Archives for June 2016

The Obama administration told two completely different versions of the Benghazi terrorist attack for the sake of political expediency and even began spreading the story of a video triggering the violence while Americans were still fighting for their lives.

That’s the main takeaway of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, after the special, months-long investigation into Benghazi by a select committee concluded this week.

On September 11. 2012, terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, murdering U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and his subordinate, Sean Smith.  Hours later, two former Navy SEALs, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed by terrorist mortars at the CIA Annex near the consulate.

On Tuesday, the Republicans on the committee, led by chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., released its official report, detailing the Obama administration’s failure to provide appropriate security for the U.S. consulate in Benghazi for months before the attack, its failure to launch any response to the attack and its willful deception in blaming the attack on a You Tube video.

But Rep. Jordan and Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, issued a supplemental report on their own.  Jordan says the official account adds great clarity and more information into what happened, where it happened and when.  He says the additional report explains why it happened and he says the answer is simple.

“Politics.  They were 56 days before an election, eight weeks out from an election.  Libya was supposed to be their legacy,” said Jordan.

He says the administration’s actions during and after the attack betray its real priorities.

“What was the motive to stay (in Benghazi) when everyone else was leaving?  What was the motive to be talking about whether military should go in military or civilian clothes and making them change clothes?  What was the motive for talking about going in unmarked vehicles?  And what was the motive to mislead the American people and blame it on a film when everyone knew right from the start, the film had nothing to do with it and there never was a protest?” said Jordan.

Jordan says the troubling answer to all of those questions is the same.

“The evidence clearly shows the motive was political concerns that outweighed everything else, including getting planes off the ground in a timely fashion to maybe get there in time to help Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty,” said Jordan.

Jordan says while the Obama administration ignored multiple warning signs to either pull out or beef up security, the attack itself threatened one of the Obama-Biden campaign’s top talking points, that the U.S. had Al Qaeda on the run.

“(Hillary Clinton) was the one who pushed for Ghaddafi’s ouster a year before.  They’re doing victory laps.  They’re saying this is how foreign policy works.  No boots on the ground.  You can oust a dictator as part of the Arab Spring.  Then they have 13 months of all kinds of violence, all kinds of dangerous situations, assassination attempts on the British ambassador, the security situation deteriorates  and we stay when almost everyone else leaves.  And then it happened,” said Jordan.

Most galling for Jordan is the intentional duplicity from Obama, Clinton and other administration officials.  He points to a statement issued at 10:08 ET the night of the attack, blaming the mayhem on a protest over a YouTube video defaming Mohammed.  Yet an hour later, Clinton emailed her daughter, Chelsea, to say it was a terrorist attack.  The next day, Clinton told the Egyptian prime minister via email that the video had nothing to do with it.

Three days later, then-White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was continuing to publicly attribute the attack to the video even though State Department officials in the region were saying exactly the opposite.

“They were consistent.  Privately, they would tell the truth.  Publicly, they would mislead.  Privately, it was a terrorist attack and publicly a video-inspired protest that leads to this attack.  Every step of the way it was done for political concern,” said Jordan.

He says that mentality left Woods and Doherty to fend for themselves.

“At 10:18, when she issues that statement, Tyrone Woods is still on the roof of the annex fighting for his life.  It’s not until an hour and ten minutes later, approximately 11:15, when the mortars hit the CIA Annex building and take the lives of Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.,” said Jordan.

“He’s still fighting.  At 10:08, she’s already blaming a video in the official statement from our government that evening,” said Jordan.  “They started the political spin right from the get-go.”

Jordan says there are still questions that remain unanswered thanks to constant obstruction of the committee’s work, namely whether there were weapons being funneled from Libya to Syrian rebels and what the president was doing throughout the evening.

“You had Democrats on the committee who really didn’t want to help it and you had an administration that did everything it could to put up impediments and road blocks, blocking us from getting access to certain witnesses and documents and information,” he said.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review are impressed by Senator Mike Lee’s refusal to endorse Donald Trump. They reject Attorney General Lynch’s description of her meeting with Bill Clinton on her private plane. They slam the DC human rights commission’s mandate that employers and employees refer to non-gender conforming employees by their preferred gender pronouns and names.

Hillary Clinton is seeking the presidency because of her insatiable quest for power but his both ethically and medically unfit for office, according to Bill Clinton’s former lover who is now the author of a new book urging America to defeat Sec. Clinton at the ballot box.

Dolly Kyle is a former attorney who dated Bill Clinton in high school and carried on an affair with the future president both before and after Clinton married Hillary Rodham and until Clinton ran for president in 1992.  Kyle says she has since repented of her actions with Clinton, but she says her experience with Hillary convinces her America cannot afford to choose her in November.

