Dem Constitutional Prof levels serious charges against Obama

Liberal Jonathan Turley accuses Congress of inert passivity in face of Obama overreaches

Professor Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., warned Congress during a hearing Wednesday that the legislative branch of the U.S. government is in danger of becoming irrelevant in the face of continued executive overreach. Turley stated America has reached a “constitutional tipping point” under the watch of President Barack Obama.

“My view [is] that the president has in fact, exceeded his authority in a way that is creating a destabilizing influence in a three branch system,” Turley said. “I want to emphasize, of course, this problem didn’t begin with President Obama, I was critical of his predecessor, President Bush, as well — but the rate at which executive power has been concentrated in our system is accelerating. And frankly, I am very alarmed by the implications of that aggregation of power.”

“What also alarms me, however, is that the two other branches appear not just simply passive, but inert, in the face of this concentration of authority,” he added. Liberal Turley acknowledged he agrees with many of the president’s policies and positions — just not the way the White House has gone about implementing them.

“The fact that I happen to think the president is right on many of these policies does not alter the fact that I believe the means he is doing [it] is wrong, and that this can be a dangerous change in our system,” he said. “And our system is changing — in a very fundamental way. And it’s changing without a whimper of regret or opposition.”

Turley stressed that Congress must take action if it wants to hold onto its power as the “thumping heart of our system.”

“We are now at the constitutional tipping point for our system. If balance is to be reestablished, it must begin before this president leaves office and that will likely require every possible means to reassert legislative authority,” he said.

“No one in our system can ‘go it alone’ — not Congress, not the courts, and not the president. We are stuck with each other in a system of shared powers — for better or worse. We may deadlock or even despise each other. The framers clearly foresaw such periods. They lived in such a period. Whatever problems we are facing today in politics, they are problems of our own making. They should not be used to take from future generations a system that has safeguarded our freedoms for over 250 years,” Turley warned.

Watch Turley’s testimony.

H/T Washington Free Beacon

Will she fight for the flag she won’t salute?

The Army Times reports Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey, a soldier who hid in her car to avoid saluting the flag — and then flaunted her unpatriotic defiance on Instagram — is the latest service member to be accused of dishonoring her military service. Sheffey, currently a member of the 59th Quartermaster Company, 43rd Sustainment Brigade, at Fort Carson, Colorado, should be a former member, with a dishonorable discharge to accompany her dismissal.

The vulgar Sheffey, whose Instagram handle is “sheffeynation,” posted a selfie with a caption that reads:

“This is me laying back in my car hiding so I don’t have to salute the 1700 flag, KEEP ALL YOUR ‘THATS SO DISRESPECTFUL/HOWRUDE/ETC.’ COMMENTS TO YOURSELF cuz, right now, IDGAFFFF.” (Care to decipher? Click here.)

SB 1062 Veto: Brewer’s finger to the wind leadership

Caving to pressure exerted by loud special interest groups and mass demonstrations, Gov. Jan Brewer has exhibited her cowardly leadership skills by vetoing SB 1062, the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Brewer’s letter to Senate President Andy Biggs justifying her veto can be read here.

Though nearly a dozen prominent law professors from prestigious schools across the United States have urged Brewer to take a deeper look at a bill that has been “egregiously misrepresented by many of its critics,” she has bowed to threats from  a more vocal minority — homosexual activists and the leftwing media who have relentlessly pressed for a veto.

Read the letter signed by eleven legal scholars — Democrats and Republicans — here.

“As these legal scholars rightly point out, the misrepresentations about the bill have been egregious,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Douglas Napier. (Listen to his sound bite.) “It has nothing to do with refusing someone a sandwich. It has everything to do with making Arizona a safe place for people to freely live out their faith. The falsehoods need to be exposed for what they are.”

Radical homosexual agenda funded by billionaire lobby

Given the raucous demonstrations accompanied by cries of discrimination surrounding the issue of religious liberty SB 1062 has engendered here in Arizona, it’s worth asking the question, “Just where does all the money advancing the ‘gay’ agenda come from?”  Michael Voris, who produces ChurchMilitant.TV, provides the answer.

Voris’ own religious perspective is Catholic, but his words hold truth regardless of one’s faith.

We urge you to watch the enlightening “Pink Money.”

There is no discriminatory language pertaining to “gays’ or anyone else contained in SB 1062. That fact has not kept it from becoming a rallying cry for those relentlessly pushing the homosexual agenda. 

The Arizona Republic, leading the charge against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, “came out” long ago, as we previously pointed out in the post In their very gay element at the daily.

