Monday, August 31, 2015

FPI: The Latest: Christie via FedEx, Carson Ties With Trump, Kanye 2020 and Hillary Email Scandal

MSNBC: Ben Carson ties Donald Trump in new poll

By Jane C. Timm, Aug. 31, 2015, MSNBC

Dr. Ben Carson tied Republican front-runner Donald Trump in a new poll of likely Iowa Republicans on Monday, marking the first time any other GOP 2016 contender has managed to rival the real estate mogul at the top slot.

The famed pediatric neurosurgeon could not be less like Trump: he’s soft-spoken where Trump is bombastic and anecdotal where Trump is broad and sweeping, but both occupy a similar space in the political sphere. Neither man has ever been elected to public office, but they’re both famous – Trump for his wealth and Carson for his rags-to-riches personal story – and possess the kind of charisma that’s worth its weight in gold in politics.

The Monmouth University survey found Carson and Trump tied for first place with 23% of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers. Coming up behind them is another political outsider, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who enjoys much of the same appeal as the headliners. Of the candidates who have been elected or held office who make a decent showing – Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Scott Walker – neither score double digits.


More:  www.msnbc.com

CNN: Christie's laughable FedEx solution on immigration

By Paul A. Reyes, Aug. 31, 2015, CNN

(CNN)Relax, it's FedEx. That's a slogan associated withone of the world's largest express transportation companies. It is also the latest policy proposal put forth by 2016 GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie.

"You go on online and at any moment, FedEx can tell you where that package is," the New Jersey governor said on Saturday. "Yet we let people come into this country with visas, and the minute they come in, we lose track of them."

Christie said that he wants FedEx founder Fred Smith to come and work for the government to show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) how to set up a system for tracking people.

Christie's idea would be laughable were he not serious.

The idea of tracking people like packages would likely be both impossible and inhumane. Moreover, it would do nothing toward solving the problem of what to do with the majority of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are already here.


More: www.cnn.com

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Bloomberg/SacBee: Sanders within striking distance of Clinton in Iowa poll

By Margaret Talev, Aug. 29, 2015, Bloomberg/Sacramento Bee

Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-prohibitive advantage in Iowa has slipped enough to jeopardize her front- runner status and Bernie Sanders has moved to within striking distance, revealing a Democratic presidential field in unexpected flux as Vice President Joe Biden considers whether to run.

The results of the latest Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, released Saturday, show Clinton is now the first choice of 37 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers in the state where the first ballots of the presidential contest will be cast early next year. She's followed by Sanders at 30 percent and Biden at 14 percent. It's the first time the poll has had Clinton's support under 50 percent.

In May, the Iowa Poll put Clinton at 57 percent, Sanders at 16 percent, and Biden at 8 percent.

"It looks like what people call the era of inevitability is over," said J. Ann Selzer, president of West Des Moines, Iowa- based Selzer & Co., which conducted the poll. "She has lost a third of the support that she had in May, so any time you lose that much that quickly, it's a wake-up call."

The decline in Clinton's rating in the poll comes despite her dominance of the local broadcast airwaves. During the past month, she was the only Democratic candidate or political action committee advertising on broadcast television stations in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. According to Kantar/CMAG data, the Clinton campaign was not only unopposed on the Democratic side, but also ran more than twice as many ads in the markets where it bought, than all Republican advertising combined.

More: www.sacbee.com

Washington Post: A summer of Clinton stumbles gives way to an uncertain fall for Democrats

Fox Insider
By Dan Balz and Philip Rucker, Aug. 29, 2015, Washington Post

MINNEAPOLIS — The Democratic Party, whose presidential race has been mostly overshadowed by Donald Trump and the Republicans, heads into the fall with its nomination contest far less certain than it once appeared and braced for a series of events that will have a significant effect on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign.

Clinton’s standing has been eroded both by her own shaky handling of the e-mail controversy and by the populist energy fueling the challenge of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Her weakened position in the polls has stoked talk about a possible late entry from Vice President Biden, which could dramatically change the dynamic of the race.

As the Democratic National Committee wrapped up its summer meeting here Saturday, members were left with a series of questions not just about Clinton, but also Biden, Sanders and the party as a whole.


