(NaturalNews) There has been a lot of rhetoric on both sides of the issue regarding the current “immigration reform bill” that the Senate has taken up, but one thing you likely haven’t heard about at all is the scope and breadth of power the massive 850-page-plus measure contains. Simply put, if it becomes law, it will give the Department of Homeland Security near-dictatorial powers.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, has entered a letter into the congressional record from law enforcement personnel around the country who are warning S.744, officially titled the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” would grant sweeping, discretionary powers to “political appointees” – bureaucrats – while stripping law enforcement of authority.

‘Virtually unlimited discretion’

The letter, from the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council of the American Federal of Government Employees Affiliated with AFL-CIO, states:

Congress can and must take decisive steps to limit the discretion of political appointees and empower ICE and CBP to perform their respective missions and enforce the laws enacted by Congress. Rather than limiting the power of those political appointees within DHS, S. 744 provides them with nearly unlimited discretion, which will serve only to further cripple the law enforcement missions of these agencies.

The members warn that the bill conveys to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano “virtually unlimited discretion to waiver” prohibitions on getting legal status, such as previous deportations or criminal activity:

This same section (Section 2101 of S. 744) gives the Secretary of Homeland Security virtually unlimited discretion to waive any manner of crimes that would otherwise make an individual ineligible for legal status – for such expansive reasons as family unity, humanitarian purposes, or what the Secretary believes is in the public interest.

Read it all at Natural News.

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The last time we checked in on 3-D printing, it was being used to make print-at-home handguns. Now the hot technology is being adapted for a more benign purpose: making pizza.

NASA has awarded a $125,000 grant to a Texas company to build a food synthesizer that can mix food and print it out in layers using a 3-D printer. One of the easiest foods to print this way is pizza, because it can be created and cooked in layers.

The potential for this technology is far-reaching. NASA is interested because it could be a way to feed astronauts who spend decades in space. But the company behind the technology, Systems & Materials Research Corp., has more ambitious ideas. If this works, an engineer at the company told Quartz, every kitchen might have a 3-D printer creating meals from a base of powders.

Here’s how it works: The printer takes its ingredients from attached canisters of powdered food and oils. It combines those ingredients in a mixing chamber and uses the 3-D printer to shape the food.

With a pizza, the dough is mixed from powders and printed as the first layer. It gets cooked as it is printed, according to Quartz. Then a layer of tomato sauce is mixed and added. And so on.

We’re not talking gourmet food here. But as the world’s population grows and food becomes scarcer, perhaps a plan to mix powders into something edible isn’t so crazy.

“I think, and many economists think, that current food systems can’t supply 12 billion people sufficiently,” the engineer behind the technology told Quartz. “So we eventually have to change our perception of what we see as food.”

From HERE>

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TPM:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday defended his objection to initiating House-Senate budget negotiations unless Democrats take a debt limit increase off the table, saying he doesn’t trust his party to hold the line.

“The senior senator from Arizona urged this body to trust the Republicans. Let me be clear, I don’t trust the Republicans,” Cruz said. “And I don’t trust the Democrats.”

On Tuesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) scolded Republicans for blocking negotiations. He was backed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

“Unfortunately,” Cruz said, “one of the reasons we got into this mess is because a lot of Republicans were complicit in this spending spree and that’s why so many Americans are disgusted with both sides of this house. … And every Republican who stands against holding the line here is really saying, let’s give the Democrats a blank check to borrow any money they want with no reforms, no leadership to fix the problem.”

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Who is Judy Faulkner? Chances are, you don’t know her — but her politically connected, taxpayer-subsidized electronic medical records company may very well know you. Top Obama donor and billionaire Faulkner is founder and CEO of Epic Systems, which will soon store almost half of all Americans’ health information.

If the crony odor and the potential for abuse that this “epic” arrangement poses don’t chill your bones, you ain’t paying attention.

As I first noted last year before the IRS witch hunts and DOJ journalist snooping scandals broke out, Obama’s federal electronic medical records (EMR) mandate is government malpractice at work. The stimulus law provided a whopping $19 billion in “incentives” (read: subsidies) to force hospitals and medical professionals into converting from paper to electronic record-keeping systems. Penalties kick in next year for any provider who fails to comply with the one-size-fits-all edict.

Obamacare bureaucrats claimed the government’s EMR mandate would save money and modernize health care. As of December 2012, $4 billion had already gone out to 82,535 professionals and 1,474 hospitals; a total of $6 billion will be doled out by 2016. What have taxpayers and health care consumers received in return from this boondoggle? After hyping the alleged benefits for nearly a decade, the RAND Corporation finally admitted in January that its cost-savings predictions of $81 billion a year — used repeatedly to support the Obama EMR mandate — were, um, grossly overstated.

