Trey Gowdy Says He Still Doesn’t Have the Answer to ‘Really Important Question’ on Benghazi Attacks | Video | TheBlaze.com

Trey Gowdy Says He Still Doesn’t Have the Answer to ‘Really Important Question’ on Benghazi Attacks | Video | TheBlaze.com:

“I’ve got a couple of choices. I can issue a report and just tell your viewers — and my fellow citizens — we gave up, we didn’t make them give us the stuff, or I can say, you know what, I’m going to be criticized no matter what I do, so why don’t I just wait and get the documents that we’re entitled to,” Gowdy said in response frustrations on how long the hearings are taking.

Gowdy says the committee is “getting close” to a conclusion and has only approximately 12 more interviews to conduct."

Why is Congress hell-bent on releasing thousands of dangerous criminals from federal prison early?

Why is Congress hell-bent on releasing thousands of dangerous criminals from federal prison early? - NetRight Daily:
"...What is worse however, is that while they are talking about President Obama enforcing the laws against criminal misuse of firearms that are on the books, Congressional Republicans are moving forward with plans to pass legislation reducing sentencing guidelines for those caught possessing a gun while committing a drug offense.
That’s right.
At a time when Baltimore broke its annual homicide record and Chicago has returned to the days of Capone with eleven murders in the first week of the new year, a bi-partisan supported criminal justice reform measure would put a Republican rubber stamp on the release of thousands of major drug dealers back onto the streets from which they were forcibly removed.
What could go wrong?..."

Universities Hide 100,000 Foreign White-Collar H-1B Employees

Universities Hide 100,000 Foreign White-Collar H-1B Employees - The DENISE SIMON EXPERIENCE Blog:
So, exactly which agency has sent a memo to selected universities across the country to hide these numbers?
Who issued this edict? Heh….only one guess.
In order to hire an H-1B worker in place of a U.S. citizen or green card holder, the hiring company must show that there is no “minimally qualified” citizen or green card holder to take the job. Recruiting such minimally qualified candidates is generally done through advertising: if nobody responds to the ad then there must not be any minimally qualified candidates. 
Example: Employers are posting jobs that don’t really exist, seeking candidates they don’t want, and paying for bogus non-ads to show there’s an IT labor shortage in America. 
Except of course there isn’t an IT labor shortage.
Industry executives and university advocates have successfully duped nearly every reporter, editor and anchor nationwide about the scale and purpose of the H-1B professional outsourcing program.
Read on and get ANGRY!!

Lunch video-----Don't know if this is pro or con Trump, but it is great!-----"Make America Great Again"

Noon-toon

BOOM: Charlie Daniels Responds to Gun Speech With 1 Tweet That Proves Obama's a Fraud

BOOM: Charlie Daniels Responds to Gun Speech With 1 Tweet That Proves Obama's a Fraud:

"The list goes on and on. Obama has done more to put Americans in danger through his lack of action than any legal gun-owning American ever has. If President Obama really wanted to make Americans safer he would resign effective immediately. Unfortunately that isn’t going to happen."

‘Sneaky’ high school caught recruiting students for Hillary’s campaign

‘Sneaky’ high school caught recruiting students for Hillary’s campaign | EAGnews.org:
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine – A Maine high school was busted this week for soliciting unpaid “fellows” – students – to work for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

“Hillary for New Hampshire is looking for smart, energetic winter fellows who are committed to winning the New Hampshire primary for Hillary Clinton,” read an email sent by a campaign staffer that was forwarded to Marshwood High School students’ email addresses, according to Fox News.

...“My son didn’t appreciate being targeted by anybody via his school email for a political campaign,” Elita Galvin told Fox News. “I’ll be honest – he’s not a fan of Hillary Clinton to begin with. He’s done his homework and he doesn’t like her.”

The Galvins contacted principal Paul Mahlhorn, and shared his emailed response with Fox News.

In it, Mahlhorn doesn’t seem very concerned his school is being used as a recruiting ground for Clinton, and told the Galvins it would do the same for any campaign that requested assistance.

