The Front Page Cover
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened"
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Featuring:
Interior Secretary Refuses
To Testify On EPA Toxic Mine Spill
Michael Bastasch
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"Rise up together as one voice"
"Be careful where you stand"
~~~lll~~~
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Not Enough U.S.-Trained Soldiers to Take on JV Team 
This is not what Samuel Adams was talking about when he described an "irate, tireless minority keen on setting brushfires of freedom." Before the Senate Armed Services Committee Sept. 16, Gen. Lloyd Austin admitted the plan to train 5,000 moderate Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State has only produced "four or five" fighters. The Pentagon has allocated $500 million to the program that started this spring. To date, it has trained only 54 fighters, but they dispersed during Ramadan to visit family, during which the al-Qaida-linked Al Nusra Front attacked those remaining. "I have never heard testimony like this. ... Never," Sen. John McCain said in response to the news. "I have never seen a hearing that is as divorced from ... reality." CBS News reports the Pentagon will now lower its expectations for the program. But the root cause of America's poor response to the Syrian Civil War isn't bad management. The ideology held by the highest levels of this administration, the ideology that caused Obama to pullout from Iraq, the one that initially called the Islamic State the "JV team," is the one driving this decision-making — and tainting the intelligence Obama receives to boot. In the spirit of cooperation, Secretary of State John Kerry has approached Russia, which wants to defeat the Islamic State while protecting the Assad regime, in an effort to coordinate our military efforts with theirs. Which will do what, precisely? Obama "always had a simple strategy for ISIS," Charles Krauthammer said, "which is to do nothing until he leaves office and to turn it over to his successor." -The Patriot Post
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Constitution Day Today, Sept. 17, 2015, marks the 228th anniversary of the signing of our Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. We invite you to honor the day by reading our Constitution, and to join our demand that elected officials abide by their solemn oaths to "to Support and Defend" the Rule of Law it enshrines.
Additionally, Mark Alexander has an extensive archive of columns on the Constitution as it relates to domestic and foreign policy, and more specifically, sections on Liberty and Rule of Law and on our Republic's First Principles.
Today we also mark The Patriot Post's 19th anniversary online. We do so with gratitude to you, our fellow Patriots, for your financial support of our mission and operations budget. -The Patriot Post
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Still No Ice-Free Arctic
With the fall equinox right around the corner, now's a good time to assess the summer impact on seasonal Arctic ice melt. And make no mistake: It was another lousy season. But that doesn't mean panic is in order. According to a report released Tuesday by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), "On September 11, 2015, sea ice extent dropped to 4.41 million square kilometers (1.70 million square miles), the fourth lowest minimum in the satellite record." Another minimum is possible sometime in the next several weeks, but the recovery period is likely underway as the Northern Hemisphere transitions toward winter. Which brings us to one particularly noteworthy excerpt from the report: "The minimum extent was reached four days earlier than the 1981 to 2010 average minimum date of September 15. The extent ranked behind 2012 (lowest), 2007 (second lowest), and 2011 (third lowest)." So even though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration alleges the globe is on pace to set another record warm year, the Arctic — where melt season ended early — isn't exactly sizzling. Either that, or global warming has changed the temperature at which ice melts. And lest we forget, the 1.7 million square miles of present ice coverage is still 1.7 million square miles more than what the experts predicted some years ago. In 2009, then-Sen. hanoi John Kerry said, "Scientists project that the Arctic will be ice-free in the summer of 2013." In that same year, Al Gore reiterated the claim: "Some of the models suggest that there is a 75% chance that the entire north polar ice cap during some of the summer months will be completely ice-free within the next five to seven years." Well, those time frames have passed, and not only is ice still around, its coverage is higher than 2007, 2011 and 2012
As a final note, while NSIDC claims, "the nine lowest extents in the satellite era have all occurred in the last nine years," why is it that satellites are suddenly relevant? Other satellite measurements depict an 18-year-old global warming hiatus, and we in our humble shop don't recall those statistics heating up coverage in climate reports. -The Patriot Post
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Government to Hire Psychologists to Study Americans
Ronald Reagan once said one of the most terrifying phrases in the English language is, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." That phrase got a bit more terrifying this week, as Barack nObama issued an executive order mandating government agencies use psychology to "yield substantial improvements in public welfare." On a certain level, the field of political science touches psychology, as both have to deal with human nature. But the assumption is that people cannot act in their own self-interest. The government thinks you can't stop smoking, save for retirement or find a job on your own. So agencies ranging from the Post Office to the Department of Health and Human Services are ordered to hire psychologists, study human behavior and institute nudge theory. nObama ordered, "A growing body of evidence demonstrates that behavioral science insights — research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology about how people make decisions and act on them — can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people." nObama got the idea for this executive order from the United Kingdom. The country, not exactly known for its freedom-loving initiatives, instituted the policy in 2010 that "nudges" people toward decisions the government wants. No longer will the government rule with an iron scepter. Instead, it will be inside your head.