Among many factors, the researchers blamed “lack of interoperability” of records systems for the failure to bring down costs. And that is a funny thing, because it brings us right back to Faulkner and her well-connected company. You see, Epic Systems — the dominant EMR giant in America — is notorious for its lack of interoperability. Faulkner’s closed-end system represents antiquated, hard drive-dependent software firms that refuse to share data with doctors and hospitals using alternative platforms. Health IT analyst John Moore of Chilmark Research, echoing many industry observers, wrote in April that Epic “will ultimately hinder health care organizations’ ability to rapidly innovate.”

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The IRS knew one year ago they “inappropriately” targeted conservatives but hid that information until after the election

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Even though 132 membersof Congress sent former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman letters about the IRS targeting of conservative groups, Shulman reiterated Wednesday that he did not have the full story until the inspector general’s report came out.

“In the two years that this targeting was taking place, did any member of Congress contact you? Write you? About this particular subject? Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan asked during a House Oversight hearing. “Did you get letters from Congress?”

“Yes,” Shulman replied.

Read it all HERE.

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Government Execs up for Millions in Bonuses; Samsung and LG Dump Millions into Faulty Tech

Meet the Government’s Cash Cows: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (YahooFinance)

In last three months, Fannie Mae’s share price has gone up more than 400%. According to James Fenker, a long-time investor, “This year, Fannie and Freddie Mac are likely to post combined net income of over $100 billion — more than both Exxon (XOM) and Apple (AAPL).” And shares of the twin government cash cows? Well, should both government-owned agencies return to pre-2008 highs, preferred shares would probably rise another five-fold and junior-preferred, eight-fold. It is not a bad payday, if you can get it. Unfortunately, you can’t. All profits derived by the company are paid directly into the Fed. In light of the government bailing out both troubled lending entities, it seems fitting that taxpayers get a little of the money back, even if it goes to directly to debt-ridden Uncle Sam.

What Sequester Pain? Government Execs up for Millions in Bonuses (Business Journal)

Unless the law is changed quickly (not a specialty of the government), members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) will remain eligible to receive millions of dollars in bonuses during the federal government’s sequester when many of their lower-ranking colleagues face furloughs. While the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered a freeze on most bonuses for federal workers during sequestration, current law provides an exemption for members of the SES, who are among the most highly-paid government employees. Legislation by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Ok.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) would close the exemption loophole to ensure both non-SES federal employees and SES employees are treated equally and do not receive bonuses during sequestration. From 2008-2011, this group of senior government executives received more around $340 million in bonuses, on top of salaries ranging from $119,000-$179,000. The three senators expressed outrage at the practice and are trying to gather support among other lawmakers to enact a change swiftly. Taxpayers likely would agree with the trio, so let’s watch if other lawmakers become backers.

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Hypocrisy Runs Deep in the Oval Office

NYT: U.S. Formally Admits Killing 4 Americans In Drone Strikes

What better example of Obama’s profound hypocrisy than how he had sought to provide apprehended terrorists detained at Guantanamo with constitutional rights, even as he now summarily executes American citizens abroad.

Did a scumbag like Anwar al-Awlaki need killing? Obviously, the answer is a resounding yes. Despite any American citizenship, terrorists like al-Awlaki clearly meet the definitions of treason. Yet, to identify anything remotely connected with Islam—even so reprehensible a character as al-Awlaki—as being treasonous would openly equate Muslims with sedition and betrayal. That, of course, would utterly contradict Obama’s Herculean efforts to portray Islam as the happy clappy Religion of Peace. [spit]

So, it’s better to just quietly go about killing Americans with overseas drone strikes while adamantly refusing to name the real enemy. But don’t think for one minute that devoutly anti-American scum being detained at Gitmo shouldn’t be given every last constitutional protection and benefit of the doubt.

There is an old Confucian maxim:

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.”

If there is one thing that Obama obstinately denies Americans, it is the rightful naming of Islam as the undying enemy of liberty and freedom. This continues to go on, even though he has sought to mantle our nation’s dire enemies with constitutional protections like habeas corpus. Yet, when it comes to something so disturbing as our government’s summary execution of American citizens abroad the sole response is, “Move along, folks. Nothing to see here.”

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The IRS scandal provides Republicans and conservatives with the opportunity to repeal and replace Obamacare now. The House Republican majority should refuse to fund the expansion of the IRS necessary to manage Obamacare. Without that funding, and hiring thousands of additional agents, the IRS cannot even begin to manage Obamacare.

President Obama may throw a fit. He may refuse to sign funding bills to keep the federal government open. No matter. Let him close his government down if he wants. Nobody wants the IRS playing political games with their health care and health records, like it did with the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and Equal Protection of Tea Party and conservative organizations. Contribute to the Republican Party? Attend a Tea Party protest? Good luck getting your Obamacare health insurance tax credit application approved. Good luck finding a doctor the government will pay to do that operation your kid needs.

