned inspections and demonstrates that they are willing to halt uranium enrichment, we cannot place any trust in any deal that is made.
This is not an agreement which will make Americans proud.
The message we have sent by making this deal is simple: Take our diplomats hostage for 444 days. Kill our soldiers. Cheat, lie, and be a menace to our allies in the Middle East. Raise the cost of international security, threaten your neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and support terrorist groups. Assassinate dissidents abroad and kill young Iranians who are fed up with your tyranny. Do all of that and we will reward you. We will treat you like a partner, like an ally, and we will place our trust in you.
This message has been received by Iran and by our allies, all of whom will view this deal as a capitulation by Washington. We were once viewed as an international leader that our allies could rely upon. We demonstrated our strength and capabilities, protected human rights, and led the fight to stamp out terrorism. We are sending a message to the world now that rogue governments can quash free speech, sponsor terrorism and denigrate our way of life, all with the tacit consent of the United States government.
The Iranian government has requested untenable concessions to legitimize their earlier violations of international law -- and this administration has given in to these requests. The U.N. Security Council has repeatedly called for Iran to stop its uranium enrichment efforts, but this deal recognizes Iran’s right to enrich uranium. Iran secretly built numerous uranium enrichment facilities in violation of its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty commitments. This deal would legitimize those facilities.
This is not an agreement which will make Americans proud. It is not a deal that demonstrates our strength and resolve at home and abroad. Our allies will not point to this as a signal of our continued support.
It is a sad chapter of American history when President Obama and Secretaries Kerry and Clinton are more concerned with their legacy than they are with our national security. Unfortunately, this behavior is no longer unexpected; it continues six years of alienating our allies, weakening our international stature, and negotiating with states who have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted.
Too often, this administration has presented the American people with a choice: follow our flawed national security strategy that destabilizes regions and undermines our allies or commits thousands of American ground troops to a protracted war. This is a false choice. There are other options -- and a bi-partisan Congress should insist on voicing their opposition to this deal. We have many other options that have been left unexplored or underutilized. We should start by providing the support our Jordanian, Egyptian, Kurdish, Saudi, and Emirati allies have asked for.
We cannot let this agreement with Iran follow the disastrous Russian “reset” orchestrated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We cannot make concessions to a government which will then take advantage of our trust. We must meet these governments with strength.
This type of foreign policy cannot continue. We must stand up for our allies and for our American interests. We must re-assert American leadership and strength abroad. The world is a more dangerous and tragic place when America is not leading. For these reasons, we cannot and must not accept this deal with Iran.
Lt. General Michael T. Flynn served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and chair of the Military Intelligence Board from 2012 to 2014

Arson threat targeting Christian pizzeria just a 'mean tweet,' says Indiana news exec


The news director for an Indiana TV station was taking heat Friday for downplaying a high school coach's alleged Twitter threat to "burn down" a controversial pizzeria as merely a “mean tweet.”
WBND-TV news boss Aaron Ramey used the arguably mild characterization to describe a Tweet attributed to Jess Dooley, head coach of the girl’s golf team at Concord High School in Elkhart, that called for people to help her set fire to Memories Pizza in Walkerton.
“Who’s going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza w me?” Dooley tweeted after Crystal O’Connor told Ramey’s South Bend station Wednesday that her family’s pizzeria would not cater to gay weddings because of their Christian beliefs. .
The threatening tweet from Dooley prompted a police investigation, a referral to prosecutors and Dooley's suspension. While police, Dooley's school and the family that owns the restaurant took the Twitter threat seriously, Ramey did not, according to critics.
“Teacher suspended for mean tweet about pizza place who won't cater gay weddings,” Ramey said in a tweet Wednesday that has since been deleted.

