Barack Obama is negotiating a trade agreement known as The Trans-Pacific Partnership and he is seeking fast-track authority which would mean the Congress can only vote on the deal as it is written and will not be able to introduce amendments to it.
This is creating opposition, mostly from Democrats, before the deal is even finalized and it appears as if the secrecy surrounding the bill is adding to the President’s woes. But how secret is this deal? Here is a glimpse from Politico:
If you want to hear the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the Obama administration is hoping to pass, you’ve got to be a member of Congress, and you’ve got to go to classified briefings and leave your staff and cellphone at the door.
If you’re a member who wants to read the text, you’ve got to go to a room in the basement of the Capitol Visitor Center and be handed it one section at a time, watched over as you read, and forced to hand over any notes you make before leaving.
It is pretty obvious that Barack Obama does not want the details of this deal leaked to the American people judging by what a member of the Congress has to go through just to see what is in it. But even then members of the Congress do not know the full story because the President seems to be withholding certain aspects of the TPP by only lifting a corner of the veil:
The White House isn’t even telling Congress what it’s asking for, they say, or what it’s already promised foreign governments.
Yet the Obama regime is still touting how transparent this secret deal is:
“We’ve worked closely with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to balance unprecedented access to classified documents with the appropriate level of discretion that’s needed to ensure Americans get the best deal possible in an ongoing, high-stakes international negotiation,”
So, here we have a deal which is being negotiated in secrecy, a deal in which members of the Congress have to jump through hoops in order to read, a deal in which even the Congress does not know what the President might be giving away, and a deal which the President does not want the American people to see before it is voted on and we are supposed to accept it on blind-faith that this will be good for the American people.
Here we go again: the TPP must be passed so that we can see what is in it…
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Bill Clinton “earns” about $500,000 for every speech he gives and while I have no problem with him for taking money from people who are willing to pay him it does call into question whether or not his family can understand what the average American family is going through while trying to make ends meet while his wife is running for President as a populist candidate.
Bill Clinton was asked if he would continue to give speeches while Hillary was running for President and he said he would because “I gotta pay our bills.” Here is the video:
Those must be some bills! We all should be so lucky! This gaffe is akin to Hillary’s “dead broke” comment. It also reminds me of the field day the left had with Mitt Romney during the 2012 election because one of his houses included a car elevator.
The media used this to show the American people that Mitt Romney was out of touch with the average American person and I think this shows that Bill and Hillary Clinton are nothing more than the Mitt Romney of the left–they are clearly out of touch.
Even some of the leftist mainstream media appear to be flummoxed by this comment and cannot defend it. Clearly Bill and Hillary are part of the 1% yet it seems that Hillary Clinton’s supporters are unwilling to admit this or make the comparison to Mitt Romney for obvious reasons...
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Back in January of this year I wrote a post about the theory that global warming was actually saving the rainforests. Here is a brief and simplified version of the oxygen cycle that I shared with my readers in that post:
Humans inhale oxygen and exhale a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Plants and trees “inhale” carbon dioxide and “exhale” oxygen.
And I continued with how the global warming alarmists counter real science with their own “science” of global warming:
While this is a naturally occurring cycle which is necessary to sustain all life on the planet, because the process of oil refinery, as well as other manufacturing, emits additional carbon dioxide into the air carbon dioxide has been ruled to be a pollutant because plant and trees cannot absorb the additional “non-natural” carbon dioxide. This in turn leads to global warming and if it is not dealt with quickly it will mean the ultimate destruction of the planet. So we are told…
The Obama regime issues an apology for misleading the Judge overseeing the Executive immigration lawsuit
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who is presiding over the challenge to Barack Obama’s Executive action on illegal immigration, has previously accused the Obama regime of misleading the court. Here is more:
“despite the government’s assertions that the executive amnesty programs — Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — would not start before February 18 (DAPA was scheduled to start in May), an aspect did begin before then.
Days before expanded DACA was set to take effect Hanen issued a preliminary injunction on the executive amnesty programs, to stop the implementation from going forward as the case works its way through the courts.
In early March, however, the Justice Department revealed to Hanen that in fact it had already started to implement an aspect of expanded DACA, and had issued more than 100,000 new three-year DACA renewals.
Hanen was not pleased. In later filings he called the government misleading, accusing the government of “deceptive representations and half-truths.”
The Obama regime has been denying it mislead the court but last week issued an excuse for the “confusion” surrounding the issue:
After many weeks of speculation it appears as if the questions surrounding two potential Republican candidates for the Presidency in 2016 will be answered. It is being reported that both Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina will announce their intentions to run for President tomorrow.