Time: Donald Trump Will ‘Make a Decision Very Soon’ on Third Party Bid

Getty
Erik Schelzig, Jill Colvin, Aug. 29, 2015, Time.com

"I think a lot of people are going to be very happy," said Trump

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Donald Trump will decide soon whether to mount a third party bid if he loses the Republican nomination for president, the real estate mogul said Saturday.

“I think over the next couple of weeks you’re going to see some things that are very interesting,” Trump said after a speech in Nashville to a gathering of tea party activists.

“We’re going to make a decision very soon,” he added, “and I think a lot of people are going to be very happy.”

Trump has so far refused to pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, saying his refusal to commit gains him leverage over the party establishment, which has been caught off-guard by his early dominance in the race. He’s also said repeatedly that he’d prefer to run as a Republican as long as the party treats him fairly.

More: www.time.com

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Rolling Stone: Gun Control: Where Each of the Presidential Candidates Stands

By Lauren Kelly, Jun. 18, 2015, Rolling Stone

Jeb Bush


Bush "has a conservative record on gun rights, having signed Florida's first-in-the-nation 'Stand Your Ground' bill into law in 2005," reports Vox.

Bush canceled a Charleston campaign event that had been slated for Thursday after news of the shooting broke. "Governor Bush's thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy," a spokesperson said.

Ben Carson


The far-right-wing Carson discussed his views on guns with Glenn Beck in 2013. "There's a reason for the Second Amendment; people do have the right to have weapons," he said,per Mediaite. He added that people should be allowed to have semi-automatic weapons in some cases: "It depends on where you live," he said. "I think if you live in the midst of a lot of people, and I'm afraid that that semi-automatic weapon is going to fall into the hands of a crazy person, I would rather you not have it," but if you reside "out in the country somewhere by yourself…I've no problem with that."

Carson later said those comments had been "perhaps a little inartful."

"What I was trying to get across," he said, "is that we need to talk about how do we keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of people who are crazy, of people and people who are horrendous criminals" – a goal he'd like to achieve, he said, not through gun registries but through "smart gun" technology.

Lincoln Chafee

According to Rhode Island Public Radio, as governor, Chafee supported 2013 legislation that would have banned semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. (That legislation was watered down significantly before it passed the legislature.)

Hillary Clinton

Gun control advocates see Clinton as "an ally who can finish the push for tightened background checks that has stalled in President Obama's second term," The Hill reports.

"We cannot let a minority of people, and that's what it is, it is a minority of people, hold a view point that terrorizes the majority of people," Clinton said last year, referring to groups that oppose gun control laws.

Ted Cruz

"The Second Amendment to the Constitution isn't for just protecting hunting rights, and it's not only to safeguard your right to target practice," Cruz has said, per the New York Times. "It is a Constitutional right to protect your children, your family, your home, our lives, and to serve as the ultimate check against governmental tyranny — for the protection of liberty."

More: www.rollingstone.com

Friday, August 28, 2015

The Daily Ledger / OANN: Admiral James 'Ace' Lyons (Ret). on the Iran Nuke Deal

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Politico: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump to hold anti-Iran deal rally in D.C.

By Seung Min Kim, Aug. 27, 2015

Though they’re rivals on the campaign trail, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are teaming up for a joint attack on President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

The Texas GOP senator’s campaign announced Thursday that he’s invited Trump to join a rally planned at the Capitol soon to pressure lawmakers on opposing the nuclear agreement. The rally is sponsored by Tea Party Patriots, Center for Security Policy, and the Zionist Organization of America.

“We are thankful for all their hard work on this effort and will have more details on time, date, and location as they are finalized,” the Cruz campaign said.

Trump hinted that an event was coming earlier Thursday, telling supporters at a campaign event in South Carolina: “I think we’re going to do something next week or the week after about the Iran pact” in Washington.

“We’re going to have a tremendous crowd come out,” Trump promised.

More: www.politico.com

Quinnipiac University Poll: Voters In Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania Oppose Iran Nuke Deal 2-1

By Quinnipiac University, Aug. 24, 2015

President Barack Obama gets a split decision as voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania support his proposal to limit pollution from coal-fired energy plants by more than 2-1, while they oppose the proposed nuclear pact with Iran by margins of more than 2-1, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today.

