Dictatorial Override of Congress

For some time, resident Obama has talked about his proposed Dream Act. He tested the water in a few states, and much to his chagrin, popular opinion was against his “open border” idea. He continued to talk and putter around the idea, but still, partly because of the state of our economy and the sliding REAL unemployment rate, the opening of the border and availability of amnesty to those here illegally has been a very sore spot. So, in true Friend-of-the-people mode how does he solve the problem? By listening to the people? By doing another set of townhall meetings to explain his reasoning? By following the CONSTITUTION of the United States and submitting his idea to Congress? NO! None of the above! He imposes his will on the American people, in complete contradiction to the Constitution, and declares via “Executive Order” … So let it be done!

HOW WILL CONGRESS RESPOND?

and How will WE-the-PEOPLE respond?

WE have a decision to make, AMERICA, and even if the choices aren’t what we’d LIKE them to be, one choice is better than the other. I pray we choose wisely!

[PC ALERT!] Why the Liberal Intolerance for New Family Structures Study?

Tags

Progressive agenda

Why the Liberal Intolerance
for New Family Structures Study?

Jennifer Marshall @ The Foundry
June 15, 2012

The author of a new study showing some negative outcomes for young adults whose parents had same-sex relationships is under attack because his findings conflict with what, in some corners, has become conventional wisdom.

Apparently, the idea that there is “no difference” between children of same-sex parents and their peers raised in traditional married mother-and-father households has become so entrenched among some advocates that new research presenting a contrasting picture is unwelcome—to put it mildly.

University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus’s New Family Structures Study (NFSS) is a large, nationally representative random sample of 3,000 young adults ages 18–39. It found better outcomes for those raised in intact biological families when compared to peers in seven other family structures.

Despite the quality of the sample and the wide range of findings, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) called it a “flawed, misleading, and scientifically unsound paper that seeks to disparage lesbian and gay parents.” A writer at The American Prospect said it was “appalling and irresponsible.” An assistant editor at The New Republic called Regnerus a “retrograde researcher” and suggested that this study should “mark the beginning of the end of Mark Regnerus’s credibility with respectable news outlets.”

And these are the folks who urge us to be tolerant of differences and respect scientific research.

The peer-reviewed study that some are writing off as “dangerous propaganda” has in fact been credited by its critical reviewers for advancing research through its use of a large, nationally representative random sample. In a response that appears in the same issue of the journal Social Science Research, demographer Cynthia Osborne says that “the Regnerus study is more scientifically rigorous than most of the other studies in this area.”

Similarly, Penn State sociologist Paul Amato writes that the NFSS “is probably the best that we can hope for, at least in the near future.”

Another Penn State sociologist, David Eggebeen, concludes that Regnerus’s study and Loren Marks’s analysis of prior studies, published in the same journal, “offer reasonable arguments for…more caution when drawing strong conclusions based on the available science.”

“Caution” is not what we’ve seen to date in judicial activists’ use of social science in decisions that overturn society’s understanding of marriage. For example, in his opinion overruling California voters’ Prop 8 marriage amendment, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker included in his findings of fact this statement:

Children raised by gay or lesbian parents are as likely as children raised by heterosexual parents to be healthy, successful and well-adjusted. The research supporting this conclusion is accepted beyond serious debate in the field of developmental psychology.

>>>>>>>>> READ MORE

NOTE: It occurs to this blogger that what we are learning about the Progressive agenda that they claimed was scientifically supported (global warming & green energy are another example of this unsubstantiated, i.e politically correct liberal agenda) is that the “science” is/was simply agenda-driven rather than objective study. In other words, Progressives state the agenda then manufacture the “scientific” support and the media gleefully cooperates in spite several millenia of human development that contradicts the Progressive’s Politically Correct position on same-sex parenting/family units!