“We often receive information from outside sources regarding opportunities for students to get involved in their communities,” Mahlhorn wrote in the email. “We pass on this information to provide students with ways they may meet the requirement to perform 50 hours of community service to graduate.”

“If other ‘campaigns’ were to seek volunteers, we would pass that on also,” he wrote.

But shortly after Fox News contacted district superintendent Mary Nash, the principal changed his tune...

These are the democrats who want to disarm honest Americans-----Philly Mayor: The Jihadist Who Shot Police Officer Has ‘Nothing To Do With Being A Muslim’

Philly Mayor: The Jihadist Who Shot Police Officer Has ‘Nothing To Do With Being A Muslim’
Philly Mayor: The Jihadist Who Shot Police Officer Has ‘Nothing To Do With Being A Muslim 

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said “in no way, shape or form does anyone in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam has anything to do with what you have see on that screen.”

SHOCK POLL: 20% of likely Democratic voters to cross over, vote Trump

SHOCK POLL: 20% of likely Democratic voters to cross over, vote Trump | The American Mirror: "A shocking new survey released Friday by Mercury Analytics finds nearly 20% of the likely Democratic voters polled would cross over in the general election and vote for Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
When crossover voters were asked how sure they were, 63% of the Democrats who said they would crossover were “100% sure.”
Mercury Analytics dial-tested Trump’s first campaign ad, which touches on a variety of issues including ISIS, radical Islamic terrorism and illegal immigration.
The firm found 25% of Democrats “agree completely” that the ad raised some good points;  while 44% of Democrats agree “completely” or “somewhat.”"

Must read of the day!-----The End of Modernity

The End of Modernity | Hoover Institution:
"The era called “modern” inexorably began to come to its end when, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, a concatenation of foretold events unraveled the so-called modern world order.
As always, the foreordained collapse was generated from internal weakness.
We need to look no further than Europe to understand why.
It has become evident that the European Union, a contrivance designed to do away with the structural elements of that international order—the state as its basic unit and the sovereign borders of its various nations—created nothing in its place capable of coping with an economic crisis, fending off threats to its security, or absorbing history’s Great Migration.
 Long before this, however, the modern international system, which had welcomed into its ranks Muslims in more than a score of delineated “states,” had begun to feel the rise of believers dedicated to overthrowing the military, monarchical, and autocratic regimes of those very state entities formed in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and Caliphate after the First World War.
The dynamism of this cause would, by the twenty-first century, produce two massive Muslim powers:

• The Islamic Republic of Iran which, by its 1979 Revolution, won recognition as a state in the modern world order while at the same time vowing to destroy that very system; 
• and, a generation later, the fearsome rise of the Islamic State, which by its title proclaimed the goal of all the faithful: a new world order ruled by one, and only one, Order. 

Thus eventuated the fulfillment of American speculation that the only serious challenge to the modern international state system could come if events such as the 9/11 attacks were, in the words of Francis Fukuyama, “driven by a systematic idea of political and social justice that claims to supersede liberalism.”
Precisely so: Islam claimed to be advancing a political and social model that rivaled and would replace Western modernity..."

A "Perfect Storm Is Coming" Deutsche Warns As Baltic Dry Falls To New Record Low

A "Perfect Storm Is Coming" Deutsche Warns As Baltic Dry Falls To New Record Low | Zero Hedge
Following disappointing China PMI data and a collapse in US ISM Manufacturing imports data, the fact that The Baltic Dry Index has collapsed to fresh record lows will hardly be a surprise to many. 
However,as Deutsche Bank warns, a "perfect storm" is brewing in the dry bulk industry, as year-end improvements in rates failed to materialize, which indicates a looming surge in bankruptcies.

At 468, The Baltic Dry Index is now at a new record low...

And US Manufacturing imports suggest things are getting worse, not better...

