Conservative Blogger
Friday, September 4, 2015
EXCLUSIVE: Kentucky Clerk: 'This is a fight worth fighting'
UPDATE: A federal judge has ordered a defiant Kentucky clerk to jail after she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning told Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis she would be jailed until she complied with his order to issue the licenses. Davis said "thank you" before she was led out of the courtroom by a U.S. marshal. She was not in handcuffs.
Bunning also warned deputy clerks around the state that they could suffer the same fate should they refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Davis has refused to issue marriages licenses for two months since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. She argues that her Christian faith should exempt her from signing the licenses.
I’m very steadfast in what I believe. I don’t leave my conscience and my Christian soul out in my vehicle and come in here and pretend to be something I’m not. It’s easy to talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver, who is representing Davis, called the ruling “outrageous.”
- Kim Davis, clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky
“If this country has come to this point where a judge jails someone like Kim Davis for their religious convictions – then we have lost our religious liberty,” Staver told me.
He said Davis will be fingerprinted and photographed “just like a criminal.”
“This cannot be tolerated,” he said. “This is ultimately going to spark a huge debate around the country. This is not the kind of country – this is not the America that our founders envisioned.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Kim Davis could become the first Christian in America jailed as a result of the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
“I’ve weighed the cost and I’m prepared to go to jail, I sure am,” Mrs. Davis told me in an exclusive interview. “This has never been a gay or lesbian issue for me. This is about upholding the word of God.”
“This is a heaven or hell issue for me and for every other Christian that believes,” she said. “This is a fight worth fighting.”
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Davis is the clerk of Rowan County, Ky. – a small patch of earth in the northeastern part of the state. She was elected last November – taking the place of her mother, who held the position for nearly 40 years.
It’s fair to say that issuing marriage licenses was something of a family business – until the day the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
Davis is a devout Apostolic Christian, and she knew that should gay marriage become legal, she could not and would not sign her name on a same-sex marriage certificate.
“I would have to either make a decision to stand or I would have to buckle down and leave,” she said, pondering her choices. “And if I left, resigned or chose to retire, I would have no voice for God’s word.
So when that day came, she issued an edict: No more marriage licenses would be issued in Rowan County. It was a decision that would bring down the wrath of militant LGBT activists and their supporters.
“They told my husband they were going to burn us down while we slept in our home,” she said. “He’s been told that he would be beaten up and tied up and made to watch them rape me. I have been told that gays should kill me.”
Liberty Counsel, the public interest law firm that represents Davis, says forcing her to issue same-sex marriage licenses violates her religious beliefs. But the courts don’t seem interested in that argument.
A federal judge ordered her to issue the licenses, an appeals court upheld that decision and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. Should Davis continue to defy the law, she could be fined or sent to jail.
No matter what the court decides, Davis says she will not violate her religious beliefs – and she will not resign her post.
“I’m very steadfast in what I believe,” she told me. “I don’t leave my conscience and my Christian soul out in my vehicle and come in here and pretend to be something I’m not. It’s easy to talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”
The mainstream media and the activists have been ruthless. They’ve portrayed her as a monster – a right-wing, homophobic hypocrite. She’s been smeared by tabloid-style reports on her checkered past. They’ve written extensively about her failed marriages.
It’s true, she’s been married four times. But what’s missing in the mainstream media coverage is the context. Her life was radically changed by Jesus Christ in 2011, and since then she has become a different person.
“My God in heaven knows every crack, every crevice, every deep place in my heart,” she said. “And he knows the thoughts that are in my mind before I even think them. And he has given me such a beautiful and wonderful grace through all of this.”
She once lived for the devil, but now she lives for God. She’s a sinner saved by grace.
“I had created such a pit of sin for myself with my very own hands,” she told me.
So how does she handle the reporters and talking heads who call her a hypocrite?
“All I can say to them is if they have a sordid past like what I had, they too can receive the cleansing and renewing, and they can start a fresh life and they can be different,” she said. “They don’t have to remain in their sin, there’s hope for tomorrow.”
Davis did not seek the national spotlight. She had no intention of becoming a spokeswoman for religious liberty, and she bristles at the idea that she is a hero of the faith.
“I’m just a vessel God has chosen for this time and this place,” she said. “I’m no different than any other Christian. It was my appointed time to stand, and their time will come.”
Iran thumbs nose at US even as Obama rallies support for nuke deal
Even as President Obama was securing the Senate support necessary to assure passage of the nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran's top defense officials were scoffing at U.S. claims the pact will restrict the Islamic Republic's military ambitions.
