Senate Air Force Caucus Members Discuss Priorities with Air Force

Pictured: Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody,
 U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), Chief of Staff of the
 Air Force General David Goldfein and U.S. Senator John
 Hoeven at the Senate Air Force Caucus breakfast, Dec. 8, 2016

ARRA News Service: Members of the Senate Air Force Caucus met yesterday with U.S. Air Force leaders at the caucus' biannual breakfast in Washington to discuss upcoming priorities and challenges of the Air Force.

Chief of Staff of the Air Force General David Goldfein; Vice Chief General Steven Wilson and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody were among the senior Air Force leaders at the breakfast. The session afforded Members the opportunity to talk about a wide range of topics, from modernization and manning issues to the future of cyber operations and budgetary challenges.

“National security must be a top priority. To ensure our Air Force personnel have the resources needed to accomplish their missions Congress and the Air Force must maintain an open dialogue. I’m proud to be a leader of the Senate Air Force Caucus and serve as a voice for the brave men and women who serve our country in uniform and protect us every day,” Senator John Boozman said.

“Our men and women in uniform work hard to protect our country and keep American families safe, and I’m proud to work with the Senate Air Force Caucus to support them,” Senator Heidi Heitkamp said. “In the U.S. Senate, I’ve pushed for tough, smart national security strategies to strengthen Air Force bases in North Dakota and beyond. Airmen and women make valuable contributions to our communities each day in addition to their lasting contributions to our national security.”

“Our Air Force has been engaged in combat operations for over 25 years, the average age of our aircraft is at an all-time high, readiness rates are at all-time lows, and costs to sustain legacy aircraft are increasing,” Senator Jim Inhofe said. “Our Air Force has suffered through eight years of budget, procurement, development and personnel cuts. It is time to grow, rebuild and modernize our Air Force and I look forward to working with my fellow Senators on this caucus and the United States Air Force to achieve these goals.”

“I thank Air Force leaders for taking time out of their day to discuss steps we can take to make sure our Air Force has every tool it needs to be successful,” said Senator Mike Rounds. “From critical missions being conducted at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to important aerospace research being done to assure U.S. air superiority, the Air Force plays an important role in our long-term defense strategy. As a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and the Senate Air Force Caucus, I remain committed to fully supporting our Air Force.”

"Our Air Force plays a unique and unparalleled role in ensuring our national security,” Senator Jon Tester said. “The Airmen at Malmstrom and around the world ensure our freedoms are protected and our families are safe. I am proud to co-chair the Air Force Caucus, which helps ensure these brave men and women have the resources and support they need to keep this country and its citizens safe.”

U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Hoeven (R-ND) and Jon Tester (D-MT) are leaders of the Senate Air Force Caucus. The bipartisan group includes 49 members and oversees issues impacting the U.S. Air Force. The caucus sponsors specialized briefings, base visits and outreach opportunities with Air Force stakeholders throughout the year.

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The American Divide, More Fake News

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author:  The American Divide - President-elect Donald Trump went to Ohio State University yesterday to comfort the victims of last week's terror attack and to praise the hero police officer who brought Abdul Razak Ali Artan's rampage to a swift end. Here's what Trump told reporters after his meeting:"This is a great honor for me today. We're in a fantastic state that I love, Ohio. And we just saw the victims and the families. These were really brave people, amazing people. The police and first responders were incredible. The job -- in particular by one young gentlemen -- was incredible. I got to meet him, and he was very brave."Kudos to Mr. Trump for making this visit. However, the rest of the news coverage of the visit shows the great divide in America.

Trump has correctly identified Artan as a radical jihadist. But according to the Washington Post, authorities remain mystified about the attack. "The FBI and local investigators are still working to determine what led Artan to the sudden violence, which left 13 people wounded," the Post tells us today.

Meanwhile, radical campus activists seemingly expressed some sympathy for the terrorist who attacked them. Wednesday, members of the OSU Coalition for Black Liberation held a rally protesting police brutality. Unbelievably, they included Artan's name during the reading of a list of recent incidents in which people of color were killed by police.

Gender studies student Maryam Abidi told the crowd, "In some cases, the deceased may have committed acts of violence against others before they were killed."

And then Ms. Abidi insisted, "The protest against police brutality extends to the innocent and the guilty alike, because we know that no matter the crime, justice and due process don't come from a cop's bullet."

My friends, this is insane. In the case of Abdul Artan, justice did come from a cop's bullet. And I make no apologies for thanking God that Officer Alan Horujko was there so quickly to dispense justice to this jihadist.

Sadly, confusion at OSU is very much like the moral equivalence we see our elites deploy so often when it comes to the Palestinian extremists and Israelis. There is a disturbing inability to differentiate between the terrorists and their victims, the murderers and the murdered.

Incredibly, some commentators are suggesting that Trump was the reason for the attack because Artan was so upset about the things Trump said about Muslims. So let's get this straight: A Muslim who didn't like Donald Trump suggesting that there may be a link between Islam and terrorism decided to commit a terrorist act and that is Trump's fault. Is that really the defense they want to offer?

But here's what really jumped out at me while reading the Post report. William Clark, a professor injured during Artan's attack, couldn't make it to Trump's meeting because he is still recovering from his wounds. But he offered this critique:"I wasn't going to jump in and say he did this because he was a jihadist terrorist. There may be a lot more to it than that .?.?. What else might have sent him over the edge for him to decide to do it? I don't think we know yet."Incredible! What would it take to convince Professor Clark? No wonder students are so confused if this is an example of the kind of instruction they are receiving.

The reaction to the OSU terror attack -- even among some of those who were attacked -- demonstrates the growing divide in America. Abdul Razak Ali Artan does not deserve to be remembered or thought of as a "victim" of anything. And the victims of Artan's vicious attack deserve to know the truth about what motivated him.

More Fake News - On a lighter note, here's a fun follow-up to our recent item on fake news.

Do you remember a couple of days ago when I mentioned this Washington Post headline: "Corporate America Unnerved By Trump"? Well, today's Washington Post front page reads: "Trump Fuels Labor Unease." So big business is worried and big labor is worried. Either Trump knows how to cover his bases or the liberal media just can't get its story straight.

I'm not a prophet, but I'm guessing that tomorrow we'll see this headline: "Elderly Fearful Of Trump." That will be followed Sunday by: "High Anxiety Among Youth Over Trump," followed by Monday with "Middle-Age Feel Abandoned By Trump."

But wait . . . There's more.

Last night on MSNBC, Brian Williams did a report lamenting the influence of fake news. Talk about chutzpah. Brian Williams is the poster boy for fake news. In fact, his reporting of fake news cost him his previous job!
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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Has the Trumpian Revolution Begun?

by Patrick Buchanan: The wailing and keening over the choice of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA appears to be a lead indicator of a coming revolution far beyond Reagan’s.

“Trump Taps Climate Skeptic For Top Environmental Post,” said The Wall Street Journal. “Climate Change Denial,” bawled a disbelieving New York Times, which urged the Senate to put Pruitt in a “dust bin.”