President Obama remains under water with negative approval ratings of 41 - 56 percent in Florida, 42 - 54 percent in Ohio and 41 - 56 percent in Pennsylvania, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no candidate has won the presidential race without taking at least two of these three states.

By margins of 71 - 26 percent in Florida, 72 - 26 percent in Ohio and 74 - 24 percent in Pennsylvania, voters do not want four more years of Obama. 


On other hot-button issues:

Voters in each state oppose efforts to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood;
Majorities in all three states support allowing illegal immigrants to stay, with a path to citizenship;
Majorities in each state support sending U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
"Despite President Barack Obama's poor job approval rating in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, voters back his Environmental Protection Agency's plan to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. 

CNN: Biden unsure if he has the 'emotional fuel' for 2016 run

By Jim Acosta and Kristen Holmes, Aug. 26, 2015, CNN

Washington (CNN)Vice President Joe Biden revealed to members of the Democratic National Committee Wednesday that he is assessing whether he has "the emotional fuel" to run for the White House.

"We're dealing at home with ... whether or not there is the emotional fuel at this time to run," Biden told DNC members on a conference call that was billed as an opportunity to hear from the vice president on the Iran nuclear deal. "If I were to announce to run, I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul, and right now, both are pretty well banged up."


Although he did not mention his son, Beau Biden, by name during the call, the vice president has spoken openly throughout the summer about his grief following Beau's passing from brain cancer in May.

The call was intended to be closed to the media and for members of the Democratic Party only. But CNN obtained access to the conversation.

More: www.cnn.com

CBS: Poll: Joe Biden stronger against GOP than Hillary Clinton

By CBS News, Aug. 27, 2015

A new poll shows Joe Biden performing a little better than Hillary Clinton against the leading GOP candidates in a general election matchup, and his favorability is higher than that of any candidate -- Democrat or Republican.

Quinnipiac University's national poll, released Thursday, finds that Clinton remains the Democratic frontrunner with 45 percent, but her lead over Bernie Sanders has slipped by 10 percentage points. Sanders has 22 percent, and Biden comes in third with 18 percent.


Does Joe Biden have what it takes to compete in New Hampshire?
Poll: Hillary Clinton still a strong frontrunner in Iowa
With Obama's blessing, Biden mulls White House run
Why Obama's approval matters for a Biden presidential bid

On the Republican side, Donald Trump broadened his lead -- he's now at 28 percent, with Ben Carson trailing at 12 percent and Jeb Bush slipping back into a three-way tie for third with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio (they each have 7 percent).

But Trump is also the candidate with the highest percentage of GOP voters (26 percent) who say there's "no way" they would support him. Eleven percent of Democrats would say "no way" to Clinton.

Politico: White House pushes for Iran filibuster

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Burgess Everett, Aug. 27, 2015, Politico

President Barack Obama’s almost certain to get the Iran nuclear deal — but whether he gets there by filibuster or sustained veto could make all the difference.

A Democratic filibuster in the Senate would be a clear victory for the president, allowing Obama to say that for all the political noise there wasn’t enough actual opposition to the nuclear agreement with the Islamic republic to even get to a final vote.

Having to save the deal with a veto (just the fifth of his presidency) and relying on liberals in the House and Senate to sustain it would be much more trouble: a procedural pull across the finish line that sows more doubts in a public already skeptical of the deal, leaves international partners worried about America’s long-term commitment and adds weeks of added time and tangles.

The White House very much prefers option A. And even before he came out publicly for the deal on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had been in frequent contact with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to try to make that happen.

Read more: www.politico.com

Monday, August 24, 2015

TPM: Dick Cheney Plans To Give Big Speech About Iran Nuclear Deal

By Sara Jerde, Aug. 24, 2015, Talking Points Memo

Former Vice President Dick Cheney plans to give a speech in September about the Iran nuclear deal to the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

Cheney is set to give the speech Sept. 8, just more than a week before Congress votes on the deal Sept. 17, according to an AEI news release.

Cheney's speech plans to address the "deal’s consequences for the security and interests of the United States and its allies in the Middle East," according to the release.


