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The Obama administration got some backing Sunday for the way in which it responded as terrorists attacked the US diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, last September – a night of violence and confusion during which Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican who served in both the Bush and Obama administrations, said if he had been at the Pentagon at that time, "Frankly … I think my decisions would have been just as theirs were.” Republican critics have said a Special Forces team or overflights by fighter aircraft based in Italy...

Barack Obama held a campaign stop at Manor Technical High School in Austin, Texas today. He used the high school kids as props for his speech. Obama also told the high schoolers that he will need their help to push his agenda. “Every once in a while I’m going to need your help to lean on your elected representatives…” (VIDEO-AT-LINK) Here’s the transcript via the White House website: Now, there are three things that we’ve got to focus on to create more jobs and opportunity for the middle class. First of all, we’ve got to make America a magnet for...

The Miami Dolphins’ quest for public funding for an overhaul of Sun Life Stadium will go down to the wire in the Florida Legislature. After hopes appeared to be fading early Friday, the Senate version of the bill was scheduled for a second reading on Monday. There are five days remaining in the session, and the House version of the bill remains bogged down in committee.

On Thursday, just hours after the FBI released blurry pictures of the two suspected Boston Marathon bombers, CNN anchor Erin Burnett assumed the suspects were "stereotypically" white Americans and not linked to any foreign terror group. It turned out that the suspects--Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev--are technically "white" as they are ethnically Chechen (although Dzhokhar recently became a citizen). But what Burnett, like many in the mainstream media who instinctively assume such acts are committed by those who look like Timothy McVeigh, was implying was that the suspects in the photos were white Americans who were born in this country. "They...

Democrats, including Hoyer, today blamed the Boston Marathon bombings on the Republicans. According to them, the Republican Sequester so damaged our intelligence community that it caused the Marathon bombers to get away with it. Took then just 24 hours to blame conservatives for the lives and limbs lost. I am no fan of the Democrats, but this lowers the level of their loathsomeness to a new bottom.

Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush could have "conceivably been put in jail” for their drug use, ruining their lives and impacting their getting elected to office. "Look, the last two presidents could have conceivably been put in jail for their drug use and I really think - look what would've happened, it would've ruined their lives. They got lucky. But a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky and they don't have good attorneys and they go to jail for some of these things and...

Graham Greene’s observation has lost none of its salience in 50 years: innocence remains “like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.” The latest illustration comes from Wisconsin, where the state’s Department of Public Instruction website devotes a page to “Power and Privilege.” Caucasians who volunteer in the state’s AmeriCorps VISTA antipoverty programs are instructed to “set aside sections of the day to critically examine how privilege works”; “put a note on your mirror or computer screen as a reminder to think about privilege”; and, in order to underline white guilt, “find a...

Joe Biden also said the US remained committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Barack Obama's threats to use military force to prevent Iran securing a nuclear weapon are more than idle bluffs, vice-president Joe Biden told the biggest pro-Israeli lobbying group Aipac on Monday.Biden said that while the US preferred a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iran, a military option remained on the table."The president of the United States cannot, and does not, bluff. President Barack Obama is not bluffing," Biden told the audience in Washington.Israel is seeking assurances of support...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: This is hilarious. As you know, ladies and gentlemen, beginning with the first day of the year, and because of the fiscal cliff deal, the temporary partial tax cut on the Social Security tax expired. There was a temporary partial exemption on the payroll tax. I've been asked if most people noticed it. They didn't notice it until they were told about it. It added up to, depending on your income, it could be a thousand dollars a year that you had extra because of this partial tax. Anyway, on January 1, that partial temporary tax cut...

Sen. John Kerry, who sources say has been tapped by President Barack Obama to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, will come to the post with a full plate of foreign policy crises, from the civil war in Syria, to the nuclear antics of North Korea, to a looming showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. Anybody who follows Clinton would have some pretty big shoes to fill. Clinton was not just the most popular member of the president's Cabinet for the past four years, she had celebrity status and respect almost everywhere she went around the world. But...

