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Let’s concede for a moment that most of us don’t believe the United States should be taking sides in conflicts abroad. Even so, most Americans would probably agree that at a minimum our diplomatic efforts should not cause unnecessary harm. Which brings me to Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent misadventure in the Middle East. It seems like a rather big deal that Egypt, Israel, Fatah, Jordan, Saudi Arabia—ostensibly, all allies of ours—agree on anything. This development, one imagines, might be something the United States would be interested in fostering rather than destroying. Certainly, the idea that Hamas’ power should...

Why are tens of thousands of unaccompanied children traveling thousands of miles to the U.S.? Is it to avoid violence? Or is it for a chance to live in a much wealthier country? The answer will likely determine whether they can stay. ADVERTISEMENT Last week, Fox News’ Catherine Herridge cited a government report showing that 219 of 230 illegal immigrants who were interviewed said they came to the U.S. because they thought they could get a free pass to American citizenship. Another study, by the Obama administration’s Department of Homeland Security, acknowledged that many “are probably seeking economic opportunities in...

After two days of working in the stifling heat, law enforcement officers and inmates have removed more than 100,000 pot plants from 29 fields in Polk County. The estimated street value of the marijuana is $175 million, one of the biggest busts in Texas history. They also found some cell phones in the fields that they’re hoping will lead to the ringleader of the massive operation.

Businessman David Perdue, coming off his Republican runoff win on Tuesday, holds a six-point lead over Democrat Michelle Nunn in Georgia’s closely-watched U.S. Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Georgia Voters finds Perdue with 46% support to Nunn’s 40%. Four percent (4%) like another candidate in the race, and 10% are undecided.(

Senate Democrats are now explicitly saying they will try to use Boehner’s border bill as a vehicle for broad, “Gang of 8″ style amnesty, and immigration activists are urging them on. All the more reason to call ((202) 224-3121). A House vote on Boehner’s bill is expected Thursday. Beware a Boehner Supertrap: Today (Tuesday 7/29) looks like Crunch Day for the House when it comes to finalizing a pre-August bill to deal with the surge of Central American immigrants coming across the Southern border. Aides to Speaker Boehner have been blowing a lot of smoke about how Republicans are desperate...

Rep. Ted Poe has conferred upon Rep. Matt Salmon one of the highest honors his office can help provide: He’s made his fellow Republican lawmaker an honorary Texan. The Texas Republican said Salmon, who serves alongside him on the Foreign Affairs Committee — “We’re personal friends,” Poe said — shares several defining characteristics with native-born Texans: He values independence. He’s fairly outspoken. And he displays that certain ruggedness required of those who reside in border states.

Do not eat or drink in front of Muslims, and learn more about their religion. That’s the directive that has gone out to active duty military personnel at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a Department of Defense medical and graduate school in Bethesda, Md. The brigade commander sent an email to military personnel at the facility last month – just before the start of Ramadan – advising them to show respect to Muslim colleagues.

After six decades of doing business in California, Toyota is moving its North American headquarters to Texas. That means 3,000 of the carmaker's jobs will be leaving Torrance and going to Plano, perhaps convincing California officials they should stop Texas Gov. Rick Perry at the border the next time he attempts to come to the Golden State for another raid on businesses.

Liberal darling and free-birth-control advocate Sandra Fluke is her own biggest donor in her state Senate race, according to official California campaign finance reports. Fluke donated $12,000 to her campaign and $4,826.27 in non-monetary contributions. While $16,826.27 may not sound like a lot, Fluke also loaned her campaign $100,000.

The Tea Party favorite loves to needle Team Obama. But in an interview, Cruz also reveals a new kind of conservative foreign policy: American exceptionalism without the nation building.One way to understand Ted Cruz’s foreign policy, particularly if you are a Democrat, is through the prism of the social media phenomenon known as trolling. The best trolls are provocateurs. Their language is meant to expose a fallacy or weakness in the opponent’s position as opposed to offering a constructive alternative. In a wide-ranging interview with the junior senator from Texas, there was a lot of trolling. Of Obama’s recent attempt...

