The Front Page Cover
2016 The turth is the gold of today
Featuring:
The State Of The Presidency: Spent
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER.
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A Way to Slow Executive Overreach
"Our Founders distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, fiercely, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of security," Barack nObama told us Tuesday night in a civics lesson meant to browbeat everyone into agreeing with him.
So how do we use the separation of powers he mentioned to slow the unilateral advance of his agenda by executive fiat? Genevieve Wood of The Heritage Foundation has a strategy: "Though Congress has given up much of its power when it comes to using its 'power of the purse' to stop executive overreach, there is one power it still holds, and there is absolutely no reason not to use it. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, popularly known as 'Advice and Consent,' requires the Senate to approve all presidential appointments of cabinet officials, ambassadors, and federal judges. The day of the Senate 'consenting' and following a go-along get-along strategy on such matters should be over."
While this wouldn't cause much trouble for judicial appointments — 91% of those seats are filled — there are more than 100 key administration jobs being held by an acting deputy if not by an empty chair. (And we all know how much nObama likes empty chairs.) It's not uncommon for this to happen to some extent in the final year of a president's second term, but nObama's vacancies are more numerous than his predecessors'. Republicans shouldn't hesitate to use any tool at their disposal to make nObama's final year as unproductive as possible.
-The Patriot Post
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nObama Still Working to Close Gitmo
During his State of the Union remarks, Barack nObama said that he would continue to make the closing of Guantanamo Bay Detention Center a reality — just like he's said for the last seven years. "I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo," nObama said. "It's expensive, it's unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies." Late last year, nObama lost a political fight to close the prison that is holding terrorists and suspected terrorists. He tried to attach a proposal to the defense-spending bill that would authorize a move of Gitmo detainees to a prison in the States — even vetoing the bill when it arrived on his desk without his demands. Now, nObama will again use executive action to subvert the will of Congress and U.S. law. His administration has been releasing prisoners, five in trade for Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, and now 10 Yemenis will be shipped off to the United Arab Emirates because this administration no longer considers them a threat. But this administration also once argued Iraq was stable enough to leave. While nObama won't close Gitmo all at once, he will close it one prisoner at a time. -The Patriot Post
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State of Fundamental Change When Barack nObama campaigned for president in 2008, he pledged to strengthen the economy, create jobs and restore confidence in America. On Tuesday in his final State of the Union Address, he tried to convince America that he had succeeded. But after seven years of watching the White House operate outside the realm of reality, no one is fooled.
nObama set the stage by preemptively insulting anyone who would attempt to unravel the spin he was about to spew, stating, "Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction." Of course, someone who lives in a world of fantasy, where a jump in the national debt from $10.6 trillion in 2009 to $18.8 trillion today is "economic progress," can hardly be trusted to judge fact and fiction.
In the land of reality, nObama's economy is a downright failure. First, as The Daily Signal explains, while nObama touted lower unemployment and more jobs, the fact is that the 5% unemployment rate today is worse than the 4.4% rate under George W. Bush in May of 2007. And the unemployment rate doesn't count the millions who have left the workforce during nObama's reign. Indeed, the labor participation rate today is the lowest since 1977, standing at just 62.6%. What's more, the average unemployed worker has been jobless for more than six months, longer than at any time between 1945 and nObama's inauguration.
As for those new jobs? Job creation has mostly kept pace with population growth. While treading water is better than the alternative, it's hardly worthy of a medal. -The Patriot Post
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Iran, the American Sailors,
and Current Laws
Cully Stimson 
James Phillips.
{dailysignal.com} ~ Given the news that Iran held U.S. naval personnel and their two vessels for a day or so, and broadcast the images and videos of the sailors, we thought it prudent to explore the legal, security, and policy ramifications of Iran’s latest provocative actions....
1) Why did Iran hold American sailors? There are myriad issues tied up in Iran’s actions, and it is important not to merge or commingle the legal, national security, and political aspects of their actions. But before exploring those parts, it goes without saying that Iran clearly broadcast images of U.S. sailors, on their knees, as a way of embarrassing the sailors, this administration, and the United States of America. These are not the actions of a country that can be trusted, let alone those of what the Obama administration considers a potential ally.
