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Currently, 61 members of Congress have confirmed they will not attend the speech. Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) California Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) — “I am disappointed Speaker Boehner chose to irresponsibly interject politics into what has long been a strong and bipartisan relationship between the United States and Israel. As President Obama has noted, it is inappropriate for a Head of State to address Congress just two weeks ahead of their election. I agree that Congress should not be used as a prop in Israeli election campaigns,...

Matt DeHart, a former American soldier who sought asylum in Canada claiming torture by U.S. agents probing Anonymous hackers and WikiLeaks, was taken from his Ontario prison cell Sunday morning and delivered to U.S. agents at the border. Mr. DeHart, 30, was allowed to make a quick phone call en route to his parents, who are living in Toronto facing their own removal order, said his father, Paul. “He was peaceful and in good health,” Paul DeHart said in an interview but the family remains deeply worried. “We are concerned about Matt’s safety as he transits,” he said. “We said...

CPAC Reagan Dinner Governor Mike Pence (R-IN) delivered the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s (CPAC) annual Ronald Reagan Dinner. http://www.c-span.org/video/?324558-20/indiana-governor-mike-pence-r-cpac-reagan-dinner-remarks

On the outside, the metal box looks like an oversized bread container. But what's inside could save an abandoned newborn's life. The box is actually a newborn incubator, or baby box, and it could be showing up soon at Indiana hospitals, fire stations, churches and selected nonprofits under legislation that would give mothers in crisis a way to surrender their children safely and anonymously. Indiana could be the first state to allow use of the baby boxes on a broad scale to prevent dangerous abandonments of infants if the bill, which unanimously passed the House this week, clears the state...

A full list of the Democrats who have confirmed they're missing the speech follows: SENATE - 4 members Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) HOUSE - 26 members Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.) Rep. Andre Carson (Ind.) Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.) Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.) Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.) Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.) Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.) Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Ill.) Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.) Rep. John Lewis (Ga.)...

The Dem Congressmen Boycotting Netanyahu are the Same Old Hamas SupportersPosted By Daniel Greenfield On February 26, 2015 @ 6:02 pm In The Point | 12 Comments There are a lot of stories about the Dem members of Congress boycotting Netanyahu’s speech. But most of the names on the list are longtime opponents of the Jewish State.The boycott lists consists of two groups. Congressional Black Caucus members who are offended on Obama’s behalf and can smell racism anywhere.The other consists of opponents of Israel.It’s instructive to compare the list of boycotters to the 54 members of Congress who signed...

Should workers have the freedom to make their own contracts? Long ago, they did. Back in 1905, the Supreme Court held in Lochner v. New York (which I discussed recently on Forbes) that the state could not dictate to bakery employees how many hours they were allowed to work in a week. Unfortunately, freedom of contract is one of those rights that “progressives” and collectivists regard as unimportant – one that legislators and bureaucrats can whittle away as long as they claim that doing so somehow advances “the public good.” One of the many federal statutes that interfere with freedom...

NEW CASTLE, Ind. – Should teachers be allowed to use students as props for their personal political causes? It happens all the time in school districts around the nation, particularly at the secondary level. Local teacher unions will protest the lack of a new collective bargaining agreement with a school board, and the next thing you know, high school and middle school kids are walking out of class in support of the teachers. Who do you suppose gets the students all riled up? But now some teachers are apparently willing to involve elementary-aged children in their labor wars. Or at...

Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a possible dark horse 2016 presidential candidate, said Sunday that it’s counterproductive for conservatives to question President Obama’s patriotism. “I don’t think it helps to question the president’s patriotism or motives,” Pence said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Lindsey Graham: I Love Rudy but I Have No Doubt Obama Loves America by Andrew Kirell | February 22nd, 2015 On ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) became the latest Republican to get asked to creatively distance themselves from Rudy Giuliani‘s comments that President Barack Obama “doesn’t love” America. Earlier Sunday, Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) was asked by Fox to comment on the comments, because why not. His response: “I don’t think it helps to question the president’s patriotism or motives,” but, at the same time, Rudy’s a good guy. If you guess that Graham’s comments wouldn’t be much...

