Doug Ross @ Journal: April 2015

Thursday, April 30, 2015

HILLARITY: Top 10 Times Hillary Lied About the Clinton Foundation During Her Confirmation Hearings

With a tip o' the cap to James:

#1: Clinton: "...the Office of Government Ethics and the career ethics officials at the State Department have looked at the rules and concluded there is not an inherent conflict of interest in any of my husband’s work at all. However, the foundation and the president-elect decided to go beyond what the law and the ethics rules call for to address even the appearance of conflict and that is why they signed a memorandum of understanding, which outlines the voluntary steps that the foundation is taking to address potential concerns that might come up down the road.” (Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton Confirmation Hearing, 1/13/09)

#2: Clinton: “The memorandum of understanding is, as you know, public and the president-elect and the foundation and I have all worked to be very transparent. My team has stayed in close touch with the committee and we’ve addressed the committee’s questions on these issues in a broad range of written answers which are part of the so-called QFRs, the questions for the record.” (Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton Confirmation Hearing, 1/13/09)

#3: Clinton: "...when it was all submitted to the Office of Government Ethics, they said there was no inherent conflict. My husband doesn’t take a salary. He has no financial interests in any of this. I don’t take a salary. I have no financial interests. So out of that abundance of caution and a desire to avoid even the appearance, the president-elect’s transition team began working with the foundation to try to craft an agreement that would avoid the appearance of a conflict but would also ensure that the foundation can continue its work.” (Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton Confirmation Hearing, 1/13/09)

#4: Clinton: “So the work of the foundation, the confidence that it has created with donors who know that it has an extremely low percentage that goes to any overhead. It has a very transparent way that it uses the money...” (Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton Confirmation Hearing, 1/13/09)

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Long Hot Summer Coming

Lee relays the following 'from a proven reliable source in a position to know this as true':

Introduction

CBS Baltimore: "Sheriff: ‘I Was Sick To My Stomach’ After Being Told To Stand Down"

But what shocked [Wicomico County Sheriff Michael Lewis] the most, he said, was when city police told him not to confront and accost the rioters...

“I was sick to my stomach like everybody else. … This was urban warfare, no question about it. They were coming in absolutely beaten down. The [city officers] got out of their vehicles, thanked us profusely for being there, apologized to us for having to be there. They said we could have handled this, we were very capable of handling this, but we were told to stand down, repeatedly told to stand down,” he said. “I had never heard that order come from anyone — we went right out to our posts as soon as we got there, so I never heard the mayor say that. But repeatedly these guys, and there were many high-ranking officials from the Baltimore City Police Department … and these guys told me they were essentially neutered from the start. They were spayed from the start. They were told to stand down, you will not take any action, let them destroy property. I couldn’t believe it, I’m a 31-year veteran of law enforcement. … I had never heard anything like this before in my life and these guys obviously aren’t gonna speak out and the more I thought about this, … I had to say a few things. I apologize if I’ve upset people, but I believe in saying it like it is.”

What we know so far:

- Valerie Jarrett is the coordinator of "demonstrations" in cities nationwide. She is "on the phone" with mayors, radicals and activists. NYC is the next big one and has already started.

- Every incident of a black person getting shot by police or roughed up resisting arrest is being examined by a Democrat team to see how useful it could be. Media allies will be told which to go after and what messaged to include.

- They will occur in Democrat-run cities and the police will be hamstrung (stand down, fall back, don't look aggressive, etc....) to maximize vivid scenes of violence and destruction and make authorities look powerless.

- This is an IW [information warfare] campaign that will go on all summer and escalate in cities around the country. The overarching memes will be economic injustice, judicial prejudice, income inequality, white racism and police brutality. They are throwing the police and firefighter unions under the bus on this.

- The goal? Set up another Dem messianic candidate and blame Republicans for the violence. Party before country for Democrats, always.

- Despite the Democrats owning this (cities dominated by Democrats for many decades... like Baltimore) they are convinced they can turn it around and their constituency is dumb enough to buy. They are probably right.

- Louisville and Baltimore were the test events. Baltimore went well. Sharpton is on his way to cement it in, then on to NYC.

- Thug is the new "N" word.

- Pointing all this our too loudly may get you a Breitbart event. Yes, it has gotten that bad.

Long hot summer coming.

Read more at BadBlue News.