Democratic Party Is Asking the Pentagon for Dirt on Republican 2016 Candidates, Report Says | TheBlaze.com

Democratic Party Is Asking the Pentagon for Dirt on Republican 2016 Candidates, Report Says | TheBlaze.com:

 "The Democratic Party has filed a flurry of public information requests with the Pentagon, looking for something damaging that could be used against Republican candidates like Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Ky.), according to a report today.

Democrats are also targeting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina with their Freedom of Information Act requests, Politico reported."

Do we really want more of this?-----Immigrants in the Workforce, State by State and Industry By Industry

Immigrants in the Workforce, State by State and Industry By Industry:
"A new interactive tool from The Pew Charitable Trusts compares immigrant labor force to U.S-born workers."
...At the na­tion­al level, im­mig­rant work­ers are dis­trib­uted dif­fer­ently across in­dus­tries than their U.S.-born coun­ter­parts.
Im­mig­rants are more likely than U.S.-born work­ers to hold jobs in six of the 13 ma­jor in­dus­tries ex­amined, in­clud­ing man­u­fac­tur­ing and ad­min­is­trat­ive ser­vices.

History for January 9

History for January 9 - On-This-Day.com:
Simone de Beauvoir 1908, Richard Milhous Nixon (U.S.) 1913, Bart Starr 1934 - Football player 


Bob Denver 1935, Joan Baez 1941, Jimmy Page 1944 - Musician (Led Zeppelin) 


1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduced income tax, at two shillings (10p) in the pound, to raise funds for the Napoleonic Wars. 


1902 - New York State introduced a bill to outlaw flirting in public. 


1929 - The Seeing Eye was incorporated in Nashville, TN. The company's purpose was to train dogs to guide the blind. 


1969 - The supersonic aeroplane Concorde made its first trial flight, at Bristol. 


1984 - Clara Peller was first seen by TV viewers in the "Where's the Beef?" commercial campaign for Wendy's. 


1997 - Tamil rebels attacked a military base in Sri Lanka. 200 soldiers and 140 rebels were killed. 


2002 - The U.S. Justice Department announced that it was pursuing a criminal investigation of Enron Corp. The company had filed for bankruptcy on December 2, 2001. 


2007 - Steve Jobs, Apple Inc.'s CEO, announced the first generation iPhone. 

Police: Suspect in Attempted ‘Execution’ of Philadelphia Officer Claims He Did It in Name of Islam | TheBlaze.com

Police: Suspect in Attempted ‘Execution’ of Philadelphia Officer Claims He Did It in Name of Islam | TheBlaze.com:

"The suspect accused of ambushing a Philadelphia police officer in his cruiser on Thursday night has reportedly told police he did it in the name of Islam.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who was sworn in Tuesday, said the 30-year-old suspect fired 13 shots at 33-year-old officer Jesse Hartnett. Hartnett was struck three times, but later returned fire, also shooting the suspect three times."

Alabama Becomes Second State to Sue Federal Government Over Refugee Program | TheBlaze.com

Alabama Becomes Second State to Sue Federal Government Over Refugee Program | TheBlaze.com:

"MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama on Thursday became the second state to sue the U.S. government over refugee resettlement, accusing the Obama administration of failing to consult with states on placement of those who have fled their home countries.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Birmingham, said Jennifer Ardis, spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Robert Bentley."

Former Federal Prosecutor Predicts Hillary Clinton May Be Indicted in Next 60 Days — Here’s Why | TheBlaze.com

Former Federal Prosecutor Predicts Hillary Clinton May Be Indicted in Next 60 Days — Here’s Why | TheBlaze.com:

"DiGenova added, “I believe that the evidence that the FBI is compiling will be so compelling that, unless [Attorney General Loretta Lynch] agrees to the charges, there will be a massive revolt inside the FBI, which she will not be able to survive as an attorney general. It will be like Watergate. It will be unbelievable.”

Washington Post admits that, no: electric cars were NOT worth it.

