Holder tells Congress the Obama administration wants to ban guns

 Last Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to answer questions about his role in the deadly “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal. However, instead of answers, Congress got more defiance, more arrogance, and more wasted time with an attorney general who clearly feels no sense of obligation to the American people or our rule of law.
But for all the stonewalling, there was at least one telling moment at this hearing, and it should concern law-abiding gun owners and all Americans who expect accountability from our government.
In a rash attempt to deflect attention away from himself and his own irresponsibility, Holder let Congress know that the Obama administration is still working toward the day when it can reinstate former President Bill Clinton’s so-called “assault weapons” ban. According to Holder:

This administration has consistently favored the re-institution of the assault weapons ban. It is something that we think was useful in the past with regard to the reduction that we’ve seen in crime, and certainly would have a positive impact on our relationship and the crime situation in Mexico.

It’s difficult to follow Holder’s logic here, but it goes something like this …
The Obama administration — particularly Eric Holder’s Justice Department — oversaw an epic scandal whereby our own federal government illegally funneled thousands of firearms into the hands of Mexican drug lords. This contributed to the death of one U.S. Border Patrol agent and hundreds of Mexicans.
Despite being head of the Justice Department and our nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Eric Holder claims he doesn’t know how or why this scandal occurred, or even who under his charge may have authorized it. He also refuses to turn over critical documents to congressional investigators that could help prevent something this tragic and corrupt from ever happening again.
Therefore, Obama and Holder are confident that if they can ban a large number of the legal firearms that law-abiding Americans use every day for self-defense, hunting, and recreational and competitive target shooting, it will help solve Mexico’s crime problem.
What’s particularly galling about Holder’s shallow and illogical attempt to use “Fast and Furious” to further the Obama administration’s gun-ban agenda is that during the same hearing, he lectured Congress for playing political “gotcha” games in an election year.
Amazingly, Holder seems incapable of understanding that this isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue, it’s an American issue, and all Americans deserve to know how and why their government purposefully allowed thousands of guns to flow into the hands of murderous Mexican drug cartels. The family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry deserves to know why two of these guns were found at the scene of Terry’s murder.
Eric Holder’s Justice Department oversaw this illegal operation, but all Holder is willing to do is call for gun bans on law-abiding Americans, withhold critical information from Congress, and pat himself on the back for a job well done. As Holder told Congress on Thursday: “I’m proud of the work that I’ve done as attorney general of the United States, and looked at fairly, I think I’ve done a pretty good job.”
Eric Holder has long since proved himself inept and incapable of holding the trust that Americans place in our nation’s chief law enforcement officer. The longer Holder refuses to step down as attorney general, the more lasting his damage to this sacred institution will be.
Chris W. Cox is the executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and serves as the organization’s chief lobbyist.

Prop. 8 overturned in California, court says state can’t ban gay marriage

The 9th Circuit Court in California struck down as unconstitutional the state's voter-passed ban on gay marriage Tuesday, ruling 2-1 that it violates the rights of gay Californians.
"Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the decision. The court concludes that the law violates the 14th Amendment rights of gay couples to equal protection under the law. Access to gay marriage will remain on hold pending appeals to the decision.
You can watch an ABC News report on the ruling below:
The Circuit Court backed up District Judge Judge Vaughn Walker, who ruled in August of 2010 that the state of California has no "rational basis" to single out gay men and women as ineligible for marriage. The group fighting for Prop. 8, which passed in 2008 after thousands of gay couples had already married, appealed Walker's decision arguing that it should be vacated because Walker is gay and has a same-sex partner. The 9th Circuit Court judges denied this motion.
Walker's sweeping 2010 decision was called a "grand slam" by gay rights advocates, who hoped it would convince the Supreme Court to rule states cannot outlaw gay marriage. But Reinhardt was explicit in his decision that his ruling is "narrow" and only relates to California, not to the entire nation. In California, gay people had the right to marry for five months before it was taken away by voters. This amounts to a violation of equal protection because a right was specifically taken away from a minority group, Reinhardt writes. But this argument would not apply to gay people in most other states, where gay marriage was never legalized in the first place. "It's a strong decision but it is not the ringing endorsement of broader marriage equality that some might have hoped for," Hunter College professor and gay rights advocate Kenneth Sherrill said.
But University of California Irvine law professor Erwin Chemerinsky tells Yahoo News that the underlying reasoning in the decision is broad--there's no legitimate state interest in denying same-sex marriage rights. Chemerinsky noted that the decision appeals to swing vote Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, by citing his decision in a 1996 case striking down a Colorado law that prevented communities from treating gay people as a protected class.
Ted Olson, the U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush who represents the plaintiffs, said at a press conference that the decision is the first step to ending discrimination. "Today we are more American because of this decision," he said.
The pro-Prop. 8 camp has said it will appeal the decision. The group can now ask for 11 members of the 9th Circuit hear their case, instead of just the panel of three who decided against them on Tuesday. "Today's ruling finally clears the field for an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, where we are confident we will be victorious," the Save Prop 8 campaign said in a statement.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released a statement saying the "fight" over states' rights to ban gay marriage is not over. "Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage," he said, adding that he would appoint judges who oppose same-sex marriage if he's elected. President Obama also opposes same-sex marriage, but says that his opinion on the issue is "evolving."