NEWSPEAK: The Secret Style Guide of Vintage Media

By Michelle Obama's Mirror

The ultimate handbook of Newspeak provides helpful guidelines to steer us through these troubling times:

Employing the concept of doublethink, the Party gives ironic names to its branches as a way to euphemize what they actually are:
The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs. Their names, in Newspeak: Minitrue, Minipax, Miniluv, and Miniplenty. – George Orwell 1984

The 2015 version:

Minitrue:

Secrets of success in Minitrue Media:

1. Don’t check facts.

2. Load the deck.

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The Most Amazing Economic Chart of All Time

By James Pethokoukis

I have referred to the above chart as “The most important economic chart in Western civilization.” How did that amazing growth trajectory happen? As Deirdre McCloskey suggests, the West became a business-admiring civilization and that changed everything. We started respecting and rewarding innovators — and the creative destruction they unleash. But as James Bessen explains in Harvard Business Review, it took awhile for workers to benefit:

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Larwyn's Linx: None Dare Call It Treason: Obama’s Nuclear Iran Deal and the Corker Bill

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QOTD: "Part of the reason so many people feel compelled to defend the indefensible is that Hillary is essentially the only game in town for Democrats, a choice that the party has made for itself. And America's "gliding queen" isn't in any rush to address any of these serious allegations -- or anything else for that matter: Since announcing her presidential campaign 17 days ago, she has answered a total of seven questions from the media. And most of her "answers" were either facile deflections or substance-free cliches. Why subject yourself to real questions when you can stage phony "listening sessions" with hand-selected supporters stripped of their cellphones, and pander on Twitter." --Guy Benson

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

CONFIRMED: Obama “Siding with Iran” in Yemen Conflict

By The Tower

The Obama administration is “siding with Iran” while operating “over the heads of the Saudis” in its deliberations over the future of Yemen, Tony Badran, a research fellow for the Foundation of Defense of Democracies, wrote Friday in an analysis published on the Lebanese website NOW News.

Badran noted that a number of administration officials, while publicly claiming to support the Saudis, have actually “tilted much more toward Iran.” Last week, for example, one administration official said that Saudi Arabia should stick to defending its border.

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IRAN ANNOUNCES OBAMA WILL BE LIFTING NUKE SANCTIONS IN JULY: "Whether Sen. Cotton Likes It or Not"

By Sara Noble

Our president has emboldened the Iranians so much that they feel comfortable telling Americans sanctions will be lifted in July while at the same time informing U.S. Senator Tom Cotton he will basically have nothing to say about it.

President Obama is allowing Iran to become a superpower in the region. He has abandoned our allies and has embraced Iran for a terrible deal. While Mr. Obama won’t sit down or try to work with the Republican Congress, he will sit down with Iran and give them more power than he gives Congress.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted Sen. Tom Cotton in a speech today. He said there will be a relief of sanctions in July, “whether Sen. Cotton likes it or not.

Zarif is the head of the negotiations and he obviously believes all sanctions will be lifted immediately in accordance with his agreement.

Anyone who thinks Mr. Obama isn’t trying to establish a one-party system, needs to look at how he treats Congress and consider his other policies such as open borders.

The congress is letting Americans down at every turn. Sen. Ron Johnson put in an amendment to the Corker bill which would require a final Iran deal to be submitted to the Senate as a treaty.

The Senate voted 57-39 to reject the measure. They have every intention of approving the Iran deal no matter how bad it is. It is obviously a treaty.

In case you didn’t see these tweets, we are literally in bed with the enemy.

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THE CLINTONS: Suffering from the World's Worst Clinically Diagnosed Case of Financial Anorexia

Erick Erickson has a great turn of phrase to describe the Clintons. He says they have "financial anorexia", i.e., no matter how many hundreds of millions of dollars they accumulate, they look in the mirror and see the same middle class Americans they once were.

Which explains the crushing, ever-expanding hydraulic of scandals in which the Clinton Crime Family finds itself engulfed. The latest revelation: they ~~concealed~~ ~~failed to disclose~~ forgot to report more than 1,100 foreign donations.

Bloomberg (the news service, not the crackpot ex-mayor) - ...The reason this is a politically explosive revelation is because the Clinton Foundation promised to disclose its donors as a condition of Hillary Clinton becoming secretary of state. Shortly after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, the Clinton Foundation signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the Obama White House agreeing to reveal its contributors every year. The agreement stipulates that the “Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative” (as the charity was then known) is part of the Clinton Foundation and must follow “the same protocols.”

