Florida Sportsman Forums - Politics http://forums.floridasportsman.com/ Threads about elections, foreign policy, religion, racial issues and all other controversial public issues en Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:08:47 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.floridasportsman.com/images/misc/rss.png Florida Sportsman Forums - Politics http://forums.floridasportsman.com/ <![CDATA[President Obama's honeymoon with the world is over]]> http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116802-President-Obama-s-honeymoon-with-the-world-is-over&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:35:01 GMT
Obama's Turbulent European Vacation

With vague pledges and backtalk from Merkel and Putin, the president shows how far America's standing with Europe has fallen.

By Michael Hirsh
Updated: June 19, 2013 | 5:11 p.m.
June 19, 2013 | 3:40 p.m.

President Obama delivers a speech in front of Brandenburg Gate, unseen, in Berlin Wednesday. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)


President Obama's honeymoon with the world is over.

What was it, exactly, about Obama's controversy-marred trip to Germany and the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland that fell so flat? Ummm, how about … everything?
There were the snarky words from Vladimir Putin, who expressed an almost Soviet-esque distance from Washington in his views about Syria. "Of course our opinions do not coincide," the Russian leader said bluntly. There was the coded warning from Chancellor Angela Merkel about spying on friends, and her and Obama's continuing frostiness over the issue of economic stimulus versus austerity. Above all, there was Obama's vague attempt at the Brandenburg Gate to capture some wisp of his past glory by pledging vague plans to cut nuclear arms and an even vaguer concept of "peace with justice."

The "peace with justice" line was a quote from John F. Kennedy, Obama's attempt to steal just a little of JFK's thunder from 50 years before. He didn't come away with much, winning just a smattering of applause from a crowd that was one one-hundredth the size of JFK's. A crowd that, at about 4,500, was also much, much smaller than Obama drew as a candidate in 2008.

Not only is the honeymoon long over, folks. The marriage is becoming deeply troubled and, increasingly, loveless.

Read more: http://www.nationaljournal.com/white...ation-20130619 ]]> Politics Tug Boat Bob http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116802-President-Obama-s-honeymoon-with-the-world-is-over The Government Is Watching You: 8 Ways to Disappear Online . . . http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116797-The-Government-Is-Watching-You-8-Ways-to-Disappear-Online&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:40:47 GMT If you've been watching the news lately, you know that your private online communications may not be so private. It's unclear exactly what data is collected by the NSA's PRISM surveillance program, but it's very existence has left many U.S. citizens feeling betrayed. In fact, according to a recent CNN poll, 6 in 10 people believe that the government is so large and powerful that it threatens the rights and freedoms of ordinary Americans.

Fortunately, there are ways users can take their privacy into their own hands, protecting their online activities and communication and telling the government to take a hike. From services that completely mask your online traffic to digital currencies that cannot be traced, here are eight tools that can protect against prying eyes.

Silent Circle

President Obama has admitted to collecting the metadata from call records, but there's some speculation that even more data is being harvested by the NSA. If you're uncomfortable with the thought that all your mobile communication records might be residing on a government server somewhere, check out Silent Circle.

Users can make encrypted voice calls, video chats, texts and emails with a Silent Circle subscription, which starts at $10 per month. The app is available for both iOS and Android, allowing anyone to lock down their mobile communications.

Tor Project

When you really need to protect your online privacy, you can route your traffic through the secure Tor network. Originally created for the U.S. Navy, Tor now provides protection against prying eyes to anyone who downloads and installs the free Tor software bundle. Much like you'd use a twisty and hard-to-follow route in order to lose a pursuer, Tor traffic is routed through a distributed, anonymous network that neatly erases your footprints along the way. You'll still need to be careful about the information that you reveal and files you download, but Tor can guarantee that the transport of data will be completely secure if used properly.

DuckDuckGo

You searched for for My Little Pony figurines just once, but now Google shows nothing but rainbow-related ads whenever you go online. If you're sick of targeted search results and advertising that makes you feel like you're constantly being watched, it may be time to switch to the search engine DuckDuckGo .

