Tag Archives: First 100 days

Mar 30 2017

Settle Mayor Files Lawsuit Over ‘Sanctuary City’ Funding; Blasts Trump’s “War On Cities”


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by Tyler Durden
Mar 30, 2017 8:13 PM

Ed Murray, the Mayor of the city of Seattle, has just launched yet another federal lawsuit against the Trump administration’s threat to withhold federal grants to so-called “sanctuary cities,” citing the 10th Amendment that deals with states’ rights.  Murray also took to his bully pulpit to blast the Trump administration’s “war on cities” while simultaneously declaring that Seattle isn’t “breaking any laws” by simply choosing to ignore certain federal mandates.  Per NBC News:

“Apparently the Trump administration, their war on facts, has now become a war on cities,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said. He said the goal of the suit is to have a judge declare the order unconstitutional.

“Let me be clear about the facts: We are not breaking any laws and we are prioritizing safety,” Murray said.

Of course, the comments from Murray followed Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ surprise appearance at Sean Spicer’s daily White House press briefing earlier this week to announce that his DOJ would be taking steps to not only require that so-called “sanctuary cities” enforce federal immigration laws but would also be seeking to claw back past DOJ awards granted to those cities if they refuse to certify compliance.

“Today, I’m urging states and local jurisdictions to comply with these federal laws.  Moreover, the Department of Justice will require that jurisdictions seeking or applying for DOJ grants to certify compliance with 1373 as a condition for receiving those awards.”

“This policy is entirely consistent with the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs guidance that was issued just last summer under the previous administration.”

“This guidance requires jurisdictions to comply and certify compliance with Section 1373 in order to be eligible for OJP grants.  It also made clear that failure to remedy violations could result in withholding grants, termination of grants and disbarment or ineligibility for future grants.”

“The DOJ will also take all lawful steps to claw back any fines awarded to a jurisdiction that willfully violates Section 1373.”

Meanwhile, Seattle’s AG also decided to chime in:

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said the effects of the executive order have already been felt, with victims in domestic violence cases choosing not to pursue prosecution due to immigration status. He said local governments do not enforce federal immigration laws. Holmes noted that terms like “sanctuary cities” are nebulous and ill defined.

“Instead of the press conferences from Washington, instead of the Tweets from the White House, we want to have a sober statement of the law that can be reassuring to the communities that this is still the rule of law, and it’s still a nation of laws,” he said.

Of course, the snowflake bastion of San Francisco has already filed suit against the Trump administration’s executive order, also citing the 10th Amendment. “This strikes at the heart of established principles of federalism and violates the United States Constitution,” attorneys for the city and county of San Francisco wrote in its complaint.  A federal judge set a hearing for the city’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block the executive order for April 14.

Seems like the Trump administration, and few billion dollars in federal taxpayer subsidies, have struck a nerve.

Sanctuary

Mar 30 2017

“He Certainly Has A Story To Tell” – Statement From Mike Flynn’s Lawyer


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by Tyler Durden
Re-Posted From ZERO HEDGE Mar 30, 2017 7:49 PM

Hot on the heels of the WSJ report that Trump’s former National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn, has offered to testify in exchange for immunity from prosecution, Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner of the law firm Covington, issued the following statement, in which judging by Kelner’s language, Flynn’s offer is not so much to “turn” on Trump, as to set the record straight, while putting an end to the ongoing “media witch hunt”, to wit:

the media are awash with unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason, and vicious innuendo directed against him. He is now the target of unsubstantiated public demands by Members of Congress and other political critics that he be criminally investigated. No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution.

It is also notable that Flynn’s lawyer does not explicitly mention a request for immunity as the WSJ reported, instead it merely requests an environment which assures against “unfair prosecution.”

The full statement by Robert Kelner is below

Counsel to Lt. General Mike Flynn (Retired)

General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit.

Out of respect for the Committees, we will not comment right now on the details of discussions between counsel for General Flynn and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, other than to confirm that those discussions have taken place. But it is important to acknowledge the circumstances in which those discussions are occurring.

General Flynn is a highly decorated 33-year veteran of the U.S. Army. He devoted most of his life to serving his country, spending many years away from his family fighting this nation’s battles around the world. He was awarded four Bronze Stars for actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the war on terror. He received the Legion of Merit twice, and the Defense Superior Service Medal four times. He is a recipient of the Defense Department’s Distinguished Service Award and the Intelligence Community Gold Seal Medallion for Distinguished Service, as well as numerous other decorations.

