Obama Administration Threatened Sanctions Against Nigeria For Fighting Boko Haram

From Gateway Pundit --  

In 2013, the Obama administration threatened to sanction Nigeria for fighting the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Canada Free Press reported:

Hillary Clinton wasn’t the only Obama administration official who went to bat for Boko Haram over the past few years.

Soon after John Kerry took over as Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence P. McCulley, accused the Nigerian government of butchery during a confrontation with Boko Haram terrorists in Baga, a Nigerian town on the shores of Lake Chad, and in May 2013 threatened to withdraw U.S. military aid from the West African nation.

Boko Haram militants attacked a Nigerian military outpost in April 2013 outside Baga, killing one soldier. Following the three-day battle human rights activists, including the George Soros-funded and liberal aligned Human Rights Watch, which is not exactly known for its impartiality when it comes to reporting on Islamic issues, claimed the Nigerian military wantonly slaughtered 183 civilians and burned down over 2,000 homes and businesses.

The Nigerian government denied the claims saying the death toll and destruction had been vastly overstated by its enemies, and in fact 30 Boko Haram terrorists, 6 civilians and one soldier, had died in the fighting. Reports from the Baga clinic, which treated 193 people following the battle, but only 10 with serious injuries, seemed to back up the Nigerian government claim that no large-scale massacre had occurred.

More here.

Common Core Math doesn't add up

From IJReview:

College students at George Mason University were recently shown the Common Core method — being taught to many of America’s elementary school students — for solving this basic math problem: 32 – 12 = ?

If you can follow the “logical” sequence for arriving at the answer, congratulations. The rest of us are stumped.

"Mad as Hell" Shinseki Tells Second Biggest Lie of the Year over VA Health Care

Click to Sign the CVA Petition to Fire Shinseki

Though Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki claims to be "mad as hell" over the recent deaths of 40 veterans awaiting care in AZ and other "secret waiting lists," and has accepted the resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel, the under secretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Shinseki himself still REFUSES to step down and has no plans of resigning.

The below is from Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, in response to the testimony given by Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee yesterday....

From Fox News --  

Thursday morning Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki came before the Senate Veterans Affairs committee and proclaimed—with a straight face—that the VA health care system is “a good system.”

While Politifact has already deemed President Obama’s infamous “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it” the lie of the year—Shinseki’s statement ranks a close, and unfortunate, second.

The totality of the Secretary’s remarks before the committee Thursday were not only deceptive, they were detached, defensive, and unbefitting a leader who should be fighting mad about the scandals engulfing the VA.

The totality of the Secretary’s remarks before the committee Thursday were not only deceptive, they were detached, defensive, and unbefitting a leader who, by now, should be fighting mad about the scandals engulfing VA, firing those responsible, and fundamentally challenging every assumption he has about the manner in which care is provided to our veterans.

Instead, Shinseki played the role of aloof bureaucrat, reading dispassionately from his prepared remarks in a monotone voice, as if this was a run-of-the-mill budget hearing. Shinseki’s comments were spot on in that respect—a perfect personification of VA’s indifferent and unaccountable bureaucracy.

As my organization Concerned Veterans for America has been saying for years—and Fox News has been reporting aggressively—the VA is an infected bureaucracy, incapable of delivering timely care to veterans; instead, the VA has been cooking the books to preserve the jobs and bonuses of senior officials.

The Phoenix VA scandal has been the most publicized example—with as many as 40 veterans allegedly dying while waiting on a secret list.

But Phoenix is just the tip of the iceberg, with another half-dozen whistleblowers from across the country stepping up in the past few weeks to reveal similar secret lists.

Plain and simple—the VA is failing in its core mission to veterans: providing timely and quality healthcare. Across the country, veterans are waiting months for basic appointment, let alone specialized care.

By VA’s own account, only 41 percent of veterans are seen for a medical appointment within 14 days; a number that is certainly dramatically lower in light of how VA has cooked the books on appointments.

Wait times of weeks and months are unacceptable anywhere, let alone for our veterans.

As for the quality of care, while it is great at many facilities, it has been uneven at others—just ask the families of veterans in Pittsburgh and Atlanta about deaths that could have been prevented due to medical malpractice.