Unlike other search engines, DuckDuckGo doesn't collect or share any personal information so, if the government makes a search history request, there will be no information to hand over.

Tor Mail

It may be time to switch to an anonymous email service if you're worried about the security of your online correspondence. If you're connected to the Tor network, you can start using hidden services such as Tor Mail (website can only be accessed using Tor). Users don't need to provide any identifying information to sign up for a free account, and the email servers are hidden behind relays and the secure Tor network. The service even supports SMTP, POP3 and IMAP access, although you should verify that your connection is secure if you choose to access your email through one of these protocols.

Mega File Storage

Kim Dotcom is back after the infamous raid and take-down of his previous website, Mega Upload. The new service is simply dubbed Mega and the embattled CEO has apparently learned a lot from its mistakes. Unlike other cloud storage solutions, Mega uses multiple encryption layers, including the use of browser-based JavaScript, to mask the contents of every file. Even if the Mega traffic was monitored, there'd be no way of knowing the contents or names of the files being transferred.

PGP Encryption

If you want to guarantee that the only person who can read your message is the intended recipient, you can wrap your message or note in some secure PGP encryption. Short for Pretty Good Privacy, PGP encryption uses a free computer program to mask the contents of a message using a serial combination of hashing, data compression, symmetric-key cryptography and public-key cryptography. There is quite a bit of a learning curve with PGP encryption, but once you hide your message behind PGP, it will be nearly impossible to intercept.

Burner Phone

The Burner app allows users to purchase a temporary phone number with communication still occurring on the user's main phone. For real privacy, you can get the $75 Burner Phone, which may not have the apps and features of iOS or Android, but offers 16 hours of talk time, a month of standby and unlimited talk and texting for 30 days. A Burner Phone [slideshow id="137499"][slideshow id="210147"]can even be purchased with Bitcoins, ensuring that you have absolutely no tie to this disposable phone.

Bitcoins

You can't use cash for online purchases, but the new digital current Bitcoin is the next best thing. Unlike other currencies, which are either commodity backed, like the gold standard, or politically backed, like the Federal Reserve, Bitcoins are mathematically backed by complex computer algorithms.

Additionally, Bitcoin transactions are virtually untraceable, much like cash exchanges, allowing users to purchase goods or services online without leaving a trace. Also, with an increasing number of companies that accept bitcoins, completely switching to this anonymous online currency is becoming more viable every day.

http://www.livescience.com/37567-ano...acy-tools.html ]]> Politics Baits Out http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116797-The-Government-Is-Watching-You-8-Ways-to-Disappear-Online For all you die-hard organics/ environmentalists http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116780-For-all-you-die-hard-organics-environmentalists&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:26:44 GMT http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...comm_ref=false

I see there is a lot of controversy over Chipotle coming out and admitting to using GMO foods in 12 of 24 ingredients. I would like to know why some of you would be against it...

My opinion:
After taking a couple of genetics classes, I see that there has been proven to be no harm in almost all of GMO products. Heck, we have been genetically modifying our crops since the start of agriculture! Nothing but benefits have come from this biotech field yet the organic-nuts want the world to starve. I think those of you who are afraid of these GMO products are 1- very misinformed 2- listening to crazy environmentalists who base facts off of nothing and 3- have absolutely no idea about how genetically modified foods work at a micro and macromolecular level. ]]> Politics capt bill http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116780-For-all-you-die-hard-organics-environmentalists Unions hate cyclist... http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116757-Unions-hate-cyclist&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:56:51 GMT http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-fights-la-bike-lane-570520 SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, the MPAA and Teamsters Local 399, which represents... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ke-lane-570520

SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, the MPAA and Teamsters Local 399, which represents location managers, have banded together to exert pressure on City Councilman Jose Huizar to mitigate what they consider a nuisance. ]]> Politics Big Battery http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116757-Unions-hate-cyclist Bob Goodlatte http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116753-Bob-Goodlatte&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:42:11 GMT Here is Why Republicans Suck

Never heard of him?