Washington Post admits that, no: electric cars were NOT worth it. | RedState:
At least, if you use the rule of thumb that any time you ask a question in a headline then the answer is always going to be ‘no:’ “The government has spent a lot on electric cars, but was it worth it?”  
And the answer to the question is no in this case, too. 
There are three ways that the Washington Post... could have worked that out ahead of time, in fact; all it had to do was look more closely at the title.

• “The government.”  That’s your first clue that something went wrong here.  I’m not a hard-shelled libertarian; I actually think that there are things that we need a government for, like killing our enemies and making sure that a pound in Bangor weighs the same as a pound in San Diego (standardized weights and measures are things that you don’t miss until they’re gone). But when you’re going into the economic sphere, well, duplicating the success of the free market is something that is far outside of the comfort zone, or basic competency level, of your average government bureaucrat.
• “Spent a lot.”  It’s a common mistake to think that putting X dollars into a government program will consistently produce Y results. Sometimes you get Y. Sometimes you get Y/3. Sometimes you get nothing.  And, unfortunately, sometimes after you get nothing you try to fix the problem by dumping another X’s worth of money into the mix.  Do this enough times and people start saying that you’ve “spent a lot.”
• “Electric cars.” This one is noteworthy for what it doesn’t say.  Basically, it was never exactly spelled out by the government why it wanted electric cars. Or, rather, the real reason why the government wanted electric cars: I mean, we all understand that there was going to be no reduction in pollution, yes?  The energy that would be needed to run these things has to come from somewhere, and it almost certainly would be gotten by burning other things.  But I suppose that the government couldn’t just come out and say A lot of people who were useful to us during the election wanted some of that sweet, sweet taxpayer money. If for no other reason than we would have ripped into them for it.

But, hey. At least the Washington Post is letting explanations surface now. Admittedly, it’s far too late to save taxpayers any significant amounts of money, but what can you expect from a crony media?

S.O.S. for a Declining American Navy

S.O.S. for a Declining American Navy - WSJ
Late last week China confirmed that it is building its first aircraft carrier from scratch, adding to a fleet that includes a Russian-made carrier.
The news cast U.S. military policy in a particularly unsettling light:
While China’s naval power expands, America has deliberately reduced its presence on the seas. 
The Navy—after nearly $1 trillion of Defense Department cuts, in part mandated by the 2011 budget-sequestration deal between Congress and the Obama administration—is already down to 272 ships. That means the U.S. fleet is less than half its size at the close of the Reagan administration nearly 30 years ago (and down by 13 ships since 2009).
...Secretary Carter’s plan implies that the deterrent effect of a constant U.S. presence in the world is less important than the Navy’s ability to fight and win wars with the advanced weapons he favors.
That assumption is mistaken.
We need both the ability to be present, which demands more ships than we have, and the related power to win a war if deterrence doesn’t work.
Even the Navy’s now-endangered plan for 308 new ships was far below the approximately 350 combat ships needed to achieve this aim.
With danger rising around the world, from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea, the increasing military and economic threats cannot be ignored.
Here is what an expansion of the Navy to the 350 ships needed to safeguard national security would look like:
• Aircraft carriers. Applying power requires the anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare, surveillance and strike ability of aircraft carriers.
It requires an increase from the congressionally legislated level of 11 aircraft carriers to 16, enough so that we could maintain at least one carrier strike group in the West Pacific, the Persian Gulf, and return powerful U.S. naval forces to the Mediterranean.
Read on!

Inspector General: Clinton State Department Gave ‘Inaccurate and Incomplete’ Response to Email Inquiry Two Years Before Revelation of Private Server | TheBlaze.com

Inspector General: Clinton State Department Gave ‘Inaccurate and Incomplete’ Response to Email Inquiry Two Years Before Revelation of Private Server | TheBlaze.com:

"A new report has found that the State Department gave an “inaccurate and incomplete” response to a 2012 records request regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email practices."