Clearly, though his victory was narrow, Donald Trump remains contemptuous of political correctness and defiant of liberal ideology.

For environmentalism, as conservative scholar Robert Nisbet wrote in 1982, is more than the “most important social movement” of the 20th century. It is a militant and dogmatic faith that burns heretics.

“Environmentalism is well on its way to becoming the third great wave of redemptive struggle in Western history,” wrote Nisbet, “the first being Christianity, the second modern socialism.” In picking a “climate denier” to head EPA, Trump is rejecting revealed truth.

Yet, as with his choices of Steve Bannon as White House strategist and Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general, he has shown himself to be an unapologetic apostate to liberal orthodoxy.

Indeed, with his presidency, we may be entering a post-liberal era.

In 1950, literary critic Lionel Trilling wrote, “In the United States at this time liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation.”

The rise of the conservative movement of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan revealed liberalism’s hour to be but a passing moment. Yet, today, something far beyond conservatism seems to be afoot.

As Hegel taught, in the dialectic of history the thesis calls into existence the antithesis. What we seem to be seeing is a rejection, and a counterreformation against the views and values that came out of the social and political revolutions of the 1960s.

Consider the settled doctrine Trump disrespected with Pruitt.

We have long been instructed that climate change is real, that its cause is man-made, that it imperils the planet with rising seas, hurricanes and storms, that all nations have a duty to curb the release of carbon dioxide to save the world for future generations.

This is said to be “scientific truth,” and “climate deniers” are like people who believe the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it. Some hold the matter to be so grave that climate deniers should be censored for promoting socially destructive falsehoods.

Yet, the people remain skeptical.

Their worry is not that the rising waters of the Med will swamp the Riviera, but that tens of millions of Arabs, Muslims and Africans may be coming across to swamp Europe, and that millions of Mexicans may cross the Rio Grande to swamp the USA.

Call them climate deniers or climate skeptics, but they see the establishment as running the Big Con to effect a transfer of wealth and power away from the people — and to themselves.

Across the West, establishments have lost credibility.

he proliferation of minority parties, tearing off pieces of the traditional ruling parties, points to a growing distrust in ruling regimes and a return to identifying with the nation and tribe whence one came.

A concomitant of this is a growing disbelief in egalitarianism and in the equality of all races, creeds, nations, cultures and peoples.

The Supreme Court may say all religions are equal and all must be treated equally. But do Americans believe Christianity and Islam are equal? How could they, when Christians claim their faith has as its founder the Son of God and God himself?

After calling for a ban on Muslim immigration, Trump was elected president. After inviting a million refugees from Syria’s civil war into Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel admits having made a mistake and is now in favor of letting German cities and towns decide if women should be allowed to wear burqas.

A sea change in thought is taking place in the West.

Liberalism appears to be a dying faith. America’s elites may still preach their trinity of values: diversity, democracy, equality. But the majorities in America and Europe are demanding that the borders be secured and Third World immigrants kept out.

The next president disbelieves in free trade. He wants a border wall. He questions the wisdom of our Mideast wars and the need for NATO. He is contemptuous of democratist dogma that how other nations rule themselves is our business. He rejects transnationalism and globalism.

“There is no global anthem, no global currency, no certificate of global citizenship,” said Trump in Cincinnati, “We pledge allegiance to one flag, and that flag is the American flag. From now on, it’s going to be America first. … We’re going to put ourselves first.”

That’s not Adlai Stevenson or Jimmy Carter or Barack Obama.

Nothing seems settled or certain. All is in flux. But change is coming. “Things are in the saddle, and ride mankind.”
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Patrick Buchanan is currently a conservative columnist, political analyst, chairman of The American Cause foundation and an editor of The American Conservative. He has been a senior advisor to three Presidents, a two-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and was the presidential nominee of the Reform Party in 2000. He blogs at the Patrick J. Buchanan.

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Neocons Are The Swamp

Dr. Chuck Balwin

by Dr. Chuck Baldwin: Donald Trump won the White House on the promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C. He rode the wave of outsider all the way inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But does Donald Trump even understand what the swamp is or who the people are that keep filling the swamp? By many of his presidential picks thus far (already summarized in this column), I am getting the impression that Trump may not understand who these swamp-fillers really are.

The swamp-fillers are NEOCONS. And they are the biggest threat to America and to everyone who lives on this planet regardless of nationality.

The word “neocon” has become a common term in our political lexicon. However, I don’t think most people truly understand its definition. And at this juncture, I am highly suspicious as to whether Donald Trump understands the definition.

Neocons can be Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. Political ideologies and parties mean nothing when it comes to who is a neocon. Many neocons are conservative on domestic social issues. Many are liberal on domestic social issues. When it comes to identifying a neocon, titles are meaningless. Hillary Clinton is as much a neocon as Paul Ryan.

First, it is imperative that we understand how politicians in Washington, D.C., operate. Congressional leaders know which congressmen and senators are controllable--and most of them are. Only a handful of our federal congressmen and senators are “untouchable.” My guess is, less than one hundred out of the 535 House members and U.S. senators are truly NOT controlled--and that includes liberals and conservatives.

The vast majority of our congressmen and senators are either morally tainted, which makes them prime targets for bribery and manipulation (can anyone say former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert?), or they are egotistical, ambition-driven hedonists and sociopaths who will do virtually anything to advance themselves. This is the largest group, in my opinion.

Before any vote is cast in Congress, leaders take note of the political makeup of the districts and states that elected their representatives. Was he or she elected by a liberal or conservative district? What are the issues at home that the legislator campaigned on? All of this is readily known by congressional leaders.

Heads are counted before the actual vote to test whether a given bill will comfortably pass or not. If there is a comfortable margin of support for a bill, members who come from a district with opposing views can vote according to the way that will keep the constituents back home happy. ONLY if a bill’s passage requires that members vote against the will of their constituents will they be asked to do so. And the ones who are controlled WILL vote with their congressional leadership--regardless of how much it riles up the constituents back home. Of course, leadership has professionals that will coach the legislator as to how to explain the “bad” vote to the people back home. And, since most votes are not that close, these tactics are not usually required and the legislator’s voting record can appear “good” to the folks back home.

Again, there is only a small handful of congressmen and senators that are untouchable and will NOT cave in to their political leadership when the pressure is on. Congressional leaders refer to these legislators as “rebels.” And they are punished by not being given plush committee assignments or by being overlooked for leadership positions. Plus, leadership will often target the rebel legislators of their own party for defeat in future primary elections in an attempt to replace him or her with a “team player”--meaning a controlled toady for leadership.

Secondly, please understand that the fundamental goal of the elitists who control the neocons is globalism. For the most part, these people care absolutely nothing about domestic social issues. It doesn’t matter to them one whit whether a congressman is pro-life or pro-choice; whether he or she is “pro-family” or pro-gay marriage; whether he or she is identified as a conservative or a liberal. These issues don’t even enter the mind of a globalist. They have but one goal: globalism. Therefore, everything they promote promotes globalism. Everything! Never forget that.