Let's take an inside look at a republican poster boy, and why he does not like the new immigration law.

http://afeatheradrift.wordpress.com/...ublicans-suck/

Lucky you.

He’s the chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House. He’s from Virginia. He’s an *******.

Big time.

I mean really big time.

He’s the point man for the GOP on immigration reform in the House.

Did I mention he’s an *******?

He spoke with NPR recently, and gave his views on how he plans to shape the House response to the bill created in the Senate.

Did I mention he’s an *******?

He’s made it clear. There will be no path to citizenship on his watch. No sirree bob.

But he has a plan. It’s called guest worker. See, he wants all the undocumented workers to be given guest worker status with no hope of citizenship. There is a reason he wants it done this way.

“You’re going to have to have a program that assures those farms and those processing plants that there will be workers,” he says. “Because if you give them legal status, they can work anywhere in the United States — they’re not going to necessarily work at the hardest, toughest, dirtiest jobs.”

Ya see, Bob wants a permanent slave labor pool. And the only way to insure that is to never give them citizenship. No, they are here to do the dirty jobs that Americans can’t be expected to do, being superior in every way, you know.

Bob is a superior in every way too. Superior in being an *******. He’s the best at that job I’ve seen this week.

His name? Forgettable: Bob Goodlatte.

Good luck with that piece of work Johnny B. of Orange. ]]> Politics Cyclist http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116753-Bob-Goodlatte <![CDATA[Obama Berlin-- 2008--> 200,000, now just 5-6,000 attend his speech]]> http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116749-Obama-Berlin-2008-gt-200-000-now-just-5-6-000-attend-his-speech&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:13:14 GMT Looks like even the Krauts are seeing the Empty Suit for what he really is. He had a crowd of 200,000 in 2008 and now? They had to invite people... Looks like even the Krauts are seeing the Empty Suit for what he really is.

He had a crowd of 200,000 in 2008 and now? They had to invite people and only 5-6,000 bothered to show up. Must be tough to be "found out about".

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/polit...vs-2008/66388/ ]]> Politics Gary M http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116749-Obama-Berlin-2008-gt-200-000-now-just-5-6-000-attend-his-speech Conspiracy theorists, is there something here? http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116741-Conspiracy-theorists-is-there-something-here&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:24:22 GMT Award-winning journalist Michael Hastings dies in car accident at 33

LOS ANGELES – Award-winning journalist and war correspondent Michael Hastings died early Tuesday in a car accident in Los Angeles, his employer and family said.

Hastings, who was 33, was described by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered. Most recently, he wrote about politics for the news website BuzzFeed, where the top editor said colleagues were devastated by the loss.

"Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief.

Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.

Authorities said there was a car crash early Tuesday in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that killed a man, but coroner's officials could not confirm whether Hastings was the victim.

Hastings won a 2010 George Polk Award for magazine reporting for his Rolling Stone cover story "The Runaway General."

His story was credited with ending Gen. Stanley McChrystal's career after it revealed the military's candid criticisms of the Obama administration.
Hastings quoted McChrystal and his aides mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, over their war policies.

At a Pentagon ceremony for his subsequent retirement in 2010, McChrystal made light of the episode in his farewell address. The four-star general warned his comrades in arms, "I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter."

When he died, Hastings was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where Managing Editor Will Dana was quoted Tuesday saying Hastings exuded "a certain kind of electricity" that exists in great reporters whose stories burn to be told.

"I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours," Dana said.

Hastings was also an author of books about the wars. "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" was published late last year and details shocking exploits of the military overseas.

In 2010, with the publication of "I Lost My Love in Baghdad," Hastings told the story of being a young war correspondent whose girlfriend dies in Iraq.