The Victims of Minimum Wage Hikes

The Victims of Minimum Wage Hikes | Economics21
"Hiking the minimum wage killed almost as many low-end jobs as did the economic collapse.
This is University of California-San Diego Professor Jeffrey Clemens’ conclusion from his just published supplement to his landmark 2014 study.
He says that federal minimum wage hikes from 2006 to 2009 accounted for 43 percent of the decline in employment among young, low-skilled workers during the Great Recession.
Young, low-skilled workers— defined as individuals between 16 and 30 without a high school degree— are the most likely to be hurt by minimum wage hikes because they are the least likely to have skills that employers consider valuable.
Businesses might be willing to take on these individuals at low wages in order to train them before moving them up to higher-paying work.
But when the government sets a high minimum wage, that first step on the career path might disappear.
Clemens’ new study confirms this longstanding theory.
Young, low-skilled workers were hit hard by the minimum wage, while most other groups were relatively unaffected.
Several strengths set the Clemens study and its predecessor (coauthored by Michael Wither) apart from a large body of research on the minimum wage.
Not least among them is its time frame.
The paper covers a seven-year period from 2006 to 2012, unlike other studies such as the oft-cited 1994 paper by David Card and Alan Krueger.
That paper, which found no negative effect of the minimum wage, only looked at a period of eleven months.
The time frame is critical because the damaging effects of minimum wage increases are often delayed. 
Immediately after a wage hike, businesses usually do not wish to significantly alter their business plans.
Instead of laying off workers, they might raise prices or cut back on fringe benefits.
But after one or two years, fewer businesses will open, existing businesses will close faster, and fewer jobs will be available.
Clemens’ study is unique in that it separates out workers by both age and skill level, to isolate where the worst effects of the minimum wage occur.
The finding that young people without a high school degree are hurt the most does not bode well for minority communities: high school graduation rates are lower for black (68 percent) and Hispanic (76 percent) students than for white (85 percent) and Asian (93 percent) students.
 This may be one of the reasons that the white teen unemployment rate, at 14 percent, is so much lower than the black teen unemployment rate of 24 percent.

‘The Force Awakens’ isn’t really the box office champ

‘The Force Awakens’ isn’t really the box office champ | New York Post:
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will pass “Avatar” as the top-grossing film ever in North America on Wednesday as Tuesday’s $8 million take puts it just $2 million short of the previous record of $760.5 million.
...If you factor in inflation, “The Force Awakens” currently ranks in 21st place among all films in terms of actual tickets sold, just behind “Raiders of the Lost Ark” but far, far behind the two chart-toppers: “Gone With the Wind” ($1.7 billion) and the original “Star Wars” ($1.5 billion).
(Various factors make it impossible to adjust international grosses, an increasingly important source of Hollywood revenue, for inflation.)

Lunch video-----OBAMA’S “STREISAND EFFECT” PRESIDENCY

OBAMA’S “STREISAND EFFECT” PRESIDENCY, as diagnosed by Mark Hemingway of the Weekly Standard.

OBAMA’S “STREISAND EFFECT” PRESIDENCY, as diagnosed by Mark Hemingway of the Weekly Standard. “When you say there’s peace and security in Syria, you’re not convincing anyone that’s the case…Recall that Obama told Bill O’Reilly in his Super Bowl interview a few years back that there was ‘not a smidgen of corruption’ at the IRS…What about ‘Obamacare is working’?”

Unless you’re already on Team Obama, this kind of denial is polarizing at best and infuriating at worst. So why do they do it? Well, the general rule in Washington is never assume malice when incompetence and arrogance will suffice. It’s more than possible that Obama and those in his administration are in a bubble. Indeed, that was heavily suggested by the recent fracas when The New York Times reported—then memory-holed—a report where Obama said he underestimated how much the recent ISIS attack in San Bernardino had spooked Americans because he didn’t watch cable news.

The more sinister reading would be that this is the Obama administration brazenly lying because that’s how theirtheory of “stray voltage” works:

Read the whole thing, which helps to explain, as Bill Whittle noted in one of his Firewall videos in 2014, why it often feels to Americans as if they’re being gaslighted by the Obama administration: