The American People Are SO Stupid That They Will Believe Anything That The Press, Politicians And Activists Say. They Refuse To Think About The Issues!

Top Clinton Campaign Lawyer Helped Open Big Money Floodgates

Clinton has claimed she wants to reduce the amount of money in politics

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Marc Elias / AP

     

BY: Joe Schoffstall
June 22, 2015 5:00 am

Hillary Clinton’s top campaign lawyer was a key figure in a fight that allowed wealthy individuals to drastically increase the amount of money they could give to party committees, despite pledges by Clinton to combat money in politics.

As the Clinton team was shaping up earlier this year, they quietly brought aboard Marc Elias, a top campaign finance lawyer. Elias, who is a partner at the Washington D.C. law firm Perkins Coie and was general counsel for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, was just one month removed from drafting a provision that contradicted Clinton’s stated promises.

Elias was called in by the office of Harry Reid late last year to help craft a provision added into the $1.1 trillion spending bill at the last minute. The provision effectively raised the amount of money donors can give to political parties from $97,400 to $777,600.

The sudden addition of the provision surprised legislators on both sides of the aisle. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) commented at the time she did not know about it until one day before the vote on the year-end bill.

Politico reported that Elias’ firm, Perkins Coie, could benefit from the provision’s stealth implementation, which also allows for higher contributions to the legal fees of the committees.

Alongside Elias, Perkins Coie is led by Bob Bauer, who served as chief counsel to the Obama White House from January 2010 to June 2011. The firm, which is described as having a “stranglehold” on Democratic clients, has raked in more than $40 million in legal fees since 2000 from clients ranging from Obama to the Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, all of whom use the services of Elias, denied that he was working on their behalf as he drafted the provision.

Clinton has said ‘Revitalizing Our Democracy’ depends upon battling money in politics.

While the details during her official campaign kickoff speech this past Saturday were vague, she reiterated that she would support a constitutional amendment to undue the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

“Democracy can’t be just for billionaires and corporations,” Clinton said during her speech. “If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.”

While Clinton has said that decreasing money in politics will be a focus of her campaign, she began meeting months ago behind closed doors with people capable of donating vast amounts of money to super PACs that support her.

The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Clinton began ramping up her efforts to raise money by attending her first private meeting with potential big money donors and supporters of Priorities USA.

During that same week, Clinton attended a private gathering at the home of the billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer. During the 2014 elections, Steyer pumped $73 million into numerous campaigns.

Some progressive activists criticized these meetings as hypocritical, CNN reported at the time.

An anonymous Clinton campaign official responded to the criticism by saying that Clinton needs to meet with Super PAC mega-donors to compete with Republicans.

“With some Republican candidates reportedly setting up and outsourcing their entire campaign to super PACs and the Koch Brothers pledging $1 billion alone for the 2016 campaign, Democrats have to have the resources to fight back,” the Clinton campaign official told CNN. “There is too much at stake for our future for Democrats to unilaterally disarm.”

Requests for comment from the Clinton campaign, Elias, and Perkins Coie were not returned.

Islam Is A Major Problem In The World And It Is Up To THEIR Leaders To Solve The Issues!

Islam Is a Doctrine Spawned in Hell’: Pastor Will Be Prosecuted Over Fiery Anti-Muslim Sermon — but He Says He Won’t Be Silenced

Jun. 19, 2015 8:27am Billy Hallowell

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An evangelical pastor in Northern Ireland is under fire and will be prosecuted after calling Islam “satanic” and claiming that its doctrine was “spawned in hell” during a controversial 2014 sermon that streamed over the Internet.

Pastor James McConnell, 78, of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, made his comments — which included calling Islam “heathen” — in a sermon delivered last May, the BBC reported.

“The Muslim religion was created many hundreds of years after Christ. Muhammad, the Islam Prophet, was born around the year A.D. 570, but Muslims believe that Islam is the true religion,” he preached. “Now, people say there are good Muslims in Britain. That may be so, but I don’t trust them.”

McConnell continued, “Islam’s ideas about God, about humanity, about salvation are vastly different from the teaching of the holy scriptures. Islam is heathen. Islam is satanic. Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell.”

He initially defended his comments, but relented and apologized for offending anyone after a public outcry; the police were subsequently called to investigate him for a potential hate crime.

Watch McConnell’s comments about Islam below:

McConnell, who is accused of violating the law, reportedly denied the issuance of an “informed warning,” which is not a conviction, though it stays on a person’s criminal record for the period of one year.

Accepting the informed warning, though, would have prevented the pastor from being prosecuted in court.

A representative for the Public Prosecution Service in North Ireland told the BBC that McConnell had violated the Communications Act 2003 and that his offence was “one of sending, or causing to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message or other matter that was grossly offensive.”

But McConnell — who retired from Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle following the controversy — isn’t backing down, proclaiming in an interview that he is “not going to be gagged.”

“The police tried to shut me up and tell me what to preach. It’s ridiculous. I believe in freedom of speech. I’m going to keep on preaching the gospel,” he said, according to the Guardian. “I have nothing against Muslims, I have never hated Muslims, I have never hated anyone. But I am against what Muslims believe.”

McConnell continued, “They have the right to say what they believe in and I have a right to say what I believe.”

As TheBlaze previously reported, Ashers Baking Company in Northern Ireland was also recently convicted of discrimination after refusing to make a cake with a message supporting gay marriage.