-The Patriot Post
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Federal court opens door to shutdown of NSA spy program
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Hilly Offers Disgusting “Apology” for Email Scandal...
{patriotsandpolitics.com} ~ Hilly Clinton sat down recently with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell and gave one of her best non-apology apologies of her long scandal-plagued public life... The Democratic presidential candidate addressed her email server scandal by saying, “At the end of the day, I am sorry that this has been confusing to people and has raised a lot of questions.” A CNN State of the Union panel took a look at the interview and Gloria Borger remarked how Hilly’s statement used “tortured syntax” because “she knows that if she had apologized, she would have to admit wrongdoing.” http://patriotsandpolitics.com/hillary-on-her-email-scandal-sorry-youre-confused/.
{Judge Andrew Napolitano} ~ The bad news has continued to cascade onto the Hilly Clinton for President campaign, and none of it has anything to do with Clinton’s opinions on issues. It all is about her fitness for office... Since Labor Day, we have learned that the folks into whose hands Clinton reposed her computer server for safe keeping do not believe it has been wiped clean of all emails, as her lawyer told a federal judge it was. That means the 33,000 emails she thought she destroyed probably still could be recovered. What will they reveal? And we learned earlier this week that of the emails released thus far – those Clinton did not attempt to destroy – there is a five-month gap for which no emails were produced. For a government official who sent or received about 15,000 emails a year, five months of silence is not believable. Two of those months followed the assassination of the U.S. ambassador to Libya in Benghazi. Where are her emails from that time period? http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/hillary-akin-to-a-common-crook/
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Why Western Nations Should only accept Christian Refugees
{Raymond Ibrahim} ~ As refugees from the Middle East flood the West, a number of countries... including Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Cyprus, and Australia—are defying political correctness by wanting to accept Christian refugees only. While more “progressive” voices cry “racism,” the fact remains: there are several objective reasons why the West should give priority, if not exclusivity, to Christian refugees—and some of these are actually to the benefit of European host nations. Consider:
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THE CONSERVATIVE TALKER AT WAR WITH HIMSELF {Erik Rush} ~ It was last Friday, the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America by Islamists and the third anniversary of the attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya... I was listening to a conservative talking head whom I once respected rail about Senate Republicans telegraphing their intention to allow President nObama’s Iran deal to go through, and how weak the GOP leadership has been in their failure to hold nObama in abeyance. He went on to characterize nObama’s Iran policy as naïve and foolish. That same day, I also read a post by another conservative media personality that wound up being featured by some prominent online news sources. The post, as well as some bizarre, in congruent statements this person made in the days leading up to it were of a decidedly dismal tone.
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Abbas: "Filthy" Jews' Feet Not Allowed on Temple Mount
{investigativeproject.org} ~ The International Union of Muslim Scholars is calling on Palestinians to "Rescue al-Aqsa" and rise up against Israel, according to several Twitter posts translated by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)... One of the tweets features a picture of Israeli police about to enter Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque. In reality, the Israeli authorities are pursuing Palestinian rioters who took refuge in the mosque and terrorists who were plotting to conduct attacks against Jewish worshippers. The picture – which is clearly intended to provoke Palestinians to continue stirring up trouble for Israeli citizens. http://www.investigativeproject.org/4978/abbas-filthy-jews-feet-not-allowed-on-temple-mount.
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Interior Secretary Refuses
To Testify On EPA Toxic Mine Spill
Michael Bastasch
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Despite an invitation Republican lawmakers to get Jewell to come before the committee Thursday to testify on the Interior’s investigation, the former CEO of REI has declined. Instead, Jewell’s staffers sent an unsigned statement to House lawmakers.