It seems highly likely to me that both candidates will announce they are running for President and I will be shocked to learn otherwise.
Neither potential candidate has ever held any political office before and they will attempt to use that to their advantage in order to fight the establishment by trying to gain support with voters such as myself who are disgusted with the establishment. But will that work and is it enough for them to win the nomination?
Here is the open thread for Sunday, May 3rd. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
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I hope you all are wide awake and have had your coffee this morning but if you are still a little blurry-eyed perhaps the band coming in at number 7 on the countdown of my favorite bands will help to jar you awake. Sticking with last week’s theme, heavy metal band Iron Maiden comes in this week at number 7.
Iron Maiden is not your typical metal band lyric-wise as they often write about historical events, WWI, WWII, Greek mythology, literature, and much more. They could be considered a thinking man’s metal band because many of their songs are based on previous writings and historical events.
Up first is “Two Minutes to Midnight” which is of course a reference to the Doomsday Clock:
“Blood is freedom’s stain”
Next up is a song about the Battle of Britain, it is entitled “Aces High” and includes an into with part of the iconic speech Winston Churchill gave to the British people when the Germans were attacking during WWII.
The third video I have decided to include is one of my favorite Iron Maiden songs and it is about a man on death row as he deals with his fate, it is entitled “Hallowed be thy Name.”
Mark my words believe my soul lives on
Don’t worry now that I have gone
I’ve gone beyond to seek the truth
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you’ll begin to understand
Life down there is just a strange illusion
And lastly I give you the title track from “The Number of the Beast.” This song and album is interesting because at the time of its release it was quite controversial in the United States. The same country which was born on the concept of the freedom of speech and on the freedom of religion seemed to have turned on those ideals when some groups labeled the band Satan worshipers and called for the burning of this album. The song was actually inspired by a nightmare bassist Steve Harris had after watching Damien: The Omen II.
By now everybody knows what is going on in Baltimore: Freddie Gray died while in police custody, which led to riots, and six police officers have now been charged, in varying degrees, with the murder of Freddie Gray by State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
In the latest news; the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 is asking for Marilyn Mosby to appoint a special prosecutor to the case siting a conflict of interest.
Here is more:
A Fraternal Order of Police lodge is asking Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to appoint a special prosecutor to the Freddie Gray investigation because of her personal connection to the Gray family’s attorney, William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr., and her marriage to a city councilman.
Ryan requests that Mosby appoint a “Special Independent Prosecutor.”
“I have very deep concerns about the many conflicts of interest presented by your office conducting an investigation in this case,” the letter states.
“These conflicts include your personal and professional relations with Gray family attorney, William Murphy, and the lead prosecutor’s connections with members of the local media,” the letter states. “Based on several nationally televised interviews, these reporters are likely to be witnesses in any potential litigation regarding this incident.”
Murphy supported Mosby during her campaign last year. He donated $5,000 to her campaign and served on her transition committee.
“Most importantly, it is clear that your husband’s political future will be directly impacted, for better or worse, by the outcome of your investigation,” the letter states. “In order to avoid any appearance of impropriety or a violation of the Professional Rules of Professional Responsibility, I ask that you appoint a Special Prosecutor to determine whether or not any charges should be filed.”
Marilyn Mosby has denied there is a conflict of interest:
Barack Obama wants the authority to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and there is currently a bill in the Congress which would give him this authority. This bill has support from some of the establishment Republicans but has drawn some criticism from some prominent Democrats, such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Today Republican Bobby Jindal, who might be running for President in 2016, spoke out against giving Barack Obama fast-track authority on the TPP. Here is part of what he had to say:
I’m for presidents in both parties having fast track authority on free trade agreements. But I am not for giving more authority to a president who ignores the Constitution, the separation of powers, and will of the American people. This particular President must not be given any more power to do anything else to harm this country. He cannot be trusted. That’s why Congress needs to find a way to maintain oversight of the Obama Administration – the current deal doesn’t do that.
New poll finds 63% of likely voters think foreign donations influenced Hillary Clinton’s actions as Secretary of State
According to this story Rasmussen is out with a new poll which shows that 63% of likely voters believe foreign donations to The Clinton Foundation may have influenced her actions while she was Secretary of State.
Here is more:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of Likely U.S. Voters think it’s likely some actions Clinton took as secretary of State were influenced by donations made to the Clinton Foundation. This includes 42% who say it’s Very Likely. Thirty percent (30%) consider it unlikely that Clinton’s actions were influenced by donations, but that includes only 12% who say it’s Not At All Likely.
This is not good news for the former Secretary of State but does it really matter? Here are the poll results on how Mrs. Clinton compares to other politicians on the issue of ethics:
America's Watchtower 