Obama can flail away all he wants. The public will now back the Republicans in this fight, just as it did in the sequester battle. But won’t the public feel that the Republicans would be irresponsible to just refuse to fund Obamacare, leaving the health system in chaos?

That is why the Republicans need to back up their IRS Obamacare chokehold with legislation proposing free market, Patient Power health care reforms to replace Obamacare. (A comprehensive, free-market health reform plan to replace Obamacare has already been proposed by John Goodman and myself in our NCPA paper, “Health Care for All Without the Affordable Care Act.”)

Going for the Jugular of Obamacare
President Obama sold Obamacare to the 40% of the nation that supports it on the grounds that it would provide universal health insurance. But the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the legislation as still leaving 30 million uninsured 10 years after full implementation.

It will be much worse than even that, however. In fact, for the reasons I explain below, it is quite possible there will be more people uninsured after Obamacare goes into effect than before. That is the exposed jugular of Obamacare. Those who’ve been supporting it have done so because they believe in universal health care. If Obamacare is going to make the problem worse rather than better, for all of its costs, then public support for replacing it with a better plan will explode. As I will also explain, the free market, Patient Power plan that Republicans should now advance would assure universal health care for all, with no individual mandate, and no employer mandate, at a cost savings of at least $2 trillion over the next 10 years, as compared to current law.

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Camille Sanchez
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Not long ago on his radio show Mike Huckabee said Benghazi would bring down President Obama.

“When a president lies to the American people and is part of a cover-up, he cannot continue to govern,” Huckabee said. “As the facts come out, I think we’re going to see something startling. And before it’s over, I don’t think this president will finish his term….”

A few days later I went on the Factor and told Bill O’Reilly that, “This is wishful thinking masquerading as political analysis.”

Conservative pundits do this a lot.  And frankly it’s getting tiresome. Remember all those “take it to the bank” predictions by conservatives on Fox on how President Obama couldn’t win re-election?  Wishful thinking.  Not serious analysis.

In the United States of Clueless, the Benghazi cover-up isn’t going to bring Mr. Obama down.  We’re a deeply polarized nation, so while Republicans think Benghazi matters, Democrats continue to play the story down and remain loyal to the president. The so-called mainstream media remain loyal also, and a good portion of the population is so uninformed that it thinks Benghazi is the new hot club on South Beach.

What about the AP scandal where the Department of Justice secretly got hold of journalists phone logs to try to find out who was leaking sensitive national security information to the Associated Press?  Journalists care about this one because it’s about them.  The public couldn’t care less.

Which brings us to the IRS scandal, where agents targeted conservative groups for special tax-exempt scrutiny.  It wasn’t just groups that had the name “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in their name.  The IRS went after groups that said they wanted “to make America a better place.”  They asked certain groups what books they read.  They told the Coalition for Life of Iowa: “Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers.”

Yes, it all sounds outrageous, even un-American.  And this story may have legs, especially for those Americans who hate the IRS, which put another way, is all Americans except those working at the IRS.  But here’s the good news about the supposed scandal:  We’ve been assured by the newly ousted acting IRS chief that conservatives were not targeted and in any case politics had nothing to do with any of it.

Read it all at Bernard Goldberg.

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Report: ‘Rogue’ IRS Agent Claim Unraveling

An investigation by Cincinnati Fox 19 reporter Ben Swann finds that Obama Administration claims that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeting of conservative groups was the work of two “rogue” low-level employees in Cincinnati, Ohio, strain credulity and are “falling apart.”

Swann reports that so far six IRS agents working out of the Cincinnati office—which is the central hub for processing tax-exempt applications—have been identified as sending scrutinizing letters to conservative groups. These include:

• Mitchel Steele-IRS Agent
• Carly Young-IRS Agent
• Joseph Herr-IRS Agent
• Stephen Seok-IRS Supervisor
• Liz Hofacre-IRS Agent
• Ms. Richards (full name unknown)-IRS Agent

These agents report to different managers, with a territory manager overseeing those managers.

Read it all at Breitbart.

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Opposition to Immigration Reform Bill Growing – 150 Sign Letter Saying NO!

Senate Bill 744 (SB 744) is better known as the immigration reform bill.  It is the brainchild of the infamous Gang of 8 (Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer (NY), Dick Durbin (IL), Bob Menendez (NJ), Michael Bennet (CO) and Republican Senators Marco Rubio (FL), Lindsey Graham (SC), John McCain (AZ), Jeff Flake (AZ)).

Similar to the Patient Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) passed by the Democrats in 2009, SB 744 is huge and contains so many different provisions that it’s almost impossible to know what’s really contained in the bill.

Analysts have been wading through the 800+ pages of the bill and they are telling us that it is going to cost over $6 trillion in benefits to all of the illegals covered by it.  They are also telling us that the bill lacks the necessary measures to secure our international borders prior to extending the path to citizenship to over 11 million criminals.