Notwithstanding his life of national service, the media are awash with unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason, and vicious innuendo directed against him. He is now the target of unsubstantiated public demands by Members of Congress and other political critics that he be criminally investigated. No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution.

Mar 30 2017

White House Makes Surveillance Documents Available To Lawmakers


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by Tyler Durden
Re-Posted From ZERO HEDGE Mar 30, 2017 7:36 PM

Even as another scandal appears to be emerging, involving Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, Mike Flynn who according to the WSJ has offered to testify in exchange for immunity, the Trump administration on Thursday invited leaders of congressional intelligence panels to review the documents it said raise indicate government spy agencies improperly identified President Donald Trump’s campaign officials and associates in the course of routine foreign surveillance.

According to Bloomberg, in a letter signed by White House Counsel Donald McGahn, the administration said Thursday it was responding to a March 15 request from intelligence committees for “documents necessary to determine whether information collected on U.S. persons was mishandled and leaked.” Specifically, it asks the committees to probe whether the intelligence was properly gathered, whether names were improperly revealed and “to the extent that U.S. citizens were subject to such surveillance, were civil liberties violated?”

The invitation announcement was made Sean Spicer during a briefing with reporters in Washington Thursday, shortly after a New York Times report that two White House officials had provided House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes with reports showing that Trump and his associates were “incidentally surveilled” by U.S. spy agencies.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff who previously called for Nunes to recuse himself of the Russian investigation, said he’s “more than willing” to review the material but questioned the administration’s motives, saying officials may be trying to disseminate information that helps Trump’s case. “I hope they’ll have some kind of explanation for why they chose this path,” Schiff told reporters at the Capitol.

Schiff has also accused Nunes of doing the president’s bidding. On Thursday, Schiff also said that the broader investigation must continue. “This is not going to distract us from doing our Russia investigation,” Schiff said, adding that the White House action “raises profound questions.” Schiff also said he didn’t know whether the material being offered is the same as the documents that were viewed by Nunes.

Meanwhile, at an open Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday on Russian interference in the elections, several experts testified that Russia’s efforts began as early as 2008 and peaked during last year’s election. In a depature from the conventional narrative that only Democrats were hacked, Clint Watts, former FBI agent who is now a national security expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said other targets were prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the intelligence panel

Rubio of Florida said Thursday that staff members on his presidential campaign were unsuccessfully targeted in July 2016 by hackers using an address in Russia and that former campaign aides were again targeted on Wednesday.

Ah yes, the old government-sponsored Russian hackers using “an address in Russia” to make sure they are not discovered by a cybersleuthing US senator.

In any case, while Nunes had refused to disclose who showed him the classified material, the New York Times reported on Thursday that Nunes was shown the material by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, who works at the White House Counsel’s Office and previously worked on the House Intelligence Committee staff. As reported earlier, Cohen-Watnick was an aide brought into the White House by Michael Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser in February after Trump concluded Flynn had given misleading information about contacts with Russian officials.

Nunes has said, and the Times said it confirmed, that the material isn’t related to the investigation into Russian attempts to influence the election, nor did it necessarily show any illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens.

While the House investigation has been stymied by the dispute over the material shown to Nunes, the Senate Intelligence Committee is proceeding with its own investigation. Panel Chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, vowed that the probe won’t be politicized.  “The public deserves to hear the truth about possible Russian involvement in our elections,” Burr said.

In light of the events in just the past several hours, we find that rather improbable.

Mar 30 2017

KOMMONSENTSJANE – TRUMP SENDS SERIOUS WARNING TO UNITED NATIONS


The UN is not Americas friend.

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The Horn News

Trump sends SERIOUS warning to UN
March 30, 2017

President Donald Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley just delivered a chilling message to the U.N., declaring herself the “new sheriff in town.”
And the Trump administration is not interested in taking prisoners.

Haley told an audience at the Jewish AIPAC Conference in Washington,D.C. Monday that “the days of Israel-bashing are over” at the United Nations.
“I’m not there to play,” the former South Carolina governor said, “and what I wanted to make sure of was that the United States started leading again.”