On CNN contributor Roland Martin’s podcast posted to his website Monday, Jason Whitlock, the columnist who inspired Bob Costas’ commentary on gun control during halftime of Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game on NBC, revealed his peculiar take on the National Rifle Association (NRA).Whitlock spoke out against the NFL’s handling of the aftermath of Jovan Belcher’s suicide and gun issues in his Sunday FoxSports.com column. During Martin’s podcast, he likened the NRA to the Ku Klux Klan and tied the group to the dangerous street culture that unfortunately dominates “so many black youths.�“Sports gets so much attention, and people tune out...

Hostess Brands said Wednesday that it will go into liquidation unless bakers striking in protest against a new contract imposed in bankruptcy court return to work by the end of the day Thursday. "We simply do not have the financial resources to survive an ongoing national strike," Hostess CEO Greg Rayburn said in a statement. The liquidation would result in Hostess' nearly 18,000 workers losing their jobs. The bakers' union represents around 5,000. The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but has called the concessions demanded in the new contract "outrageous." "Our members are on...

18 percent of Americans believe that president Obama is Jewish, according to a new poll. A new Associated Press poll finds that 18 percent, or nearly one in five Americans believe that President Barack Obama is Jewish, from zero who believed so in 2010.

Police believe death was from overdose ECORSE, Mich - Former Michigan lottery winner Amanda Clayton was found dead early Saturday morning at a friend's house in Ecorse. Police believe she died from an overdose. Reports are saying it was from prescription medication. Clayton, from Lincoln Park, first made headlines when she won a $1 million jackpot on the game show "Make Me Rich" last September. Local 4 Defender Karen Drew later revealed that Clayton was collecting food stamps after winning the jackpot. She was charged with welfare fraud and sentenced to probation in July.

Whoopi Questions Moon Landing July 21, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: If you've ever had any doubts that the women on The View (snorts) are literally kooks, we're going to confirm it for you here. This happened yesterday morning. It's Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, and co-host Sherri Shepherd about Apollo 11 landing on the moon. (Click on video link to the right) WALTERS: Whoopi, you don't really doubt that the men landed on the moon. GOLDBERG: I am just saying that there are wonderful -- SHEPHERD: Don't they have a tape? GOLDBERG: There are wonderful... You know, I love great...

Now that the Democrats are gearing up to hold their September convention at the stadium, they can’t even bring themselves to type the words “Bank of America.” You know, because corporations are totally greedy, especially when they’re associated with the bankster one percent. For the record, Bank of America Stadium has never been called “Panthers Stadium.” Bank of America purchased naming rights in 2004, replacing L.M. Ericsson Inc. as the corporate (gasp!) sponsor. Prior to that, the facility was known as Carolinas Stadium. Yep, can’t have President Obama associated with an icky corporation when he delivers his keynote address at,...

"Listen, America. Eat your veggies and like it."

US and South Korean special forces have been parachuting into North Korea to gather intelligence about underground military installations, a US officer has said in comments carried in US media. Army Brigadier General Neil Tolley, commander of US special forces in South Korea, told a conference held in Florida last week that Pyongyang had built thousands of tunnels since the Korean war, The Diplomat reported. "The entire tunnel infrastructure is hidden from our satellites," Tolley said, according to The Diplomat, a current affairs magazine. "So we send (South Korean) soldiers and US soldiers to the North to do special reconnaissance."...

Bob Owens is raising the possibility: "I had never heard of “lean” before yesterday, but apparently it is a concoction made from certain prescription cough syrups and a beverage medium, often made more palatable with candy. One of the recipes for “lean” calls for using Arizona Iced Tea Co. watermelon fruit juice cocktail as the beverage of choice, and Skittles candy… the items found on Trayvon Martin’s body the night he was shot by George Zimmerman. The Conservative Treehouse has a lengthy post about the recreational drug, it’s effects and side effects, and alleged screen captures of Trayvon Martin’s social...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats on Thursday urged the New York Police Department to purge its intelligence databases of information gleaned from its clandestine spying on Muslim neighborhoods. They also criticized the Obama administration for offering tepid responses to questions about whether it endorses such tactics.