Therefore, “conservative” scorecards are little indication as to whether a congressman or senator is a neocon. A congressman or senator can easily have a “B” or “80%” or better conservative rating and still be a controlled neocon. Most of the issues on these “conservative” or “Christian” or “Family Values” scorecards do not even grade congressman on most neocon issues, so a high score in these rating systems means little. This helps explain why so many Christian voters have little discernment in the voting booth. Their entire reason for voting is skewed. Plus, don’t forget that many of the so-called Christian leaders who put together these scorecards are themselves controlled neocons.

So, just what is a neocon? Remember again that neocons are controlled by globalists. Therefore, the goal is globalism. Here are six of the core issues that promote globalism. Here are the issues that form a common denominator among neocons. When you observe your professing “conservative” congressman or senator supporting these issues, you can KNOW that they are, in reality, globalist-controlled neocons.

*International “Free Trade” Deals
From GATT to NAFTA to TPP, these so-called free trade deals are nothing more than international loopholes that discriminate against the manufacturing jobs and labor class of individual countries in favor of the billionaire class that conducts business internationally.

America has lost millions of manufacturing jobs--and now even high tech jobs--due to these international “free trade” deals. There is nothing “free” about “free trade” deals. Quotas are often established for American exports but NOT for foreign imports. Taxes, duties, tariffs, etc., almost always favor foreign imports and punish U.S. exports. U.S. businesses are forced to take their companies overseas to compete. Entire factories close down, resulting in millions of misplaced U.S. workers. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Following the implementation of NAFTA by Congress, our trade surpluses with partners Mexico and Canada quickly became trade deficits, soaring to nearly $200 billion. Over one million U.S. jobs were lost, and illegal immigration doubled almost immediately. Beyond that, U.S. workers who were somehow able to maintain their jobs watched their wages shrink. That’s right, shrink.

In Mexico, NAFTA has wreaked indescribable havoc. Already depressed wages plummeted. The availability of goods did NOT increase; it substantially DECREASED. While, guess what? Prices INCREASED. It was the passage of NAFTA in 1994 that started the avalanche of illegal immigration into the U.S. from Mexico.

We watched neocon Republicans collaborating with globalist Democrat President Barack Obama to pass the preliminary version of another giant “free trade” bill, called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP--nicknamed Obamatrade). Many people have rightly called TPP “NAFTA on steroids.”

Not only did neocons Boehner/Ryan/McConnell enthusiastically promote TPP, they happily supported giving “fast track” authority to Obama. This allows Obama (or any President) to negotiate and sign a trade agreement without congressional approval--including language that may completely alter established U.S. laws. Subsequent trade legislation proposed to Congress by the President would not be subject to committee markups, and Congress would have only 90 days to approve it--and floor amendments would not be allowed.

See the report: NAFTA At 20: One Million U.S. Jobs Lost, Higher Income Inequality

Candidate Trump said he would kill NAFTA and TPP. But since winning the election, he is already back-pedaling on NAFTA and saying he’s not going to kill it, just “fix” it. This is not a good sign. It would mean that this major plank of the neocon agenda may be left intact under Trump’s presidency. I optimistically expect Trump to NOT sign the full implementation of TPP, but now I highly doubt he will honor his word to overturn NAFTA. This might be because congressional neocons within the GOP have told Trump they will NOT overturn NAFTA and he is not willing to fight them over it. Watch this closely.

*Illegal Immigration
The great goal of globalists is to blur or even eliminate national borders. National borders, and the laws that protect them, are very burdensome to multinational traders. National borders restrict globalists in their pursuit of international wealth. Globalists envision a global economy--with a global government and global military in place to protect that global economy. Individual nationhood is an obstacle to that goal.

The EU is the quintessential prototype of the globalists’ dream of global government. Until individual states within the United States stopped it, neocon Republican President G.W. Bush collaborated with Canada’s Paul Martin and Mexico’s Vincente Fox to establish an EU-type regional government in North America. It was called the “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America” (SPP). It was also called the “North American Community” and “North American Union.”

The goal of these so-called partnerships is to erase national borders and establish regional government over participating nations that exercise authority over the flow of goods and services--and immigrants--between countries. As an example, the current TPP passed by the Republican House and Senate and signed by Obama has copious rules that further circumvent America’s current immigration laws. Plus, the current invasion of illegal aliens from the Middle East into European countries is facilitated by the enactment of lax immigration policies established by the EU.

The SPP was the brainchild of what must be regarded as the top neocon think tank of all: the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Thankfully, public pressure from U.S. Border States (especially Texas and Oklahoma) derailed SPP.

Another way illegal immigration helps globalists remove national boundaries is, it serves to remove a country’s (any country’s) national culture and identity, thereby transforming it into a “sanctuary nation.” In the U.S., this includes removing our Christian heritage.

Anti-illegal immigration was Donald Trump’s number one campaign theme. We will see how much of his rhetoric on this issue will translate into meaningful action. One thing is for sure, the neocons in D.C.--including some of those that Trump has placed in his presidential administration--will NOT passively sit back and let him put a stop to illegal immigration without doing everything they can to ensure that the borders remain wide open. Watch it: the fight to maintain illegal immigration is going to come from within Trump’s very own administration. His resolve on this issue will be sorely tested.

*Perpetual War
Nothing rings the cash register for globalists like war. War helps to replace recalcitrant national leaders who refuse to give international financiers carte blanche in their countries. War helps to redraw national boundaries that favor the global economy. War brings HUGE profit windfalls to the military-industrial-surveillance complexes that are mostly in bed with high-paying globalists. War causes citizens in free countries to accept more governmental authority (which always includes an international component) over their affairs that would never be the case in peacetime. And war is also the perfect solution to resolve the economic problems of a sinking financial system.

In this regard, religious bigotry and intolerance make it easy for globalists to manipulate the passions of people in favor of war. Pitting Christians against Muslims and Muslims against Christians is the current tactic favored by globalists. And, boy, is it working!

When GW Bush was President, the boogeyman was Iraq and Afghanistan. Under Obama, the boogeyman was Syria. And with Donald Trump’s picks for National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly, it appears the new boogeyman will be Iran. This is all a manipulation of the globalists to keep the flames of war lit in the world’s only superpower: the United States of America.

Peace is the last thing globalists want. War profiteers lose trillions of dollars annually without the war machine generating limitless wealth for the global elite. Therefore, globalists rely on their war hawk toadies like GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger, the CFR, et al. to keep the war fires HOT. We will soon see whether Trump truly understands this part of the “swamp.” On Tuesday of this week, Trump hosted ultra-globalist Henry Kissinger at Trump Tower. That should send chills up your spine. The sovereignty and independence of the United States (not to mention global peace) has no greater enemy than Henry Kissinger. Does Trump have any idea who he is dealing with? We’ll see.