A refreshing new outlook from the Obama administration’s roll-over, apologetic approach.
“There are a lot of threats to peace and security, but you are not going to take our number one Democratic friend in the Middle East (Israel) and beat up on them,” she declared.
She also displayed her tough attitude on Iran and the…

View original post 192 more words

Mar 30 2017

KOMMONSENTSJANE – RAND PAUL INTRODUCES EFFORT TO HALT LATE OBAMA AND JUSTICE DEPTS ABUSIVE PROPERTY SEIZURES


This process must be stopped its totally unconstitutional.

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Yes, this must be corralled immediately.  Obama and his administrative abused many citizens who were never charged but lost their life’s work.
Rand Paul Introduces Effort to Halt Unreasonable Property Seizures
March 30, 2017
(Matthew Boyer, Liberty Headlines) A potentially groundbreaking justice reform has been submitted in Congress, which could dramatically change how law enforcement and prosecutors treat the rights of those they accuse.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) recently introduced legislation to overhaul the Department of Justice’s civil asset forfeiture capabilities. Paul introduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR) with Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) as an effort to reign in the DOJ’s abuse of the practice. For those unfamiliar with the process, civil asset forfeiture is different from criminal asset forfeiture in that it doesn’t require the conviction of a criminal act. The federal government collected a total of $4.5 billion via civil asset forfeiture procedures in 2014 alone.
The legislation…

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Mar 30 2017

KOMMONSENTSJANE – MILITARY CHAPLAINS FIGHT LATE OBAMA MILITARY DIRECTIVE


Get rid of everything that Obama did.

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Military Chaplains Fight Late Obama Military Directive to Promote ‘Inclusion’
March 30, 2017

The military job is to  is to promote military readiness. – not diversity or inclusion..
(Kaylee McGhee, Liberty Headlines) The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty—an organization that provides chaplains for the army—is speaking out against a directive approved by the outgoing Secretary of Army that would give “training an implicit or unconscious bias.”

Eric Fanning
The Obama administration’s Army Sec. Eric Fanning signed a directive “hours before his resignation” meant to promote inclusion and diversity in the armed forces. It mandates the Army to spend time and resources developing training that would eliminate bias and discrimination.
“To foster diversity and inclusion at senior levels, the Army must provide professional development opportunities that maximize the talent of all members of the Army team,” the directive reads.
Fanning did not define what the “unconscious bias” was, but Chaplain Alliance for Religious…

View original post 262 more words

Mar 30 2017

MIDDLE CLASS . . .


Demorats at work, doing nothing!

Mar 29 2017

Obamacare ‘Explosion’ Could Come On May 22nd, Here’s Why


Tyler Durden's picture
by Tyler Durden
Re-Posted From ZERO HEDGE Mar 29, 2017 11:45 AM

After a stunning healthcare defeat last week, delivered at the hands of his own party no less, Trump took to twitter to predict the imminent ‘explosion’ of Obamacare.

As it turns out, that ‘explosion’ could come faster than anyone really expects as legislators and health insurers have to make several critical decisions about the 2018 plan year over the next 2 months which could seal Obamacare’s fate.

As the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out today, the Trump administration has until May 22nd to decide whether they will continue to pursue the Obama administration’s appeal to provide subsidies to insurers who participate in the federal exchanges.

Of course, any decision to remove those subsidies would likely result in yet another massive round of premium hikes and further withdrawals from the already crippled exchanges where an astounding number of counties across the country have already been cut to just 1 health insurance provider.  And, as we’ve pointed out before, higher rates = lower participation = deterioration of risk pool = higher rates….and the cycle just repeats until it eventually collapses.

As background, in 2014, House Republicans sued the Obama administration over the constitutionality of the cost-sharing reduction payments (a.k.a. “taxpayer funded healthcare subsidies”), which had not been appropriated by Congress.  Republicans won the initial lawsuit but the Obama administration subsequently appealed and now Trump’s administration can decide whether to pursue the appeal or not.

One key to insurers selling plans in the marketplace are reimbursements they receive called cost-sharing reductions. These aren’t the same as the tax credits that people receive to help pay their premiums; it is financial assistance to help low-income people pay their out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles. The Congressional Budget Office projected those payments would add up to $7 billion this year and $10 billion in 2018.

But for insurers, there’s a question over how long that money will be delivered, due to an ongoing political and legal dispute about whether the cost-sharing money should be distributed at all.