It hasn’t…

...The reason this is a politically explosive revelation is because the Clinton Foundation promised to disclose its donors as a condition of Hillary Clinton becoming secretary of state. Shortly after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, the Clinton Foundation signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the Obama White House agreeing to reveal its contributors every year. The agreement stipulates that the “Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative” (as the charity was then known) is part of the Clinton Foundation and must follow “the same protocols.”

Oh, and that's not all: at least 181 companies, individuals, and foreign governments that "donated" to the Clinton Foundation also lobbied the State Department while Hillary ran the joint.

Even the Clinton Scandal Manual (deflect, blame the accuser, ignore the charges, etc.) may not be enough this time.

Hat tip: BadBlue News

NICE JOB, GOV. KASICH: Ohio Obamacare expansion costs $3 billion in first 15 months

By Jason Hart

Americans’ tax burden is already $3 billion heavier because of Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare.

By putting more able-bodied, working-age childless adults on Medicaid than Kasich projected, Obamacare expansion is reducing incentives to work and threatening traditional Medicaid recipients’ access to care faster and at greater cost than anticipated.

After Kasich expanded Medicaid unilaterally, a state panel approved $2.56 billion in Obamacare spending for the expansion’s first 18 months. The money was meant to last until July, but it ran out in February.

Kasich’s Obamacare expansion cost $323 million in March — 84 percent greater than estimates revised just six months earlier.

Using monthly figures released by the Ohio Department of Medicaid, the Republican governor’s Obamacare expansion cost slightly more than $3 billion from January 2014 through March 2015.

Kasich’s Obamacare expansion is on track to cost more than $4 billion by the end of June.

With federal taxpayers on the hook for all benefit costs and Ohio facing a growing state share in 2017, Obamacare expansion may soon consume 10 percent of Ohio’s budget.

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Larwyn's Linx: Smoking gun report alleges Clintons personally profited from Hillary’s tenure at State

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Report alleges Clintons personally profited from Hillary’s tenure at State: Noah Rothman
Events Change Things: Erick Erickson
President Obama Speaks on Baltimore, Blames... Republicans?: Emily Zanotti

Here’s Why Iran’s Seizure of a Cargo Ship Is So Odd, and Disturbing: DefenseOne
The One Key Lesson Baltimore Cops Didn’t Learn from the L.A. Riots: Jack Dunphy
Baltimore Gangs Direct Looters Towards Chinese- And Arab-Owned Stores: DC

Debunking Obama’s Bilious Baltimore Babble: Michelle Malkin
Black Twitter Responds to Obama’s ‘Thug’ Speech on Baltimore: Sooper
We Used to Shoot Looters: Jared Taylor

The End Game Becomes More Clear: Erick Erickson
The Clintons lower the bar — again: Jonah Goldberg
All seven questions Hillary has deigned to answer during her campaign: Zach C. Cohen

Economy

What Creates Jobs: John Stossel
Koch Industries does its part for penal reform: Moe Lane
Anti-Trust Law and Lawlessness: Thomas Sowell

Scandal Central

Anarchy in Baltimore: R.S. McCain
If This Is the Best Defense of the Clinton Foundation, She’s in Trouble: Jonathan Chait
Hugging without permission now ‘sexual assault’ at U.Va.: Hans Bader

Media

Levin: When has Obama ever spoken out about a white kid getting shot?: Scoop
And you still think your vote matters?: Personal Liberty
The Surgeon General is an idiot: RS

Baltimore: Where the Progressives Get It All Wrong: Victory Girls
‘Mom of the Year’ caught SMACKING her rioter kid explains why she did it!: Scoop
And Now for some Stories that Have Nothing to Do With Baltimore: Leon H. Wolf

World

Salman Rushdie: Writers Boycotting PEN Awards Over Charlie Hebdo Are "Pu**ies": Ace
Putin Gives the World His Geography Lesson: ‘All the Former USSR is Russia’: Paul Goble
Foreign money pouring into Islamic institutions in Canada to promote jihad: Robert Spencer

A Double-Standard Windfall for the Clintons: WSJ
More Clinton Foreign Money Hypocrisy: They Blasted Bob Dole for It!: RS
Africa on the Brink: Steve Sailer

Sci-Tech (courtesy BadBlue Tech News)