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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/18...#ixzz2Wfxzmoo2 ]]> Politics tag http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116741-Conspiracy-theorists-is-there-something-here Serious Questions for Liberals http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116740-Serious-Questions-for-Liberals&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:17:53 GMT In recent posts, Liberal America Haters keep complaining about our Capitalistic system, and the fact that rich business owners oppress workers. My... In recent posts, Liberal America Haters keep complaining about our Capitalistic system, and the fact that rich business owners oppress workers.

My questions are these:

If our system is so terrible and oppresses the low skilled worker, why is it that we need to put up fences to keep low skilled workers out of our country?

Wouldn’t they rather stay in their native socialist lands and live the good life over there?

Why do Libs want to use the Socialist model for America, which seems to be failing the average person in other countries? ]]> Politics NACl H2O Luvr http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116740-Serious-Questions-for-Liberals We were showcased as a ‘nation of pimps’ during Obama visit – Daly http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116736-We-were-showcased-as-a-‘nation-of-pimps’-during-Obama-visit-–-Daly&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:52:54 GMT *Hahaha...* http://www.thejournal.ie/clare-daly-obamas-dail-957439-Jun2013/ TD CLARE DALY has launched a blistering attack on the Government... Hahaha...

http://www.thejournal.ie/clare-daly-...57439-Jun2013/

TD CLARE DALY has launched a blistering attack on the Government and the Irish media for what she called the ‘glowing’ coverage of the Obama family’s visit to Ireland this week, in a speech described by the Taoiseach as ‘disgraceful’.

Speaking in the Dáil this morning, the United Left Alliance deputy accused Enda Kenny of being overly deferential in his treatment of the US President, and said the press had shied away from any proper questioning of comments made by First Lady Michelle Obama.

She said there had been “special news bulletins” covering what Michelle and her daughters had for lunch during their visit to Dalkey, but “very little questioning of the fact that she had lunch with Mr Tax Exile (Bono)”.

Deputy Daly also criticised the First Lady’s comment at the Gaeity Theatre that she was glad to be ‘home’, saying Michelle had spent ‘less than a week in the country’. She also accused the Obamas of exploiting the President’s Irish ancestry, in spite of his ‘tenuous links’ here.

Regarding Barack Obama’s speech on the Northern Ireland peace process, Daly said his promise of continued US backing of the effort was the ‘biggest irony of all’. She said that ‘any serious examination’ of the facts showed the President was a ’war crimimal’, and lambasted America’s decision to arm rebel groups in Syria.

You, Taoiseach, turned a blind eye to all this… You showcased us as a nation of pimps – prostituting ourselves in return for a pat on the head.

Daly told the Taoiseach that she and other members of the ULA had been speculating as to “whether you were going to deck the Cabinet out in Leprechaun hats and stars and stripes” ]]> Politics Big Battery http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116736-We-were-showcased-as-a-‘nation-of-pimps’-during-Obama-visit-–-Daly A Dem Prez Bill Clinton Scandal Cover-Up? http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116725-A-Dem-Prez-Bill-Clinton-Scandal-Cover-Up&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:09:04 GMT Uh-oh! Impeached Democrat/Perjuror Bill Clinton may be getting very nervous about what these deeply involved whistleblowers may have to say about the... Uh-oh! Impeached Democrat/Perjuror Bill Clinton may be getting very nervous about what these deeply involved whistleblowers may have to say about the crash of TWA 800 in 1996! Those Clintons have a loooooong history of Lying and of Cover-Ups!

TWA Flight 800 investigators break silence in new documentary, claim original conclusion about cause of crash is wrong

Published June 18, 2013
FoxNews.com

July 16, 2008: The remains of the TWA Flight 800 from New York to Paris that exploded off Long Island, New York at National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Training Facility in Ashburn,Virginia. (REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang)

A group of whistle-blowers, including a number of aviation experts, have come forward in a new documentary to claim that the official explanation for the crash of TWA Flight 800 was wrong and a gas tank explosion did not bring down the flight off the coast of Long Island 17 years ago.

However, the six whistle-blowers, all part of the original investigation team, stopped short of saying the plane was shot down.