JPost: Conservative pundit Pat Buchanan comes out strongly in favor of Iran nuclear deal

By JPost Staff, Aug. 24, 2015

One-time Republican presidential candidate and conservative pundit Pat Buchanan vigorously defended the newly signed Iran nuclear deal between world powers and the Islamic Republic during an interview on Sunday morning talk show the McLaughlin Group, surprising many in the GOP who have nearly all come out against Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievement.

In a lively discussion between Buchanan and multiple panelists, host John McLaughlin asked his guests if "the Iran deal was doomed?"

Buchanan responded by using Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer (D-NY) as an example of how feckless the opposition to the agreement was, claiming that the veteran lawmaker, who famously came out against the deal earlier this month, was "deliberately not leading," despite the fact that "New York was for the deal."

Buchanan went on to say that "the deal was going to go through," adding that the Majority Leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell (R-KY) "conceded as much" over the weekend and "was going to be the law."


ABC News: VP Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren Hold Private Meeting, Sources Say

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
By Alana Abramson, Devin Dwyer and Arlette Sanez, Aug. 22, 2015, ABC News

Joe Biden met privately with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Washington, D.C., today, in what appears to be a strong indication of how seriously the vice president is mulling a 2016 bid, two sources familiar with the meeting told ABC News

Biden “traveled last minute” to Washington today for the private political meeting with Warren, the sources said.

The vice president has been largely out from the public eye in recent weeks, as he contemplates launching a 2016 bid that would pit him against current Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who is still under fire for her use of a private email server as secretary of state.

Warren is considered one of the most vital endorsements of the 2016 election for the Democratsbecause of her strong support among liberals, but she hasn’t yet publicly announced her support for any candidate.

Biden and Warren have not seen eye to eye on some progressive issues in the past, but they are known to be friendly.


Saturday, August 22, 2015

Newsmax: Rasmussen: 57 Percent of GOP Voters Think Trump Will Be Nominee

By Todd Beamon, Aug. 21, 2015, Newsmax

Fifty-seven percent of Republican voters surveyed by Rasmussen Reports said that they expect Donald Trump to win the party's presidential nomination next year.

The results include 25 percent saying that the billionaire businessman was "very likely" to be the nominee, according to the Rasmussen results released Friday.

Rasmussen surveyed 1,000 adults Wednesday and Thursday for its latest weekly survey. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The results compared with 27 percent who felt that Trump's nomination was likely shortly after his June 16 announcement, including only 9 percent who said it was "very likely," according to Rasmussen.


ABC News: Thousands Attend Trump Rally in Mobile, Alabama

By Alana Abramson and Lissette Rodriguez, Aug. 22, 2015, ABC News

In what was hyped to be one of the biggest events of the 2016 campaign so far, GOP front-runner Donald Trump held a rally Friday in Mobile, Alabama, in front of thousands.

The campaign had to switch locations twice -- from a hotel and convention center -- after demand for tickets exceeded holding capacities. Ultimately, the event was held in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium, which can hold up to 40,000 people.

The stadium was about half full when Trump started his speech. He said it drew 30,000 people.


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Reuters: Greek PM to resign, seek snap election in September

By Renee Maltezou, Aug. 20, 2015

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will resign on Thursday to pave the way for early elections on Sept. 20, government officials said, hoping to quell a rebellion in his leftist Syriza party and seal support for a bailout program.

Tsipras's decision to return to the ballot box after seven bruising months in power deepens political uncertainty on the very day Greece began receiving funds under its third bailout program with foreign creditors.

But a snap election should allow Tsipras to capitalize on his popularity with Greek voters before the toughest parts of the program begin to bite, and may allow him to return to power in a stronger position without anti-bailout rebels in his radical left Syriza party to slow him down.

Greek two-year bond yields jumped 78 basis points to 12.15 percent, while Greek stocks closed down 3.5 percent.


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Menendez Opposed To Iran Deal, Address on Iran Nuclear Agreement

CNN/ORC Poll: Donald Trump now competitive in general election

By Jennifer Agiesta, Aug. 19, 2015, CNN

Washington (CNN)Since announcing his campaign in late June, Donald Trump has quickly leapt to the top of the Republican field, leading recent polls nationally, in Iowa and in New Hampshire. And now, for the first time in CNN/ORC polling, his gains among the Republican Party have boosted him enough to be competitive in the general election.