“She is motivated by her power addiction.  She has always wanted to be the first woman president.  It really doesn’t matter to her how she gets there,” said Kyle, who is author of the new book, “Hillary: The Other Woman.”

Kyle says she had no intention of becoming a figure in the 2016 campaign but Hillary Clinton forced her hand late last year.

“I did not want to write this book but the last straw was watching Hillary on television last December, looking into the camera and saying very sincerely that women who claimed to be raped and sexually assaulted deserve to be believe,” said Kyle.

“I thought, ‘You lying hypocrite!’  Yeah, sure.  We need to support them unless it was your husband who raped them and it was your husband who sexually assaulted them,” added Kyle.

Kyle says Hillary embodies everything we don’t want in our next president.

“This is a very angry, mean. lying, vindictive woman, who is temperamentally unstable.  This is why she can’t have a press conference.  Have we heard anything from her in more than six months?  No.  Everything has to be scripted and controlled,” said Kyle, who said Bill and Hillary Clinton are at polar opposites of the charisma scale.

Major media have largely ignored Kyle’s book, but one account from it is gaining some traction: then-Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton’s reaction to developmentally challenged children taking part in an Easter egg hunt at the governor’s mansion in Little Rock.  Kyle was there.

“Those children were having a fabulous time but they were moving very, very slowly and it was annoying the Me-First Lady.  She went up and [spoke] to one of the troopers.  The story diverges as to whether the mike was open or whether she was yelling so loud it was heard everywhere.  She said, ‘When are they going to get these f—ing retards out of here,'” said Kyle.

Kyle’s relationship with Bill Clinton ended abruptly when scandal began to engulf his presidential campaign.

“The same reporter who had just published the story about Gennifer Flowers contacted me and left a message on my answering machine.  He said they had researched my story and they were going to go with it.  I called Billy to warn him,” said Kyle.

“Instead of taking that for the straight-up truth of I was just calling to warn him this was happening, he took it as some sort of a threat and retaliated with, ‘If you cooperate with the media, we will destroy you.’  That pretty much ended our relationship,” said Kyle.

In addition to being deeply wary of Hillary Clinton’s character, Kyle says she also sincerely believes the former Secretary of State is mentally unfit for office.

“Hillary is cognitively impaired.  I set forth some of the symptoms of cognitive impairment as laid out on the website of the Centers for Disease control.  Then I show how Hillary fits into this.  People, pay attention.  We have someone who is mentally incapable of running her own household, much less running the White House,” said Kyle.

Of course, critics of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also assert that his character, including a philandering past and many questions about his truthfulness, is disqualifying.  Kyle isn’t a Trump fan but she is having no problem deciding who to vote for.

“Donald Trump was not my first choice, but I do believe he is our last hope,” said Kyle.

Should Hillary become the 45th president, Kyle says the first thing she will expect is an IRS audit.  Beyond that, she says the Clintons’ improper possession of FBI files during Bill Clinton presidency has career politicians shaking in their boots.

“That’s how she has intimidated all those people in Washington.  They don’t know if they’re of the 900 whose files she had.  Anyone in Washington who is a longtime career politician and has a secret is scared to death of her.  And it’s not going to get any better if she has more power,” said Kyle.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review are ecstatic about Darryl Glenn winning the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Colorado. They are enraged at new evidence revealing the IRS broke federal law by sending sensitive records of conservative groups to the Justice Department. And they are furious at a New Jersey school district for having police and child services involved in every case of misbehavior.

One day after the Supreme Court struck down abortion clinic regulations in Texas, the justices now refuse to hear a case challenging a Washington state law mandating that pharmacies dispense abortion-inducing drugs, a move that one pro-life leader says is the latest efforts by liberals to criminalize opposition to their agenda.

On Tuesday, the court announced it would not hear an appeal in the case of Stormans Inc v. Wiesman.  A district court struck down the Washington regulations but the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling and law will now stand indefinitely as a result of the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case.

Stormans Inc. refers to the Christian family that operates Ralph’s Thriftway, a grocery store and pharmacy in the state capital of Olympia.  The Stormans refuse to sell abortion-inducing drugs, commonly referred to as the morning after pill or even some that are taken a longer time after possible conception.  Reports say the Stormans are willing to refer customers to other pharmacies for the drugs and there are dozens of other pharmacies within five miles of Ralph’s Thriftway.

Usually the court makes no comment in deciding whether to accept or reject cases.  The five justices refusing the appeal made no statement, but Justice Samuel Alito released a blistering 15-page dissent.  Justices Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts joined the dissent.

“If this is a sign of how our religious liberty claims will be treated in the years again, those who value religious liberty have cause for great concern,” wrote Alito.