Lesbian Jess Dooley, head coach of the girl’s golf team

 

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The school district suspended Dooley from her coaching duties pending further investigation. She deleted her Twitter account.
The Elkhart Truth said Dooley was a paraprofessional at Concord, not a teacher. Her employer is the Elkhart County Special Education Cooperative, which did not return calls for comment from the paper.
Walkerton Police Department investigated Dooley’s tweet and referred the case to local prosecutors for possible charges of harassment, intimidation and threats, Fox 28 reported Wednesday.
Ramey and his station’s general manager Jeff Guy, did not respond to requests for comment from FoxNews.com Friday.
Ramey’s “mean” characterization drew a fierce reaction on Twitter.
“When you threaten to burn down #Memories Pizza that is not a mean tweet. ITS TERRORISM!” one Twitter user said. “@adramey, @ABC57News burning someones establishment down is a mean tweet? Ae you for real?” another said.
“’Mean Tweet.’ She asked who wanted to come with her to burn the place down,” still another tweeted.
WBND’s report on Memories Pizza became targets of gay marriage proponents after the story went viral and got picked up by national media outlets. Hackers attacked pizzeria's website with gay porn.
The firestorm prompted O’Connor and her father to go into hiding and temporarily shut down their business.
A crowd-funding effort on behalf of Memories Pizza has taken in over $530,000 from 18,000 people in just two days.

Gov’t program would fly in Central American children to join parents in US


Images of unaccompanied children flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border defined the immigration crisis last summer.
Now, the federal government is intervening so these children won’t have to make that trek -– they’ll get to fly into the U.S. instead. For free.
A new State Department and Department of Homeland Security program seeks to stop the surge of immigrant children from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador at the southern border by giving their U.S.-based parents the option to apply to have their kids picked up and put on a plane, without paying a penny.
The parents are eligible as long as they have some sort of legal status. As first reported in The Daily Caller, this would include permanent residents and even illegal immigrants given a work permit and deportation reprieve under President Obama’s recent executive actions, though much of that is on hold due to a pending court case. Of them, those with children under 21 and living in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras reportedly could apply.
"I think many Americans are going to be surprised to learn that illegal aliens here in the United States are getting the Obama administration to go and get their children and fetch them," Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, told Fox News. "And all at our expense."
In a November memo, the State Department explained that reuniting families this way is "a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States."
So far, the State Department has not provided a cost for the plane tickets, or the benefits that follow upon their arrival in America. Asked Friday about the issue, spokeswoman Marie Harf said: “The price tag? I don't know.”
"Under this program, they would be quote 'refugees,' and refugees have access to government benefits that other illegal aliens don't," Fitton said.
Judicial Watch lists "free education, food stamps, medical care, and living expenses," as some of those complimentary benefits.
But not everybody believes this program will be a drain for taxpayers.
"I think it's good for the tax base," said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha. "Every year, 13 billion dollars are put into the Social Security Trust Fund from undocumented immigrants. So if you have immigrants here who are working, who are doing the jobs that need to be done, that's money going into our tax system. People will say that it's free health care, that it's free education. Nothing in this town is free."
Still, critics are concerned this new policy sets a dangerous precedent, ignoring the long line of people waiting to get into this country through more traditional immigration channels.
"My gosh, what does the rule of law mean if you break the law to get here, and then you get the government to help bring the rest of your family?" Fitton asked.