All of this is unacceptable.

As a result of these revelations and his performance before Congress Thursday, there will be more calls for Shinseki to resign, and rightfully so. But that action alone would not solve this problem. Just as the problem is more than just the scandal in Phoenix, the problems at VA are much larger than Shinseki.

Shinseki should be fired immediately—as my group, the American Legion, and many Senators have called for—but that is only the beginning.

Fundamental reform is needed, from top to bottom, to shake up a calcified and unaccountable bureaucracy. These reforms start with accountability at the very top, and throughout VA.

VA must also be made more transparent, and the benefits veterans have earned should be more portable—meaning if you can’t get timely or convenient care at a local VA, you can go elsewhere.

It also must be made clear that the problems at VA are not funding problems. Some individuals testified Thursday that more money might solve the problem. This is bogus.

Sure, there are certain aspects of VA that could use additional funding, but reallocation of existing funds would be more than sufficient.

In Phoenix alone, 59% of salaries are spent on administration and operations, notmedical care.

The VA bureaucracy is very adept at gobbling up additional funding; so before we spend more money on VA, we need to reform it. Let’s stop throwing more money at a bureaucracy incapable of using it wisely or efficiently.

Finally, some members at Thursday’s hearing pointed, with hopeful expectation, toward the White House’s decision to appoint a top Obama political operative to oversee a VA “review.”

Count me as underwhelmed and skeptical about it.
The White House has zero incentive to find wrongdoing at VA, and I have very little faith that anything substantive will be found from this investigation.

Only a bipartisan and independent investigation will do the job, and Congress should press for one; but not at the expense of immediate and real reform.

If one thing was clear today, it’s that Congress should get to work providing much-needed oversight for VA.

The House and Senate would be wise to start with the VA Management Accountability Act of 2014, a bill that would allow senior managers at VA to actually be fired.

It’s common sense, non-partisan, and long-overdue reform. The bill is not a silver bullet, but is a great start.

It will likely see a vote soon in the House; but the question is whether the Senate, with all the Republican and Democratic bluster we witnessed on Thursday, will step up to the plate and pass an actual piece of reform legislation.

For Congress, and the White House, it’s put up or shut up time.

Pete Hegseth is a Fox News contributor. He is the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and the former executive director of Vets for Freedom. He is an infantry officer in the Army National Guard and has served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. Learn more at:www.concernedveteransforamerica.org.

Tea Party Patriots Reaffirm Opposition to Backdoor Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

In response to the Tea Party Express recently coming out in support of backdoor amnesty for illegal immigrants, Tea Party Patriots has released the below statement reaffirming their opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants and support for the rule of law....

From Tea Party Patriots -- 

Millions of people have come to America legally and invested the time and effort to become naturalized citizens in pursuit of personal freedom and their American Dream. We admire them for their courage, determination and desire, all of which reflect the founding principles of the United States. 

The position of Tea Party Patriots is clear. We must first fully secure our borders. Immigration reform cannot happen without this necessary first step.

We support legal immigration and the rule of law, according to the Constitution. There is already a legal path to citizenship for those wishing to come to the United States. Anyone who decides to get off that path and enter the United States illegally should not be given any sort of amnesty because doing so is neither fair nor equal treatment under the law.

We must also demand the Obama administration enforce our current immigration laws. Those who are determined to have entered the country illegally and are on-track for deportation should be deported.

Those who have been convicted of crimes and are serving sentences for their crimes should remain incarcerated until their sentences have been served.

Conservatives are watching Congress like a hawk and will do everything to make sure immigration reform is done in a manner that respects the law and those who abide by it.

In liberty,

Tea Party Patriots National Support Team

Tea Party Express Sells Out Tea Party Movement on Immigration

In regurgitating the same empty talking points used by the establishment GOP and the Chamber of Commerce corporate cabal pulling their strings regarding illegal immigration, Tea Party Express Co-Founder Sal Russo, again undermines the hard work of conservatives in the Tea Party movement and the American working man.

As we all know - any good co-opt attempt needs a recognizable mouthpiece! 