The president has been twisting arms and Secretary of State John Kerry reassuring lawmakers that the deal between Iran and the P5 +1 - members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - will ensure international inspections and bar Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons. This week, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., became the 34th member of the Senate to back the controversial and unpopular deal, meaning that if it is defeated in a vote as expected, Obama will have enough support to sustain his certain veto. But Iran's military brass has answered the U.S. nose-counting by thumbing their nose at America.
“Iran does not plan to issue permission for the [International Atomic Energy Agency] to inspect every site," Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan told Al Mayadeen News Wednesday. "U.S. officials make boastful remarks and imagine that they can impose anything on the Iranian nation because they lack a proper knowledge of the Iranian nation.”
"U.S. officials make boastful remarks and imagine that they can impose anything on the Iranian nation because they lack a proper knowledge of the Iranian nation.”Iran’s official FARS news agency added that “Dehqan had earlier underlined that Tehran would not allow any foreigner to discover Iran's defensive and missile capabilities by inspecting the country's military sites.”
- Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan
On the same day, a top Iranian general told troops preparing for a massive military drill involving up to 250,000 men that “the U.S. and the Zionists should know that the Islamic Revolution will continue enhancing its preparedness until it overthrows Israel and liberates Palestine.”
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Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan vowed that international inspectors will not have access to key sites. (Reuters)
Obama has gone to great lengths to assure skeptics that the deal assures genuine oversight of the Iranian nuclear program, and in an August 19 letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., he said the deal is the best chance to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons, which he acknowledged would pose a major threat to Israel.
"It is my steadfast conviction that a nuclear-armed Iran would present a profound security threat to us and to our partners, particularly Israel,” Obama wrote.
Critics of the deal wonder why its supporters listen to Obama regarding Iran's intentions and ignore Iran.
“Within the last 24 hours, Iran has said that the U.S. is the enemy of mankind," said Benjamin Weinthal, a research fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "These highly jingoistic statements from Iran don’t bode well for the enforcement of the agreement.
“There is all this euphoria about Obama securing congressional support for the Iran nuclear deal, but I think it’s worth pointing out that in context a little more than one-third of the Senate supports the deal," Weinthal added. "Given that all the major attitude surveys in the U.S. show a majority of Americans oppose the deal, and a majority of the Senate and the House of Representatives oppose the deal, [Obama] is on very flimsy ground.”
The deal is deeply unpopular in Israel, which has been the target of Iranian threats for years, as well as attacks from the terrorist groups it funds. Israelis fear that the cash infusion to Iran, through unfreezing of funds and the lifting of economic sanctions, will result in new terror attack in the short term and a graver, nuclear threat in the future.
“We are not against a deal,” a spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry told FoxNews.com. “We are against this particular deal, because it does not cater to the real dangers represented by Iran. A stronger deal, which would encompass not only the nuclear aspect but also the terrorist activities of Iran, would have been much better.”
Officials in Jerusalem also note that a significant majority of the American public oppose the deal and sympathize with Israel’s predicament.
“The American people get it,” an official Israeli source told today’s Jerusalem Post. “They understand the dangers to Israel. Iranian leaders openly say they will continue their terrorism and aggression, and they will now – with the sanctions relief – have enhanced resources to do, so because the deal will give them billions of dollars.”
Arby's fires manager, suspends clerk who allegedly refused to serve Florida police officer
The Arby's fast food chain announced late Thursday that it had fired a Florida restaurant manager and suspended a clerk after a female police officer said she had been denied service because she was a cop.
Arby's spokesman Jason Rollins confirmed to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that manager Angel Mirabal, 22, and clerk Kenneth Davenport, 19, had been disciplined.
The chain known for its roast beef sandwiches became the center of a national firestorm after an incident Tuesday night, when Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. Jennifer Martin, 34, pulled up to the drive-thru and ordered a meal. When she handed over her credit card to pay, Davenport allegedly refused to ring her order up. That prompted Mirabal to say "He doesn’t want to serve you because you are a police officer."
Sgt. Martin finally received her food, but said she was too uncomfortable to eat it, so she returned it and got a refund. The next day, the department tweeted about the incident, which Chief Dan Giustino called "unacceptable."
"I am offended and appalled that an individual within our community would treat a police officer in such a manner," he said in a statement.
Davenport has said the controversy stemmed from a misunderstanding, and Maribal's comment was an attempt at a joke. Davenport told the Sun-Sentinel he was unable to ring up Martin's order due to the number of other customers he was servicing. He said Mirabal made his remark after Davenport asked him for help with the transaction.
"We don't hate cops,” Davenport told reporters Wednesday. "We don't hate anybody. We're just trying to get people out of the drive-thru."