Sherman Oaks, California I was detained last night by federal authorities at San Francisco International Airport for refusing to answer questions about why I had travelled outside the United States. The end result is that, after waiting for about half an hour and refusing to answer further questions, I was released – because U.S. citizens who have produced proof of citizenship and a written customs declaration are not obligated to answer questions. * * * “Why were you in China?” asked the passport control officer, a woman with the appearance and disposition of a prison matron. “None of your business,”...

Any single incident where an unarmed civilian is gunned down is one too many

WEDNESDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults who say they've had a life-changing religious experience are more likely to have a greater decrease in size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain critical to learning and memory, new research finds. ...or conversely, those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants, but not born-again. ...SOURCE: Duke University, news release, May 19, 2011

U.S. intelligence agencies don't believe Iran is actively trying to build an atomic bomb. A highly classified U.S. intelligence assessment circulated to policymakers early last year largely affirms that view, originally made in 2007. Both reports, known as national intelligence estimates, conclude that Tehran halted efforts to develop and build a nuclear warhead in 2003. The most recent report, which represents the consensus of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, indicates that Iran is pursuing research that could put it in a position to build a weapon, but that it has not sought to do so. Senior U.S. officials say Israel does...

taking the Obama administration to task over the forthcoming decision to pull the plug on the U.S.-Canadian oil pipeline: Newt Gingrich, who frequently talks about the Keystone Pipeline in his stump speech, railed on the news that President Obama is rejecting the permit. Speaking to a standing-room only crowd of about 350 people in Warrenville, S.C., “boos” erupted when Gingrich said the pipeline had been “vetoed.” “Now, this is a stunningly,” Gingrich began until he was interuppted by a crowd members shouting “stupid mistake.” After pausing for a moment Gingrich responded, “This is a stunningly stupid thing to do.”

From NASA Goddard/GISS: same-o, same-o Paleoclimate Record Points Toward Potential Rapid Climate ChangesThe average global surface temperature of Earth has risen by .8 degrees Celsius since 1880, and is now increasing at a rate of about .1 degree Celsius per decade. This image shows how 2010 temperatures compare to average temperatures from a baseline period of 1951-1980, as analyzed by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Credit: NASA GISS New research into the Earth’s paleoclimate history by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies director James E. Hansen suggests the potential for rapid climate changes this century, including multiple...

'Was there a man dismay'd Not tho' the soldier knew Someone had blundered' 70 years ago over 2,400 Americans were killed and about half as many wounded when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the naval and air forces of Imperial Japan. The usual scapegoats were identified and ruined, but for decades historians have questioned the official account. Between conventional sources of information and radar tracking, it is argued, the Roosevelt administration knew or ought to have known. Some analysts have concluded that Franklin Roosevelt wanted a justification, no matter what the price, for getting into the war. Others have been...

Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul was hushed by deafening boos from a crowd of Tea Partiers at Monday's GOP Presidential debate, after suggesting America's foreign police played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mr Paul attempted to position his argument to slash military spending, contending that occupation was the 'real motivation' behind acts of terrorism by Muslim extremists against the U.S. But a provocative retort from presidential candidate, Pennsylvania lawmaker Rick Santorum, instead drew wide support, after he dismissed Mr Paul's comments as 'irresponsible'. Prior to the Tea Party debate, Mr Paul, 76, had reflected on the U.S. response...

Should energy consumers pay extra taxes to fund government-mandated and subsidized renewable energy technologies? "Absolutely yes," says John Bryson, President Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary. He made the remark at a meeting of the Commonwealth Club of California in 2009 and went on to extol the virtues of hidden rates in California, a state encumbered with some of the nation's highest electricity and unemployment rates. Bryson, retired CEO of the electric utility Southern California Edison (SCE) and its parent company Edison International, excused the practice, saying, "That's been a part of the regulatory environment for the investor-owned utilities for as...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional leaders rushed to line up Republican and Democratic votes on Monday for a White House-backed deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented debt default. With scars still fresh from the months-long brawl over increasing the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, a new fight was shaping over the incendiary topic of taxes. Global markets showed signs of relief that the United States appeared to be dodging default, but fears that the country might still lose its triple-A credit rating even with a debt deal contributed to a fizzle in a brief stocks rally. "We...

