US attorney, Obama ally takes heat for handling of leak probes
[FoxNews.com]
Published May 24, 2013
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen Jr. (AP)
While Attorney General Eric Holder is taking heat for his department’s seizure of reporter records, the U.S. attorney who is personally overseeing those investigations is himself starting to face complaints that he’s gone too far in pursuing leaks.
Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, was nominated by President Obama in 2009 and now runs the biggest federal prosecutor office in the country. His hundreds of attorneys handle everything from gang violence to corruption.
But in recent years, leak investigations have become a hallmark of his portfolio. And his dogged pursuit of the squeaky wheels in government has led him into the tenuous — and some say unprecedented — territory of lumping in leakers with journalists.
Supporters vow to keep cross in California veterans tribute despite court ruling
[FoxNews.com]
By Shannon Bream
Published July 25, 2012
Because it sits on public property, critics have long argued that the cross at the Mount Soledad Veterans Memoria in La Jolla, Calif., is an unconstitutional entanglement of government and religion. (AP File)
For decades, there has been a First Amendment battle raging over the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial in La Jolla, Calif., where a large cross anchors a tribute to Korean War veterans.
Because it sits on public property, the American Civil Liberties Union has long argued that the cross amounts to an unconstitutional entanglement of government and religion.
Feds Clearing Way for Drones over Your House
[WND.com]
“YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK” [Right to Privacy?]
Krauthammer predicts ‘rifles aimed at the sky all across America’
Posted: May 16, 2012
Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after spending nearly three decades writing on a wide range of issues for several Upper Midwest newspapers and the Associated Press. Sports, tornadoes, homicidal survivalists, and legislative battles all fell within his bailiwick. His scenic photography has been used commercially, and he sometimes plays in a church worship band. More ↓
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The federal government is moving quickly to open the skies over America to drones – both for commercial and government purposes – and respected Washington Post and Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer is forecasting “rifles aimed at the sky all across America.”
The comments from Krauthammer, who won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1987 after serving as a speechwriter for Vice President Walter Mondale and then beginning his journalism career at The New Republic, were on “Special Report” with Bret Baier.
“I would predict, I’m not encouraging, but I predict the first guy who uses a Second Amendment weapon to bring a drone down that’s been hovering over his house is going to be a folk hero in this country,” Krauthammer said.The conversation arose as the federal government announced it is beginning to allow public safety agencies to fly unmanned aircraft – drones – with fewer and fewer restrictions.
According to yesterday’s report from Bloomberg, police, fire and other government agencies now are being allowed to fly drones weighing as much as 25 pounds without special approvals previously needed.
My Country ‘Tis Of Thee, Sweet Land of…Removing the Pledge of Allegiance?!
BigGovernment.com
Posted Jul 20th 2011 at 2:22 pm
Hard to believe, right? Well, it’s true … and it happened in Bowie County, Texas.
Just when I thought nothing could be as outrageous as my recent post “God Bless Our Military … just not at the Houston National Cemetery” where veterans are being censored for religious speech, I hear about what is happening in our furthest county of northeast Texas.
Seems the Bowie County Commissioners Court voted on June 13, 2011, to remove our country’s Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation from their county meeting minutes.
As reported on the Red Flame Wire:
… on June 13, 2011, the Commissioner Court, with the exception of Commissioner John Addington, decided that they no longer wanted the records to reflect that the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation were said for fear it would give the perception that it is the courts official stance.
New Jersey School and ACLU Compromise on Graduation at Christian-Owned Site
FoxNews.com
By Lauren Green
Published May 26, 2011
For generations, graduates of Neptune High School have walked down the aisle of the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, N.J., where the impressive 6,500-seat venue dominates the landscape of one of the area’s most historic beach towns.
School officials in Neptune Township, N.J., have bowed to the demands of the ACLU and will cover decades-old religious signs posted in the historic Great Auditorium to allow a 70-year tradition of high school graduations to continue.
Instead of the sign, “Holiness to the Lord,” a banner will be posted over it saying, “Neptune Township School District … A Community of Learners.” In addition, a banner with the words “So Be Ye Holy” will be covered with another banner saying, “Neptune High School: A School of Excellence and No Excuses.”
Pennsylvania City Threatens Supreme Court Battle After Immigration Ruling
FoxNews.com
Published September 13, 2010
In this June 3, 2007, file photo, a crowd gathers during a rally in support of Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta in front of City Hall in Hazleton, Pa. (AP Photo)
The town of Hazleton, Pa., is threatening a Supreme Court showdown after a panel of judges last week threw out its restrictions against hiring and renting to illegal immigrants, a decision supporters say gives Washington a free pass to ignore its enforcement responsibilities.
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who has championed his city’s crackdown in the face of persistent legal challenges, told Fox News on Monday that the federal appeals court ruling was a “blow” to cities trying to shield themselves from the “drain” of illegal immigration.
“The problem is that the federal government refuses to regulate the immigration problems that we’re having in Hazleton and yet tells us that we can’t defend ourselves,” he said.
Pamela Geller, American Thinker: The Man Who Would Stop the Ground Zero Mosque
AtlasShurgs.com
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Read in full my oped in today’s American Thinker on NY Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. And remember to mark your calenders for our next solemn protest against the Ground Zero mega mosque on September 11th. We will rally on September 11th, one year to the day before Islamic supremacists intend to open the mosque: September 11, 2011.
The Man Who Would Stop the Ground Zero Mosque Pamela Geller, American Thinker
“As Governor,” Paladino said Wednesday in a radio ad, “I will use the power of eminent domain to stop this mosque and make the site a war memorial instead of a monument to those who attacked our country.”I like this guy. I really like this guy. If the Supreme Court could rule, in the notorious 2005 decision Kelo v. City of New London, that the government could seize private property for a private developer and then never develop the property, surely Americans should be able to use eminent domain to designate the Burlington Coat Factory building a war memorial.
TSA reverses policy on “controversial opinion” sites
HotAir.com
posted at 10:12 am on July 7, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
Last week, TSA issued a memo to its employees that announced a new policy of filtering Internet access, and that among the sites to be blocked were those offering “controversial opinions.” After CBS reported the memo, conservative bloggers and the ACLU found some rare common ground for protest. Initially, TSA said that the memo didn’t refer to politics, but now the Washington Times reports that they’ve revised the policy anyway (via Weasel Zippers):
After an uproar from conservative bloggers and free-speech activists, the Transportation Security Administration late Tuesday rescinded a new policy that would have prevented employees from accessing websites with “controversial opinions” on TSA computers at work.
The ban on “controversial opinion” sites, issued late last week, was included as part of a more general TSA Internet-usage policy blocking employee access to gambling and chat sites, as well as sites that dealt with extreme violence or criminal activity.
But the policy itself became controversial as the Drudge Report and a number of conservative bloggers highlighted the possibility that the policy could be used to censor websites critical of the agency or of the Obama administration in general. The American Civil Liberties Union also questioned the language.
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