In 2014, House Republicans sued the Obama administration over the constitutionality of the cost-sharing reduction payments, which had not been appropriated by Congress. The lawmakers won the lawsuit, and the Obama administration appealed it. Late last year, with a new administration on the other end of the suit, the House sought to pause the proceedings — with a deadline for a status update in late May.

The Trump administration and House lawmakers have to report to the judge this spring. If the Trump administration drops the appeal, it would mean the subsidies would stop being paid — a huge blow to the marketplaces and millions of people. If lawmakers wanted the payments to continue, they would have to find a way to fund them. One opportunity for that is coming up fast, the continuing resolution that must be passed by April 28. If the Trump administration continues the lawsuit, it will be in the odd position of fighting its own party.

The CBO estimates the payments would total roughly $10 billion in 2018.

As we’ve noted before, several large insurers, including UnitedHealth Group and Aetna, have already made the decision to exit Obamacare due to financial losses.  Now, Molina Healthcare is also pondering whether it would be able to continue to participate in the absence of federal subsidies.

Big insurers like UnitedHealth Group and Aetna have mostly left the individual market over the years, citing financial reasons. Several counties across the country only have one insurer offering ObamaCare plans.

Now Molina Healthcare is signaling it may downsize its presence in the market, or pull out altogether, if Congress or the administration doesn’t act to stabilize it. Molina has 1 million exchange enrollees in nine states this year.

“We need some clarity on what’s going to happen with cost-sharing reductions and understand how they’re going to apply the mandate,” said Molina CEO Dr. Mario Molina.

Asked if Molina would leave ObamaCare if the payments are stopped, the CEO said: “It would certainly play into our decision. We’ll look at this on a market-by-market basis. We could leave some. We could leave all.”

Mario Molina, chief executive of Molina Healthcare, predicted that if the cost-sharing reductions are not funded, it could result in premium increases on the order of 10 to 12 percent.

While all this uncertainty swirls, health insurers must decide — soon — whether to make rate filings to sell insurance in 2018. The deadline varies by state, but for those that have marketplaces run by the federal government, it is June 21. Filing doesn’t mean that insurers will participate; they’ll have months more to negotiate and could still drop out. But it’s the first step toward offering plans in 2018 and should provide a signal about what the marketplaces are likely to look like.

Meanwhile, it seems pretty likely that Obamacare couldn’t survive another collapse in coverage like we saw in 2017 (charts per the New York Times):

2016 healthcare insurance carriers by county:

Obamacare 2016

 

2017 healthcare insurance carriers by county:

Obamacare 2017

 

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Mar 29 2017

The Political Parties Are An Illusion Designed To “Relegate The Governed To The Level Of Cattle”


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by Tyler Durden
Re-Posted From ZERO HEDGE Mar 29, 2017 9:40 PM

Authored by Jeremiah Johnson (nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces) vis SHTFplan.com,

As I wrote in several previous articles:

  1. The President cannot be completely assessed for effectiveness until the first 6 months have passed in this term,
  1. He needs to attain success within the first year (and optimally within the first six months) as the midterm election campaigning will begin for both houses of Congress in November. The President needs solid victories and a concrete direction for the administration to ensure no flip-flops and a loss of control of the Congress, and
  1. He must overcome the true masters of this country, as both political parties are an illusion with the paradigm shift well under way to loss of Constitutional freedoms and the “crafting” of transition to global governance with abrogation of national sovereignty and identity for Americans.

Over the course of the past week and the attempt to rid the United States of the abomination of Obamacare, the true nature of the state of things…the stance of our government…has revealed itself.  Here is how they have done it:

When Obama was in power, the Congress stamped their feet and yelled with “faux” frustration: powerless to reverse Obamacare.  Now Obama is gone and President Trump is in, and it is Congress…the Republican-controlled Congress, mind you…that will not get rid of Obamacare.

Citizens, let the investigations begin!  How many of these globalist lackeys, these pseudo-Republicans in Congress are on the payroll to vote to keep Obamacare against the will of their constituents?  Just in the manner of John Roberts of the Supreme Court: either paid or threatened to cast his vote.  Scan the accounts, check the deposits, and follow the money.  Always follow the money!  Who has been paid?  They can be found and the money can be traced to the paymaster(s), to the globalist oligarchs and/or their institution/LLC/NPO/NGO, etc.  I call all of it “Seesaw Tyranny,” the method they are using to push the paradigm shift.