And with his selling out the Tea Party movement and showing his allegiance to his establishment and his corporate social club friends, Russo & the Tea Party Express are the perfect tools as they join in to trumpet support for immigration reform (backdoor amnesty).  

This would be the same back door amnesty that has been soundly opposed and rejected by most major conservative groups and many of the grassroots Tea Party groups across the country.

Below is Russo's commentary on Illegal Immigration Reform that ran in Roll Call..... 

By Sal Russo
May 14, 2014, 5 a.m.

The U.S. immigration system is flawed and broken. Conservatives should be at the forefront of reform so the law reflects the just interests of the United States, not misty-eyed ideals of some of the liberal do-gooder reformers. What is good for America should be the sole criteria for immigration reform.

Our laws today are unenforced and citizens and companies who play by the rules are undermined by bad actors who do not. This undermines our rule of law and slows our economic growth. In today’s global economy, we cannot afford the status quo.

Congress must pass legislation that will fix our broken system. We have the strongest economy in the world, the most innovative businesses and a history replete with examples of how legal immigration has made us stronger. Conservatives need to seize on immigration reform as an opportunity for growth, to reaffirm who we are and what makes our country great.

Our economy has long outgrown the visa programs we have now. In high-skilled industries such as engineering and medicine, we do not have the talent we need to fill the jobs. These industries are the fastest growing in the country and we depend on them for job creation and economic growth. But according to the Partnership for a New American Economy, we face a shortage of more than 235,000 jobs in science, technology, engineering and math fields by 2018.

On the other end of the spectrum, we face debilitating workforce challenges as well. Visa limits for seasonal workers, such as those needed by farmers, cannot keep up with demand. And those visas that are available are too cumbersome, complex and cost prohibitive for many employers to use. That means fewer fruits and vegetables per season, lost revenue and an increased reliance on imports, many of which are not subject to the same level of health regulations as our homegrown crops. By instituting worker visa programs that adequately address our farm labor demands, we can keep American agriculture strong.

With a rational visa policy, we also improve security by allowing border security agents to devote their attention where it is most needed — keeping out law-breakers, drug dealers, criminals and terrorists.

Border security must be an essential element of any immigration reform. In addition to using physical barriers, surveillance and enforcement, we have to stop the biggest problem — the rich incentives for illegal immigration. They are a magnet for people to come here illegally. That means fixing the broken system we have that relies on quotas and diversity, instead of a system based on what America needs.

Doing nothing now means hurting businesses just as we are coming out of the Great Recession. Today, 40 percent of our Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or child of an immigrant. Much of the new small-business growth in the country is because of legal immigrants.

Because we have no visa for entrepreneurs, the most innovative people around the world are starting companies and creating jobs elsewhere. Meanwhile, other countries understand that entrepreneurs are an economic necessity. While we actively turn away future CEOs, the rest of the world is offering incentives to attract new businesses. (Continue Reading...)

The EPA: An Out of Control Government Agency

As the EPA tries to systematically impose their will on every aspect of your life in trying to make air and water cleaner than God himself ever intended - it appears these out of control green energy goose-steppers stepped into a knee deep pile of their own!

Coming out at a recent congressional hearing we see that not only are their policies a fraud, but the whole agency is an out of control fraud!!!

From USA Today -- 

For years, a senior Environmental Protection Agency employee viewed pornography at work for up to six hours a day. Managers entered fraudulent pay records for work-from-home employees who did no work. A top EPA personnel manager arranged for paid internships for friends and family — and bonuses for her own daughter. Another employee was paid for more than a year after moving to a nursing home.

Those are among the allegations aired Wednesday at a congressional hearing into whether the EPA is capable of policing itself in the aftermath of the John Beale case.

Beale, a former deputy assistant administrator, was convicted last year of theft after he took an EPA paycheck and travel expenses for 13 years while falsely claiming to be out of the office serving as a CIA agent.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Beale's deception was "just the tip of EPA's fraudulent iceberg" and convened the hearing to figure out whether there are systemic management problems at the agency.