University cancels church’s Easter service


Easter Sunday is sort of like the Super Bowl for preachers.
It’s all but guaranteed the pews will be packed and that presented a challenge to Roderick Richardson, the pastor of The Word Center Church in Jackson, Miss.
The non-denominational church has a membership of about 1,200 people – but only 275 can fit in the sanctuary. And the preacher estimated they could have as many as 1,500 people show up for Easter Sunday. http://www.thewordcity.com/
So last January Pastor Richardson started scouting out a new location for his growing church. And it wasn’t long before he found a solution – a conference center run by the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
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He signed a contract to rent the space on Jan. 27. On March 27 – the university abruptly canceled the contract and told the church they would not be allowed to use their facility.
“It was a week and two days before the largest service of the year,” Pastor Richardson told me. “They told me the climate at UMMC was not conducive for us to have a service at the facility.”
The climate was not conducive?
“They were afraid IHL might come and say something about a church having a service (in their facility),” the pastor said. IHL is also known as the State Institutions of Higher Learning, the agency that oversees Mississippi’s eight public institutions of higher learning.
“We’re not angry at them because we are Christians,” the pastor said. “We’re just a little frustrated that this particular institution did not keep its word.”
Marc Rolph, a spokesman for UMMC, confirmed they canceled the church’s contract – a week and two days before Easter Sunday.
“It was unfortunate that the timing of the cancellation was so close to (the) date of the event,” Rolph told me.
He denied it had anything to do with the church being a church. He said the booking should never have been made in the first place because they only allow their facilities to be used by health-related organizations.
“The event is not health related and thus is not compliant with our policy,” Rolph said.
He said they didn’t realize the church was a church until last week when the director of the facility ran it up the flag pole.
“It was deemed not within the guidelines of our policy and could not be allowed. The church was immediately notified,” Rolph said.
UMMC offered to let the church hold their service inside a medical mall instead. The church declined that offer. I mean – who wants to hold a church service in a mall?
Pastor Richardson said UMMC’s excuse doesn’t make any sense.
“If that was a policy we should have been told back in January when we signed the contract,” he said. “We’ve been preparing for this for two and a half months.”
And it’s not like the church was hiding the fact it was a church.
“On the very first page of the contract it asked for the type of event and it says ‘church service’,” the pastor told me.
Pastor Richardson told me he feels like David battling Goliath.
“They are so large and so powerful they can do us however they want,” he said. “They simply did not conduct business in an adequate fashion.”
The church has been forced to hold services in their small sanctuary. The pastor said they will accommodate the crowds by holding multiple services throughout the day.
The Word Center Church signed a contract in good faith with UMMC. It wasn’t their fault the UMMC made a mistake. So why not honor the contract and allow these good people to hold their Easter service?
“We have to follow our policies,” Rolph said.
There’s a strong argument to make that the church does meet the UMMC’s guidelines of being a health-related organization.
A quick reading of the New Testament indicates our Lord was in the healing business. There are documented reports of giving sight to the blind, healing a leper and even raising someone from the dead.
I’m not too sure the Great Physician would be all that thrilled with the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

State Department rejects call for Iran deal to affirm Israel's 'right to exist'


A State Department official dismissed a plea Friday from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Iran nuclear agreement include clear recognition of his nation's "right to exist," declaring negotiations are "only about the nuclear issue."
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, in a terse response to a question about Netanyahu's concerns, told reporters, "This is an agreement that is only about the nuclear issue" -- a comment that indicates the Obama administration is not looking to enshrine Israel's security into a final agreement.
Harf, for her part, suggested the talks are complicated enough already.
"This is an agreement that doesn't deal with any other issues, nor should it," she said.
Obama administration officials have insisted all along that despite their public disagreement with Netanyahu over the Iran deal framework, the U.S. commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Further, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that the U.S. would not agree to any deal that would threaten Israel.
The Israeli prime minister, though, made the call for the "right to exist" measure during brief remarks early Friday. He blasted the Iran framework deal and said his Cabinet is uniformly opposed to it. He closed his brief address by demanding that any final agreement include "a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist."
The statement was prompted by reported statements from a top Iranian military official, who was quoted saying "erasing Israel" off the map is "non-negotiable."
To that, Netanyahu said: "The survival of Israel is non-negotiable."
Israel's objections promise to be a major hurdle for the Obama administration as its representatives huddle with those from Iran and five other world powers in pursuit of a final deal by a June 30 deadline.
Last month, Netanyahu railed against the pending agreement in an address before the U.S. Congress. He repeated many of those concerns again, on Thursday and Friday, after the framework was unveiled.
Netanyahu said it would not shut down a single nuclear facility or destroy a single centrifuge.
"The deal would legitimize Iran's illegal nuclear program," Netanyahu said. "It would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure."
President Obama and Netanyahu spoke by phone late Thursday.
In a statement on that conversation, the White House said Obama "underscored that progress on the nuclear issue in no way diminishes our concerns with respect to Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and threats towards Israel and emphasized that the United States remains steadfast in our commitment to the security of Israel. "
According to the White House, Obama told his Israeli counterpart he has directed his national security team to "increase consultations with the new Israeli government about how we can further strengthen our long-term security cooperation with Israel and remain vigilant in countering Iran's threats."