The poll finds Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump by just 6 points, a dramatic tightening since July. Trump is the one of three Republican candidates who have been matched against Clinton multiple times in CNN/ORC polling to significantly whittle the gap between himself and the Democratic frontrunner. He trailed Clinton by 16 points in a July poll, and narrowed that gap by boosting his standing among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (from 67% support in July to 79% now), men (from 46% in July to 53% now) and white voters (from 50% to 55%).

More: www.cnn.com

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Boston Globe: Support for a Joe Biden candidacy on the rise

By Margaret Talev, Aug. 17, 2015, Boston Globe

WASHINGTON — The movement to pull Vice President Joe Biden into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination appears to be gathering support.

The main group behind the effort has more than 200,000 addresses on its e-mail distribution list, up from a few thousand names in March, Joshua Alcorn, senior adviser to “Draft Biden 2016,” said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“Joe Biden is the original authentic candidate,” said Alcorn, a former aide to the vice president’s late son, Beau. “It’s our job at ‘Draft Biden’ to sort of remind people of who Joe Biden is.”

The vice president is undertaking a “deliberative process” with his family and inner circle on what the best decision would be, Alcorn said.

On Saturday, the Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., ran an editorial encouraging Biden to run.


Fox News: Walker unveils plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare

Source: Slate.com
By Jason Donner, Aug. 18, 2015

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker rolled out his first big policy proposal Tuesday in Minnesota as he unveiled his plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Walker said ObamaCare's backwards approach has driven up health care costs and reduced access to medical care for too many people.

The GOP contender's "Day One Patient Freedom Plan" consists of five steps: repealing ObamaCare in its entirety, ensuring affordable and accessible health insurance for everyone, making health care more efficient, effective and accountable by empowering the states, increasing quality and choice through innovation, and providing financial stability for families and taxpayers.

"Simple as this - it starts out with premise on my first day as president, I will send legislation to once and for all repeal ObamaCare entirely," Walker said at a speech in a Minnesota warehouse.

In order for Walker to repeal ObamaCare, he would need at least 60 votes in the Senate, which currently has only 54 Republicans. Even that number could decrease after next November's election.


CBS: Is it possible to end birthright citizenship?

By Rebecca Kaplan, Aug. 18, 2015, CBS News

A policy paper released by 2016 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump this weekend has reopened a question in the immigration debate that some of Trump's fellow GOP candidates may want to avoid: Is it time to end birthright citizenship?

According to Trump, it is - and his plan promises to do so. "This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration," Trump says in the policy paper. He cites a2011 survey by the right-leaning Rasmussen polling organization, which found that 65 percent of likely U.S. voters do not support birthright citizenship, which is automatic citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil. A 2010 CBS News poll found that 47 percent of Americans are in favor changing the law so that the children of immigrants in the U.S. illegally cannot become citizens, whereas 49 percent say it should stay the same.


The Los Angeles Times: Why a huge Los Angeles crowd turned out for Bernie Sanders

Kurtis Lee, Sarah Parvini and Kate Linthicum, Aug. 11, 2015, The Los Angeles Times

They stood in a line that stretched for blocks around the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, eager for a glimpse of the star attraction: a sometimes cantankerous 73-year-old with unruly white hair and a populist message.

"Feel the Bern!" they chanted. "Bernie! Bernie!"

The object of their desire was Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate whom pundits give no chance of winning the nomination but who has touched a nerve in what has otherwise been a low-key Democratic contest.

The crowd boomed in agreement as Sanders took the stage for an hour. He talked about criminal justice reform, income inequality and immigration. He railed against Wall Street greed and laid out his plan to raise the federal minimum wage and make public universities tuition-free.


Monday, August 17, 2015

The Blaze: Ted Cruz Laughs at Reporter’s Iran Question, Then Responds Bluntly: ‘If There’s One Principle That History Has Taught Us…’

KOTV Screengrab
By Jason Howerton, Aug. 17, 2015, The Blaze

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) laughed when a reporter asked him about former generals and admirals who have expressed support for the Iran nuclear deal, and then slammed the agreement as “catastrophic.”