The most serious allegation came from investigator from the inspector general's office who testified she was assaulted while questioning an employee of the Office of Homeland Security, an EPA unit unrelated to the Cabinet department. Special Agent Elisabeth Heller Drake said Steven Williams, an EPA senior intelligence adviser, physically obstructed her as she attempted to investigate and that she would have arrested him if he wasn't a government official. Williams did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., called the October 2013 incident "one of the most disturbing things I've heard in 17 years in Congress. ... This is not part of your job description to go through that kind of hell."

The U.S. attorney's office declined to bring assault charges, and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy put a halt to the inspector general's investigation four days later, citing "discord, distrust and conflict" between the two offices. She also asked an outside inspector general to investigate the incident.

EPA spokeswoman Alisha Johnson said the incident "is an isolated instance and does not represent the manner in which the EPA and its Inspector General work cooperatively on a daily basis." She said the administrator called off the investigation "to ensure the safety of all EPA employees" and consult with outside agencies.

EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe told the committee that the EPA has cooperated with 2,600 inspector general audits and investigations since 2009. "The overwhelming majority of the approximately 16,000 EPA employees are dedicated, hardworking, professional public servants — a point on which I know the Inspector General agrees with me." He said he would instruct the Department of Homeland Security to turn over documents related to the investigation Wednesday.

Among other incidents the committee is investigating:

• An unnamed high-level civil service employee had 7,000 pornographic files on his work computer and visited pornographic websites two to six hours a day since 2010. The Justice Department is investigating.

• Office of Administration Director Renee Page sold jewelry and weight loss products from her office during business hours, according to an inspector general's report. The report said she also hired 17 family members and friends as interns, and that she arranged for her daughter, also an EPA employee, to get a cash bonus out of her budget. Page did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

• An EPA employee with a work-from-home job did no work for five years — and still earned a total of $600,000 and performance bonuses. She retired after an inspector general investigation.

• Another unnamed employee kept getting regular paychecks for more than a year after moving to an assisted living facility. The Justice Department is investigating.

Action Alert: Repeal the 16th Amendment

Earlier this week the House voted to hold former IRS gestapo Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for her refusal to answer questions in regards to her role in using the IRS to target Liberty & Tea Party groups.

One of the most destructive forces in America emerged 101 years ago when the 16th Amendment to the Constitution went into effect. It gave Congress the ability to levy taxes on the income of working Americans and in the process, gave us the Internal Revenue Service, the most widely reviled agency in all of government.

The IRS was spawned by the need to enforce the income tax and the only way to eliminate this agency is through constitutional change.

If the IRS was just collecting taxes, that would be one thing. But we now know the IRS has engaged in a systematic campaign of intimidation against us and like-minded Americans. It’s time to Dump the IRS.

From Tea Party Patriots --

Will you join with us in calling for the repeal of the 16th Amendment?

The amendment, which went into effect in 1913, gives the federal government power to levy an income tax. Yet the Internal Revenue Service has time and time again, abused that power to harass law-abiding citizens with opposing political beliefs – including Tea Party Patriots.

It’s also clear that the federal government cannot be trusted to responsibly and efficiently spend our hard-earned tax dollars. We believe there is simply a better way for Americans to pay their taxes. We believe the tax code shouldn’t be so rife with opportunities for fraud and the IRS is an agency with too much power and a demonstrated willingness to abuse its authority. The current tax system is an antiquated model that has no place in the 21stcentury or a free society. All it does is breed corruption and waste – not to mention rampant inefficiency.

Congressman Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma has already introduced legislation to repeal the 16th Amendment. He believes, as we do, that real tax reform won’t happen until Congress loses its constitutional authority to impose an income tax. Let’s help get Rep. Bridenstine’s bill the attention it deserves, and call for full repeal.

It’s time for a change! It’s time for Americans to have more control over their own money, but we need your help.

Visit www.teapartypatriots.org/repeal16/ to sign our petition to repeal the 16th Amendment! There, you’ll also find other resources to help you in the fight for a fair, fixed and flat tax system. With your help, we will make it happen.

To get your Repeal the 16th Amendment Tool Kit and to find out how you can help stop the abusive IRS, click here.