 

SB 1062 Discrimination? The left has a way with words

These past few days we in Arizona have been hearing a lot about discrimination — from a single perspective. Just as SB 1070 spitefully transmogrified into the “show me your papers” law, SB 1062 is now gaining traction among liberals as the “OK-to-discriminate” bill. The fact that neither designation is factual means little to those spewing the falsehoods.

The issue to ponder as this bill has taken on a life of its own — fed by a frenzied media and fervent homosexual rights proponents — is who is actually oppressed? There is no question religion in under attack in America.

It’s important to understand that SB 1062 simply strengthens protections in Arizona law to defend against religious discrimination toward people of faith. Our country was founded upon the First Amendment and our right to freely exercise our religious beliefs. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. — The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The Free Exercise clause prohibits the government from interfering with a person’s practice of their religion. The significance of the Free Exercise of Religion Clause is its affirmation of the value of religion in American culture.

Organized pressure is mounting against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which is now on Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk. Clamoring demonstrators, armed with signs and loud voices, have parked themselves at the state capitol, playing for the willing media, while conservative supporters of the bill are at work.

Absurdities rule the day. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake have, of course, weighed in, imploring a veto. Bowing to pressure, state legislators who voted for the bill are peeling away and opportunistic gubernatorial candidates are preening to the cameras. Threats of relocating the 2015 Super Bowl are stirred into the bawdy brew by a previously unheard of Democrat governor from Delaware. The Drudge Report headlines with a photo of Arizona Gov. Brewer topping SHOWDOWN IN AZ.

Read The Christian Post’s in-depth analysis of the issue. Then sit back and wait for Brewer’s veto pen to scratch across SB 1062 — exactly  as she’s been advised to do by her left-leaning McAdvisors. 

SB 1062: Misinformation campaign in full swing

Here we go again

It’s no surprise that the Arizona Republic has embraced its usual technique of bold headlines, multi-page contrivances posing as news reports, and zealously oversized photos on the issue of SB 1062  — employing the irresponsible tactics the liberal newspaper blatantly uses to promote its myopic dual agenda. Columnists and editorialists have donned their jackboots to facilitate marching in lockstep with the attack strategy — irrespective of the facts

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act modifies the definition of exercise of religion and allows a person to assert a free exercise claim or defense in a judicial proceeding regardless of whether the government is a party to the proceeding. Read the legislative fact sheet here.

After reading the bill, it becomes clear that the effort to demonize people of faith is what the left is hard at work to accomplish.

The Center for Arizona Policy has done a masterful job of explaining all that is entailed in this legislation that strengthens protections in Arizona law to defend against religious discrimination. Included is a fact sheet, summary, background and talking points.

The bill is on Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk and action is expected early this week. Call her office today and let your voice be heard in support of religious liberty. This administrative staff list omits the names of her behind-the-scenes key advisors such as liberal extremist Grant Woods (formerly John McCain’s congressional chief of staff) and political strategist Chuck Coughlin (another McCain crony who also lobbied for Woods during his 1990’s stint as Attorney General) — both of whom have her ear. In this USA Today video, Brewer gives a clue to the advice she is receiving as she calls the bill “very controversial.”

Faith-based conservatives see this bill not in the framework of “controversy,” but as an issue of religious liberty. Opponents have hijacked this discussion via deceit and reckless reporting. 

Grant Woods was quoted as saying, “Hopefully, from my perspective, she’ll see this will put Arizona in a national negative light, and it shows Arizona is really going in the opposite direction on important issues at a time when the country seems to be moving forward.” Woods, who frequently talks with Brewer about legislation and other matters, will urge her to not sign SB 1062.

Legal experts Joseph La Rue and Kerri Kupec with the Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom wrote this fact-based ‘Our Turn’ column demonstrating the need for this legislation by citing a disturbing case in New Mexico that, under current law, could be replicated in Arizona. Take time to read it.

Another Dem income redistribution $cam

Working Americans provide baby gifts

Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat wants to create legislation designed to set up universal savings accounts for all children born in the United States. Under his plan, every newborn would get a $500 savings account — part of the wealth transfer favored by Barack Obama.

Wyden said universal savings accounts would “really put a dent in the poverty rate.”

This deep thinker is new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee — the top Democrat on tax policy.

Although the federal legislation has not yet been written, Wyden cites a 2009 proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, as a blueprint for his scheme. The $500 could be put toward the cost of college, buying a home or even used toward retirement.

The city of San Francisco, represented by Nancy Pelosi, in nearly bankrupt California, currently offers these college savings accounts to every kindergartner in its school district. Each student receives $50 deposited into a trust fund under the city’s name. Low-income children qualify for more — up to $100 in the trust account. ‘Kindergarten to College’ is one of a raft of such programs offered by the city. 