Flight 800, a Boeing 747, had just taken off from JFK airport with 230 people aboard on July 17, 1996, en route to Paris when it exploded and crashed off the coast of nearby East Moriches, Long Island, killing everyone on the plane.

“..This team of investigators who actually handled the wreckage and victims’ bodies, prove that the officially proposed fuel-air explosion did not cause the crash,” reads a statement by the producers of the film, which will debut on cable network EPIX next month. “They also provide radar and forensic evidence proving that one or more ordnance explosions outside the aircraft caused the crash.” However, the statement said they did not speculate about the source or sources of any ordnance explosions.

The whistle-blower team, which includes investigators -- at the time -- from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), TWA, and the Airline Pilots Association, have since retired from their positions. They claim that at the time, they were placed under a gag order by the NTSB, which they charged falsified the official conclusion of the cause of the crash. They indicated they would elaborate more in a Wednesday media briefing.

The NTSB report, the culmination of a four-year investigation, suggested the cause of the explosion was due to an explosion in the gas tank caused by a short circuit.

With conspiracy theories immediately swirling around the crash -- one being that it was caused by a terrorist missile strike -- the FBI conducted a 16-month investigation and concluded that there was no evidence to indicate that any criminal act occurred.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/18...#ixzz2WfeksScD ]]> Politics Gary M http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116725-A-Dem-Prez-Bill-Clinton-Scandal-Cover-Up <![CDATA[Local gub'ments gotta do what they gotta do..........to survive Obamacare!]]> http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116724-Local-gub-ments-gotta-do-what-they-gotta-do-to-survive-Obamacare!&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:59:08 GMT Gee, who saw this coming? What say you libs? This is the result you voted for, right? A couple of problems here. Of course the huge one is the... Gee, who saw this coming? What say you libs? This is the result you voted for, right?

A couple of problems here. Of course the huge one is the BHO-care mandate. Another is the BHO-care mandate with no pass through funding.

The federal government is sooooooo good at making laws the local governments have to follow but not funding it.

Of course the best solution is to do away with BHO-care because it is terrible legislation.

Soooooooo, in the meantime more part-time workers.

Below are a few samples, but you really should read the entire article.

Text:

Yet while private companies are getting all this unwelcome and hostile attention, local governments across the country have been quietly doing exactly the same thing — cutting part-time hours specifically so they can skirt ObamaCare's costly employer mandate, while complaining about the law in some of the harshest terms anyone has uttered in public.

Dearborn, Mich.: "If we had to provide health care and other benefits to all of our employees, the burden on the city would be tremendous," said Mayor John O'Reilly, explaining why the city is cutting its more than 700 part-time and seasonal workers down to 28 hours a week. "The city is like any private or public employer having to adjust to changes in the law."

Long Beach, Calif.: "We are in the same boat as many employers," said Tom Modica, Long Beach's director of government affairs. "We need to maintain the programs and service levels we have now." So the city is going to cut hours for 200 part-time workers so it doesn't have to pay $2 million to provide health benefits.

Virginia: "The Commonwealth of Virginia is grappling with the same issues that many businesses in the private sector are as they struggle to deal with the costs imposed by the Affordable Care Act," Paul Logan, a spokesman for Gov. McDonnell, said. The state is requiring that about 7,000 part-time government workers put in no more than 29 hours a week.

Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/061913-660...#ixzz2Wg7CozN9 ]]> Politics WaterEngineer http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116724-Local-gub-ments-gotta-do-what-they-gotta-do-to-survive-Obamacare! <![CDATA[Black Democrat switches------> to Republican!!]]> http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116721-Black-Democrat-switches-gt-to-Republican!!&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:31:57 GMT Let's see how the Libs/Dems/Marxist/Leninists here bash this guy, blame Bush, personally attack and call this guy names.......... Yet, most will refuse to read the entire article or watch his incredible short video explaining "why" he can no longer support the Dem Party and why he encourages all other blacks to do as he has done.

And Dems playing the Race Card? Naw....... can't be can it?