RELATED READING:

DOMA Under Attack in Senate: A Rising Disrespect for Marriage

DAILY CLASSIFIED CAMPAIGN AD

This is a 1998 photo showing exiled al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, center, the prime suspect behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, flanked by his aides and armed bodyguards in a meeting at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan, according to the source. In the background is a banner with a verse from the Quran, Islam’s holy book. This photo was offered to the Associated Press on Sept. 22, 2001 from a Pakistani photographer who wants to remain anonymous. (AP Photo)

Sure looks like a PEACEFUL RELIGION, doesn’t it? just sayin …

POSTED BY UNCLE JIMBO • [JUNE 15, 2012]

I am absolutely stunned by the shamelessness of this President and the lengths he is willing to go to try and win another four year golfing vacation. At least this time he had the balls to actually declassify the national security info he is releasing. I bet if you could see the metadata on the original documents they have David Axelrod’s greasy pawprints all over them. So let’s read about some more shite we should not be reading about. But first let’s hear the mealy-mouthed attempt to justify this shameless electioneering.

Three administration officials who briefed The Associated Press on the decision to declassify the existence of the military’s counterterrorism campaigns in Yemen and Somalia said Obama determined that the time was ripe.

Yeah ripe is right, like the stench from a DOA economy left to moulder in the Summer sun as Barry O flits from Hollywood to Manhattan for more fundraisers than the previous four Presidents combined. OK back to the campaign memo.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is partially lifting the lid of secrecy on its counterterrorism campaign against al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia by formally acknowledging for the first time that it is conducting lethal attacks in those countries.

>>> READ MORE

GLOBAL JIHAD ESCALATES w/ US INVOLVEMENT

It is not politically correct to see global Islamic Jihad, after all, there is a “peaceful” faction. Yet, in spite of their cries and complaints against our negative propaganda, the facts – those pesky things -continue to evidence Islamic Jihad as a global threat. This is nothing new! These “peaceful” jihadists have been pillaging and raping for centuries … as art of their RELIGION! While there have been occasional Christian criminals over the ast several centuries, their numbers pale in comparison to Islamic jihad. Even in our nations infant history, President Thomas Jefferson had to deal with the very same threats from the “Barbary Coast Pirates!” He understood what he was dealing with and acted appropriately, unlike today’s leaders.

As we watch these Islamic warriors sweep through the various nations of Africa, killing & brutalizing “non-believers” – Christians – across the land, let us continue to tell ourselves how PEACEFUL these folks are, close our eyes, and dream of Never, Neverland! OR we can wake up and take our responsibility seriously – work toward peace through strength!

3 000 American soldiers to serve in Africa next year
as US expands shadow war, sets up air bases

Written by defenceWeb
Thursday, 14 June 2012

The United States will have 3 000 soldiers serving in Africa next year as it scales up its presence on the continent in the face of a growing number of threats, including al Qaeda and al Shabaab. It has also established a dozen air bases on the continent since 2007, mainly for surveillance purposes.

The US Army last month announced it would deploy a brigade to Africa in 2013 as part of a pilot programme that assigns brigades on a rotational basis to regions around the globe. At least 3 000 soldiers will serve tours across the continent next year, training foreign militaries and aiding locals.

As part of a “regionally aligned force concept,” soldiers will live and work among Africans in safe communities approved by the US government, Major General David R. Hogg, head of U.S. Army Africa, told Army Times.

Africa has emerged as a greater priority for the US government because terrorist groups there have become an increasing threat to US and regional security. At the moment there are more than 1 200 soldiers currently stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.

The Army currently allows conventional soldiers to enter only 46 of the 54 African states due to security risks. The State Department and U.S. special operations commands handle activities in the other countries, including those amid conflict.

Meanwhile, the US military is establishing a network of small air bases to spy on terrorist hideouts in northern Africa, according to the Washington Post, which says about a dozen air bases have been established in Africa since 2007. Most are small operations run out of secluded hangars at African military bases or civilian airports.

Surveillance is overseen by US Special Operations forces but relies to a large extent on private military contractors and support from African troops, the Post said.

The US is concerned about al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), insurgents in Mali, Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria and al Shabaab militia in Somalia. In central Africa, around 100 US special forces are assisting in the hunt for warlord Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

The United States has launched air strikes in Somalia and Yemen using unmanned aerial vehicles, but has also deployed F-15E Strike Eagles to Djibouti. However, elsewhere in Africa, military commanders told the Washington Post that their role is generally limited to intelligence gathering and sharing.

In September last year the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration was assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen.