Here’s how the reporter, Justin Dougherty of KOTV in Tulsa, Oklahoma, phrased his question:

Several times you have mentioned that in international crisis you would seek the advice of military personnel, now recently there are three dozen former generals and admirals would say this is our only option to keep nuclear weapons from Iran. Are you going to listen to that letter at all?

After letting out a chuckle, Cruz replied, “I don’t know the letter to which you are referring, but I can tell you this Iranian nuclear deal is catastrophic.”

“The single greatest national security threat facing America is the threat of a nuclear Iran. If this deal goes through, three things will happen. Number one, the Obama Administration will be world’s leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism. Billions of dollars will flow to jihadist who will use that money to try and murder Americans. Number two, this leaves four American hostages in Iran…but number three, most dangerously, this deal only accelerates Iran’s acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

The Texas senator went on to say of Iran, “If there’s one principle that history has taught us, it is that if somebody tells you they want to kill you, believe them.”

Watch the clip below via KOTV-TV:


CNN: Trump on immigration: 'They have to go'


(CNN) Donald Trump says he would undo all of President Barack Obama's executive moves to forestall deportations of undocumented immigrants if he's elected president.

"They have to go," the real estate mogul who is leading Republican primary polls nationally and in the key early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, said in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

In the wide-ranging interview, Trump also declined to rule out shutting down the federal government over Planned Parenthood.

He called for the United States to seize oil in Iraq -- particularly the oilfields controlled by ISIS. And he warned of a "nuclear holocaust" if the Iran deal is implemented.

But Trump's top campaign issue so far has been his focus on immigration. He told NBC Obama's moves that allow undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States as children to stay, as well as actions that allow the undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children to avoid deportation.

Trump said he would deport families "together." They'd be required to leave the United States and only then could some come back under an expedited process, he said, because "we either have a country or we don't have a country."


More: www.cnn.com

ABC News: Carson Dodges Exceptions Position to Abortion, Says Human Life Begins at Conception

Credit:  Washington Post/Ricky Carioti
By Katherine Faulders, Aug. 16, 2015, ABC News

Retired neurosurgeon and Republican presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson today maintained his opposition to abortion, saying he believes life begins at conception, but he declined to say on "This Week" whether he feels there should be any exceptions, such as when a woman is impregnated during a rape.

"I believe that once conception has been achieved, that it is a human life," Carson told ABC News' Martha Raddatz when asked about whether he believes there should be an exception to abortion for rape and incest. "What I have said is that, you know, I have spent my life trying to save life, not trying to destroy it."

When asked for clarification of Carson’s response to rape and incest exceptions a spokesperson said, “Dr. Carson believes abortion is not acceptable after conception.”

He previously said that he hopes women would go to the emergency room and get an abortion pill in cases of rape or incest.


Sunday, August 16, 2015

The New York Times: Julian Bond, Former N.A.A.C.P. Chairman and Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 75

By Roy Reed, Aug. 16, 2015, Nytimes.com

Julian Bond, a charismatic figure of the 1960s civil rights movement, a lightning rod of the anti-Vietnam War campaign and a lifelong champion of equal rights for minorities, notably as chairman of the N.A.A.C.P., died on Saturday night in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. He was 75.

He died after a brief illness, the Southern Poverty Law Center said in a statement Sunday morning.

Mr. Bond was one of the original leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee while he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He was the committee’s communications director for five years and deftly guided the national news media toward stories of violence and discrimination as the committee challenged legal segregation in the South’s public facilities.

He gradually moved from the militancy of the student group to the top leadership of the establishmentarian N.A.A.C.P. Along the way, Mr. Bond was a writer, poet, television commentator, lecturer and college teacher, and a persistent opponent of the stubborn remnants of white supremacy.


Friday, August 14, 2015

"For The Record": Is the Iranian deal a diplomatic breakthrough?


"For The Record": Is the Iranian deal a diplomatic breakthrough?
Every president from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama has tried to establish informal talks with Iranian leaders. Here’s what you need to know about the past to understand the implications of the Iranian deal:
Posted by TheBlaze on Thursday, August 13, 2015

Thursday, August 13, 2015

March To Save America: STOP The Iran Nuclear Deal!