Just this week in Fayetteville, North Carolina, President-Elect Trump said, “The United States is going to abandon its decades of policies promoting regime change in countries around the world.” He also pledged to “follow a policy of restraining U.S. military force around the world rather than unleashing it.” This policy, if implemented, would be a blatant attack against the globalist-neocon perpetual war doctrine. I doubt that generals Mattis, Flynn, and Kelly will be fans of such a dramatic reversal of this long-entrenched perpetual war doctrine; and for Trump to fulfill this pledge, he will be forced to deal head on with the warmongering neocons from all over Washington, D.C. I hope he is serious about this pledge. Again, we’ll see.
*International Banking

Someone said, “All wars are bankers’ wars.” I don’t believe that is strictly true, but I will say MOST wars are bankers wars. And people can start name calling all they want, but it is a cold, hard fact that Zionists are the head of the snake when it comes to international banking. For example, the U.S. Federal Reserve is controlled by the Zionist banks of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Rothschild, Warburg, Lehman Brothers, Lazard Brothers, Israel Moses Seif, and Kuhn Loeb. In fact, the Zionist global banking system controls most of the financial institutions of countries throughout the world.

It is a no-brainer that international banking and global war go hand-in-hand. This is why you will notice that neocon war hawks in Congress are also heavily financed by Zionists. For this and other reasons, I am deeply concerned that Donald Trump’s Zionist son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been appointed as Trump’s personal adviser and is right now setting up shop in Washington, D.C. If Donald Trump does not truly comprehend the role that Zionism plays in the global war agenda of the neocons, he will NEVER be able to successfully “drain the swamp.”

*Police State
Freedom is anathema to globalists; an armed citizenry is anathema to globalists. In order for globalism to succeed, people must be restrained; they must be surveilled; they must be regulated; they must be controlled.

The so-called war on terror (including the federal “war on drugs”--especially marijuana) is the biggest ruse ever invented to put a Police State in place. False flag terror attacks, a plethora of seemingly “random” mass shootings, and a perpetual media barrage against the right of citizens to defend themselves are all tactics of globalists to reduce liberty--and increase government dependence--in a nation.

Neocons are the ones who are the loudest cheerleaders for war in the Middle East, increased surveillance of the American citizenry, the militarization of our local and State police agencies, and antagonistic policies against Russia.

To see if your congressman or senator is a neocon (or controlled by neocons), look at his or her votes for The Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the NDAA (sections 1021 and 1022), NSA spying, etc. Also look at their voting records regarding bills or amendments that would stop the federal government from supplying military armament to our local and State police agencies. You might be surprised to learn that YOUR congressman and senators voted to facilitate the burgeoning Police State in our country. Folks, these are either neocons or people that are controlled by neocons. Again, remember: being a conservative or liberal is completely irrelevant here.

This issue has always been my biggest concern about Donald Trump. Many of his statements regarding “stop and frisk” and other such notions are repugnant to anyone who believes in constitutional government and individual liberty. And several of the people Trump has chosen for his cabinet--including Senator Jeff Sessions and Congressman Mike Pompeo--have track records that greatly infringe on liberties protected in the Fourth Amendment of our Bill of Rights.
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Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the Pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana. Dr. Baldwin is Talk Radio Show Host for Chuck Baldwin Live.” He addresses current event topics from a conservative Christian point of view.and is a writer/columnist whose articles and political commentaries are carried by a host of Internet sites, newspapers, news magazines and the ARRA News Service.

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Tags: Chuck Baldwin, President-elect, Donald Trump, promised to, drain the swamp, Swamp, Neocons, Swamp fillers To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!

How States Can Shape Obamacare’s Replacement

Governors like Scott Walker (WI), Nikki Haley (SC)
& Rick Scott (FL) can help shape a new health care
plan while regulating their own insurance markets. 

by Melissa Quinn: As Republicans prepare to hammer out the details of a replacement for Obamacare, governors and state insurance commissioners are asking for a seat at the table.

Under the Affordable Care Act, much of the regulatory framework that in the past fell to states and their respective insurance commissioners was transferred to the federal government, which created blanket mandates for both consumers and insurers.

But as Republicans have begun discussions of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act—with action coming as early as January—states and their executive branches have the opportunity to help map out the future health insurance market.

“There’s going to be the opportunity to say we can actually start from scratch, but we’ve been in the mode of trying to work within the parameters of the immense amount of regulation under the Affordable Care Act that it’s difficult to switch gears and think about things in a whole new light,” Mia Heck, director of the health and human services task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, told The Daily Signal.

“It’s a great problem to have, but it’s just a lot to think about,” Heck continued.

In recent years, policymakers have been dealing with “top-down framework” for the health care market, that being the Affordable Care Act, Heck said. But now that Republicans are gearing up to repeal the law and pass a replacement plan, there’s an opportunity for states—and ALEC—to have a seat at the table.

“We’re going to have the opportunity to talk about what would be best for states so they can increase competition and choice in their health care markets, which will result in lower costs and better quality of care,” Heck said. “It’s an exciting time in health care.”

Already, state executives are making it known that they want to play a visible role in shaping Obamacare’s replacement.

“Governors will be very, very active and engaged,” Frederick Isasi, who oversees health policy at the National Governors Association, told The Hill. “They really are one of the few groups who are, in this very tangible day-to-day way, are living the results of the policies.”

And congressional leaders are heeding their calls.

Last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with the current chairs and incoming chairs of three House committees, sent a letter to governors and insurance commissioners asking for their help with crafting Obamacare’s replacement.

“Our values, based on the principles of federalism, drive a philosophy that states should have the freedom and flexibility to create options that are best for patients,” the lawmakers wrote. “Insurers should compete for consumer business and treat patients fairly. And Americans should have access to the best life-saving treatments in the world.

“Working as a team, with your help and creative ideas, we can achieve our mutual goal of putting patients first.”

Back to the States

Though GOP lawmakers are still in the process of mapping out their blueprint for Obamacare’s repeal and replacement, health policy experts say lawmakers in Washington need to eliminate the insurance regulations enacted at the federal level that the Affordable Care Act put in place.

“Historically, the regulation of health insurance has been left up to the states, so what the state of Vermont decides to do with health insurance regulations and benefits can be very different from what the state of Arizona decides,” Rea Hederman, executive vice president at the Buckeye Institute in Ohio, told The Daily Signal.

“What the Affordable Care Act did was wipe away decades of experience at the state level managing insurance,” he continued.

Among the insurance regulations included in the health care law was the essential health benefits package, a list of 10 services that all insurance plans were required to cover.

That measure, in particular, drove up the cost of health insurance, ALEC health care expert Heck said.

But if Congress follows through on its promise to repeal Obamacare, states and their insurance commissioners could once again manage their own insurance plans and regulations, Heck and Hederman agreed.

“[Congress] needs to return [to states] the traditional responsibility of determining what is the right plan for their citizens that states have always enjoyed,” Hederman said.

Like the essential health benefits package, the Affordable Care Act also changed the rating rules insurers were required to adhere to. The health care law prohibited insurers from limiting or denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and limited how much insurers could price premiums based on age.

But if states were given the authority to control insurance regulations, they could adjust their rating rules, Heck said.

“They’re going to have a lot to take into consideration,” she said of state lawmakers, “because it’s going to be a whole new opportunity to determine what their health insurance regulatory framework should look like.”