The press is reporting that the top military leaders have “endorsed” President Obama’s Afghan troop withdrawal decision. With all due respect to the fine reporters, that is not the news. Under our Constitution, military leaders have no choice but to endorse the president’s decision after giving him their best advice. They could resign, of course, but to have the entire senior military leadership resign over a president’s decision contrary to their advice would be a disaster, and not least for the troops on the ground. Make no mistake, however. The entire military leadership believes the president’s decision is a mistake,...

Apple denies Amazon claims to generic app storesApple in a court filing late Thursday rebuffed Amazon's response that the term "app store" was generic. It insisted that the term isn't commonly used by other companies for their portals and couldn't be considered generic. Amazon was allegedly treading on Apple's mark by using the Appstore name as a result. The iPhone maker had sued Amazon in March claiming that its "app store" trademark was valid and commonly associated with the iOS App Store and, more recently, the Mac App Store. At one point, it has argued that the term was a...

Despite Reports of Brutality Toward Civilians, Syria to Join U.N.'s Human Rights Council By Ben Evansky Published April 26, 2011 | FoxNews.com The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders -- but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council. And despite calling for an independent investigation into the crackdown, which has left hundreds dead, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon apparently won’t do much about blocking Syria’s path to the human rights group. "That's not really for the secretary general to suggest to...

As some states like Utah look to put cops on the front lines of immigration enforcement, San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore and other prominent law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that using their shrinking pool of officers to target illegal immigrants is inefficient, costly and would make their cities more dangerous, not less. "I am looking at laying off 300 officers, so now more than ever I need to focus on partnerships with communities,'' Moore said during a national teleconference sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum. "This (the issue of immigration enforcement) has become a wedge in our communities...

My job deprives me of the luxury of partisanship, as I have to reach out to both sides on the issue of free trade--a disastrous policy one can give impeccably liberal or conservative reasons to be against. So I can't offer any opinion of the Tea Party movement per se. But I can tell you that the way they're handling the issue of free trade reveals a lot about them. Over the last year, I've interacted with the Tea Party about the issue at both the local level and with some of their leadership. And I've observed a few things....

Unlike Moses Herzog, the eponymous character of Saul Bellow's novel "Herzog," I do not feverishly compose mad letters to public figures and sinister government agencies. But I often yell back at the TV set. This happened Sunday when Candy Crowley on CNN asked Rep. Pete King what his hearings into Muslim radicalism are really about. "Good luck, Candy," I yelled, having asked the same question of King's staff just the day before. Here, I am sure, is the answer: The hearings are about Pete King. King is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. On Thursday, he will inaugurate...

In the bookstore I run, I used to carry lectures on CD by Anwar al-Awlaki. That's the pre-radical al-Awlaki, who recorded lectures about prophets and the hereafter and Islam in general. Now, that al-Awlaki is gone and has been replaced by a terrorist who publicly justifies killing American civilians. ...I was most worried about what the public, the authorities, and other Muslims would think. On the other hand, by removing the CDs I was censoring, and censorship is, generally speaking, a bad thing. I asked a retired bookseller friend what she thought... She recalled that when her store was open...

While reading her emails, I heard my wife say, “This is so absurd, it has to be an internet hoax doctored photo”. It was a photo of a rally on MLK Day hosted by the South Carolina NAACP held at the state house. The statue of George Washington at the state house was boxed in on three sides hidden from the rallying crowd. The NAACP said they covered the statue because they “didn’t want to offend anyone”. Upon investigation, the photo was confirmed to be real. This misdirected ridiculous behavior by the NAACP epitomizes why I, a black American, will...

About a year ago, I began to commit social suicide. It was a slow process, beginning as I spoke my mind to friends about the new convictions I was forming. If I ever was A-list, pretty soon I wasn’t anymore. I never had a t-shirt of Mao or Che, but if I did, I’d burn it in defiant protest. I love America, and I have come to realize that my only hope for freedom or equality – the things my friends say they all want – is to join together with those who want to protect Her, no matter how...