1) Why did Iran hold American sailors? There are myriad issues tied up in Iran’s actions, and it is important not to merge or commingle the legal, national security, and political aspects of their actions. But before exploring those parts, it goes without saying that Iran clearly broadcast images of U.S. sailors, on their knees, as a way of embarrassing the sailors, this administration, and the United States of America. These are not the actions of a country that can be trusted, let alone those of what the Obama administration considers a potential ally.
2) Was the timing of this maritime capture and detention arbitrary, or is something else going on?
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nObama Sacrifices National Security
to Keep Iran Happy
fixthisnation
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In Dangerous Gamble,
the nObama Administration Is Abandoning
Decades-Old Mideast Alliances
Tony Badran
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{defenddemocracy.org} ~ In response to the crisis in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, following the latter's assault on the Saudi consulate and embassy in Iran, the nObama administration has taken to the media to unleash a furious rebuke... But the administration's condemnation was not aimed primarily at Tehran; instead it's been largely directed at America's longstanding ally: Saudi Arabia. Administration officials have charged that, by executing radical Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, the Saudis have exacerbated sectarian tensions in the region and jeopardized U.S. policy in Syria. "This is a dangerous game they are playing," an unnamed U.S. official told the Washington Post. "There are larger repercussions," including damage to "counter-ISIL initiatives as well as the Syrian peace process." This is a common thread that runs through the administration's briefings against the Saudis, which reveals the White House's backing of Iran's regional position over and against the traditional U.S. alliance system. The claim that the Saudis were damaging the supposed Syrian "peace process" sounds surreal on its face. But it is quite revealing, not just about how the White House defines success, but also about its overall policy in Syria.
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The Islamic State vs. Al-Qaeda:
The War Within the Jihadist Movement
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross(Co-authored with Nathaniel Barr and Bridget Moreng)
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{defenddemocracy.org} ~ The post-Arab Spring period has seen extraordinary growth in the global jihadist movement... In addition to the Islamic State seizing a vast swathe of territory spanning Syria and Iraq and al-Qaeda establishing itself as a potent military force in the Syrian civil war, instability and unfulfilled expectations in numerous countries — including Egypt, Libya, Mali, Tunisia, and Yemen — have presented jihadists with unprecedented opportunities. But even as the jihadist movement experiences rapid growth, it has also endured unprecedented internal turmoil. The Islamic State’s emergence marks the first time that leadership over the global jihadist movement has been seriously contested. Since that group’s expulsion from the al-Qaeda network in February 2014, a fierce competition between the Islamic State and al-Qaeda has defined the militant landscape. The United States has an opportunity to exploit and aggravate fissures within the jihadist community, but to do so successfully, it is essential to understand the differences in the modus operandi of these two rival jihadist groups. http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/gartenstein-ross-daveed-the-islamic-state-vs-al-qaeda-the-war-within-the-jihadist-movement/
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Defense Secretary Slips Up,
Reveals nObama Admin LED IRAN
Straight to Our Sailors
conservativetribune
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The Cult of Liberalism has
Infected the USA and SOTU is proof
Nicholas Wishek
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The Federal Lands Freedom Act:
Empowering States to Control
Their Own Energy Futures
Katie Tubb and Nicolas D. Loris
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{insideronline.org} ~ The United States is now the world’s leader in both natural gas and oil production— centuries’ worth of oil, natural gas, and coal resources lie beneath private property as well as under lands owned by state governments... While federally owned lands are also full of energy potential, a bureaucratic regulatory regime has mismanaged land use for decades. The tremendous economic benefits of open energy markets and the proven track record of the individual states’ regulatory structures dictate a re-examination of the way the federal government manages resources on federal lands. The Federal Lands Freedom Act gives states the authority to administer leasing, permitting, and regulatory programs for development of all energy resources on federal lands. States are already well positioned to help make a transition to better management of these resources. While Congress should pursue opportunities to reduce the size of the federal estate, the Federal Lands Freedom Act is a significant step toward better management of America’s lands and natural resources. http://www.insideronline.org/reader.php?id=XqER
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Incandescents Now
More Efficient than LEDs
JEFFREY A. TUCKER.