In addition to giving governors and insurance commissioners the authority to craft insurance regulations based on their own jurisdictions, an Obamacare repeal will allow states to implement their own Medicaid reforms.

Congress passed a bill earlier this year repealing key provisions of Obamacare, including the Medicaid expansion, and if a repeal bill passed in 2017 included a rollback of Medicaid expansion, states would then have more authority over the design of the program, Heck said.

Already, some state lawmakers are looking forward to changes to the Medicaid program.

Maine state Sen. Eric Brakey, a Republican who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee, said he would like to see Medicaid turned into block grants or allow beneficiaries to set up health savings accounts.

“Anything we can do to put the purchasing power back in the hands of the patient,” Brakey told The Daily Signal.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., who President-elect Donald Trump nominated to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, already advocate turning Medicaid into a state block grant program.

Health policy experts, meanwhile, say states should be encouraged to use existing and new waivers to change their Medicaid programs.

One such waiver, Section 1332, was implemented under the Affordable Care Act and exempts states from provisions of the health care law. States are then allowed to pursue new approaches to health care.

During debate over the waivers, the bipartisan National Governors Association encouraged the Obama administration to provide states with the “flexibility needed” to pursue them.

But late last year, the Department of Health and Human Services implemented strict regulations on proposals submitted by states, which limited their ability for reforms.

A second waiver, Section 1115, was implemented under the Social Security Act and allows states to use Medicaid dollars in ways not permitted under federal rules.

Under a Trump administration, health policy experts say they’d like to see more flexibility from the executive branch in terms of the reforms states can pursue using the waivers.

By using Section 1115 waivers, states could potentially implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients or ask them to pay premiums, Hederman said.

But by using a Section 1332 waiver, which Hederman said would need to be revamped, states could “regain control of their health insurance market from the federal government.”

“I’ve told state legislators they need to be ready. They need to be ready for repeal, and they need to be ready for a lot more flexibility with the Medicaid program,” Hederman said. “Take a look at using the 1115 and revamped 1332 waiver to maximum state freedom in the health care market.”

Though congressional leaders haven’t signaled whether they plan to include the Section 1332 waivers in an Obamacare replacement plan, McCarthy asked governors and insurance commissioners to gauge their interest in pursuing them next year.

Still, Republicans in Congress are continuing discussions over how to repeal Obamacare, and they haven’t yet presented a plan that would replace the law.

But McCarthy’s letter, coupled with the urging of the National Governors Association, suggests that states will play a greater role in mapping out the new proposal.

“The one-size-fits-all solution that the Affordable Care Act implemented has not worked,” Hederman said. “The evidence is in, and the [Affordable Care Act] did not work. Let’s give the insurance authority back to the states to best meet the needs of the population.”
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Melissa Quinn (@MelissaQuinn97 ) is a news reporter for The Daily Signal.

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Tags: How States, Can Shape, Obamacare’s Replacement, Melissa Quinn, The Daily Signal To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!

Coulter: How The Establishment Will TRY To Destroy Trump

Ann Coulter signs
"Adios America!"
for Dr. Bill Smith
ARRA News Service
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I knew she was right on target
with "Adios America" & I
believe she is right on target
with this warning about
"How the Esablishment Will
try to Destroy President
Donald Trump. Hoping
President- Elect Turmp
still reads her articles.

My vote for Director, Securing
the Border is Ann Coulter.

by Ann Coulter: Shortly before Thanksgiving, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni wrote a column that should chill you to the bone.

Titled "Donald Trump's Demand for Love," Bruni said: "I had just shaken the president-elect's normal-size hand and he was moving on to the next person when he wheeled around, took a half step back, touched my arm and looked me in the eye anew. 'I'm going to get you to write some good stuff about me,' Donald Trump said.”

Bruni is a fabulous writer, but if he ever writes good stuff about you, Mr. President-elect, YOU WILL HAVE FAILED.

I assume this was just our president-elect doing something he gets the least credit for, which is being nice. But you can never be too careful.

The Times is in total opposition to Trump's stated goal to make America great again. Trump has got to know -- not next year, but by 5 p.m. today -- that anyone pursuing his agenda will incite rage, insanity and spitting blood from that newspaper.

There's a long and tragic history of Republicans who won the war but lost the peace by trading results for respectability.

The first President Bush not only promised not to raise taxes, but also laid out the steps Democrats would take to get him to break that promise. "And the Congress will push me to raise taxes," he said in his iconic 1988 convention speech, "and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again, and I'll say to them, 'Read my lips: No new taxes.’"

He was a good prognosticator! Congress did exactly as he'd anticipated. But instead of saying "no," Bush caved.

That betrayal cost the GOP its most popular issue. As the Times' Michael Wines put it (shortly before Bush predictably lost his re-election bid), with the president's sellout, Republicans gave up "a political weapon so fearsome that it had destroyed three Democratic presidential candidates in 12 years.”

The Times had spent months hectoring Bush about the "yawning deficit," denouncing his "obdurate refusal" to raise taxes, and promising "political popularity" for the "needed" tax hike. But the moment Bush raised taxes, the Times couldn't stop crowing about his broken promise.

That was always the whole point. Not the "yawning deficit." Not raising revenue. But to get the GOP to give up its most potent issue.

Trump has just annihilated 16 far more experienced Republican rivals, the Clinton machine and the entire media/Hollywood/Wall Street complex by raising the one issue no other politician would touch: putting America's interests first on immigration.

What promise do you think they want Trump to break?

Luckily for the country, Trump doesn't seem obsessed with what the elites think of him. But his advisers include just the type of Republicans whose second-tier law schools make them particularly susceptible to the cheap respectability of establishment media approval.

Trump has been a politician for only a little more than one year. He has no experience with the tricks that will be played to get him to betray voters on his signature issue. The first president Bush knew what was coming -- and he still broke his promise.

Manifestly, if anyone in Washington seriously wanted to build a wall, deport illegals, return criminal aliens to their own countries, end the anchor baby scam and prevent jihadists from immigrating here to kill Americans, it would have been done already.

Nearly every promise Trump made on immigration is 100 percent within the power of the president. For example:

It is already the president's job, as commander in chief, to protect the borders.

It is already the Department of Defense's job to build border walls.

It's already the law that citizenship is not acquired by being born on U.S. soil to an illegal alien. (No Congress has ever passed such a law, nor has the Supreme Court ruled that they are.)

It is already the secretary of state's duty to rescind visas from countries that refuse to take their criminals back.

It is already the president's job to prohibit the entry of any class of immigrants he deems "detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

It is already the president's job to remove immigrants who commit crimes, entered our country through fraud (i.e., every single refugee), are in the country illegally or who become public charges.

None of those things have ever been done before for one reason: The entire Washington establishment is unalterably opposed to enforcing our immigration laws.

Trump will have no trouble enacting the rest of his agenda. If congressional Republicans are good for anything, it is to repeal Obamacare, cut taxes and regulation, confirm good judges and protect the Second Amendment. No one but Trump would have done it, but not even Nancy Pelosi is going to attack Trump for keeping jobs in America.