Katie Couric: 'Maybe We Need a Muslim Version of The Cosby Show' By Tim Graham Created 12/30/2010 - 1:04pm By Tim Graham | December 30, 2010 | 13:04 Tim Graham's picture In her @katiecouric Web show analyzing the trends of 2010, the CBS Evening News anchor made a serious speech (in her serious, deep-thinker glasses) against the deep "seething hatred" against Muslims in America: I also think sort of the chasm, between, or the bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country has been one of the most disturbing stories to surface this year. Of course, a lot of noise was...

Last week, I attended the Marrakech Film Festival....The opening gala, complete with red carpet and paparazzi, was staged in a swanky convention hall surrounded by five-star hotels. The requisite stars made appearances.... [....] When the men awaken to discover the women missing, the entire village is mobilized to hunt them down. Their escape route, which runs along the beach, is entirely exposed, and they are brought back in a fishing boat. Watching the men of the village gather around the two women in a circle on the beach, I ought to have realized what was about to happen, but somehow...

Stop worrying about when the hard drive in your computer will die. Google wants to kill it permanently anyway. The new Google Chrome operating system, which was unveiled Tuesday, as well as hints and suggestions from Apple and Microsoft, offers us a preview of the PC of the future. And it will come without that familiar whirring disk that has been the data heart of the PC for the past 25 years. The Chrome OS will at first be available on all-black laptops from Samsung and Acer. And because the new platform stores everything -- files, applications, data bits and...

As violent drug cartels take over Mexico and expand their criminal enterprises north, the United States has signed a “trusted traveler” agreement that allows pre-screened Mexican airline passengers to bypass lengthy airport security checkpoints. The foreigners will get “trusted traveler cards” with fingerprints and other biometric data and they must answer customs declarations questions on touch-screen kiosks before leaving airport inspection areas. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claims it’s a way to enhance information sharing and mutual security in the face of “ever-evolving, multinational threats.” About 84 million Mexicans are expected to qualify for the trusted traveler program, according to...

Counterterror experts warn of guests at 'radicalization' confab An upcoming Los Angeles conference designed to combat Islamic "radicalization" features a pair of "radical" Muslim leaders who have openly supported terrorists and advised American Muslims against cooperating with law enforcement.The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the FBI and LAPD will host the event next week at a resort in Pismo Beach, Calif... The controversial guest Muslim speakers...are leaders of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Los Angeles-based MPAC says it is a "moderate" group, but critics charge it is a "propaganda arm" for the radical Muslim Brotherhood in America. ...the MPAC officials are...

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The spectre of inflation loomed over agricultural markets after the US slashed key crop forecasts and warned of shortfalls in grains. The agriculture department on Tuesday cut estimates of US corn yields for a third successive month, forecast record soyabean exports to China and warned of the slimmest cotton stocks since 1925.

Nothing like a tough, clear answer to a simple question! Here is video of President Obama in India taking a question from a young lady who asked Obama very straightforwardly, “What is your opinion of Jihad?” Obama’s answer? “Well, the phrase Jihad has a lot of meanings within Islam, and is subject to a lot of different interpretations.” He then droned on about how Islam is a peaceful religion and the vast majority of adherents are peaceful people. He did say that violence on the part of any religion against others is not justified. This young lady asked a very...

Per copyright restrictions and FR posting guidelines, can't display the article. So, here's a link: http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2010/12/graydon-201012

"It was like the Chilean miners, but he, being the man he is, rolled up his sleeves and said 'I am going to get us out of this hole,'" Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said in Las Vegas on Sunday.

SAN FRANCISCO — While polls were showing her to be among the country’s most disliked politicians, Democrats were ducking her on the campaign trail and the Republican Party chairman was riding around in a “Fire Pelosi!” bus, the speaker of the House was checking out mattresses. “Wow, this is great,” said a sleep-deprived Nancy Pelosi as she stroked a plush specimen during a tour of the McRoskey Mattress Company here on Wednesday. While few politicians ever look comfortable on factory floors, Ms. Pelosi, the California Democrat, seemed particularly ill-suited, her big shiny pearls clashing with the goofy safety goggles she...