DOD: Nearly 30 Percent of Released Gitmo Detainees Thought to Have Rejoined the Fight Against America

DOD: Nearly 30 Percent of Released Gitmo Detainees Thought to Have Rejoined the Fight Against America | TheBlaze.com:
"A top Defense Department official told the Senate Thursday that nearly 30 percent of terrorist detainees that have been released from Guantanamo Bay have either returned to the fight against the United States, or are suspected of doing so.

But Brian McKeon, a principal deputy under secretary at the Defense Department, also said this so-called “reengagement rate” has fallen under the Obama administration, as officials have taken more time to carefully review the risk of letting these terrorists go."

China’s Monumental Debt Trap—-Why It Will Rock The Global Economy

China’s Monumental Debt Trap—-Why It Will Rock The Global Economy | David Stockman's Contra Corner:

"Bloomberg News finally did something useful this morning by publishing some startling graphs from McKinsey’s latest update on the worldwide debt tsunami.

If you don’t mind a tad of rounding, the planetary debt total now stands at $200 trillion compared to world GDP of just $70 trillion."

Embarrassing: The U.S. Is Ranked 182nd In The World!

Embarrassing: The U.S. Is Ranked 182nd In The Wor... | ClickHole:
"As Americans, we are lucky to live in a first-world country. We have an abundance of wealth and one of the highest standards of living anywhere in the world. That’s why it’s utterly stunning that the United States of America consistently ranks 182nd in the world alphabetically.

Simply put, it’s embarrassing. On a list of 195 countries, the United States is only ahead of 13, and we should be ashamed about that.

While countries like Venezuela and Zimbabwe fall below the United States, it’s the list of countries that have outpaced our country alphabetically that’s truly eye-opening. France is ahead of us. Brazil is ahead of us. That may be shocking enough. But guess what else is alphabetically in front of us? Laos. Ukraine. Even Syria, a country that’s been embroiled in civil war for almost four years now.

It’s time for Americans to take a long, sobering look at this country, and how it ended up all the way down at 182. There’s a lot of hard work to be done, but now is the time. Write to your congressperson and your senators, and demand that they do something about our deplorable ranking—if not for our sake, then for the sake of future generations."

History for February 6

History for February 6 - On-This-Day.com
Christopher Marlowe 1564, Aaron Burr 1756, Babe Ruth 1895 


Ronald Wilson Reagan (U.S.) 1911, Zsa Zsa Gabor 1919, Bob Marley 1945 - Musican (The Wailers, Bob Marley and the Wailers)


1778 - The United States gained official recognition from France as the two nations signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris. 


1900 - The Holland Senate ratified the 1899 peace conference decree that created in international arbitration court at The Hague. 


1926 - The National Football League adopted a rule that made players ineligible for competition until their college class graduated. 


1932 - Dog sled racing happened for the first time in Olympic competition. 


1952 - Britain's King George VI died. His daughter, Elizabeth II, succeeded him. 


1998 - Washington National Airport was renamed for U.S. President Ronald Reagan with the signing of a bill by U.S. President Clinton. 


1999 - Excerpts of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky's videotaped testimony were shown at President Clinton's impeachment trial. 

Air Force Overlooks Disrespectful Display of the American Flag in Favor of Political Correctness | TheBlaze.com

Air Force Overlooks Disrespectful Display of the American Flag in Favor of Political Correctness | TheBlaze.com:

"I cannot fly a Christian flag. I cannot have a “Christmas” party at work. It has to be a “holiday” party. The point of this message isn’t anti-gay. It’s a fundamental shift of loyalty and allegiance. It is a political statement. I cannot publicly endorse a candidate for office while in uniform, but I can openly tell the world that I am LGBT. If they are proud of the leaps and bounds that the [Department of Defense]D has made with the repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell,” then put up a rainbow flag and call it a day. But when you add the Union, it becomes a political statement. And that, my fellow Americans, is unacceptable."