Only when it comes to immigration will Trump be Gary Cooper, out there alone against every powerful entity in America. Just as he was during the campaign.

On immigration, Trump will be furiously opposed by: Democrats, Republicans, the permanent bureaucracy, the Chamber of Commerce, George Soros, The Wall Street Journal -- in fact, the entire media, except four webpages, six bloggers and five talk-radio hosts -- and hundreds of taxpayer-funded immigrant grievance groups. And that's just off the top of my head.

He'll even be opposed by his own hand-picked U.N. ambassador! (It is an amazing fact that at the 2016 State of the Union, both the Democratic president's address, and the Republican governor's response, attacked candidate Trump's immigration proposals.)

There's a reason millions of Americans were showing up at Trump's rallies chanting, "Build the Wall!" and not, "End Obamacare!" "Cut taxes!" "Save the Second Amendment!" -- or any other slogan that could have been chanted just as easily at a Jeb! Rally.

There are only a handful of people in the entire country with the knowledge and ability to enforce our immigration laws. Any Cabinet appointees likely to impress The New York Times aren't going to get it done. They won't have to expressly defy Trump. They just won't do it.

Perhaps they'll make some showy effort at deporting illegals -- and then back down at the first La Raza lawsuit. Or they will allow career government lawyers to submit briefs in court that cite all the wrong cases. Or they'll wait for Speaker Paul Ryan's approval to do anything. Or they'll be moved by a Nikki Haley speech about the vibrant diversity of Somali refugees. Or they'll be scared off by Washington bureaucrats who say, You can't do that!

But if Trump chooses from among the few people who know how to get it done (Kris Kobach, Kris Kobach or Kris Kobach), his promises will be kept. He can relax. He can spend all his time playing golf, living in Trump Tower, yelling at American CEOs trying to outsource jobs -- and engaging in appalling conflicts of interest with his businesses.

He could even shoot someone on Fifth Avenue. (I propose GOP consultant Rick Wilson!)

Trump is down to his last wish from Aladdin. He can impress The New York Times, or he can make America great again. But he can't do both.
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Ann Coulter is a conservative author of ten New York Times bestsellers, writes numerous columns and is a frequent guest on numerous radio and TV shows. Her web site is AnnCoulter.com. She is the author of Adios America which she signed and gave to the ARRA News Service editor at the 2015 Eagle Council.

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Tags: Ann Coulter, How the Establishment, will try, to destroy, Donald Trump, Ann Coulter To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!

Communism and a Grocery Store

by Kerby Anderson, Contributing Author: Dr. Anne Bradley has been on my radio program and in a recent article talks about her first trip to the Soviet Union. Even as a teenager she could see through the attempt to make Russia look more prosperous than it was. In fact, her visit was one of the reasons she became an economist. She ends her article by telling the true story of what happened when Boris Yeltsin visited the United States.

He was newly elected to the Soviet Parliament and the Supreme Soviet. After he visited the Johnson Space Center, he made an unscheduled stop at Randall’s Grocery Store in Houston. This trip to a simple grocery store changed him forever.

Yeltsin roamed the aisles to see the number of products available to every customer. They were offering free cheese samples. He was overwhelmed. He could not believe the bounty before him. Even members of the elite Politburo did not have the choices available to every person who walked into the store.

A reporter captured his comments in an article in the Houston Chronicle. “When I saw those shelves crammed with hundreds, thousands of cans, cartons and goods of every possible sort, for the first time I felt quite frankly sick with despair for the Soviet people.” He went on to say, “That such a potentially, super-rich country as ours had been brought to a state of such poverty! It is terrible to think of it.”

What a statement from a man who was powerful and well connected politically. He may have had great political power in Russia, but he was powerless to provide to the Russian people what was typical for all Americans. The communist government failed to provide the basic necessities for their people. This is what happens in a centrally controlled economy.

This is a lesson we need to pass on to our children and grandchildren. The abundance of goods on the shelves of that Houston grocery store weren’t provided by the government. They were provided by a free market.
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Kerby Anderson is a radio talk show host heard on numerous stations via the Point of View Network endorsed by Dr. Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service

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Tags: Dr. Anne Bradley, Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin, Communism, Grocery Store, free market, Kerby Anderson, Viewpoints, Point of View To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!

Parting Gifts . . .

. . . Hillary wasn’t the winner but she dose get a little something for participating in the 2016 election, a participation trophy.

Editorial Cartoon by AF "Tony" Branco

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Tags: Parting Gifts, Hillary Clinton, Wasn’t the winner, 2016 election,participation trophy To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!

Dems ‘Bankrupt’ Coal Rhetoric

Dem's Coal Rhetoric

Dems’ Candidate For President: ‘Put A Lot Of Coal Miners … Out Of Business’

TOP DEMS: ‘A War On Coal Is Exactly What’s Needed,’ ‘We’re Going To Put A Lot Of Coal Miners … Out Of Business’
HILLARY CLINTON: “We’re going to put a lot of coal minersand coal companies out of business.” (“Why Putting Coal Miners Out Of Work Is A Very Bad Thing To Say In West Virginia,” The Washington Post, 5/10/16)

“…Obama’s new rules are absolutely changing the trajectory of the power industry. He has been an ally in the war on coal …” (“Obama’s Ozone Lesson,” Politico, 10/15)

DANIEL P. SCHRAG, White House Climate Adviser: ‘A war on coal is exactly what’s needed’ “The one thing the president really needs to do now is to begin the process of shutting down the conventional coal plants. …a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.” (The New York Times, 6/25/13)

OBAMA EPA Official: ‘Make examples out of people,’ ‘Crucify them’ “The Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish (sic) town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. And so you make examples out of people...” (“EPA Official Not Only Touted 'Crucifying' Oil Companies, He Tried It,” Forbes, 4/26/12)

THEN-SEN. BARACK OBAMA: “Under my plan of a cap and trade system electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket, even, you know, regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.” (The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/17/08)

• OBAMA: “So if somebody wants to build a coal fired plant they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that is being emitted.” (The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/17/08)

Eager Foot Soliders In The War On Coal Families
KY Coal Association: “One of the Sierra Club’s expressly stated goals is to shut down the coal industry” (“Know Thy Enemy: An Update On The Sierra Club,” Kentucky Coal Association)

SIERRA CLUB: “The Beyond Coal campaign’s main objective is to replace dirty coal … by mobilizing grassroots activists in local communities to advocate for the retirement of old and outdated coal plants and to prevent new coal plants from being built. Our goals include: Retiring one-third of the nation’s more than 500 coal plants by 2020 … Keeping coal in the ground in places like Appalachia and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin” (“Coal Is An Outdated, Backward, And Dirty 19th-Century Technology,” Sierra Club, Accessed 12/9/16)

• “Sierra Club political endorsements …Ohio has one progressive environmental senator in Sherrod Brown…” (“Endorsements,” Sierra Club Central Ohio Group, 2016)

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): “Their [Sierra Club members’] advocacy is critical to our efforts...” (Sen. Brown, Press Release, 3/21/16)

• BROWNM/u>: ‘replace 300 dirty, large coal plants’ (Sen. Brown, Press Release, 4/19/10)