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

FLASHBACK: Voices Without A Vote

Right Sightings: Dr. Ben Carson joins Fox and Friends to weigh in with his take on Hillary Clinton and the email scandal



Source: www.rightsightings.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Breitbart: John Kerry: Reapplying Iran Sanctions Will Result In Collapse Of Us Dollar

By Jordan Schachtel, Aug. 11, 2015

Secretary of State John Kerry warned Tuesday that the U.S. Dollar may “cease” to be the world’s reserve currency should Congress vote to re-apply sanctions to the dictatorial Islamic regime in Tehran.

Iran, which sits at 29th on the World Bank list of nations with the world’s biggest economies (the United States is the world’s largest, with a GDP that generates about 43 times more money in production value than Iran) when measured in gross domestic product, will cause the U.S. dollar to fade into irrelevance, the U.S. Secretary of State claimed.

The United States’ chief diplomat told Reuters at an event on Tuesday:

If we turn around and nix the deal and then tell them, ‘You’re going to have to obey our rules and sanctions anyway,’ that is a recipe, very quickly… for the American dollar to cease to be the reserve currency of the world.

Kerry added that the U.S. Treasury Department has been tasked with “doing a full dive on how this works and what the implications are.”

“But the notion that we can just sort of diss the deal and unilaterally walk away as Congress wants to do will have a profound negative impact on people’s sense of American leadership and reliability,” he added.

More: www.breitbart.com

Reuters: Ferguson state of emergency stands, 150 people arrested

By Carey Gillam and Scott Malone, Aug. 11, 2015, Reuters

About 150 people have been arrested during several days of protests around Ferguson, Missouri, where largely peaceful demonstrations over police shootings of unarmed black men have been punctuated by flashes of violence.

Police said on Tuesday that 22 people had been arrested overnight in Ferguson and another 63 were arrested for trying to block a highway.

On Monday, 57 people were arrested for passing barricades that blocked a federal court in St. Louis.

A state of emergency declared on Monday was still in effect for the Ferguson area, where protesters have been marching and staging acts of civil disobedience to mark the first anniversary of the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer.

Sunday night's rallies were marred by violence that included a drive-by shooting and several instances of rocks and bottles being hurled at police. A man accused of firing on police was shot and critically wounded.


After former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot Brown a year ago in the city, where the population is predominantly black, a U.S. Justice Department investigation found systemic racial bias among Ferguson officials.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Bloomberg: Iraq Vets Take On Obama Over Iran Deal

By Josh Rogin, Aug. 10, 2015, Bloomberg



A group of Iraq war veterans is launching a million-dollar effort to oppose President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, trying to counter the president's argument that those who are against the deal are in favor of war.

Obama has said recently that there are only two camps: those who support the deal versus those who would prefer a bloody and costly war like the conflict in Iraq. The new ad campaign complicates that, asserting that the deal itself will lead to more war. And the voices putting forth that case do not prefer war; they are soldiers who have had enough of it.

The group, Veterans Against the Deal, was founded last month as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, and it does not disclose its donors. Its national campaign starts today, including television ads in states whose members of Congress are undecided on the Iran deal. Lawmakers will vote on it in September.


JPost: Another Jewish Democrat in Congress says will vote against Iran nuclear deal

Rep. Brad Sherman
By JPost Staff, Aug. 8, 2015, JPost.com

Hours after US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced that he would vote against the Iran nuclear agreement, another Jewish Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), said on Friday that he would follow suit.

Sherman, the second ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that after reviewing details of the deal, his conscience forced him to vote against his party's president.

"My efforts have one purpose - make it clear that future presidents and Congresses are not bound by this agreement," Sherman said. "Not legally, not morally, not diplomatically."

Schumer, Democrat of New York, the most senior Jewish member of the United States Congress and likely the next Democratic leader of the Senate, declared his intention to oppose the deal reached last month.

His declaration in opposition is the first from the Senate Democratic caucus. It is considered influential by his peers: A plurality of Democrats remain undeclared on a pending vote of disapproval over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, while 15 members of the Senate have declared their support.


Politico: A "No" to Iran Means No Forever

By Samuel R. Berger, Aug. 9, 2015, Politico

It will be virtually impossible for Iran to cheat in a strategically significant way. Every step of its program will be monitored live by international inspectors on the ground, cameras, seals, satellites and every other modern surveillance device known to man. The risk to Iran of any significant cheating would be to undo any refurbishment of its perception in the world which they seem so anxious to achieve, and create the need for a sudden new narrative for its people.