One of the installations is being established in Ethiopia, a US ally in the fight against al-Shabaab. Another base is in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which has hosted a small fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by the US Navy and Air Force since September 2009. Classified US diplomatic cables show that the unmanned aircraft have conducted counterterrorism missions over Somalia, about 800 miles to the northwest, in addition to their stated anti-piracy missions.

The newspaper added that a key hub of the US spy network is located in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, where US personnel and contractors operate surveillance aircraft over Mali, Mauritania and the Sahara as part of a programme called Creek Sand. The U.S. military began building its presence in Burkina Faso in 2007, when it signed a deal that enabled the Pentagon to establish a Joint Special Operations Air Detachment in Ouagadougou.

By the end of 2009, about 65 US military personnel and contractors were working in Burkina Faso, more than in all but three other African countries, according to a U.S. Embassy cable from Ouagadougou, as reported by the Washington Post.

The core of the military’s surveillance fleet is made up of Pilatus PC-12s, which are inconspicuous in Africa and draw less attention than UAVs. The Pentagon began acquiring the planes in 2005 to fly commandos into territory where the military wanted to maintain a clandestine presence, the Post reports. The Air Force variant of the aircraft is known as the U-28A. The Air Force Special Operations Command has about 21 of the aircraft in its inventory.

The US military also operated Creek Sand spy flights from Nouakchott, Mauritania, until 2008, when a military coup forced Washington to suspend relations and end the surveillance, according to former US officials and diplomatic cables. However, the Pentagon is spending US$8.1 million to upgrade a forward operating base and airstrip in Mauritania and has set aside US$22.6 million in July to buy a Pilatus PC-6 aircraft and another turboprop aircraft for Mauritania’s security forces, according to documents submitted to Congress.

In addition, there are plans for bases in South Sudan and Kenya. General Carter F Ham, commander of US Africa Command, said in his testimony to the US Congress in March that he was seeking to establish a base for surveillance flights in Nzara, South Sudan, which would assist in the hunt against Kony as well as monitor the situation in the Sudans.

Furthermore, an engineering battalion of Navy Seabees has been assigned to complete a US$10 million runway upgrade at the Manda Bay Naval Base, in Kenya, reports the Post. An Africa Command spokeswoman said the runway extension was necessary so US C-130 Hercules can land at night and during bad weather. The newspaper said that about 120 US military personnel and contractors are stationed at Manda Bay, which Navy SEALs and other commandos have used as a base from which to conduct raids against Somali pirates and al-Shabaab fighters.

Tunisia’s Ben Ali gets life sentence in absentia

TUNIS, Tunisia

A military court on June 13 convicted Tunisia’s former dictator in absentia for his role in the bloody suppression of demonstrations in the country’s interior, ordering him to serve life in prison — the harshest sentence to date in a slew of cases against the ousted president.

Tunisians overthrew Zine El Abidine Ben Ali last year after a month-long uprising, and he fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, 2011. His fall inspired the Arab Spring revolutionary movements that have since spread across North Africa and the Middle East, the Associated Press.

Tunisia’s uprising began in its hardscrabble interior, and in the first weeks some 20 protesters were shot dead by police in the towns of Kasserine and Thala, the focus of one of two military trials Ben Ali faced in 24 hours. The prosecutor in the case had originally asked for the death penalty, but the judge decided upon life in prison. Former Interior Minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem and several more of Ben Ali’s inner circle received sentences of up to 15 years in prison, but other key figures saw their charges dismissed, much to the anger of victims’ families, Agence France-Presse reported.

Earlier, a military court convicted Ben Ali of having ordered security forces to fire on protesters in the town of Ouardanine who were trying to stop the president’s nephew Kais from also fleeing the country. Four people died in that encounter, and the court sentenced Ben Ali to 20 years in prison in the case. The lastest rulings come on top of convictions by civilian courts, where Ben Ali faced charges of drug trafficking, illegal arms trading and abuse of public funds and was sentenced to 66 years in prison. Tunisia has repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia to extradite Ben Ali so he can face charges in person. At least 338 people died in Tunisia’s uprising, and another 2,147 were wounded.