Despite an invitation Republican lawmakers to get Jewell to come before the committee Thursday to testify on the Interior’s investigation, the former CEO of REI has declined. Instead, Jewell’s staffers sent an unsigned statement to House lawmakers.
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“Despite nearly every one of its agencies having jurisdiction over lands impacted by the spill and responsibilities to uphold for impacted communities, including tribes, Interior has been nearly invisible in the wake of the spill,” Wyoming Republican Rep. Cynthia Lummis told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an emailed statement.
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The Interior Department has been tasked with releasing a technical report on the EPA-caused mine spill in August where agency contractors accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of waste water into Colorado’s Animas River.
The Interior Department has been tasked with releasing a technical report on the EPA-caused mine spill in August where agency contractors accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of waste water into Colorado’s Animas River.
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But the department has largely been silent on its probe into the Gold King Mine spill. Interior told House lawmakers they “would be happy to provide the lawmakers with a briefing of that report after its release,” according to the statement to the House provided to The DCNF by the department. Their response has only frustrated lawmakers.
But the department has largely been silent on its probe into the Gold King Mine spill. Interior told House lawmakers they “would be happy to provide the lawmakers with a briefing of that report after its release,” according to the statement to the House provided to The DCNF by the department. Their response has only frustrated lawmakers.
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“Both the EPA and the Department of the Interior must be held accountable, both today and as the recovery efforts continue,” Lummis said. “Right now, the public is being left in the dark. Refusing to appear before the committees and failing to even offer to send a representative on the department’s behalf is deeply concerning.”
“Both the EPA and the Department of the Interior must be held accountable, both today and as the recovery efforts continue,” Lummis said. “Right now, the public is being left in the dark. Refusing to appear before the committees and failing to even offer to send a representative on the department’s behalf is deeply concerning.”
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The EPA-induced spill has attracted the ire of state officials and Republican lawmakers. Senate lawmakers held two hearings Wednesday where Republicans grilled EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy over the agency’s response to the spill.
The EPA-induced spill has attracted the ire of state officials and Republican lawmakers. Senate lawmakers held two hearings Wednesday where Republicans grilled EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy over the agency’s response to the spill.
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In those hearings, McCarthy was repeatedly criticized for not reprimanding or firing any agency employees or contractors involved in the mine spill, which contaminated river water in three states with heavy metals, including lead and arsenic.
In those hearings, McCarthy was repeatedly criticized for not reprimanding or firing any agency employees or contractors involved in the mine spill, which contaminated river water in three states with heavy metals, including lead and arsenic.
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“Has anyone been fired for almost taking two days to notify the Navajo about the disaster?” Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain asked McCarthy in a Wednesday hearing. “Has anyone been fired for the Navajo’s complaint that the emergency response was inadequate?”
“Has anyone been fired for almost taking two days to notify the Navajo about the disaster?” Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain asked McCarthy in a Wednesday hearing. “Has anyone been fired for the Navajo’s complaint that the emergency response was inadequate?”
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“So this long after the spill, you’re still trying to determine who’s accountable for the spill?” North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven asked McCarthy.
“So this long after the spill, you’re still trying to determine who’s accountable for the spill?” North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven asked McCarthy.
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McCarthy repeated that the agency was being held accountable, but wouldn’t go after individuals involved in the spill until after the Interior Department has completed its report on the spill. That report is set to come out at the end of October.
McCarthy repeated that the agency was being held accountable, but wouldn’t go after individuals involved in the spill until after the Interior Department has completed its report on the spill. That report is set to come out at the end of October.
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“Because of the soil and rock conditions, the access and drilling of a hole into the Adit from above would have been quite costly and require much more planning and multiple filed seasons to accomplish,” the EPA’s internal review says. “Although difficult and therefore expensive and technically challenging, this procedure may have been able to discover the pressurized conditions that turned out to cause the blowout.”
“Because of the soil and rock conditions, the access and drilling of a hole into the Adit from above would have been quite costly and require much more planning and multiple filed seasons to accomplish,” the EPA’s internal review says. “Although difficult and therefore expensive and technically challenging, this procedure may have been able to discover the pressurized conditions that turned out to cause the blowout.”
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