{fee.org} ~ Researchers at the MIT are publicizing that they have fixed the incandescent lightbulb with a brilliant improvement... They have wrapped the interior filament in a crystal glass that both bounces light and contains heat. It recycles energy in a way that addresses the main complaint against Edison’s bulb: It burns far too much energy for the light that it produces. Why is this interesting? About a decade ago, governments around the world developed a fetish for banning incandescents (through an efficiency rule) and replacing them with expensive LED technology and florescent bulbs. It happened in Europe first but eventually came to the United States. The last American factory to produce them closed in 2010, and they are ever harder to find in even the big-box hardware stores. (As with all such bans, there are exceptions for elites who desire specialty bulbs.) The change has been seriously annoying for many consumers. It has even given rise to hoarding and gray markets (in Germany, such bulbs were repackaged as “heat balls”). It has produced something of a political backlash, too..
'Overwhelming Evidence' that
Rescue Teams in Benghazi were Turned Back
Alice Greene
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Sharyl Attkisson
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Iran JUST Released
American Pastor, Marine And Reporter
Carol Morello, William Branigin
and Karen DeYoung
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{washingtonpost.com} ~ Iran released Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and three other detained Iranian Americans on Saturday in exchange for seven people imprisoned or charged in the United States... U.S. and Iranian officials said, a swap linked to the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers. Hours after Iranian officials said Rezaian, 39, was freed from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison after 18 months of captivity, and after a planned ceremony on the nuclear accord in Vienna was repeatedly postponed, the Post journalist and the other Americans remained in Tehran, waiting to be flown out of the country aboard a Swiss plane. But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency then announced the release of a report Saturday “confirming that Iran has completed the necessary preparatory steps to start the implementation” of the nuclear deal, a move that apparently paves the way for the exchange to go ahead. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iran-releases-post-correspondent-jason-rezaian-iranian-reports-say/2016/01/16/e8ee7858-ba38-11e5-829c-26ffb874a18d_story.html.
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The State Of The Presidency: Spent
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER.
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The signs of intellectual exhaustion were everywhere. Consider just three. After taking credit for success in Syria, raising American stature abroad and prevailing against the Islamic State — one claim more surreal than the next — nObama was forced to repair to his most well-worn talking point: “If you doubt America’s commitment — or mine — to see that justice is done, just ask Osama bin Laden.”
The signs of intellectual exhaustion were everywhere. Consider just three. After taking credit for success in Syria, raising American stature abroad and prevailing against the Islamic State — one claim more surreal than the next — nObama was forced to repair to his most well-worn talking point: “If you doubt America’s commitment — or mine — to see that justice is done, just ask Osama bin Laden.”
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Really? Five years later, that’s all you’ve got?
Really? Five years later, that’s all you’ve got?
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Indeed, it is. What else can nObama say? Talk about Crimea? Cite Yemen, Libya, Iraq, the South China Sea, the return of the Taliban?
Indeed, it is. What else can nObama say? Talk about Crimea? Cite Yemen, Libya, Iraq, the South China Sea, the return of the Taliban?
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“Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office,” nObama boasted. Surveys, mind you. As if superpower influence is a Miss Universe contest. As if the world doesn’t see our allies adrift, our enemies on the march and our sailors kneeling, hands behind their heads, in front of armed Iranians, then forced to apologize on camera. And our secretary of state expressing appreciation to Iran after their subsequent release.
“Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office,” nObama boasted. Surveys, mind you. As if superpower influence is a Miss Universe contest. As if the world doesn’t see our allies adrift, our enemies on the march and our sailors kneeling, hands behind their heads, in front of armed Iranians, then forced to apologize on camera. And our secretary of state expressing appreciation to Iran after their subsequent release.
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On the domestic side, nObama’s agenda was fairly short, in keeping with his lame-duck status. It was still startling when he worked up a passion for a great “new moonshot”: curing cancer.
On the domestic side, nObama’s agenda was fairly short, in keeping with his lame-duck status. It was still startling when he worked up a passion for a great “new moonshot”: curing cancer.
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Is there a more hackneyed national-greatness cliche than the idea that if we can walk on the moon … ? Or a more hackneyed facsimile of vision than being “the nation that cures cancer”? Do nObama’s speechwriters not know that it was Richard Nixon who first declared a war on cancer — in 1971?
Is there a more hackneyed national-greatness cliche than the idea that if we can walk on the moon … ? Or a more hackneyed facsimile of vision than being “the nation that cures cancer”? Do nObama’s speechwriters not know that it was Richard Nixon who first declared a war on cancer — in 1971?