Conservative scholar and talk radio host Mark Levin said he is rooting for Tennessee state Representative Joe Carr to defeat Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in next week's August 7th GOP Senate primary. On his Monday radio program, Levin said Alexander, realizing that he was vulnerable because of his support for Obamacare and amnesty, has been "putting down all upstart challengers" that he thought could run against him. Levin simply called Alexander "awful." "But Representative Carr stepped up, and we would very much like him to win," Levin declared. "And we wish him all the best." Carr, whom Levin called a...

During his bus tour through Tennessee, Sen. Lamar Alexander was approached by someone asking him why he voted to support amnesty. “I voted against amnesty,” Alexander replied. The video was provided to Breitbart News by the “Beat Lamar” effort by the Real Conservatives National Committee Super PAC opposing Alexander’s re-election. Alexander’s answer is consistent with his claim that by voting for the Senate "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill, he voted to end amnesty. "We have amnesty today,” Alexander said in June. "Turning your head while 11 million people are already here illegally is perpetual amnesty. I voted along with...

Damning evidence has emerged of US President Barack Obama's dismissal of Israel's position in favor of supporting the position of Hamas and its allies during ceasefire talks. A "senior US official" leaked an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Channel One. In it the 35-minute conversation, which took place on Sunday, the US President appears downright hostile at points, and even cuts off Netanyahu in the middle of his protestations over a one-sided truce proposal which would have seen Hamas receive all its key demands, but that Israel ultimately rejected. The following...

He's already 20 minutes late....

<p>Former Gov. Jesse Ventura won his defamation case against the author of “American Sniper.”</p> <p>The jury awarded a total of $1.845 million: $500,000 in defamation damages and $1.345 million for “unjust enrichment.”</p> <p>Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict, as instructed. Instead, with the consent of both sides, they voted 8 to 2 in Ventura’s favor.</p>

Jul. 29, 2014 - 4:32 - Amb. John Bolton weighs in on cease-fire negotiations

The Obama administration pushed back strongly Monday at a torrent of Israeli criticism over Secretary of State John Kerry's latest bid to secure a cease-fire with Hamas, accusing some in Israel of launching a "misinformation campaign" against the top American diplomat. "It's simply not the way partners and allies treat each other," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Her comments were echoed by the White House, where National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the U.S. was "dismayed" by mischaracterizations of Kerry's efforts. Israeli media reports have cast Kerry as seeking a cease-fire that is more favorable to Hamas and being...

A new CBS/NYT poll has been released which is thus far the most exhaustive simultaneous battleground poll that has been taken this election season. It shows Republicans holding all their “close” seats, with McConnell leading Grimes 50-46 and Perdue leading Nunn 50-44. Obviously, these races are still very competitive and could flip although I think that as time goes along Perdue will pull away from Nunn while McConnell looks to be in a dogfight to the very end. As predicted, John Walsh is all but officially toast in Montana, trailing Danes 56-40. The plagiarism scandal seems to have mortally wounded...

The organizer of a yearly conference for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students pursuing MBAs is in a huff because entirely too many straight students are attending the event, which includes a recruitment fair. Matt Kidd, executive director of Reaching Out MBA, has also charged that a few attendees made comments that he says some gay people did not appreciate, reports Campus Reform. For example, in addition to having the temerity to show up while failing to be gay, one straight attendee allegedly said “Dude, I’m not gay.” Another allegedly said: “There needs to be less focus on gay stuff...

Hillary regrets saying she was 'dead broke'; now says she feels blessed by success. Democrat presidential candidate wannabe Hillary Clinton stumbled at the opening of her recent disastrous book tour by saying she and her husband Bill Clinton were “dead broke” upon leaving the White House in 2000. She now refuses to put an exact number on her worth and fudged about her wealth that has been pegged at about $80 Million...

Shortly before the market crash in 2008, when oil prices were at all-time highs, Harry Reid, Democrat Senate Majority Leader, sold his investments in the energy industry-- according to his public filings-- and bought the healthcare industry instead. Thanks to the ensuing banking panic caused by skyrocketing oil prices and their subsequent crash, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. Obama, history now tells us, made one of his first tasks to enrich Wall Street and healthcare companies through the fundamental transformation of healthcare into a government owned subsidiary. And now you know, in a thumbnail sketch,...