On Thursday, WSVN reported that Arby's rivals took advantage of the flap between the police and the restaurant. McDonald's partnered with a local radio station to deliver bags of pancakes and Egg McMuffins to the department Thursday morning. The station reported that a local Whole Foods store put out a spread of its own, while residents supplied donuts and coffee from a local Dunkin' Donuts.
"We're here today to show our love for the community and the people that take care of us as first responders in the community," one woman said.
US monitoring reports Russia has stepped up Syria presence
The White House and State Department said Thursday that it was monitoring reports that Russia is carrying out military operations in Syria's civil war on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad, with both warning that such actions would further destabilize Syria's perilous situation.
Syrian state media reported this week that Russian forces were fighting alongside Assad's army. The Times of London reported Thursday that video shot by a militia loyal to Assad and aired on SANA, Syria's state-run television station, showed troops backed by an armored vehicle. The newspaper also reported that Russian voices could clearly be heard in the film, which claimed to show government forces fighting rebels in the Latakia Mountains, near Syria's Mediterranean coast.
We are aware of reports that Russia may have deployed military personnel and aircraft to Syria, and we are monitoring those reports quite closely," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday
"Any military support to the Assad regime for any purpose, whether it's in the form of military personnel, aircraft supplies, weapons, or funding, is both destabilizing and counterproductive."
State Department spokesman Mark Toner echoed Earnest's message, saying "we have seen various reports that Russia may be deploying military personnel ... we're unclear what these might be used for." Toner added that he was "not sure that we have contacted [Moscow] about this yet."
"Russia has asked for clearances for military flight to Syria," a U.S. official was quoted as telling Britain's Daily Telegraph, "[but] we don't know what their goals are ... Evidence has been inconclusive so far as to what this activity is."
Observers have long believed that Russian military advisers are working with Assad as part of Moscow's longstanding support for Syria's regime. However, the video shown by SANA, if confirmed to be genuine, would be the first time Russian forces have been seen taking part in actual combat operations.
However, it was not immediately clear whether the Russians shown in the video were regular soldiers or civilian contractors, which would provide Moscow with deniability. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously claimed that Russians fighting in Ukraine are volunteer civilian contractors.
The Times also reported that rebel activists in the area where the video was purportedly shot say the mountaintop town of Slunfeh, east of the port of Latakia, as a listening post run by Russian troops.
"The Russians have been there a long time,” one activist told The Times. "There are more Russian officials who came to Slunfeh in recent weeks. We don’t know how many but can assure you there has been Russian reinforcement."
The military relationship between Russia and the Assad regime in Damascus is longstanding. Many Syrian army officers have been trained in Moscow and Russia leases a naval facility at the Mediterranean port of Tartus. The SANA video was not the only sign that Russia has stepped up its involvement in the four-year-old conflict.
On Tuesday, a Twitter account linked to the al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda-linked group fighting against Assad, claimed to show Russian aircraft and drones over Idlib province in northwestern Syria. The Times reported that last month, photographs uploaded to a shipping blog showed a Russian vessel loaded with military vehicles passing through the Bosphorus Strait, heading to the Mediterranean.
Russian military involvement in Syria, if confirmed, would add a new layer of complexity to a war that has killed an estimated 220,000 people and displaced over 4 million, according to United Nations estimates. The conflict has facilitated the rise of the ISIS terror group, drawn in the United States as the head of a coalition launching airstrikes against ISIS, as well as the trainer and supplier of rebel groups who are asked to fight a three-way battle against Assad and ISIS.
In recent months, Syrian government forces have begun to lose ground to rebel groups, including ISIS, a situation that may have forced Moscow to increase its support. Last month, President Obama said that Russia and Iran, the Damascus regime's other key supporter, recognize "the trend lines are not good for Assad."
Thursday, September 3, 2015
RNC asking GOP presidential candidates to pledge not to run as independent
The Republican National Committee on Wednesday began reaching out to several GOP presidential campaigns, asking if their candidates would sign a pledge not to run as an independent in 2016, multiple campaign sources told Fox News.
“The RNC reached out to us today about signing the pledge in order not to run as an independent,” said one source with a leading GOP presidential campaign.
RNC sources told Fox News that the plan has been in the works for weeks.
The pledge states in part that if the GOP contender does not become the nominee: “I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is," and "I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of another party.”
The pledge follows concerns that leading Republican candidate Donald Trump will run as a third-party candidate if he fails to win the GOP nomination. Such a move would likely result in Trump taking enough votes with him to possibly sink the Republican Party’s chances of defeating the Democratic nominee and taking the White House.