McCain: If election were tomorrow, Hillary would win

John McCain, whose good fortune has not included winning the White House, has now predicted that if the 2016 presidential election took place  tomorrow, his good friend Hillary Clinton would win.

Appearing with the liberal host of “Piers Morgan Live” on CNN,  McCain  lurched back into his chummy address form, saying, “I would bet, my friend, as much as I hate to admit it, that right now — this is why we have campaigns (heh, heh) — if the election were tomorrow, Hillary Clinton would most likely be president of the United States.”

While McCain disingenuously claimed, “She wouldn’t be my candidate,” he said that Clinton currently has the best chance of winning due to her popularity, adding it’s a good thing the 2016 election is still three years off, giving Republicans some time.

Hillary‘s husband, Bill, has previously declared, “She and John McCain are very close. They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other,” the former president said.

Piers Morgan’s ratings have hit new lows. Our prediction is he’d have a better chance at an uptick with a more compelling guest than the disgraced John McCain.

Common Core gets hammered in AZ Senate

Sen. Al Melvin (R-LD11) is the primary sponsor of SB1310 — a bill which prohibits the State Board of Education from applying the rotten to the core Common Core Standards in Arizona.

Thursday the Arizona Senate Education Committee voted 6-3 to bar the state from implementing the Obama education standards which have been championed by John Huppenthal, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction —  with enthusiastic approval from Gov. Jan Brewer.

As the federal overreaches contained in the Common Core curriculum have gained more exposure, parents have balked to the point that Huppenthal and Brewer have attempted to dupe the public by slickly changing the name “Common Core” to “Arizona College and Career Ready Standards.” Her press release deceptively rechristening the federal overreach can be read here. The duo is disgracefully pushing policies intended to cede control of every facet of our education system to federal bureaucrats and undermine local control.

Huppenthal’s transformation is confounding. Though he previously claimed conservative credentials as a candidate, he is now cozying up to Obama’s education point man Arne Duncan as the duo made the rounds of the state. Huppenthal warmly welcomed Duncan and his cohorts from the U.S. Department of Education and accompanied them on stops criss-crossing Arizona, from Window Rock to Bisbee, Phoenix, Marana, Tucson, Chandler, Glendale, and Yuma.

We are being deceived at every turn. In the end, five Republican Senators shamefully broke ranks and voted with Democrats to defeat the bill: John McComish, Adam Driggs, Steve Pierce, Michele Reagan and Bob Worsley, deceived their constituents —- who had every right to expect more than such traitorous actions.  Reagan is now running as a Republican for Secretary of State.

Al Melvin, a conservative from north Tucson, is running for governor. Check out his Issues page.

Conservative Diane Douglas is mounting a challenge to Huppenthal. We have a choice. The status quo is not acceptable.

 

Gov’t monitors: Obama control in newsrooms

White House exerts control and intimidation 

From the “No Obama Overreach Is Too Much Department” comes this news regarding the federal government’s crushing boot on the neck of the First Amendment and the free press.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is reporting that the Obama administration is looking to send the FCC into newsrooms to  investigate how the media chooses stories.

The Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs (CINs) initiative was proposed last spring. The FCC said it wanted information from television and radio broadcasters “to ascertain the process by which stories are selected, station priorities — for content production quality, and populations served —  perceived station bias, perceived percent of news dedicated to each of the eight CINs of ‘critical information’ necessitating coverage and perceived responsiveness to underserved populations.” Read the CIN study here.

Equally disturbing are the in-depth interview questions (beginning on page 25) stratified by employment level, with questions such as What is the news philosophy of the station? Who else in your market provides news? Who are your main competitors? How much news does your station air every day?

At the top of page 37, the city of Tucson is misspelled as TUSCSON, adding to the anxiety level brought on by this alarming report.

There are legitimate reasons for concern that the government will exert influence over what stations cover, since the FCC authorizes  their licenses. The agency is now poised to expand its regulatory powers to include newspapers, over which it has no authority.

This blatant attempt at media control comes on the heels of Reporters Without Borders ranking the United States 46th in its World Press Freedom Index.

ACLJ’s Matthew Clark cogently sums up the unconscionable assault on our free society with these words: “Imagine a government monitor telling Fox News it needed to cover stories in the same way as MSNBC or Al Jazeera.  Imagine an Obama Administration official walking in to the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal and telling it that the American public would be better served if it is stopped reporting on the IRS scandal or maybe that reporting on ObamaCare “glitches” is driving down enrollment.”

Obama’s approval rating is in the low 40’s. Think about it.