“Seesaw Tyranny”: When 1/3 or 2/3 of the three “checks and balances” branches (President, Congress, or the Supreme Court) takes the blame for heinous laws or a failure to repeal them, and the remainder hops up and down, feigning indignation and pretending to be against what has happened…the subversion of representing the true will of the people.

That is what we have here, folks.  Start the investigations.  This is a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, and a Republican-controlled Senate.  The leaders of each have feigned indignation and incredulity…but they were also ones who took a firm stance before the Presidential election not to repeal Obamacare, but to repeal and replace Obamacare. They are Ryan and McConnell.  It’s time to function in the manner of “Madame Defarge,” and knit ourselves the lists of those Republicans who are against repealing Obamacare.  Then let the investigations begin, and start them out by following the money.

What is at stake here is that the government must…must…have a foothold to carry out intrusive acts in our lives.  The vehicle is the requirement by law to have health care coverage.  For more than 100 years, healthcare coverage required by law was the goal, and they will not…absolutely not…relinquish that control now that they have it!  They must have the ability to demand that we have it in order to control our money, our occupations, our children, and our lives!

Remember: Those bastards exempted themselves from the requirement to have it.

If this is not repealed, it will sit and fester.  The end goal is right out of Cloward and Piven…to use the existing system to collapse the society…and Obamacare is the vehicle.  This is the vehicle to crush the middle class and saddle them with the burden of the poor…the “patsies” lured into supporting the Marxists with bread (EBT cards and food stamps) and circuses (free cell phones, free everything).  The middle class collapses under the burden as the taxes steadily increase…and we pay for the jailers to fortify and refine the prison walls that confine us.

These pseudo-Republicans were paid off…to maintain the existing order (in this case Obamacare).  Meanwhile, the media and the Democrats will continue to work against everything that the President does…to stymie productive results…and the fickle populace will put the Democrats in control of Congress again…then the Democrats (Marxists) will keep pushing for the paradigm shift and eventually limit the President to one term.  Then Obamacare will be here to stay, and worse.  Do you think that’s the end state?   No, just the means to the end state…one as horrible as you can imagine, making “Soylent Green” appear tame.  They’ll also use our children as a weapon: a means of attaining compliance.  Tell me where a 26-year-old is a “kid” and his parents obligated to keep health care coverage for him/her.  No, it is about control.  Dominion.  Enslavement.

The future of this country is on hold right now.  What we need is for the President to go above and beyond the call of duty to save the country.  He must reign in these Republicans.  He must succeed by making the changes he promised in his campaign and show successes to a population with the attention span of a gnat whose votes can be bought by handouts.  He needs to take the gloves off, put a roll of quarters in each hand, and then put the gloves back on.

Vince Lombardi: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

We can’t afford to lose this one, and we only have until November when the battle really becomes joined.  Obamacare needs to be repealed and renounced, not repealed and replaced.  All Republicans that went against the repeal need to be investigated.  They need to be “repealed,” (removed) and replaced with representatives who will vote the will of the people and represent the people.  It’s all BS anyway: we’re going to be subjected to this “seesawing” of nothing being accomplished.  The subterfuge and sabotage by the Democrats and the pseudo-Republicans will continue for a “watered down” brief hiatus from the last 8 years of nightmarish misery…until a return to power by the Marxists.  Those pseudo-Republicans are the ones who will enable it.  Picture Elizabeth Warren in four years as the President with her husband, Cass Sunstein in the White House.

This battle against the President’s reforms and changes with Obamacare is only the beginning.  It is a battle on many fronts with numerous issues.  As citizens, we need to investigate these pseudo-Republican traitors who have not carried out the wills and wishes of their constituents.  The political parties are an illusion, but there is one thing that is not illusory: the absolute desire of government to rule without the consent of the governed and to relegate the governed to a position barely above that of cattle.  The President needs to take the gloves off and throw the Marquis of Queensbury rules aside in order to win.  We the People need to help him do it.  If not, we’re going to lose this country even before the next presidential election and fall into the hands of the globalists.  Should that happen, all our freedoms will die, and so will we as a nation.  The time to act is now, and the responsibility to act is ours.

Mar 29 2017

President Trump, Melania Trump and Vice-President Pence Host Women’s Empowerment Event…


Source: President Trump, Melania Trump and Vice-President Pence Host Women’s Empowerment Event…