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf wrote her college honors thesis on “how conservative evangelical support for Israel complicates U.S. foreign policy,” according to Indiana University records. Harf’s thesis further illustrates the collegiate thinking in an Obama administration that has alienated a key American ally in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Harf, 33, previously worked on Obama’s 2012 campaign. Harf’s Indiana University honors political science professor said that Harf did not plan to pursue political science like her professor father Jim, but that she ended up becoming “pretty good” at it. “I always had a soft spot for Jim, since he...

A group of 23 liberal House Democrats urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday to delay Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress next month. In the letter spearheaded by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the lawmakers argued that Netanyahu was being used as a "political tool" against President Obama. "As members of Congress who support Israel, we share concern that it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president," they wrote. Netanyahu's March 3 address will be just two weeks before the Israeli elections and...

The debut edition of our leader board of the Republicans most likely to win the presidential nomination, based on what we know now, shows the field may not be as big as most people think. 1) JEB BUSH (age 62, to Hillary’s 67): He’s got money, momentum, Florida, big ideas. His surprise, early signal that he’s running is THE PLAY OF THE CAMPAIGN so far — pushing OUT Mitt and perhaps Christie by freezing or stealing their money and talent. Jeb will be first Republican to $100 million by a mile. Now, watch for the use of overwhelming force to...

An Indiana state senator wants to change the way US senators are elected. Until the 17th Amendment was ratified a century ago, senators weren't elected directly, but by state legislatures. Charlestown State Senator Jim Smith says the idea was to make senators responsive to their states‘ concerns. He argues the switch to direct election has contributed to a shift in the balance of power from the states to the federal government. Smith says it‘s separated senators from state concerns and made it harder to remove them. "As the needs of the state of Indiana change," says Smith,"then we would essentially...

State legislators around the country have introduced more than 200 bills aiming to nullify regulations and laws coming out of Washington, D.C., as they look to rein in the federal government. The legislative onslaught, which includes bills targeting federal restrictions on firearms, experimental treatments and hemp, reflects growing discord between the states and Washington, state officials say. “You have a choice,” said Kentucky state Rep. Diane St. Onge (R). “To sit back and not do anything or say anything and let overregulation continue — or you have the alternative choice to speak up about it and say, ‘We know what...

After six years in office, President Obama says his basketball skills went from "nothing but net" to nothing. "I’ll be honest with you: my game is a little broke, I've been a little busy," he told a crowd of students and faculty at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis on Friday, where he touted his new plan to give students who meet certain academic standards two free years of community college. "The risk-reward ratio starts shifting. The chances of an Achilles tear or an ACL injury is increasing each month, and then the satisfaction that I get from playing diminishes...

Ten Senate Democrats warned the White House in a letter Tuesday that they will support legislation imposing new sanctions on Iran if a framework to roll back the country’s nuclear program isn’t reached within two months. "In acknowledgement of your concern regarding congressional action on legislation at this moment, we will not vote for this legislation on the Senate floor before March 24," said the letter, led by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who is the co-author of Iran sanctions legislation. "After March 24, we will only vote for this legislation on the Senate floor if Iran fails to reach agreement...

U.N. gives mixed signals on Tehran cooperation as nuclear talks intensifySenate Democrats on Tuesday backed away from a bipartisan push for immediate new sanctions on Iran, bowing to President Obama’s call not to undercut international talks to get Tehran to curb its nuclear programs in the coming weeks. The shift, announced Tuesday by Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat and one of the party’s outspoken hawks on Iran, came amid a series of mixed signals from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency over the question of whether Tehran was honoring promises to put its suspect nuclear programs on hold as...

Everyone involved seems to be trying to put the best face on it, but Barack Obama went so far as to suggest senior Democrats like Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who take a hard line on Iran, are doing so purely to appease their donors. Obama said that as a former senator himself, he understood how outside forces — like special interests and donors — can influence senators to act, one of the senators recounted.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A heated exchanged between President Barack Obama and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) broke out Thursday over whether the U.S. should reimpose sanctions on Iran amid ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, according to two senators who were in the room. Menendez, the leading Democrat pushing for additional sanctions against Iran, forcefully pressed Obama on the need for additional sanctions during a meeting in which Obama urged Menendez and other senators to drop their efforts to pass sanctions legislation. Additional sanctions, Obama argued, could torpedo ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The unusually sharp exchange, between...