A GOP source with direct knowledge of the meeting told Fox News that the pledge would be at the center of a scheduled meeting Thursday between Trump and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in New York City. Trump was scheduled to hold a press availability Thursday afternoon.
The Associated Press reported that RNC officials had been working privately with Trump's campaign for several weeks to avert the possibility of Trump making a third-party run. In recent days, Trump has suggested he would soon decide whether to rule out an independent campaign.
"I think a lot of people are going to be very happy," he said Saturday in Nashville.
Late Wednesday, a spokesperson for Ohio Gov. John Kasich confirmed that Kasich would sign the pledge, making him the first GOP candidate to go on record that he would do so. Former New York Gov. George Pataki's campaign confirmed to Fox late Wednesday that he had signed the pledge, while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush did the same when asked by the Associated Press.
The pledge also follows Virginia and South Carolina GOP state parties making a similar pledge effort.
Obama wins critical backing on Iran deal, virtually ensuring survival in Congress
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, DumbAss
The Obama administration now appears to have enough support in Congress to stave off Republican efforts to reject the president's controversial Iran nuclear deal, after a retiring Maryland Democratic senator came out Wednesday morning in favor of the pact.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., announced her support for the deal as Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a lengthy and detailed address in Philadelphia defending the accord.
In his speech, Kerry disputed what he called "false information" circulating on the deal. He said, contrary to the views of many critics, that the deal provides "access" to keep Iran in check, preserves "every option" to respond if Iran balks, and has elements that will last "for the lifetime of Iran's nuclear program."
"President Obama and I are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the framework that we have put forward will get the job done," Kerry said.
But, with Mikulski's endorsement locked down, the speech served more as a public reminder of the administration's stance than a last-minute appeal for support.
Mikulski becomes the 34th senator to support the deal -- giving President Obama enough backing to sustain a veto of a Republican bill opposing it, should that bill pass in a vote later this month. Unless an announced supporter flips his or her vote, Obama would appear to have the crucial coalition in place to preserve the agreement on Capitol Hill.
Her support, though, doesn't end what has been a raging debate. Opposition to the agreement among Republicans, among ex-military leaders and in Israel remains widespread.
"Forcing a bad deal, over the objections of the American people and a majority in Congress, is no win for President Obama," said Cory Fritz, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner. "The White House may have convinced just enough Democrats to back an agreement that legitimizes Iran's nuclear program, trusts the regime to self-inspect and offers amnesty to terrorists, but this deal is far from being implemented."
The latest report warning of dire consequences from the agreement came Wednesday morning, from the Iran Strategy Council, a group of ex-senior military officials and defense analysts examining the deal for the The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. The group is co-chaired by retired Gen. James Conway, who served as Marines commandant in the beginning of the Obama administration, and retired Gen. Charles Wald.
"The [nuclear deal] will not prevent a nuclear Iran," the report said, warning of "potentially grave strategic implications" that threaten national security. "No later than 15 years, the deal's major nuclear restrictions will lapse, Iran will stand on the brink of nuclear weapons capability, and once again the United States will likely have to devote significant resources and attention to keeping Tehran from attaining nuclear weapons."
The group was referring to the sunset of major provisions after 15 years. But Kerry and others in the administration argue that even after that period, Iran will remain subject to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and have to abide by inspection requirements. Kerry also argued Wednesday that Iran's "covert pathway" to a bomb would be blocked, and that the intelligence community agrees Iran "could never get away" with establishing a "completely secret nuclear supply chain." He said rejecting a deal would hurt the U.S. and endanger the region.
Kerry also sent a letter Wednesday to all members of Congress outlining U.S. security commitments to Israel and the Gulf Arab states in light of the nuclear deal.
Republicans in Congress and running for president unanimously oppose the deal, which aims to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
The Israeli government is vehemently against it, contending that concessions made to Iran could empower that country, which has sworn to destroy Israel. But critics struggled to use Congress' summer recess to turn the tide against the agreement, despite a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign funded by the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
Only two Democratic senators have come out against the deal -- Chuck Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey -- while in recent weeks undeclared Democratic senators, even from red states, have broken in favor one after another.
Each side, meanwhile, has been rolling out letters of support and opposition in the run-up to a vote.
The latest came this past weekend with a full-page letter in The New York Times signed by more than 200 retired military generals and admirals opposing the deal. "This agreement will enable Iran to become far more dangerous, render the Mideast still more unstable and introduce new threats to American interests as well as our allies," the letter, which previously had been sent to congressional leaders, reads.
Even if Congress had been able to pass the disapproval resolution, it couldn't completely stop the deal, which was agreed to among Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. In July, the U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed the nuclear deal, approving a resolution that would lift the international sanctions on Iran in 90 days.
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