NBC’s Brian Williams Caught in Another Major Lie, and this One’s As Bad as the First

NBC’s Brian Williams Caught in Another Major Lie, and this One’s As Bad as the First:

"For over 12 years, Brian Williams has told the story about being in a helicopter when it was shot down as he was covering the Iraq War and the soldier who saved his life. There’s only one problem; that story never actually happened."

VIDEO: Obama: Illegal Aliens are ‘American Just Like Us; They Belong Here’

VIDEO: Obama: Illegal Aliens are ‘American Just Like Us; They Belong Here’:

"Obama said the young illegal aliens are already reaping the benefits of his illegal amnesty, saying that their lives have been “transformed,” and that all Americans agree that they have every right to stay here illegally, referring to the lawbreakers by the Orwellian term, “dreamers.”

It Is About To Get Ugly: Oil Is Crashing And So Is Greece

It Is About To Get Ugly: Oil Is Crashing And So Is Greece:
"The price of oil collapsed by more than 8 percent on Wednesday, and a decision by the European Central Bank has Greece at the precipice of a complete and total financial meltdown.  
What a difference 24 hours can make. 
On Tuesday, things really seemed like they were actually starting to get better. 
The price of oil had rallied by more than 20 percent since last Thursday, things in Europe seemed like they were settling down, and there appeared to be a good deal of optimism about how global financial markets would perform this month.
But now fear is back in a big way. 
...A stunning decision that the European Central Bank has just made has set the stage for a major showdown in Europe.
The ECB has decided that it will no longer accept Greek government bonds as collateral from Greek banks...."

Pedophilia Is Not a Crime, Says Rutgers Prof Margo Kaplan

Pedophilia Is Not a Crime, Says Rutgers Prof Margo Kaplan | News | Philadelphia Magazine
In the Monday edition of the New York Times, the Rutgers-Camden law professor, an NYU and Harvard graduate, takes to the op-ed pages to argue that we’ve got it all wrong when it comes to pedophilia. 
She writes that pedophiles don’t necessarily turn out to be child molesters and that pedophilia is not a choice, i.e. a pedophile might be born that way.
We reached her in her office in Camden to discuss.
Yes, but I have to be honest. I am getting more emails of support than I ever expected.
I’m shocked.
I expected to get maybe 95% negative emails, but I’ve gotten so many positive ones. 
The online comments, though, are pretty uniformly negative, and a lot of people haven’t even read the article.

Fox News Analyst Says Islamic State Having ‘Time of Their Lives’ Over Pilot-Burning Video — Then Adds a Gigantic Slap in Their Face | Video | TheBlaze.com

Fox News Analyst Says Islamic State Having ‘Time of Their Lives’ Over Pilot-Burning Video — Then Adds a Gigantic Slap in Their Face | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"Former U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters, a Fox News strategic analyst, told Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that the video purportedly of a Jordanian pilot being burned alive by the Islamic State indicates that the terror organization is “having the the time of their lives” and is not acting out of desperation.

“It was a brilliant recruiting video,” Peters told Hannity. “Those guys who burned that young man alive, they’re having the time of their lives. This kind of violence is captivating, exhilarating, thrilling to these guys. It’s never going to get better for them than this. They have power now. They can exert their will over others.”

Then Peters offered this blunt assessment:"

Thankfully, there's LOTS of extra money laying around that Kerry/Obama can give to foreign governments...right?---------John Kerry Visits Kiev, Pledges $16.4M in Aid Amid Calls to Arm Ukraine

John Kerry Visits Kiev, Pledges $16.4M in Aid Amid Calls to Arm Ukraine - NBC News.com
"KIEV, Ukraine — Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in snowbound Kiev Thursday amid calls for Washington to begin arming Ukraine in its fight against pro-Russian separatists in the east.
Kerry announced $16.4 million in aid to help Ukrainians affected by the escalating violence in the east as the rebels advance.
More than 5,000 people have already died in the conflict.
"The funding will be used to support the Ukrainian government's response to the crisis caused by Russia's aggressive actions," the State Department said in a statement.
...Washington has given its clearest signal yet that it is considering providing weapons to Ukraine. President Barack Obama's pick for defense secretary, Ashton Carter, told a Senate committee he would "very much incline" toward supplying "lethal arms" to Ukraine."