Menendez: Obama Admin Statements on Iran 'Sound like Talking Points Straight out of Tehran'

Sometimes you can't believe what you read in the press. Can you imagine, for example, that a Republican governor with a reputation as a small-government conservative would try to launch a government-run news service to disseminate information under the guise of journalism? Oh ... wait: Gov. Mike Pence is starting a state-run taxpayer-funded news outlet that will make pre-written news stories available to Indiana media, as well as sometimes break news about his administration,

Unless there is any doubt, the vast majority of Democrats value partisan support for a failed president over support for our own national security and for that of Israel. Hence, they want to delay once again a vote on the Menendez-Kirk bill imposing sanctions on Iran unless it agrees to an acceptable final deal. The bill was introduced more than a year ago. The timing just isn’t right, you see. Will it ever be? A letter by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) signed onto by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.),...

Sen. Joe Donnelly, Democrat Indiana, described what his position is as a senator"I am the hired help, and my top priority continues to be addressing the issues most important to Hoosiers: working to strengthen the economy for working- and middle-class families, ensuring our servicemembers and veterans have access to the care and resources they deserve, and providing excellent constituent services to every Hoosier.

Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence is moving ahead to extend Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers under the federal health law after securing a key concession from the Obama administration. The deal, to be announced Tuesday, could pave the way for half a dozen more states to seek similar deals, boosting Medicaid expansion proposals in Republican-led states including Florida, North Carolina and Wyoming. Indiana and Washington officials had been locked for months in negotiations over an issue that could shape the future of Medicaid, the 50-year-old federal-state health program that covers more than 60 million low-income Americans. Mr....

A handful of “pro-life” lawmakers have sabotaged a vote House Republican leaders planned for today to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific evidence showing unborn babies feel pain in abortions. As LifeNews reported yesterday, Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina along with Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Jackie Walorski of Indiana — each of whom have pro-life voting records — objected to a vote on the bill on the grounds that the language in the bill did not do enough to allow women who have been victimized by rape to have abortions. Together, they reportedly...

The Patriots used underinflated footballs on Sunday night. The next question is how did it happen? According to a National Football League letter about the investigation into the controversy that was shared with the Globe, the Patriots were informed that the league’s initial findings indicated that the game balls did not meet specifications. The league inspected each of the Patriots’ 12 game balls twice at halftime, using different pressure gauges, and found footballs that were not properly inflated. According to ESPN, 11 of the 12 game balls were found to be underinflated by about 2 pounds each. The NFL specifications...

Former city pastor serves as keynote speaker for event Abortion opponents held their 41st annual March for Life in Fort Wayne on Saturday afternoon, marching from the St. Mary’s Performing Arts Center on West Berry Street to the federal courthouse downtown, some praying as they walked, some singing hymns and others walking silently. Police estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 people participated in the march, which at its peak stretched from Berry Street downtown to Douglas Street behind the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory. Once at the federal courthouse, marchers heard hymns and more speakers, including some expressing regret they had had an...

Diamonds and precious metals found in the eastern United States might have rained down during the last Ice Age after a comet shattered over Canada and set North America ablaze, all leading to a mass die-off of animals and humans. New chemical analyses of diamond, gold and silver found in Ohio and Indiana reveal the minerals were transported there from Canada several thousand years ago. The question is, how?

A source within the NFL tells wthr.com's Bob Kravitz that the league is investigating the possibility that the Patriots deflated footballs in their 45-7 win over the Colts Sunday night. The source told Kravitz that officials took a ball out of play at one point and weighed it. A deflated football could potentially be easier to throw and catch in poor weather conditions than a properly inflated ball.

With the continued rise of Socialism around the world, and anti-semitism in Europe, the appearance of a self-described Nazi running for Mayor in an American town should be a cause for concern. The Elkhart Truth reports that National Socialist, Dale Duncan, is petitioning to run for Mayor in Elkhart, Indiana: “A National Socialist who believes in the separation of races is petitioning to run for mayor of Elkhart. Dale Duncan said Thursday, Jan. 15, that he’ll be seeking sufficient signatures to get on the November ballot as a representative of theNational Socialist Movement. The Detroit-based group describes itself as a...