Alito also suggested the Washington statute and the enforcement of it “reflect antipathy toward religious beliefs that do not accord with the views of those holding the levers of government power.”

Pro-life leaders in Washington agree.

What this indicates is that the ruling class, and the other members of the Supreme Court in particular, are willing to allow the conscience rights of Americans to be violated and obliterated when they don’t fit in with their particular political cup of tea,” said Americans United for Life Spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick.

She says enforcing this Washington state regulation in the face of exercise of conscience is much more severe than enforcing other laws.

“It’s not merely that they didn’t want to sell these drugs.  They’re going to be forced to facilitate ending human life through the sale of these drugs.  This has implications for medical personnel and nurses who do not want to perform abortions,” said Hamrick.

Hamrick says Americans should not be distracted by the wording that the media and abortion supporters use about these drugs.  She says the result of taking them is well documented.

“It’s not just that they felt that these drugs end life.  They do end life.  It is medically accurate to say that these drugs work together to destroy potentially unborn human life.  If a child has been conceived, this will end that child’s life.  So it’s not speculation.  It’s true,” said Hamrick.

Tuesday’s news follow’s Monday’s 5-3 ruling striking down abortion clinic regulations in Texas, including the requirement that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a local hospital and that clinics meet the same standards as outpatient surgical centers.

Hamrick says the court’s actions this week show liberals are in attack mode on abortion.

“What we are seeing is the abortion industry moving from choice to coercion. They are going to force you to end life and force you to pay for the ending of life,” said Hamrick.

“What they want now is full funding of abortion.  It won’t be enough to make you do it.  It won’t be enough to make you comply with it.  It won’t be enough to have it in your health care.  Now we are going to have to pay for it and provide it an export it.  These are chilling days indeed,” said Hamrick.

And she says they won’t stop there.

“I suspect they’re going to reach into houses of worship directly.  Up to this point, there has been a separation from attacks against actual houses of worship.  (They’ll target) the Catholic Church head-on, maybe the Baptist Conference head-on.  It is their desire to make it illegal for us to hold a different point of view,” said Hamrick.

“Up to this point, they’ve been dancing around the edges around the world of Christians and people of faith who are involved in charitable efforts and trying to make them pay (such as Little Sisters of the Poor).  Or in the world of Christians like Hobby Lobby, who have a business but they happen to be Christians, such as these pharmacists.  With this kind of momentum, I would expect them to go after houses of worship directly,” said Hamrick.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review credit Republicans on the special Benghazi committee for uncovering the truth about Benghazi. They are disgusted by the Supreme Court refusing to hear a challenge to a Washington State law mandating all pharmacies to sell abortion inducing drugs. They review the terrible policies in the new Democratic Party platform.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down abortion clinic restrictions in Texas Monday, arguing that regulations such as requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges is an undue burden on women seeking an abortion.

The decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt came on a 5-3 ruling with Justice Stephen Breyer writing the majority opinion.  He was joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.  Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito both wrote dissenting opinions.  Chief Justice John Roberts joined Alito’s dissent, as did Thomas.

“”We conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes,” wrote Breyer, referring to the admitting privileges and the regulation requiring abortion clinics to meet the same standards as outpatient surgical centers.

“”Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a pre-viability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access … and each violates the federal Constitution,” added Breyer.

The pro-life community is appalled.

“There’s just no rational, legal basis for this decision today other than radical abortion advocacy,” said Susan B. Anthony List National Campaign Chair Jill Stanek, a former nurse who became a pro-life activist after holding a baby who died after a botched abortion because the provider refused to offer life-saving measures.

“This is the most consequential decision in a quarter of a century and it did not go our way,” said Stanek, referring to the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that reaffirmed Roe v. Wade on a 5-4 ruling.

Stanek referred to both dissenting opinions in explaining how she believes the majority got it wrong.

“As Justice Alito said in his dissent, ‘The court’s patent refusal to apply well-established in a neutral way is indefensible and will undermine public confidence in the court as a fair, neutral arbiter,'” said Stanek.

She also cited Justice Thomas.

“Justice Thomas called this judicial fiat.  he said, ‘As the court applies whatever standard it likes to any given case, nothing but empty words separates our Constitutional decisions from judicial fiat.’  That’s just what this was today,” said Stanek.

In addition to the legal arguments. Stanek says the biggest losers in this case are the women of Texas.

“Texas women are not going to be protected from unsanitary conditions and even Gosnell-like horrors that permeate the abortion industry,” said Stanek.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is the Philadelphia-based abortion provider serving a life sentence for killing babies that survived abortions and for the death of a woman under his care at a filthy clinic.

Stanek says 26 abortion clinics have been shut down nationwide for failing to maintain the sanitary conditions required by those states.  She says the list of violations should make any stomach turn.