A ‘War On Coal’ Families Was ‘The Centerpiece Of Obama’s Climate Agenda
“The [EPA’s power plant] rule, finalized in August, is the centerpiece of Obama’s climate agenda — but its sweeping scope and strict standards make it an especially contentious regulation.” (“Wave Of Litigation Hits Obama Climate Rule,” The Hill, 10/24/15)

• “The regulations were made final in August by the Environmental Protection Agency, and are the main pillar of Obama’s second-term push against climate change.” (“Senate Tees Up Votes Against Obama’s Climate Rules,” The Hill, 11/16/15)

THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: ‘As many as 224,000 jobs would be eliminated’ “The country’s largest business lobby warned Wednesday that the Obama administration’s proposal to impose new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants could eclipse $50 billion in annual costs through 2030. … The Chamber’s study says as many as 224,000 jobs would be eliminated annually through 2030 under the proposal.” (“Chamber: Costs Of EPA Climate Rule Could Top $50 Billion A Year,” The Hill, 5/28/14)

“…in coal country, the changes have meant layoffs. Nowhere has been hit harder than eastern Kentucky, where more than 6,000 miners have lost their jobs since January 2012. For each mining job, there are estimated to be at least three directly related jobs, like trucking, that also disappear.” (Fox News, 1/16/14)

• “According to [Bill] Bissett, [the president of the Kentucky Coal Association] the coal industry has lost more than 6,000 direct jobs, and 18,000 people indirectly connected to the coal industry are out of work. Coal production in Eastern Kentucky is down 30 percent...” (Commonwealth Journal [KY], 1/7/14)

While The Senate Voted To Block ‘Obama Administration’s Rules’ Assaulting Coal Families…
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Tonight, the U.S. Senate voted to stand up for Middle Class Americans, and specifically our hard working Kentucky coal miners and their families, by voting to overturn the Obama Administration’s deeply regressive energy regulations that would eliminate good-paying jobs, punish the poor, and make it even harder for Kentuckians to put food on the table.” (“Senate Attacks Obama’s Landmark Climate Rules,” Huffington Post, 11/18/15)

• “‘The administration bypassed Congress entirely when it developed this rule, and these resolutions of disapproval will give senators an opportunity to approve or disapprove of these far-reaching regulations,’ Sen. Shelley Moore Capito…” (“Senate Tees Up Votes Against Obama’s Climate Rules,” The Hill, 11/17/15)

“The Senate resolution, which passed 52 to 46, would scuttle a rule that would significantly cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. That Environmental Protection Agency rule, released in August, is the centerpiece of Mr. Obama's efforts to address climate change. A second resolution, which also passed 52 to 46, would strike a related E.P.A. rule intended to freeze construction of future coal-fired power plants.” (“Senate Rejects Obama Plan To Cut Emissions At Coal-Burning Plants,” The New York Times, 11/18/15)

…Sens. Brown And Schumer Voted Against Standing Up For Hard Working Coal Families
(S.J.Res.23, Roll Call Vote #307, Joint Resolution Passed 52-46; R 49-3; D 3-41; I 0-2, 11/17/15) ; (S.J.Res.24, Roll Call Vote #306, Joint Resolution Passed 52-46; R49-3; D 3-41; I 0-2, 11/17/15)

Coal Miner: ‘I Say To You, Mister President Of The United States… We're Hurting.’
GARY LOCKHART, Coal Miner: “Our biggest worries now are just trying to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, telling your family that this was all caused by the EPA, directed by our President for his political agenda.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

PHILLIP CONLEY, Coal Miner: “I just believe the Obama administration has taken a huge impact on the coal industry and Appalachia. Anymore, you just never know from day to day if you are going to have a job or not.” (Fox News, 1/16/14)

HOWARD ABSHIRE, Coal Miner: “I say to you, Mister President of the United States… We're hurting. You say you're the president of the people? Well we're people too. No one loves the mountains no more than we do. We live here. We crawl between them. We get up every morning and we go on top of a mountain in a strip job in the cold rain, snow, to put bread on the table.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

• ABSHIRE: "Come and look at our little children, look at our people, Mr. President. You're not hurting for a job; you've got one. I don't have one." (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

JUSTINE BRADFORD, Teacher: “Dear EPA: Will you please tell Santa Claus all we want for Christmas this year is to be able to work. Here in Eastern Kentucky we too are real people.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

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Tags: Dems, ‘Bankrupt’ Coal Rhetoric To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!

Sanctuary Campuses

How the safety of students and faculty are compromised to achieve the leftist agenda.

by Michael Cutler: Two disturbing articles focusing on “Sanctuary college campuses,” serve as the predication for my article today.

On November 22, 2016 “The Atlantic” published, “The Push for Sanctuary Campuses Prompts More Questions Than Answers: It’s not clear how far colleges would or could go to stop the deportation of students.”

This article detailed how some “Sanctuary” colleges will not cooperate with immigration authorities.

Consider this excerpt from this article:“Faculty at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, who would like to see the school become a sanctuary campus, met on Monday with administrators to “have a better sense of what their expectations are for a sanctuary campus,” said Joanne Berger-Sweeney, the school’s president. Her faculty expressed interest in the school declining to pass immigration information to federal authorities, and in establishing a network of alumni who are willing to offer pro bono legal help to undocumented students.”On December 1, 2016 the website, “The College Fix” posted, “UC President Napolitano to campus cops: Don’t enforce federal immigration law.”

Here is are salient excerpts from this article:

Napolitano — who served as Secretary of Homeland Security under the Obama administration, charged with protecting the nation’s borders — put out a statement Wednesday that her office will “vigorously protect the privacy and civil rights of the undocumented members of the UC community and will direct its police departments not to undertake joint efforts with any government agencies to enforce federal immigration law.”

The announcement comes as students in the country illegally and their peer allies are distraught that there might be mass deportations of undocumented students under a Donald Trump presidency. Many student leaders have announced their schools are “sanctuary campuses.” Now campus leaders are essentially following suit.

According to Napolitano’s office, there are about 2,500 undocumented students enrolled across the 10-campus UC system.

“While we still do not know what policies and practices the incoming federal administration may adopt, given the many public pronouncements made during the presidential campaign and its aftermath, we felt it necessary to reaffirm that UC will act upon its deeply held conviction that all members of our community have the right to work, study, and live safely and without fear at all UC locations,” Napolitano stated.The article went on to report:With that, the University of California also issued its “Statement of Principles in Support of Undocumented Members of the UC Community,” outlining measures they will take to protect DACA students:

The University will continue to admit students consistent with its nondiscrimination policies so that undocumented students will be considered for admission under the same criteria as U.S. citizens or permanent residents.It is important to consider Napolitano’s statement about all members of the community “living safely and without fear at all UC locations.”

How safe are students and faculty members on campuses where illegal aliens are shielded from detection by federal authorities?

Napolitano stated that all members of the community have the right to work.  Illegal aliens, however, are forbidden, by law, from working in the United States.