Meanwhile, Tunisia’s government on June 13 blamed Salafists and old regime loyalists for a three-day wave of riots which appears to have been triggered by an art exhibition that included works deemed offensive to Islam….READ MORE

Afghan, Pakistani jihadists ‘operating in northern Mali’

In an interview with FRANCE 24 Thursday, Niger President Mahamadou Issofou said foreign jihadists – including Afghans and Pakistanis – were training Islamist recruits in the breakaway region of northern Mali. VIDEO

ALSO READ:

The War for the Soul of AFRICA

U.S. Expands Secret Intelligence Operations in Africa

Special Operations Speaks

Russ Vaughn @ American Thinker

The Obama campaign is twisting the truth into political pretzels in attempting to make its candidate appear to be a tough guy in the terror wars. Trying to remake the public image of a pol famous for voting present into that of a steely-eyed, cold-blooded leader of hunter/killer teams of special operators who seek out and destroy those who would bring harm to our innocents is a difficult task that just became more so. That’s because a bunch of genuine tough guys are coming together to combat the sham campaign of that wannabee warrior in the White House.

Retired Navy SEAL, Captain Larry Bailey, a pivotal player in the debunking of John Kerry’s ego-embellished war record back in 2004, is putting together an election year organization made up of bona fide special operators, past and present, who are not happy with the efforts of our counterfeit commander-in-chief to cloak himself in their special mystique. Very few SEALs achieve that rank or position. They are truly the creme de la creme.

Unlike the all-Navy Swift Boat Veterans who torpedoed Kerry’s Vietnamese junk, Bailey’s new military organization, Special Operations Speaks, is a multi-service outfit with chapters from the Navy’s SEALs, the Army’s Rangers and Green Berets, the Air Force’s Air Commandos, the Marine Corp’s Force Recon, and the newest group of special operators, USMC’s MARSOC, Marine Special Operations Command. There’s also participation by veterans of all services and their families.

It is not just Obama’s phony warrior pretensions, however, that have these military professionals organizing this counter-operation, it is the actual and immediate dangers being created in the covert world of their clandestine combat operations by this amateur playing at soldier for political purposes.

When politicians with no military training or experience get involved with military planning and operations and fail to heed the counsel of the professionals advising them, the results are almost always bad for the troops involved as well as their nations. When community organizers with almost no experience, either military or civilian, are involved, the potential for disaster is compounded. It is akin to some Hollywood fantasy where teenagers suddenly have control of the world’s most powerful weapons and forces. In America’s present situation, that fantasy is almost reality. We have a White House more politically driven than any in memory by a tight inner circle where military experience is non-existent. Suddenly, when it becomes apparent that their guy has an image problem, military secrecy and national security are thrown under the campaign bus to make a lion out of their lightweight. This is Kerry 2004 redux, Democrat militarism resurgent, as it is during election years when it becomes politically useful.

Add Special Operations Speaks to your favorites bar and drop in to visit and support. It’s still under construction but Captain Bailey will see she becomes shipshape in short order. Shake loose with a few bucks to help a very worthy group of warriors in their very worthy cause.

In my six years of Army service I was never a special operator although I did serve with a Special Forces detachment in Vietnam for a few weeks on a classified assignment. However, I do share a common experience with all of them: that of looking up and seeing that parachute canopy overhead and below the good green earth between my boots.

Airborne!

(My daughter is the “A”)

AUTHOR’s NOTE: As a Vet and the mom of a deployed soldiergirl, my heart is connected by blood to these American Heroes. By no means, did I achieve anything close to the expertise these folks exemplify daily, but that is all the more reason why I respect them and honor their unique sacrifice. It would be so nice if our elected officials understood these professionals are on the same team and have to operate under dangerous and potentially volatile situations like most of us cannot even imagine.

These folks, these HEROES, deserve some answers, if they don’t have them already. How convenient it was that so many elite troops were killed in the Chinook crash shortly after that raid last year. Don’t hear much about it, either. It’s about time those elected in DC as well as all those working in Homeland Security, CIA, FBI etc, realize exactly who is the enemy and who is NOT!

READ the AMERICAN THINKER

RELATED READING: Special Operations Forces Organize Against Obama