I'm going to put the link to the article right here at the top, so that everyone can watch this incredible video contained within the article. Wow, what a well-founded explanation of the Democrat Party! I think that all Repub politicians need to see this all across the nation.......

http://www.wnd.com/2013/06/black-dem..._orig=politics


Black Democrat Switches to Republican

'It was Democrats who defended rights of slave owners'
Published: 19 hours ago
Bob Unruh

A state senator from Louisiana who recently announced his departure from the Democratic Party to become a Republican says the party of President Obama is one of “overseers.”

State Sen. Elbert Guillory released a video Sunday explaining his reason for leaving the Democrats, citing their opposition to civil rights, their attitudes toward people and their desire for “control.”

He said the black community, which he invited to join him in the move, should quit exchanging self-reliance for the “allegiance of overseers” through government programs that are intended not to help people, but to control them.

He said in his video message that Democrats push a social justice and welfare aid strategy to manage citizens, not help them from poverty.

“In recent history, the Democratic Party has created the illusion that their agenda and their policies are what’s best for black people. Somehow, it has been forgotten that the Republican Party was founded in 1854 as an abolitionist movement, with one simple creed – that slavery is a violation of the rights of man,” he said.

He noted it was Republicans who pushed for the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, giving blacks citizenship, voting rights and due process.

“Democrats, on the other hand, were the party of Jim Crow. It was the Democrats who defended the rights of slave owners.”

He warned that the very foundations of the Democratic Party are faulty.

“At the heart of liberalism is the idea that only a great and powerful big government can be the benefactor of social justice for all Americans. But the left is only concerned with one thing: control. And they disguise this control as charity.”

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that with one week left in the already Republican-controlled legislature’s session, the impact of the change is uncertain.

The report also said Guillory moved into the Democratic Party in 2007, but his voting record throughout his service in office has “remained staunchly conservative.”

He expressed disappointment in his party’s positions on abortion, which Obama supports in all forms; the Second Amendment, which Obama repeatedly has tried to curb; education and immigration.

Guillory said he reached his tolerance limit when state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson said fellow lawmakers had told her they based their opposition to Obamacare on the race of the president, not policy, the newspaper said.

“The accusations of racism this week certainly helped push me over the edge,” Guillory told the newspaper.

WND columnist Star Parker noted Guillory said Democrats “have moved away from the traditional values of most Americans. Their policies have encouraged high teen birth rates, high high school dropout rates, high incarceration rates and very high unemployment rates.”

Parker said black Americans, “like every American, need less taxes taken out of their paycheck, need to be able to choose where to send their child to school, need to be able to pick freely a health-care plan that suits their needs, and need to save for retirement instead of paying payroll taxes.”

Guillory said the move was the “right decision, not only for me, for all my brothers and sisters in the black community.”

]]> Politics Gary M http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116721-Black-Democrat-switches-gt-to-Republican!! More on the IRS; union bonuses http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116710-More-on-the-IRS-union-bonuses&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:11:01 GMT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel... WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees' union on Wednesday to pay the bonuses. Grassley says the bonuses should be canceled under an April directive from the White House budget office.

The directive was written by Danny Werfel, a former budget official who has since been appointed acting IRS commissioner.

"The IRS always claims to be short on resources," Grassley said. "But it appears to have $70 million for union bonuses. And it appears to be making an extra effort to give the bonuses despite opportunities to renegotiate with the union and federal instruction to cease discretionary bonuses during sequestration."

The IRS said it is negotiating with the union over the matter but did not dispute Grassley's claim that the bonuses are imminent.

Office of Management and Budget "guidance directs that agencies should not pay discretionary monetary awards at this time, unless legally required," IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said in a statement. "IRS is under a legal obligation to comply with its collective bargaining agreement, which specifies the terms by which awards are paid to bargaining-unit employees."

Eldridge, however, would not say whether the IRS believes it is contractually obligated to pay the bonuses.