Family Research Council President and former Louisiana House member Tony Perkins endorsed Rob Maness in the Louisiana's U.S. Senate race Monday (July 28), potentially boosting the candidate's credentials among social conservatives. Maness, a Republican, is running against U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, in the state's high profile Senate race this fall. A Tea Party favorite, Maness has tried to position himself as the most conservative candidate on the Nov. 4 ballot. Most people consider Cassidy to be the Republicans' frontrunner in the election, but Perkins, a former Louisiana House member, has not been...

Outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor received a standing ovation from most of his fellow Republicans on Tuesday at a closed-door meeting, where a highlight film was played to mark some of his most memorable moments. "Thank you," said Speaker John Boehner, in an emotional send-off to his top lieutenant, who officially steps down from his top-level post at midnight Thursday to make way for Rep. Kevin McCarthy as the new majority leader. "He was confident, as I am, that Eric has great things left to do in the future," said Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., of Boehner's remarks. Cantor, 51,...

The shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine’s civil war is a terrible event. However, the American media and government grossly misrepresent the USA’s role in creating the current situation, and coverage of Ukraine does credit to ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Reporting is dominated by the usual suspects from the Brookings Institution, etc. spouting jingoistic nonsense. Yes, there is significant history there, including a murky, amateurish, attempt to poison former President Victor Yushchenko with TCDD (a dioxin) in 2004 by unidentified parties. This sort of thing is a sign of the overall situation. Let’s start with how all US media refer to...

NASHVILLE — On the first day of July, Sen. Lamar Alexander delivered a moving eulogy at the funeral of his political mentor, Howard H. Baker Jr., the former Senate majority leader and godfather of the Tennessee Republican Party. Baker, he said, had “more influence on my life than anyone outside my own family.” Like Baker, Alexander (R-Tenn.) has had an exemplary career in public service. He was elected to two terms as governor of Tennessee and later served as president of the University of Tennessee and U.S. education secretary. Twice he sought his party’s nomination for president, though, like Baker,...

Big picture.We got a lot of attention last week with a piece about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's revelation that, at a recent meeting, President Obama had threatened the nation's governors that "you'll hear from me" if they criticized him about federal spending.The whole conversation was in the context of National Guard use, but that was sort of beside the point. Obama doesn't like getting called out by anyone for the way he deploys federal resources and power, and he wanted to make it clear to the governors that they had better stay in line and not do anything that would...

Talk of impeachment was cooked up by a White House desperate for something to rally Democrats ahead of November’s elections, House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday, flatly ruling out any action on the controversial suggestion. “We have no plans to impeach the president. We have no future plans,” Mr. Beohner said. “Listen, it’s all a scam started by Democrats at the White House.”

Tuesday, July 29 15:20 GMT: Kiev is ready for a cease-fire “now,” US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed, following a meeting with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Washington. Kerry added that President Petro Poroshenko is also ready to start talks with the militia in the southeast of the country. 15:06 GMT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a telephone conversation with US State Secretary John Kerry has urged Washington to influence Kiev to achieve a prompt ceasefire and to start negotiations with southeast Ukraine. Lavrov stressed the need to return to the accord achieved at Geneva on July...

MADISON – The campaign of Governor Scott Walker issued a new campaign ad on Monday accusing former Commerce Secretary Mary Burke of a botched deal that may put taxpayers on the hook for $25 million dollars. More: Burke Campaign Issues New Ad over Outsourcing Charge The ad called “Bondoogle” expands off an earlier ad issued by the Walker Campaign that blasted Burke for engaging in a deal with Abbott Laboratories valued at $12.5 million in an attempt to create jobs in Wisconsin. The lot of vacant land that was part of the deal remains vacant to this day according to...

MADISON – Monday begins the first day for early voting in the State of Wisconsin leading up to the August 12th Statewide Primary election. This will be the first election that will feature early voting with more uniform hours due to changes enacted into law earlier this year. Early voting will be done on Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM with no weekend hours. There were divisions between both sides for and against the bill earlier this year. Proponents of the bill say it would create a more standardized process for early voting while opponents say it...