When Napolitano was the Secretary of Homeland Security, she was in charge of the DHS agencies responsible for the enforcement and administer of the immigration laws yet she now equates immigration laws with discrimination.

The DHS was created in the wake of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The enforcement and administration of our immigration laws were moved from the Justice Department to the DHS because it was understood that border security and the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws were matters of national security.

Our immigration laws are oblivious about race, religion or ethnicity but seek to prevent the entry or continued presence of foreign nationals (aliens) whose presence would pose a threat to national security or public health or public safety.

Title 8, United States Code, Section 1182 enumerates the categories of aliens who are to be excluded from entering the United States.  This includes aliens who suffer from dangerous communicable, diseases or extreme mental illness, are convicted felons, human rights violators, war criminals, terrorists and spies.

Aliens who enter the United States without inspection may have evaded that critical vetting process at ports of entry because they have criminal histories, may be fugitives or know that their names are listed on counter-terrorism watch-lists.

Some aliens who are subject to deportation (removal) were lawfully admitted into the United States but subsequently violated their terms of admission.  Some of these aliens are now subject to deportation because the have, since entry, have been convicted of committing felonies.

Janet Napolitano must certainly be aware of this yet she seeks to harbor illegal aliens who may well be criminals, fugitives or even terrorists on college campuses, including the campuses of the University of California she presides over.

The harboring and concealment of such illegal aliens is a felony under Title 8, United States Code §1324. (Bringing in and harboring certain aliens).

Yet the article noted that “The University will not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race or sexual orientation.”

Schools that admit foreign students are required to notify the DHS when foreign students fail to maintain their status as students.

On August 30 2016 the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) website posted a news release, “ICE releases quarterly international student data” that reported that more than 1.1 million foreign students are currently enrolled in more than 8,000 schools and universities across the United States.

Thousands of foreign students have gone missing in the United States.  How many are being harbored today on “Sanctuary campuses?”

Consider that on September 2, 2014 ABC News reported, “ Lost in America: Visa Program Struggles to 'Track Missing Foreign Students'."

Here is how this report began:

The Department of Homeland Security has lost track of more than 6,000 foreign nationals who entered the United States on student visas, overstayed their welcome, and essentially vanished -- exploiting a security gap that was supposed to be fixed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

"My greatest concern is that they could be doing anything," said Peter Edge, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who oversees investigations into visa violators. "Some of them could be here to do us harm.

Homeland Security officials disclosed the breadth of the student visa problem in response to ABC News questions submitted as part of an investigation into persistent complaints about the nation’s entry program for students.

ABC News found that immigration officials have struggled to keep track of the rapidly increasing numbers of foreign students coming to the U.S. -- now in excess of one million each year. The immigration agency’s own figures show that 58,000 students overstayed their visas in the past year. Of those, 6,000 were referred to agents for follow-up because they were determined to be of heightened concern.

“They just disappear,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. “They get the visas and they disappear.”

Coburn said since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, 26 student visa holders have been arrested in the U.S. on terror-related charges

Tightening up the student visa program was one of the major recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, after it was determined that the hijacker who flew Flight 77 into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had entered the U.S. on a student visa but never showed up for school.The official report, “9/11 and  Terrorist Travel - Staff Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States” focused specifically on terrorists entered the United States and ultimately embedded themselves as they went about their deadly preparations.

Page 47 of this report noted:

"Once terrorists had entered the United States, their next challenge was to find a way to remain here. Their primary method was immigration fraud. For example, Yousef and Ajaj concocted bogus political asylum stories when they arrived in the United States. Mahmoud Abouhalima, involved in both the World Trade Center and landmarks plots, received temporary residence under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers (SAW) program, after falsely claiming that he picked beans in Florida.” Mohammed Salameh, who rented the truck used in the bombing, overstayed his tourist visa. He then applied for permanent residency under the agricultural workers program, but was rejected. Eyad Mahmoud Ismail, who drove the van containing the bomb, took English-language classes at Wichita State University in Kansas on a student visa; after he dropped out, he remained in the United States out of status.For starters, any school that declares itself to be a “Sanctuary” for illegal aliens should have its authority to issue the form I-20 to foreign students summarily revoked.

Foreign students must present that form (I-20) to the U.S. embassy or consulate in order to be issued a student visa so that they may be admitted into the United States to attend school.

Foreign student advisors at each and every school are responsible for notifying DHS about foreign students who fail to attend those schools for which they were granted visas.  Clearly “Sanctuary Schools” cannot be trusted to cooperate fully with the DHS and make proper notification to the DHS.

No I-20 Forms:  No Visas:  No Foreign Students.
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Michael Cutler is a retired Senior Special Agent of the former INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) whose career spanned some 30 years. He served as an Immigration Inspector, Immigration Adjudications Officer and spent 26 years as an agent with half of his career in the Drug Task Force. He has testified before well over a dozen congressional hearings, provided testimony to the 9/11 Commission. His website is michaelcutler.net. He also writes for FrontPage Mag a publication of theDavid Horowitz Freedom Center. David Horowitz is a Contributing Author of the ARRA News Service

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Climate Change Assertions

Oklahoma Atty General Scott Pruitt

by Paul Jacob, Contributing Author: I know Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump’s pick to head the EPA; he replaced the egregious Drew Edmondson as Oklahoma Attorney General.

Pruitt seems like a good man.

But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) says different. “Mr. Pruitt’s record is not only that of being a climate change denier, but also . . .”

Wait: that “climate change denier” charge is everywhere. But all I’ve seen is assertion.

It would indeed be weird were he — or anyone — to deny the reality of climate change. Way back in my Seventies’ youth, I saw all sorts of climate change articles . . . predicting a new Ice Age.

Decades later, the headlines began to change: Global Warming was in.

But note: those Seventies’ articles usually mentioned that the world had been heating out of the recent Little Ice Age, with the thaw beginning before the dreaded Industrial Revolution.

I bet that what our new Trump pick really believes is that

• warm weather is generally better than cold weather;
• CO2 is not a poison as such (plants thrive with more carbon dioxide);
• every major climate model has predicted more warming than we’ve experienced; and
• stifling progress to offset poorly understood climate events would be disastrous, especially for the poor.

Betting aside, what does Pruitt believe? The Advocate actually repeats the disproven “97 percent of climate scientists” meme to pile on the abuse*, but did link to a National Review article Pruitt co-authored with Alabama’s attorney general.

They did not deny climate change, merely insisting that “the debate is far from settled.” More importantly, they argued that governments should not intimidate energy companies in service to the climate cause. Instead, they called for open debate.

Shocking!

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

* The Advocate also irrelevantly charged Pruitt with “transphobia.” But then, Trump’s Small Business Administration pick, Linda McMahon, has also been tarred with the “climate denier” charge, which is as irrelevant to an SBA head as vegetarianism would be for a Secretary of Treasury.
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Paul Jacobs is author of Common Sense which provides daily commentary about the issues impacting America and about the citizens who are doing something about them. He is also President of the Liberty Initiative Fund (LIFe) as well as Citizens in Charge Foundation. Jacobs is a contributing author on the ARRA News Service.

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