"In accordance with OMB guidance, the IRS is actively engaged with NTEU on these matters in recognition of our current budgetary constraints," Eldridge said.

The National Treasury Employees Union did not respond to requests for comment.

The IRS has been under fire since last month, when IRS officials acknowledged that agents had improperly targeted conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections. A few weeks later, the agency's inspector general issued a report documenting lavish employee conferences during the same time period.

Three congressional committees and the Justice Department are investigating the targeting of conservative groups. And key Republicans in Congress are promising more scrutiny of the agency's budget, especially as it ramps up to play a major role in implementing the new health care law.

Much of the agency's top leadership has been replaced since the scandals broke. President Barack Obama forced the acting commissioner to resign and replaced him with Werfel, who used to work in the White House budget office.

In a letter to Werfel on Tuesday, Grassley said the IRS notified the employee union March 25 that it intended to reclaim about $75 million that had been set aside for discretionary employee bonuses. However, Grassley said, his office has learned that the IRS never followed up on the notice. Instead, Grassley said, the IRS negotiated a new agreement with the bargaining unit to pay about $70 million in employee bonuses.

Grassley's office said the information came from a "person with knowledge of IRS budgetary procedures."

"While the IRS may claim that these bonuses are legally required under the original bargaining unit agreement, that claim would allegedly be inaccurate," Grassley wrote. "In fact, the original agreement allows for the re-appropriation of such award funding in the event of budgetary shortfall."

Werfel wrote the directive on discretionary employee bonuses while he was still working in the White House budget office. The directive was part of the Obama administration's efforts to impose across-the-board spending cuts enacted by Congress.

The spending cuts, known as "sequestration," are resulting in at least five unpaid furlough days this year for the IRS' 90,000 employees. On these days, the agency is closed and taxpayers cannot access many of the agency's assistance programs.

Werfel's April 4 memorandum "directs that discretionary monetary awards should not be issued while sequestration is in place, unless issuance of such awards is legally required. Discretionary monetary awards include annual performance awards, group awards, and special act cash awards, which comprise a sizeable majority of awards and incentives provided by the federal government to employees."

"Until further notice, agencies should not issue such monetary awards from sequestered accounts unless agency counsel determines the awards are legally required. Legal requirements include compliance with provisions in collective bargaining agreements governing awards." ]]> Politics Ol Mucky http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116710-More-on-the-IRS-union-bonuses TOLERANCE -- Worth repeating IMHO . . . http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116707-TOLERANCE-Worth-repeating-IMHO&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:40:51 GMT "Tolerance

I am truly perplexed that so many of my friends are against another mosque being built in Toronto.

I think it should be the goal of every Canadian to be tolerant regardless of their religious beliefs.
Thus the mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance.

That is why I also propose that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque,
thereby promoting tolerance from within the mosque.

We could call one of the clubs, which would be gay, "The Turban Cowboy ",
and the other a topless bar called "You Mecca Me Hot."

Next door should be a butcher shop that specializes in pork, and
adjacent to that an open-pit barbeque pork restaurant, called "Iraq o' Ribs."

Across the street there could be a lingerie store called "Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret ";
with sexy mannequins in the window modeling the goods.
Next door to the lingerie shop there would be room for an adult sex toy shop, "Koranal Knowledge ",
its name in flashing neon lights and on the other side a liquor store called "Morehammered."

All of this would encourage Muslims to demonstrate the tolerance they demand of us,
so their mosque issue would not be a problem for others."

NHL Hall of Fame broadcaster Jiggs McDonald

http://www.tomotorsports.com/vBullen...ead.php?t=5631 ]]> Politics Baits Out http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116707-TOLERANCE-Worth-repeating-IMHO Great news for republicans http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116706-Great-news-for-republicans&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:19:28 GMT * A.M.A. Recognizes Obesity as a Disease* http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/business/ama-recognizes-obesity-as-a-disease.html
A.M.A. Recognizes Obesity as a Disease

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/bu...a-disease.html ]]> Politics chubasco http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?116706-Great-news-for-republicans