Other Shoe Drops in White House Security Breach: TNW
How Selerity published Twitter's earnings early: Mashable
Ten things you might not know about antimatter: Diana Kwon

Cornucopia

Fifty Years of Progressive Politics and All I Got Was This Stinkin’ Riot: MOTUS
…Was it the intent of Team Hillary to make her logo look like a sexual act?: Moe Lane
Bo Knows Golf: Jackson Hits 331-Yard Drive at Charity Event: Bleacher Report

Image: If This Is the Best Defense of the Clinton Foundation, She’s in Trouble
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Isn't it time for a principled conservative? Ted Cruz 2016: Official Site

QOTD: "In order to accept the notion that Bill Clinton was unknowingly cashing seven-figure checks from the same firms that were asking his wife for a favor, one has to suspend disbelief and abandon common sense to an absurd degree. Surely, some committed ideologues will be able to do just that, but perhaps not enough to salvage Hillary Clinton’s presidential ambitions." --Noah Rothman

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

NO, NOT SUSPICIOUS: At least 180 Clinton Foundation donors also lobbied Hillary State Department for favors

Perhaps we can check Hillary's emails to determine whether there were criminal wrongdoings. Oh, wait.

Anyhoo:

The size and scope of the symbiotic relationship between the Clintons and their donors is striking. At least 181 companies, individuals, and foreign governments that have given to the Clinton Foundation also lobbied the State Department when Hillary Clinton ran the place, according to a Vox analysis of foundation records and federal lobbying disclosures...This list of donors to the Clinton foundation who lobbied State matters because it gives a sense of just how common it was for influence-seekers to give to the Clinton Foundation, and exactly which ones did.

Bear in mind that this analysis only includes the disclosed donors. The recently-revealed Russia/uranium deal involved undisclosed donations (part of a pattern, it turns out), in violation of a transparency agreement Hillary signed upon joining the State Department. Team Clinton's excuse for failing to disclose the information has unraveled under cursory scrutiny. Clinton's defenders insist that nobody has offered concrete proof that this multi-million-dollar "slush fund" favor bank ever resulted in direct action by the State Department; at some point, though, enough smoke convinces people there's a fire. And the smoke is billowing:

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NOTHING TO SEE HERE, NOTHING AT ALL: Boeing and GE Refuse to Turn Over Hillary Emails

The Washington Free Beacon's Lachlan Markay reports that industrial giant Boeing is refusing to release emails with Hillary Clinton's State Department that could implicate the candidate in (yet another) pay-for-play scandal.

Airline giant Boeing said this week that it will not release correspondence pertaining to the State Department’s work in securing a Russian contract for the company, a donor to the foundation of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...

...Boeing donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation. It also lobbied the State Department while Clinton helmed the agency...

...Clinton went to bat for Boeing early in her tenure at State. She pushed Russian officials to approve a multi-billion-dollar contract for Boeing planes...

Last year, the Washington Post reported how the Clinton State Department had disregarded its usual rules of engagement for Boeing:

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U.S. Navy Dispatches Vessels After Obama's Iranian Negotiating Partners Seize Allied Cargo Ship

By The Tower

A ship traveling in international waters, owned by a company with significant ties to the U.S. government and flagged to the U.S.-protected Marshall Islands, was diverted under fire by Iranian naval forces to the port of Bandar Abbas.

The Hill reported more:

The Pentagon says the ship at the center of the dispute is the MV Maersk Tigris, and is flagged from the Marshall Islands, according to Reuters.
Separately, Iran’s official news agency said the ship was “stopped and seized” by Iranian warships.

The Times of Israel reported:

Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the cargo ship’s master had initially refused an Iranian order to move further into Iranian waters, but after the warning shots were fired the MV Maersk Tigris complied.
Warren said the cargo ship has been boarded by Iranians, but no one has been injured and no Americans are involved.
Warren said the cargo ship issued a distress call and the US Naval Forces Central Command, based in the area, sent a US destroyer and an aircraft to the area of the incident to monitor the situation.

While the Marshall Islands is a sovereign country, the U.S. “has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands,” according to the U.S. State Department. Maersk, the shipping line whose vessel was commandeered, is one of the largest employers of U.S. merchant mariners, and “operate[s], manage[s] and maintain[s] ships for the U.S. government ships in preposition and surge sealift capacities,” according to its website.

Patrick Megahan, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that Maersk Tigris was in international waters when it was seized.

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