10 year ago tonight, America's #1 doofus gigolo John Kerry accepted the democrat nomination for President. Although we dodged the bullet on a bigger scale, he's still with us and making the world a more dangerous place. "I am not one to read into things, but guess which wing of the hospital the maternity ward was in? (APPLAUSE) I'm not kidding. I was born in the West Wing. "

1. It Is Not Marriage Calling something marriage does not make it marriage. Marriage has always been a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children and the unity and wellbeing of the spouses. The promoters of same-sex “marriage” propose something entirely different. They propose the union between two men or two women. This denies the self-evident biological, physiological, and psychological differences between men and women which find their complementarity in marriage. It also denies the specific primary purpose of marriage: the perpetuation of the human race and...

An estimated 1 in 3 adults with a credit history -- or 77 million people -- are so far behind on some of their debt payments that their account has been put "in collections."

On Monday, illegal immigrants openly protested in front of the White House--and demanded more grants of temporary amnesty--without any consequences or fear of being deported. According to a Fox News report, "Illegal immigrant activists can protest outside the White House without worrying too much about" deportation because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) merely "focuses deportation mostly on serious criminals and--in some cases--those caught in the act of crossing the border." ICE reportedly "prioritizes deportation for felons, repeat offenders, gang members and others with a serious criminal record" and "largely gives a pass" to other illegal immigrants. “Unless the individuals meet...

Migrant workers must now wait until they leave the country to receive severance pay. Migrant workers must leave the country when their visas expire, and according to law since 2011, South Korean employers have been obliged to pay their severance before their departure. Government officials claim that the revised law will prevent more illegal migrant workers from staying in the country. “We’ve found that a certain portion of registered workers did not leave the country even after they were paid their severance pay,” an official said. “They had no choice but to become the target of law enforcement authorities as...

AUSTIN, TX — The group of state lawmakers overseeing how much taxpayer money is being spent on the border is set to meet Tuesday at the state Capitol. “I don’t like that the state of Texas is having to put any extra dollars toward this effort that is clearly the responsibility of the federal government,” said state representative and committee chair Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton. “Are these immigrant children going to be enrolled in schools in Texas?” asked Gene Acuna, director of communications for the Texas Education Agency. The agency has not received any answers from the federal government.

The UK is to halve to three months the time EU migrants without realistic job prospects can claim benefits. David Cameron said the "magnetic pull" of UK benefits had to be addressed so people came for the right reasons and the rules "put Britain first". The prime minister also warned people in the UK illegally: "We will find you, we will send you home." Labour said the PM's rhetoric masked a record of "failure" on immigration and "firm action" was needed. Ministers have been reluctant to say how many people are likely to be affected by benefit curbs, although BBC...

In the first volume of his magnificent three-tome biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris recounts the story of writer Owen Wister’s visit to the Roosevelt White House. Wister, a Harvard classmate of the president, “has lent [Roosevelt] a book shortly before a full evening’s entertainment at the White House, and been astonished to hear a complete review of it over breakfast. ‘Somewhere between six one evening and eight-thirty the next morning, beside his dressing and his dinner and his guests and his sleep, he had read a volume of three-hundred-and-odd pages, and missed nothing of significance.’”For those unconvinced of Teddy’s...

Sen. Lamar Alexander‘s polling shows him with a 30-percentage point lead over tea-party challenger Joe Carr in Tennessee’s Republican Senate primary, according to a polling memo prepared for the two-term incumbent’s campaign. The poll, conducted by Republican pollster Whit Ayres from July 20-22 ahead of the state’s Aug. 7 primary, found Mr. Alexander leading Mr. Carr 53% to 21%. Mr. Ayres wrote that despite attacks against Mr. Alexander from Mr. Carr and longshot challenger George Flinn, Mr. Alexander’s stature among Tennessee GOP voters has remained stable. “The fundamentals remain the same,” Mr. Ayres wrote in a memo for the campaign,...

NASHVILLE — Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander told cheering supporters Monday that he learned as governor he sometimes had to work with Democrats to get things done for Tennessee and has found it necessary sometimes in Washington to do the same. "If I stood up before you today and said I by myself brought in the auto industry, and I by myself paid teachers more for teaching well and built the best road system, I wouldn't be telling you the truth either because I had to work with other people to do it," the two-term senator told some 150 or...

According to news reports, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to support Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in the Louisiana Senate race. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)This is the same group that said it was going to spend $50 million against conservatives in primaries to elect more Republicans. That was a huge lie. The U.S. Chamber doesn't care about electing Republicans. It just wants more big government politicians who will force taxpayers to pay for their corporate bailouts and corporate welfare programs. THE GOP RESPONSE? ... NOTHING The Chamber's support for Mary Landrieu isn't what's so surprising. It's the lack of any meaningful...