American kids denied food stamps in Alabama under immigration law

 Some U.S.-born children with parents who are illegal immigrants have been denied food stamps under Alabama's new immigration law, Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen told Yahoo News on Monday.
Five people have called into the group's Alabama hotline to say they were denied food stamps because they couldn't prove they were legal residents, even though the food stamps are for their children, who are citizens.
Cohen says the civil rights group, which has already filed two lawsuits against Alabama over the law, will most likely bring another suit over the denied food stamps.
The law makes it a felony for a government employee to engage in "business transactions" with illegal immigrants, which some government employees have interpreted very broadly. Illegal immigrants have been told they can't pay their utility bills or even their taxes because it would count as a "transaction" with the government, according to Cohen.
Barry Spear, a spokesman for Alabama's Department of Human Services, said in an email to Yahoo News that it is not the agency's policy to demand proof of citizenship from the guardians of Americans who need food stamps. "We are unaware of any violations of the policy," Spear said.
Several parts of the law have been temporarily blocked pending the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on whether the law is constitutional or not. But the "business transaction" prohibition, as well as a mandate for local police to ask for proof of legal status during stops, were left to stand. Some Republican lawmakers say they want to amend the law this year, while a coalition of Democrats is trying to repeal it entirely.
Illegal immigrants are prohibited from accessing most welfare benefits, including food stamps, non-emergency Medicaid and cash welfare programs. Their children, if born in America, can access welfare programs as citizens. (The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that about 4.5 million American citizens under 18 years old have at least one undocumented parent.)
Last month, Kansas kicked more than 1,000 mixed-status families off its food stamp program when it joined three other states in adopting a stricter food stamp eligibility policy. A low-income family of five made up of two undocumented parents and three citizen children now has to show that its income is close to the poverty level for a family of three--not a family of five--in order to access food stamps. This is intended to prevent illegal immigrants from benefiting from food stamps, but immigration advocates say it will leave citizen kids hungry.
The Justice Department has sued Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina and Utah over laws that crack down on illegal immigrants, saying they interfere with the federal government's control over immigration. The Supreme Court will hear arguments over Arizona's SB1070 beginning on April 25.

Finally a law that is working!

Saga - Ode To A Dying People

National Socialist Germany tribute

Clinton: Housing is key to fixing nation's economy

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton says the key to fixing the nation's economy is to address the struggling housing market and foreclosures.

Clinton, in a speech Saturday night at the Las Vegas Anti-Defamation League's annual American Heritage Dinner, said "it's as simple" as fixing the mortgage business, cleaning up banks' books and letting "them start loaning again."

The Las Vegas Sun reports (http://bit.ly/xxJc0J ) he drew the biggest applause of the night when he addressed the issue of immigration, and the value immigrants add to the country.

Clinton urged the crowd to keep up the fight against intolerance, racism and bigotry, and stressed the importance of not letting differences lead to hate.

Among those in attendance was Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada, who's challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Dean Heller. Editor's note: It's good that the former President gave a speech to the ADL on keeping up the fight against intolerance, racism and bigotry. The Anti-Defecation League is the nations' biggest purveyor of hate. And if he wants to really make a difference he should open up his Long Island mansion to the poor and downtrodden immigrants. Don't just talk the talk Billy Boy!

Waldorf, Md. Mall Shut Down During Mad Dash for Air Jordans

December 23, 2011

On December 23, 2011, at approximately 5 a.m., security personnel at the St. Charles Town Center requested police assistance in reference to a large crowd.  Deputies from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene to discover hundreds of people waiting outside the mall entrances for the sale of the new Air Jordan XI Retro Concord tennis shoes.
With a limited number of shoes available, people began lining up overnight for an early morning opening. Police were reportedly out in force. The crowd became disorderly shortly after 5 a.m. and forced their way inside the mall near the food court entrance and once inside ran toward each of the six shoe stores inside the mall.
A few scuffles broke out as people jockeyed to get in line again. Forty officers were on scene. Six arrests were made. Of the six arrests, four were juveniles and two adults. One officer suffered a minor injury to his hand.
Deputies had shut the mall down for about 45 minutes while the crowd was disbanded. Police remain on scene and continue to monitor the situation. Other area malls had a much worse situation. According to a press release from Anne Arundel County Police, Westfield Annapolis Management consulted with the stores selling the shoes and the pre-sale was cancelled.
The St. Charles Town Center  has been reopened for business.  More information to follow as it becomes available.