Earlier this week, immigration enforcement unions and law enforcement officials sent a letter of warning to every member of Congress.  Their letter warned the politicians that the immigration reform bill will make it more difficult to establish a safe legal immigration system.

Now, a group of more than 150 conservative leaders and organizations have signed a letter stating their opposition to SB 744 and insistence that it not be passed because of so many design flaws and loopholes.  They state that it would be better to scrap the entire bill and start from scratch rather than try to fix the current immigration reform bill.

Read it all at Godfather Politics.

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“Obama didn’t know the IRS was targeting conservatives until he read it in the papers. He didn’t know about “Fast and Furious” until he read it in the papers, too. He has “complete confidence” in Holder, and didn’t know about the decision to collect the phone records of reporters. He didn’t know about the investigation into CIA director David Petraeus’s affair. He told Letterman during the election he didn’t know what the national debt was. He didn’t know about the AIG bonuses in the TARP legislation. He said he didn’t know how bad the economic crisis was when he took office.

That “empty chair” metaphor from the Republican convention was so out of line, huh?” –Jim Geraghty

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Read these blogs daily to keep abreast of news about those islamics out to kill you and your family.

Jihad Watch

Creeping Sharia

Bare Naked Islam

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Pentagon Papers Attorney: Obama Will Surpass Nixon As “Worst President Ever On Press Freedoms”…

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Police: You’re on your own

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Politicizing the Tornado

Hooray for Florida !

Obama’s Defense in IRS Case Is Pre-Election Ignorance

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Obama Resorting to United Nations to Attack Gun Rights

As we relax after the failure of the gun-grabbing bill in the Senate, America’s enemies are attacking our fundamental freedom by more deviant means — with help from their fellow authoritarian socialists at the United Nations. Comrade Obama will sign the UN’s “Small Arms Treaty” early next month. Forbes has listed a few things this treaty would do to Americans:

1. Enact tougher licensing requirements, creating additional bureaucratic red tape for legal firearms ownership.

2. Confiscate and destroy all “unauthorized” civilian firearms (exempting those owned by our government of course).

3. Ban the trade, sale and private ownership of all semi-automatic weapons (any that have magazines even though they still operate in the same one trigger pull – one single “bang” manner as revolvers, a simple fact the ant-gun media never seem to grasp).

4. Create an international gun registry, clearly setting the stage for full-scale gun confiscation.

5. In short, overriding our national sovereignty, and in the process, providing license for the federal government to assert preemptive powers over state regulatory powers guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment in addition to our Second Amendment rights.

Aligning himself with a hostile power against the USA by signing this clearly unconstitutional treaty would dwarf the many other scandals for which Obama should be removed from office.

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Obama Lets Off Benghazi Terrorists

The Obama Regime did nothing to prevent the terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi, despite many warnings and pleas for help. As the attack took place, it continued to do nothing, despite still more desperate pleas. What has it been doing regarding Obama’s promises to punish the terrorists? You guessed it: nothing.

U.S. military sources serving in North Africa are challenging the latest White House claim that the administration is applying “all the resources” at its disposal to bring the Benghazi attackers to justice, charging instead that the Obama administration knows who is responsible but is not acting.

According to a US special operator, the Obama Regime “dropped the ball.”

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirms that U.S. forces have tracked the alleged attackers since October but have since lost the trail of some of them, as no one up the chain of command would authorize them to capture or kill the targeted militia members.

A recent briefing by Obama’s spokesliar Jay Carney has those in the know rolling their eyes.

“Carney just said they want to bring those responsible to justice — that’s a big ole negative,” said one special operator who watched the press conference with part of his team and disputed Carney’s characterization of the administration’s efforts in the wake of the attack.

According to well-placed sources, the administration has known where some of the perpetrators are, based on information given to the Pentagon back in January, but no action has been taken to capture or kill them.

Further, sources said they are being restricted from any reconnaissance or advanced force operations to go after those responsible in the eastern part of Libya.

“We know exactly where the mastermind lives,” one U.S. official said.

The greatest military in the world is useless when it has to await orders from people who do not mean the country well.

Back when it wasn’t called for, Obama was aggressive in Libya. He violated the War Powers Resolution to help bring down Gaddafi, who no longer posed a threat to us. The outcome:

“The place is becoming a safe haven for Al Qaeda, and terrorists are being indoctrinated and trained. There are also known foreigners who are now traveling to Libya in the eastern mountainous regions, that are training to conduct attacks in Europe and throughout the region,” one source said. “If nothing is done you will see fallout of terrorist attacks on westerners on a scale unlike we’ve never seen.”

Obama did let us know in advance which side he would take should the political winds continue to blow in an ugly direction. Those who voted for him anyway deserve all of this. The rest of us deserve none of it.

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Putter Porn….

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