IRS commissioner admits something most taxpayers have been saying for decades

IRS commissioner admits something most taxpayers have been saying for decades | TheBlaze.com:
"IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Tuesday admitted that the tax code is too complicated, and that it should be simplified.
“You are correct, the tax code has gotten to be extremely unwieldy,” Koskinen told the Senate Finance Committee."

But, but.... the industry provided SOOOO much political contributions!----- Proof that the wind industry cannot be relied upon for our electricity

Proof that the wind industry cannot be relied upon for our electricity - Telegraph:
It’s not been a good few days for the wind industry, one of the most highly subsidised parts of the UK economy.
The cold weather means that the public is, naturally enough, consuming far more energy to keep warm.
Electricity demand reached its highest level this winter on Monday, as my colleague Emily Gosden reports, and yet on that very same day wind turbines generated their lowest output of the season.
It was an embarassing moment for an over-hyped industry.
...The figures reveal that wind output fell at one point on Monday to just 0.354GW, 0.75pc of the country’s needs. 
To put this in perspective, there is roughly 12GW of wind capacity, and the windfarms operate on average at 28pc of their theoretical maximum capacity.
But those average figures have been of very little use when we actually need vast amounts of electricity. 
In fact, these numbers are a complete catastrophe and are a devastating indictment of years of UK energy policy, which has focused far too much on wind and been based on unrealistic targets and expectations.
For all the vast subsidies it has been given, the wind industry is not fit for purpose..."

Veterans Group Claims to Have Uncovered Potentially Significant Truth About Chris Kyle’s Alleged Killer | TheBlaze.com

Veterans Group Claims to Have Uncovered Potentially Significant Truth About Chris Kyle’s Alleged Killer | TheBlaze.com:

"Eddie Ray Routh, the Marine veteran accused of murdering legendary Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in cold blood, will soon stand trial for murder. Meanwhile, a veterans group is claiming to have uncovered a significant detail that — if true — could have an impact on the case."

Glenn Beck: The World Needs to See the Depravity of the Islamic State (GRAPHIC) | TheBlaze.com

Glenn Beck: The World Needs to See the Depravity of the Islamic State (GRAPHIC) | TheBlaze.com:
"WARNING: Graphic images and video below.
We as a company have aired or released many horrible images in our short tenure as a media outlet, none of which have risen to the level of depravity of the images of Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh’s death.
We had chosen not to release these images out of respect for the victim, his family and his countrymen, but also because we do not wish to spread fear and the message of psychopathic killers.

This morning, I, as the owner and operator of TheBlaze, have changed my mind.
After looking at the images again, I believe it is important for the world to see them. We have been lured into a poppy field where we have fallen fast asleep as grave danger quickly approaches."
I struggled with this one.  I think Glenn is right. People must know about the evil in this ideology. Evil is evil.

IRS Cover-Up Expands to Justice Department

IRS Cover-Up Expands to Justice Department - Breitbart:
In an interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News about a year ago, President Obama said that President Richard Nixon was actually more liberal in his policies than Obama is.

But, while comparing their policies, Obama conveniently left out one chilling similarity:  Both presidents used the virtually unbridled power and authority of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to target their political opponents.
In fact, in many respects Obama’s IRS abuses actually have been much worse than Nixon’s.

It was in May 2013 that the Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration (TIGTA) releasedan audit report confirming that the IRS used “inappropriate” criteria to identify, hamstring, and handcuff conservative organizations that stand in opposition to the administration’s policies. In short, it violated the First Amendment rights of countless Americans just as Obama sought reelection.  If you want to know how an election is stolen in plain sight, this is how.

.....I urge you to read and widely share today’s piece entitled “ABCs of IRS mess: Justice Department is tainted, too” in the New York Post by our lead investigative reporter Micah Morrison.  Micah lays out in painstaking detail, including some never-before-revealed facts, about what is obvious to any honest American:  that the Obama Justice Department can’t be trusted to investigate the Obama Justice Department.  
...If the Senate is to confirm Ms. Lynch (and that is a big “if” – see below), it should require the appointment of a special counsel that can begin, finally, to investigate seriously the worst abuse of the IRS by a president in memory.  This is the least the Senate should do because, as I noted with Nixon, a president has resigned for less.