If Iran refuses to give us access to a suspicious site, despite wild arithmetic by some critics, the deal is adequate if we have the steadfastness to enforce it. The United States, by ourselves, can trigger within 24 days a UN Security Council resolution to reimpose sanctions—“in whole or in part”—and can’t be blocked by the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians—even the Europeans. That time period can be used quite effectively to build pressure on Iran to open the site. If we are skittish about invoking this the first time, we should not be the second time, or the third when the pattern of deception clear.

Read more: www.politico.com


Samuel R. Berger is the former White House national security advisor and current co-chair of Albright Stonebridge Group.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

CBS: Donald Trump: "I will be phenomenal to the women"

By Rebacca Kaplan, Aug. 9, 2015, CBS

Presidential candidate Donald Trump sought to redirect incoming fire at rival Republican Jeb Bush, saying that Bush has a "huge" problem with women and he is by far the better candidate with that demographic.

Trump excoriated Bush for saying "I'm not sure we need half a billion dollars for women's health issues" at a speech in Tennessee last week. Bush later said he misspoke, and he was only questioning the federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood.

"This is worse than what Romney did when he blew 47 percent of the vote with his ridiculous statements," Trump said, referencing a secret recording from the 2012 election that captured GOP nominee Mitt Romney telling donors that the 47 percent of voters who don't pay income taxes considered themselves victims and felt entitled to government handouts.

"I'm exactly the opposite. I will be phenomenal to the women. I want to help women. What Jeb Bush said last week I thought was totally out of order. Then he came back a day later and he said 'oh I misspoke' -- well that's an awfully bad thing to misspeak about. I just don't think you misspeak that way. So I thought what he did was terrible," Trump said. He added that he believes Bush has a "huge problem" now.

"I couldn't believe he even said it. Now he corrected himself a day later, but I don't think that's acceptable," he said.

The candidate's own views on women have come under fire in the last several days after an interaction with Fox News host Megyn Kelly during the GOP debate. Trump has called Kelly a "bimbo" and a "lightweight" for asking about his disparaging comments toward women he believes he has slighted him. Trump also said, "There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever," which prompted conservative commentator Erick Erickson to withdraw his invitation to appear at his RedState Gathering in Atlanta on Saturday.

But Trump said he will win the women's vote.

More: www.cbsnews.com

Saturday, August 8, 2015

CNN to Host First Democratic Primary Debate of 2016 Presidential Race, October 13, 2015

By CNN, Aug. 6, 2015

Debate Represents Significant Addition to the Networks’ Extensive Coverage Plans for Upcoming Election

CNN and the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that CNN will host the first Democratic presidential debate on October 13, 2015. The debate will feature candidates for the Democratic nomination for President and will take place in Nevada, with exact location details to be released in the coming days.

CNN will serve as the exclusive national broadcaster of the debate and a CNN anchor will moderate. In addition to live prime-time airing on CNN, CNNgo, CNN Español and CNN International; Westwood One News will be the exclusive radio broadcaster for the debate.

CNN’s first Republican candidates’ debate airs Wednesday, September 16th from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.


Red State Dumps Trump: "I Have Disinvited Donald Trump to the RedState Gathering" Over Insulting Comments Megan Kelly

By Erick Erickson, Aug. 7, 2015, Red State

I have tried to give a great deal of latitude to Donald Trump in his run for the Presidency.

He is not a professional politician and is known for being a blunt talker. He connects with so much of the anger in the Republican base and is not afraid to be outspoken on a lot of issues. But there are even lines blunt talkers and unprofessional politicians should not cross.

Decency is one of those lines.

As much as I do personally like Donald Trump, his comment about Megyn Kelly on CNN is a bridge too far for me.

In a CNN interview, Mr. Trump said of Megyn Kelly, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”

It was not the “blood coming out of her eyes” part that was the problem.

I think there is no way to otherwise interpret Mr. Trump’s comment. In an attempted clarification, Mr. Trump’s team tells me he meant “whatever”, not “where ever.”