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said those who criticize the appointment of Democratic Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) to the Intelligence Committee because he is a Muslim are “un-American.” Schiff, who is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he has been “deeply disturbed” by the reaction by some to Carson’s appointment last week. “I am deeply disturbed that since his appointment to the committee, Congressman Carson has been subject to vicious, anti-Muslim attacks online and in social media, questioning his loyalty to our country solely because of his faith.”(continued)

In Indiana, pro-life state Senator Travis Holdman (R-Markle) has proposed a bill that would prohibit abortions if the abortionist knows it’s being pursued because of the unborn baby’s gender or due to a disability. The bill has been assigned to the Senate’s Health and Provider Services committee; and Chairwoman Pat Miller (R-Indianapolis) said she wanted to discuss the bill with Sen. Holdman before commenting on whether the bill will receive a hearing. According to the Indy Star, the president of Indiana Right to Life, Mike Fichter said, “We support the bill, because we don’t believe an unborn child should be...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – An Evansville, Indiana couple are charged with neglect after police say they found cell phone videos allegedly showing the woman’s 1-year-old daughter putting a handgun in her mouth. According to the Evansville Courier & Press, the child’s mother, Toni Wilson, 22, and Michael L. Barnes, 19, face charges of child neglect and recklessness with a deadly weapon. Police say they found the videos after Barnes was arrested for allegedly trying to sell a gun to an undercover officer. In the videos, the girl holds a gun as a man and woman encourage her to say “pow,” “bang”...

INDIANAPOLIS - A state representative wants to get rid of the existing law that requires a license to carry a handgun. State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, said there is a large increase in the number of people who are applying for a license to carry a handgun – both in Indiana and across the nation. He said the application process is “burdensome” and something gun owners shouldn’t have to do. State law currently requires a person to have a license in order to carry a handgun in their car or on themselves. That would change under Lucas’ bill. As a...

Indiana Rep Andre carson will be the first Muslim to serve on House intelligence committee. House Democratic leader Pelosi announced she would name Carson to panel at weekly caucus meeting on Tuesday, according to two senior House Democratic leadership aides. Indiana Democratic Rep. Andre Carson would be "formally announced" soon as part of the roster Democrats on the intelligence panel, according to these aides. Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison was the first Muslim member elected to Congress in 2006. Carson became the second Muslim to serve in the House when was elected in a special election in 2008 to replace his...

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced in a closed-door meeting Tuesday she would name the first Muslim lawmaker to the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. A senior Democratic aide said Rep. André Carson of Indiana would be named in the “coming days” to the key national security-focused panel. The California Democrat told lawmakers of the appointment during the members’ weekly caucus meeting. Carson would be the first Muslim to serve on the committee and was the second Muslim to be elected to Congress. He already serves on the House Armed Services Committee and worked for the Department of Homeland Security’s...

Sheer enemy within insanity... http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/andre-carson-muslim-intelligence-committee-114213.html

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - An Evansville couple was charged with child neglect on Friday after police discovered cellphone video that allegedly showed a 12-month-old putting a .40-caliber handgun in his mouth. Michael L. Barnes, 19, was initially arrested Thursday after police said he tried to sell an undercover officer a handgun through Facebook. Barnes did not have a permit for a handgun, officers wrote in Thursday’s arrest affidavit. He also had an active warrant for his arrest, Evansville Courier & Press reports. During the follow up investigation on Friday, detectives with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives/Evansville Police Department...

On January 7th, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson stood by her December ruling that a 2013 Indiana law including chemical abortion facilities in the definition of abortion facilities is unconstitutional. Her ruling claimed that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. According to WLFI news, in a lawsuit between the ACLU and the Indiana Attorney’s Office, the ACLU challenged the statute the Legislature passed — which required certain physical facilities and fixtures in nonsurgical abortion clinics to be consistent with requirements in surgical abortion clinics, but which expressly exempted physicians’ offices. Ken Falk, the ACLU Indiana Legal Director said,...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has entered a final ruling barring an Indiana law that changed the classification of abortion clinics in a way that opponents say targeted a Planned Parenthood center in Lafayette that provided only drug-induced abortions. U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson entered a permanent injunction and final judgment Wednesday siding with Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky and barring the 2013 law because it violated the constitutional Equal Protection Clause. She ruled preliminarily last month.

Petition demands ‘public retraction’ of prof’s view that people have ‘right to choose’ abortion Following pressure on his Christian college from a pro-life group, a professor has apparently recanted the muddled views on abortion he articulated in a campus forum. That’s not good enough for Created Equal, which started a petition campaign against Indiana Wesleyan University demanding that the school “not tolerate pro-abortion professors.” As The College Fix previously reported, IWU professor Greg Fiebig called himself “equally pro-choice and pro-life” in the “Life vs. Choice” forum in November, which provoked Created Equal’s social-media campaign against him. Fiebig said he had...