What could possibly go wrong?------A Marijuana First: Pot Vending Machines Dispense Weed

A Marijuana First: Pot Vending Machines Dispense Weed - NBC News.com:
"Weed history is being made in Seattle: the first vending machines to dispense marijuana flower buds debuted Tuesday.
The machines, called ZaZZZ, are being placed in medical pot dispensaries, which helps to verify customer's age and identity since medical marijuana cards are required to enter the centers, said Greg Patrick, a spokesman for the maker of ZaZZZ, American Green.
Though vending machines appeared for the first time in Colorado last year, those sold only edibles, or cannabis-infused foods, and not the plant's flower buds that are so often associated with smoking pot.
"It's historic, there's just no other way to state it.
We saw the repeal of prohibition in the early 20th century and the mark that made on our country and the companies that did it right," Patrick said.
"We're in that stage.
This will only happen once in our country's history, the repeal of this prohibition."
The machines have a touchscreen where buyers can make orders, play video games and read medical information about the products.
..."Once you swipe your ID, you can go shopping on the screen," Patrick said.
"You can be in and out — literally — in a matter of minutes."
..."That machine is like a miniature little Fort Knox," Patrick said."

Playing Politics with the Weather

Playing Politics with the Weather | National Review Online:
"To this end, McCarthy repeats the claim made by NASA GISS that 2014 was the hottest year on record.
The Daily Mail was virtually the only newspaper to point out the deceitful nature of the claim. NASA’s announcement did not explain that, based on its own figures, there was only a 38 percent chance that the 2014 record was accurate. 
If it had adhered to IPCC standards on the treatment of uncertainties, the NASA press release would have had to qualify its announcement by saying,
“2014 is about as likely as not to have been the hottest year.”
One of the most damaging casualties of the climate wars is scientific integrity.
When a public scientific agency such as NASA subordinates its integrity to a political agenda and when climate scientists use their standing to criticize one side in a political debate but fail to correct the errors and exaggerations made by their partisans in the political arena, the public loses faith in science.
 Republicans expressing doubt about claims of future catastrophic climate change are condemned for being “against science,” while the media give those on the alarmist side a free pass, whatever foolish or wrongheaded things they might say.
A commonly deployed distortion is the extreme-weather gambit. 
The IPCC has formally stated that it has “low confidence” in observed changes in climate extremes (defined as extreme weather or climate event) since 1950; despite this, alarmists continually make unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, a theme of Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech at the climate conference in Lima two months ago. 
No climate scientist called out Kerry for saying a year ago that “the science is absolutely certain,” a ludicrous claim to make about a relatively new field studying a system characterized by, in the words of the IPCC, “chaotic variations on a vast range of spatial and temporal scales.”"

Listen to WH Spokesman’s Answer After Fox’s Ed Henry Asks If Obama Supports Jordan’s Terrorist Executions

Listen to WH Spokesman’s Answer After Fox’s Ed Henry Asks If Obama Supports Jordan’s Terrorist Executions | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"After the Islamic State released a graphic video of its terrorists burning a Jordanian pilot to death in a cage, Jordan executed two prisoners, including a would-be female Al Qaeda suicide bomber. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest refused to say whether President Barack Obama supports Jordan’s retaliatory response.

“When you said, ‘I don’t have a reaction to it’ — I mean, how can the president, yesterday, say, you know, ‘We’re here, we support Jordan, they are a key member of the coalition.’ They make this decision overnight and you can’t say whether or not your support the executions?” Fox News reporter Ed Henry asked."