Wish I could take credit for that headline but it’s Aaron Gardner’s. Here’s a nice scoop for Eliana Johnson, who somehow got hold of an early memo prepared by Michelle Nunn’s Senate campaign in Georgia after they stupidly posted it online briefly last winter. Of the many gems within, my second-favorite is the one emphasizing “rural� photo ops to show Georgians that Nunn is one of them. She’s a creature of the Beltway since birth, having grown up in Maryland while her dad Sam served in the Senate, but it’s important when trying to inherit a Senate seat as...

The Republican National Committee will take up the explosive subject of the race-card playing radio ads in the Mississippi Senate GOP run-off election between Senator Thad Cochran and Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel. The RNC is scheduled to hold its summer meeting in Chicago August 6-9 at the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The discussion, according to an RNC source, will occur on the morning of August 7 — behind closed doors — at the “Members Only” breakfast that runs between 8:00-9:30. There is no word whether RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, under pressure to investigate the ads, will then comment...

The media behaved unconscionably in failing to highlight the fact that most of the civilian casualties in Gaza were incurred because Hamas had ordered women and children to ignore Israeli early warnings to evacuate. In the midst of a bitter war – one that Israel sought to avoid – the statements and initiatives from US President Barack Obama and his inept secretary of state, John Kerry, have convinced Hamas that if they maintain their campaign of terror against Israel and the civilians of Gaza, the international community will intervene on their behalf. From Israel’s vantage point, despite the continuing tragic...

A golem is a being of inanimate material magically given anthropomorphic abilities. Back when I was a political consultant I would tell candidates that they were lumps of clay to be molded. In a memo discovered by National Review, Michelle Nunn has all the makings of not being her own woman, but rather being a consultant’s golem. Not only a golem, but one whose organization is related to funding for Hamas and now wants Jews to fund her political ambition. The campaign email is filled with great stereotypes. Nunn’s campaign wants gays, Asians, and Jews to fund it, but wants...

A federal appeals court panel on Monday struck down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage, and that decision could have major political and legal implications for North Carolina. The three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes North Carolina, declared that Virginia’s laws placed an unconstitutional limit on the right to marry. N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper thinks Monday’s decision will undo North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriages, and he has no plans to intervene. Cooper said that it now would be “futile” to continue defending North Carolina’s ban against challenges from within the state. Four cases...

Anti-feminist blogs have been getting a lot of attention recently, as all manner of people take to the internet to explain why they just don’t need it. But right now it’s not people who are leading the debate – it’s cats SNIP Women Against Feminism was set up last summer and has gained a lot of attention in the past few weeks. On the Tumblr site [sample content: “The very name ‘feminism’ is discriminatory … To say that only through women can equal rights be claimed is like saying that only through black people can people have rights”], there are...

July 28, 2014 Kentucky Senate Race Remains Tight, But McConnell Takes Small Lead By WKU PUBLIC RADIO NEWS With just over three months to go until Election Day, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has a slim, two percentage-point lead over Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. The figure comes from a new Bluegrass Poll released Monday evening, showing the five-term Senator leading 47 percent to 45 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.7 percentage points and was conducted between July 18th and 23rd. In previous polls, Grimes had a four-point lead over McConnell in February. That lead shrank to...

AMERICAN FORK — A Democratic candidate for the Utah Legislature was charged Monday with aggravated kidnapping. Mark Byrge — a candidate for House District 56 — is also being investigated for allegedly selling pain medications out of his house. Byrge, 33, of American Fork, was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. His wife, Tina Byrge, 32, is charged with obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. On June 1, a man went to Byrge's front door and an argument ensued. The fight escalated to the point...

A federal judge's ruling barring enforcement of a key District of Columbia gun law seems likely to be put on hold, after lawyers for the district asked that the decision be delayed and the plaintiffs in the case signaled they're amenable to a 90-day delay. In a filing Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Washington, attorneys for the city said granting the delay will allow the city to preserve public safety while it pursues an appeal and considers possible responses to Saturday's decision by Judge Frederick Scullin, who found unconstitutional the district's ban on possession of handguns by individuals...