“They had unsterile instruments, spattered dried blood on exam tables, spattered blood on the walls and the floors, expired medication, incompetent administration of anesthesia by workers off the streets with no medical background, faulty defibrillators,” said Stanek.

“(They were also) throwing fetal remains and patient records away in the regular trash, putting infants’ remains down garbage disposals, staff including doctors admitting they didn’t wash hands between patients, dead insects, locked doors and blocked emergency exits,” said Stanek.

She says the potential for even worse horrors exists in many states, including her own.

“In Illinois and many other states, abortion clinics are less regulated that veterinary clinics, roofers and nail salons.  How can this be good for the health and safety of women,” said Stanek.

She says the bottom line is that abortion proponents do not have the interests of patients first and foremost.

“We know the abortion industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself and they know it.  The mere fact they strongly opposed this reasonable, common sense safeguard for women just reveals the true nature of it as a pro-profit business model.  The industry would rather tolerate conditions reminiscent of back-alley abortions than invest in upgrading their facilities,” said Stanek.

In his majority opinion, Breyer cited the Gosnell case in a way that stunned Stanek.

“There’s no reason to believe that an extra layer of regulation would have effected that behavior.  Determined wrongdoers, already ignoring existing statutes and safety measures are unlikely to be convinced to adopt safe practices by new overlay of regulations,” wrote Breyer.

Stanek says that logic is very dangerous.

“If that’s the standard then there should be no rule of law in the U.S.,” said Stanek.

British voters triggered a geopolitical earthquake Thursday, as a fed up majority stunned politicians and the media by choosing to leave the European Union in a move commonly referred to as Brexit.

Meanwhile, a top U.S. economist says the move exposes the deep flaws of the EU, positions the British economy well in the near future and will likely encourage other nations to follow suit.

Polls suggested the referendum would be a close vote and Thursday’s results reflected that.  Investors clearly did not believe voters would cut ties to the EU, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 611 points on Friday and other world markets did much the same.

While politicians and economists were wringing their hands about the economic impact on the UK and world markets over the short and long term, a top American economist believes voters did the right thing.

“The biggest loser from Brexit is not Britain.  It is the European Union.  Once Britain declares independence, then other countries are going to want to declare independence too.  They don’t like being governed by Brussels either,” said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor who is now a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Brussels, Belgium, is the headquarters of the European Union.

Furchgott-Roth says the EU is a proven failure.

“I think the whole system, where you have unelected bureaucrats in Brussels controlling the individual countries, clearly is not working.  Rather than pointing just to the structure, just look at the EU growth rate.  It has some of the most educated people in the world and it is growing at about one percent,” she said.

Youth unemployment is especially bad, with some nations seeing rates as high as 50 percxent.  Furchtgott-Roth says the EU is in rough shape.

“By many, many measures it is worse off than the United States or other countries or even Britain,” said Furchgott-Roth.

She says the EU started off fine but eventually began imposing far too much on member nations.

“It started off as a free trade zone.  I think that was fine.  When it gets into regulatory harmonization and tax harmonization, countries think that is too invasive.  It really needs to rethink how it operates in order to make itself more attractive to it’s members,” said Furchtgott-Roth.

Economics wasn’t the only issue.  Legislation passed by member nations has to receive approval from the EU before taking effect, which many see as an erosion to national sovereignty.  There are also major concerns in Britain and beyond about the EU’s ability to put forth a counter-terrorism strategy or stem the tide of Middle East refugees.

Many liberals see the Brexit as especially damaging to British trade.  Furchgott-Roth says it’s exactly the opposite.

“China is apparently very happy with Brexit.  They want to sign deals with the United Kingdom.  Different former commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, also want to be signing deals.  People are going to be waiting in line.  They are waiting in line to sign trade deals – to have the advantage of Britain as a market for their products,” said Furchtgott-Roth.

If this is so good, why did the markets recoil in horror on Friday?  Furchtgott-Roth says the reaction of investors was expected because the election results were not.

“Investors don’t like uncertainty.  They didn’t see this coming.  They were brainwashed by the more socialist elements in Europe and in Britain, saying that this could not occur and that the British would vote to stay in the EU.  Now they’re surprised.  No one likes uncertainty or surprises.  Hence, the falling market,” said Furchtgott-Roth.

She adds that the biggest mistake Britain can make now is waiting for new leadership elections before embarking on new trade deals, believing the sooner those are established the better so certainty can emerge again.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review cheer the British people ripping their sovereignty back from the European Union.  They also marvel at the depth of Hillary Clinton’s efforts to avoid accountability as she hides more information from investigators.  And they shake their heads as CNN hires former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, even though Lewandowski has a non-disclosure agreement with Trump.