Saint Louis University to erect monument honoring anti-police protest

Saint Louis University to erect monument honoring anti-police protest:
"Saint Louis University has commissioned a sculpture to be erected on campus that administrators say they hope “captures the spirit and importance” of a weeklong “Occupy SLU” protest last fall on the urban campus that decried oppression, racism, racial profiling and police tactics.
For six days in mid-October, community activists refused to leave the St. Louis campus in a protest intended as an extension of the summertime riots that had wracked nearby Ferguson over the police shooting of Michael Brown.
Three social justice groups – Tribe X, the Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equality, and the Black Student Alliance – took over the campus and lived in tents around its clock tower.
Flying an upside-down American flag, they gave speeches and “teach ins” on topics such as “conscious awakening, systematic oppression, white supremacy, and students’ responsibility to the community,” according to a YouTube video that documented the demonstration.
The demonstrators left only after the university agreed to all 13 of their demands, one of which was a “mutually agreed upon commissioned artwork.”
That agreement has now been dubbed the “Clock Tower Accords” by campus leaders of the private, Jesuit university, who recently announced they have “commissioned renowned African American artists and sculptors Kyle and Kelly Phelps to design a sculpture that captures the spirit and importance of the demonstration and encampment at Saint Louis University on October 13-18, 2014.”

Debt mountains spark fears of another crisis

Debt mountains spark fears of another crisis - FT.com
The world is awash with more debt than before the global financial crisis erupted in 2007, with China’s debt relative to its economic size now exceeding US levels, according to a report.
Global debt has increased by $57tn since 2007 to almost $200tn — far outpacing economic growth, calculates McKinsey & Co, the consultancy.
As a share of gross domestic product, debt has risen from 270 per cent to 286 per cent.
FirstFT is our new essential daily email briefing of the best stories from across the web
McKinsey’s survey of debt across 47 countries — illustrated in an FT interactive graphic — highlights how hopes that the turmoil of the past eight years would spur widespread “deleveraging” to safer levels of indebtedness were misplaced.
The report calls for “fresh approaches” to preventing future debt crises.
“Overall debt relative to gross domestic product is now higher in most nations than it was before the crisis,” McKinsey reports. “Higher levels of debt pose questions about financial stability.”
Overall, almost half of the increase in global debt since 2007 was in developing economies, but a third was the result of higher government debt levels in advanced economies.
Households have also increased debt levels across economies — the most notable exceptions being crisis-hit countries such as Ireland and the US.

History for February 5

History for February 5 - On-This-Day.com
Belle Starr 1848, William Burroughs 1914, Red Buttons (Aaron Chwatt) 1919 


Henry "Hank" Aaron 1934, Roger Staubach 1942, Christopher Guest 1948 


1861 - Samuel Goodale patented the moving picture peep show machine. 


1885 - Congo State was established under Leopold II of Belgium, as a personal possession. 


1917 - The U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 (Asiatic Barred Zone Act) with an overwhelming majority. The action overrode President Woodrow Wilson's December 14, 1916 veto. 


1994 - White separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, MS, of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. 


1997 - Investment bank Morgan Stanley announced a $10 billion merger with Dean Witter. 


2001 - Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced their separation. 

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2015/02/unilateral-rulers-by-tammy-derouin.html

Unilateral Rulers

By Tammy Derouin

The loyalty of the executive, the Pres-a-king, is no longer in question.  He openly defies our law, the law of the land which he swore to uphold and protect.  He gets a twinkle in his eyes as nothing short of giddiness takes over his demeanor, as he enthusiastically proclaims he will do what he feels is best for the country, meaning he will do whatever he wants.  You can place a pretty safe bet that if it will harm America, he will embrace it.  If it will help America, he will destroy it.  Oh, and if you question or protest his actions, you become a target of the federal government. 

It isn’t his job to impose his will by creating laws.  It’s his job to faithfully execute the laws of the land and defend our country.  I am convinced, more and more with each passing day, that he studied the Constitution in order to dismantle it. 

Rulers, such as kings and dictators have unilateral power to use their pen and their phone to act on a whim.  They surround themselves with Yes Men, which serves two purposes.  First, just in case the ruler should have any doubt about his actions or lack thereof, the Yes Men are within reach for a collective “nod” to the ruler.  Second, should anything happen which would not look favorably on the ruler, the Yes Men are readily available to be thrown under the bus.  The ruler will never be at fault.