Friday, April 3, 2015

Easter Cartoon


Seattle minimum wage increase takes effect and eating out gets more expensive

New High Tech Wages, Washing Dishes?

Eating meals out in Seattle just got more expensive as tens of thousands of low wage workers got a raise this week to $11 an hour. It was the first scheduled pay increase on the way to $15 an hour, the highest minimum wage in the country.
Ivar’s Salmon House, an iconic Seattle seafood restaurant, decided to skip the phase-in period and began paying $15 right away.
It also raised menu prices 21 percent. The famous Fish ‘n Chips will run you $20.60 and the Wild Alaska Halibut is now $43.50. The restaurant also wrote on the menu, "Tipping is no longer necessary…we have changed the way we pay our employees."
But that’s not all. In order to keep servers, who used to earn an average of $27 an hour, from quitting, Ivar’s is now sharing revenue among all workers. Owners believe the new formula will have servers and bartenders making the same amount or more money, while dishwashers, cooks and busboys will get a nice pay raise. Of course, it all depends on the amount of business the restaurant does.
Fast food restaurants are taking it much slower, but they’re still charging more. One Subway in South Seattle that’s now paying workers $11 raised prices four percent.
“I don’t have a choice but to increase prices,” said Subway franchisee David Jones. “I just hope that the public rewards us for giving good service and having good food.”
But not everyone is celebrating a fatter paycheck. Public employers may not be bound by the $15 ordinance. Seattle’s biggest employer, with 39,000 employees, is the University of Washington. Officials say the money is not currently there to pay 2,600 student employees $11 an hour. They still are making the state minimum wage of $9.47.
Student workers protested this week and some say they’ll walk.
“If we can get $15 an hour four blocks from here, we’ll go four blocks from here and get it,” said Eric Riner, who works in the student Hub.
From the Seattle school district to King County, every other public employer said it now is paying the higher wages. None would detail how they will afford the higher labor costs, but the Seattle College District listed some options. That list includes reduction in services, increase in fees/prices and eliminating services such as catering and fitness centers.
Kshama Sawant, the $15 wage ordinance architect who is a Seattle City Councilwoman and a Socialist, said the University of Washington, in particular, has other ways of affording the raises.
“It is disingenuous for them to say they don’t have enough to pay $15 an hour,” said Sawant, “Why don’t they cut the salaries of the top executives and try to pay $15 and try to increase the wages for the lowest paid workers?”
But critics contend there will be plenty of losers and they won’t be the high rollers. Taxpayers may see taxes go up to pay for higher public employee wages. There’s also concern about the number of jobs and who will fill them.
Paul Guppy, policy analyst at the Washington Policy Center, a Libertarian think tank, said some jobs will leave Seattle, and the least skilled will be squeezed out of those that remain.
“Youth unemployment in particular will be higher in Seattle,” said Guppy. “It will be harder for people to find a summer job or students to add to their income when they’re in college.”
Small businesses have seven years to work up to paying $15 an hour, while big companies that employ at least 500 workers must get there in just three years. It’s a wage experiment that will be watched closely across the U.S.