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But to see just how bare is the cupboard of ideas of the nation’s most vaunted liberal visionary, we had to wait for the stunning anachronism that was the speech finale. It was designed for inspiration and uplift. And for some liberal observers, it actually worked. They were thrilled by the soaring tones as nObama called for, yes, a new politics — a post-partisan spirit of mutual understanding, rational discourse and respect for one’s opponents.
But to see just how bare is the cupboard of ideas of the nation’s most vaunted liberal visionary, we had to wait for the stunning anachronism that was the speech finale. It was designed for inspiration and uplift. And for some liberal observers, it actually worked. They were thrilled by the soaring tones as nObama called for, yes, a new politics — a post-partisan spirit of mutual understanding, rational discourse and respect for one’s opponents.
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Why, it was hope and change all over again. You’d have thought we were back in 2008 with nObama’s moving, stirring promise of a new and higher politics that had young people swooning in the aisles and a TV anchor thrilling up the leg — and gave nObama the White House.
Why, it was hope and change all over again. You’d have thought we were back in 2008 with nObama’s moving, stirring promise of a new and higher politics that had young people swooning in the aisles and a TV anchor thrilling up the leg — and gave nObama the White House.
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Or even further back to 2004, when nObama electrified the nation with his Democratic convention speech: “There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.”
Or even further back to 2004, when nObama electrified the nation with his Democratic convention speech: “There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.”
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Tuesday night, nObama did an undisguised, almost phrase-for-phrase reprise of that old promise. Earnestly, he urged us to “see ourselves not, first and foremost, as black or white, or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first.”
Tuesday night, nObama did an undisguised, almost phrase-for-phrase reprise of that old promise. Earnestly, he urged us to “see ourselves not, first and foremost, as black or white, or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first.”
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On cue, various commentators were moved by this sermon summoning our better angels. Good grief. I can understand falling for this 12 years ago. But now? A cheap self-quotation, a rhetorical mulligan, from a man who had two presidential terms to act on that transformative vision and instead gave us the most divisive, partisan, tendentious presidency since Nixon.
On cue, various commentators were moved by this sermon summoning our better angels. Good grief. I can understand falling for this 12 years ago. But now? A cheap self-quotation, a rhetorical mulligan, from a man who had two presidential terms to act on that transformative vision and instead gave us the most divisive, partisan, tendentious presidency since Nixon.
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Rational discourse and respect for one’s opponents? This is a man who campaigned up and down the country throughout 2011 and 2012 saying that he cares about posterity, Republicans only about power.
Rational discourse and respect for one’s opponents? This is a man who campaigned up and down the country throughout 2011 and 2012 saying that he cares about posterity, Republicans only about power.
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The man who accused opponents of his Iran treaty of “making common cause” with Iranians “chanting death to America.”
The man who accused opponents of his Iran treaty of “making common cause” with Iranians “chanting death to America.”
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The man who, after Paul Ryan proposed a courageous, controversial entitlement reform, gave a presidential address — with Ryan, invited by the White House, seated in the first row — calling his ideas un-American.
The man who, after Paul Ryan proposed a courageous, controversial entitlement reform, gave a presidential address — with Ryan, invited by the White House, seated in the first row — calling his ideas un-American.
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In a final touch of irony, nObama included in his wistful rediscovery of a more elevated politics an expression of reverence for, of all things, how “our founders distributed power between … branches of government.” This after years of repeatedly usurping Congress’ legislative power with unilateral executive orders and regulations on everything from criminal justice to climate change to immigration (already halted by the courts).
In a final touch of irony, nObama included in his wistful rediscovery of a more elevated politics an expression of reverence for, of all things, how “our founders distributed power between … branches of government.” This after years of repeatedly usurping Congress’ legislative power with unilateral executive orders and regulations on everything from criminal justice to climate change to immigration (already halted by the courts).
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There is wisdom to the 22nd Amendment. After two terms, presidents are spent. Nothing shows it like a State of the Union valedictory repeating the hollow promises of the yesteryear candidate — as if the intervening presidency had never occurred.
There is wisdom to the 22nd Amendment. After two terms, presidents are spent. Nothing shows it like a State of the Union valedictory repeating the hollow promises of the yesteryear candidate — as if the intervening presidency had never occurred.
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