An Indiana man, Jarod Rebuck, was charged with attempted feticide after mixing abortion-inducing herbs into the drink of his pregnant girlfriend. Indiana law defines feticide as knowingly or intentionally terminating a human pregnancy with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus. Rebuck’s girlfriend became suspicious after she noticed her drink tasted funny and found web searches on his phone about natural abortion “treatments.” Later Rebuck allegedly told officers he wasn’t “in a position to have children financially or mentally.” Now Rebuck could face up to 20-years in prison and a $10,000 fine....

~~snip~~ Voting against Boehner (10) Gohmert* Yoho* Rep. Steve King (Iowa) Rep. Jim Bridenstine (Okla.)* Rep. Dave Brat (Va.) (freshman) Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.)* Rep. Gary Palmer (Ala.) (freshman) Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.)* Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) Rep. Marlin Stutzman (Ind.) Said prior to 2014 election that they would vote against Boehner (2) Rep. Jody Hice (Ga.) (freshman) Rep. John Ratfliffe (Tex.) (freshman) Voted against Boehner in 2013/haven't weighed in (2) Rep. Steve Pearce (N.M.) (spokesman says he's "undecided") Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) Voted against Boehner in 2013/will support him (3) Rep. Mick Mulvaney (S.C.) Rep. Raul Labrador (Idaho) Rep....

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) will officially join the rebellion against John Boehner’s re-election as Speaker of the House on Monday morning, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) announced in a statement late Sunday evening. Stutzman, Bridenstine said, will issue a statement early Monday announcing his public opposition to Boehner’s re-election. That brings the total number of members who are public in their opposition to nine, as Bridenstine and Reps. Steve King (R-IA), Dave Brat (R-VA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Walter Jones (R-NC), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) issued public statements saying they are opposing Boehner. Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Ted Yoho (R-FL) both...

From the first day of 2011, Mitt Romney was the favorite to win the 2012 Republican presidential primary campaign. No one else was even close. The 2016 outlook could not be more different. Offered the choice to bet on one single candidate to win the nomination versus the rest of the field, the choice would have to be "the field." For the first time in years, there is no one next in line. And without a former vice president or powerhouse former candidate looking likely to run, Republicans are shaping up to spend the next year and a half fighting...

via Matthew Boyle on Twitter: Jim Bridenstine just announced Marlin Stutzman is issuing a public statement TOMORROW saying he voting against Boehner Stutzman coming out against Boehner is MASSIVE. Takes this BIG TIME. Stutzman ran for House Majority Whip last summer

INDIANAPOLIS - Castleton Square Mall closed early Saturday after a fight broke out inside, reportedly involving hundreds of people. Some witnesses reported hearing someone had a gun, but no one has been able to tell police they actually saw one, according to Ofc. Chris Wilburn. Shots were later fired in front of the AMC movie theater, but no one was hit. Large crowds began gathering outside the mall after the fight and shooting. Police quickly started dispersing those gathered. Police initially told WTHR.com that the mall had closed down for the night as a precaution after the brawl, and Eyewitness...

HAMMOND | A mother grieved as her second son was gunned down in less than a month, this time an engineering student at Vincennes University who was home on winter break. Hammond authorities are investigating the shooting death of 19-year-old Donnovan Williams, a Highland resident who had been the first in his family to go to college but ended up the first victim of homicide in Northwest Indiana this year. Early on New Year's Day, Williams was shot at 1235 Wilson Place in Hammond, and later died at Community Hospital in Munster. The recent graduate of Morton High School in...

Details:Back in September, Alexandria Marie Shields and Taylor Butcher booked the Knights of Columbus hall in Madison, Indiana for the reception that will follow their upcoming wedding ceremony. On Monday, Knights of Columbus Council 934 called the couple to tell them it was refunding their deposit as they do not agree with same-sex unions. Wednesday evening, the council reversed course and has agreed to let them have the facility. …In a Facebook post Wednesday evening, the Knights of Columbus said it would allow the reception after all. It posted “Council 934 regrets that there was some confusion over the hall...