Menendez pleads not guilty to federal corruption, bribery charges


New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of corruption and bribery.
A Newark grand jury indicted the 61-year-old senator Wednesday on 14 counts of federal corruption in a 68-page indictment.
Menendez has been released on his own recognizance but was forced to surrender his personal passport.
A status conference has been scheduled for April 23, with a tentative July 13 trial date.
Menendez’s friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, was indicted on 13 counts, including eight bribery charges. Melgen also pleaded not guilty.
The case revolves around alleged gifts and favors Melgen did for the senator, who in turn allegedly helped out the wealthy Florida doctor on several occasions.
The indictments against Menendez and Melgen will likely result in a drawn-out court battle between them and a team of federal prosecutors who have spent years building their case against the two men. Menendez, who is a powerful Capitol Hill Democrat and a leading critic of the Obama administration's Cuba and Iran policies, vowed to fight.
“At the end of the day, I will be vindicated and they will be exposed,” Menendez said at a Wednesday press conference. “This is not how my political career is going to end. I am angry and ready to fight. I am not going anywhere.”
Pricey trips, private planes and young foreign models are all at the heart of the federal criminal case. Prior to the release of the indictment, what was known about the case centered on favors Menendez allegedly did for Melgen concerning his business dealings.
But the indictment also claims the senator helped Melgen’s international girlfriends gain entry to the United States. Court records detail extracurricular activities that include the use of a Caribbean villa, luxury hotel stays in Paris but perhaps most salacious, using political power to secure visas for three of those girlfriends, as well as the visa application of the younger sister of one of Melgen’s girlfriends.
“Throughout these efforts, Menendez allegedly engaged in advocacy for Melgen all the way up to the highest level of the U.S. government, including meeting with a U.S. cabinet secretary, contacting a U.S. ambassador, meeting with the heads of executive agencies and other senior executive officials and soliciting other U.S. senators, all in order to assist Melgen’s personal and pecuniary interests,” the government claims.
According to the indictment, in 2007 Melgen's then-girlfriend, a Brazilian national who worked as an actress, model and lawyer, wanted to go to graduate school at the University of Miami near where Melgen lived. The school required her to obtain a student visa. On July 24, 2008, the day before her visa application appointment in Brazil, Menendez’s senior policy adviser allegedly emailed the deputy assistant secretary at Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs:
“The senator asked me to get in touch with you about the following visa applicant. If it is helpful, I can send over a signed letter from the Senator with the details. Thank you for your help with anything you can do to facilitate the following application.”
The email goes on to state: “Sen. Menendez would like to advocate unconditionally for Dr. Melgen and encourage careful consideration of (the girlfriend’s) visa application.”
One day later, the visa was approved. Another email was sent from Menendez’s office: “Thanks a lot (DAS), the senator very much appreciates your help.”
During another incident in October 2008, Melgen asked for Menendez’s help in getting a tourist visa for another girlfriend, a Dominican model, 21, and her sister, 18. Menendez’s office sent a “general letter of support” from the senator on behalf of the two sisters. He also pledged a follow-up call.
On Oct. 28, 2008, the girlfriend emailed Melgen to ask for a copy of the letter the senator’s office sent.
Her email, according to the indictment,  reads:
“Hello my love, I write to remind you that you need to send me a copy of what Senator Bob Menendez’s office sent you, which I need for the embassy. And also remember the bank thing please. Thank you. A kiss.”
The United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic initially denied the visa requests because the women lacked children, cash and employment.
When told the visas were denied, Menendez reportedly said, “I would like to call Ambassador tomorrow and get a reconsideration or possibly our contact at State. Thanks.”
The staffer wrote back to Menendez asking if the senator would rather wait for the outcome of a follow-up letter or call the ambassador immediately.
Menendez responded, “Call ambassador asap.”
The girlfriend and her sister had both of their visas approved.
Two staffers from Menendez’s office discussed the deal via email, according to the indictment.
“2 people from the DR who wants visas to visit Dr. Melgem (sic) GOT THEM,” one staffer wrote.
Another staffer replied, “In my view, this is ONLY DUE to the fact that RM intervened. I’ve told RM.”
Menendez’s staff also reportedly drafted a letter in 2007 on behalf of a Ukrainian model living in Spain. She wanted to come to the U.S. to visit Melgen as well as for plastic surgery, according to the indictment.
“Dr. Melgen is a person of the highest caliber,” according to the letter sent to the consul general. “He is a fine citizen and held in high esteem by his peers.”

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