(H/T: BBC)

Federal Gun Laws Did Not Stop Charleston Church Shooting.

CRIME

Charleston Massacre Suspect Was Not Allowed to Buy a Firearm — So How Did He Get One Recently?

Jun. 18, 2015 9:27pm Jason Howerton

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Dylann Storm Roof, the man accused of fatally shooting nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night, was reportedly arrested and charged with felony drug possession in February.

Police are seeking this man, a person believed to have shot and killed nine people attending a church meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. (Image source: Charleston Police Department/Facebook)

Put simply, Roof was prohibited from buying a gun after the charges were filed. Citizens facing pending felony charges are not allowed to obtain a firearm, according to federal law. A background check would have turned up his criminal record and triggered a red flag. His felony case was still pending when he massacred nine on Wednesday.

But Roof, who was apprehended by police on Thursday, still received a .45-cal handgun as a present from his dad in April, Reuters reported.

Gun control advocates refer such a transaction as the “private sale” loophole. While South Carolina is one of 42 states that allows private gun sales without background checks, it’s still illegal to knowingly give a gun to a felon or individuals with felony indictments.

Accordingly, Roof’s father could still face up to 10 years in prison if authorities can prove in court that he knew of his son’s felony indictment before he gave him a firearm.

Image source: New York Daily News

As the Washington Post points out, “It’s unclear, of course, if the pistol Roof received for his birthday is the same semiautomatic handgun that police say was used in the Charleston church shooting.”

It’s possible that Roof could have used a firearm that he owned or purchased before he was charged with the felony in the heinous crime.

Why Are Someone's Christianity Beliefs Important?

WHOOPI GOLDBERG -- ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIGOT

Exclusive: Joseph Farah indicts TV host for question posed to Carly Fiorina

Published: 2 days ago

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2011/12/Joseph-Farah_avatar.jpg

 JOSEPH FARAH 

“Are you going to run as a person who’s going to govern for everyone, or are you running on your Christian beliefs?”

That was the question noted stateswoman Whoopi Goldberg asked Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on “The View” this week.

Let’s reframe the question a few other ways and see how it flies on the bigotry scale:

• “Are you going to run as a person who’s going to govern for everyone, or are you running on your Jewish beliefs?”
• “Are you going to run as a person who’s going to govern for everyone, or are you running on your Catholic beliefs?”
• “Are you going to run as a person who’s going to govern for everyone, or are you running on your Mormon beliefs?”
• “Are you going to run as a person who’s going to govern for everyone, or are you running on your Muslim beliefs?”

Would even Whoopi Goldberg ask any of those questions of a presidential candidate? Or would even she have enough common sense, discernment and sensitivity to think before speaking?

What’s even more bizarre is that nearly every single U.S. president in history – including Barack Obama – has, at the very least, claimed to be a Christian. The only one who got questions like this in my lifetime was John F. Kennedy, a Catholic. Some wanted to know whether he would take his cues from the pope. Those who asked questions like that, even 55 years ago, were, as I recall, roundly and rightly condemned for their bigotry.

I waited a few days to see if the condemnations of Whoopi Goldberg would be forthcoming. While a few news and opinion outlets reported the amazingly distasteful and undignified exchange, I have yet to see any denunciation of the actress-comedienne and TV host. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Most focused on the point Goldberg was trying to make. Here’s the entire context:

Goldberg: “I’m sorry, I got to ask this question. The first part of it is you’re running, I assume you’re a person who is very, sort of, pro-life. Are you going to run as a person who’s going to govern for everyone, or are you running on your Christian beliefs? … Because you said some wonderful things and it made me ask the question. If you feel that women should have choices, why do you think choice is not a good thing?”

Fiorina: “Well, look, I think that abortion is obviously a delicate subject. I happen to believe that science is proving us right. The DNA in a zygote is the same as the day you die. But I know we don’t all agree. We do have common ground – the majority of women, young people and Americans now think that late-term abortion is a problem.”

I might have answered the question a little bit differently than Fiorina did. She might have focused on the inherent and obvious bigotry. Maybe Carly was playing nice. Presidential candidates often do. A different answer might have made the point. It might have brought the bigger issue to the forefront of the news. It might have made headlines.

Experience more of Joseph Farah’s no-nonsense truth-telling in his books, audio and video products, featured in the WND Superstore

But, frankly, it shouldn’t be up to the candidate to point out the bigotry in the question. It ought to be up to each of us.

It seems today the only form of religious bigotry that is in vogue and acceptable is the anti-Christian form. And it’s apparently acceptable and fashionable to demonstrate it even on national television.

The times they are a-changing indeed.

What’s strange about this phenomenon is that we live in a society and culture where everyone is walking around on eggshells so as not to offend. You can’t offend anyone these days except Christians. It’s open season on them.

If I’m not mistaken, Hillary Clinton still professes a Christian faith. Why is it that she won’t get a question like that? Obviously, because Hillary’s beliefs are out-of-synch with any Christian worldview. That kind of “Christian” is OK for the Whoopi Goldbergs of the world. That’s their kind of “Christian” – the Obama kind.

Tell me why this is anything other than raw, unadulterated, conspicuous, indisputable, non-debatable, palpable, barefaced bigotry. And why is Goldberg still on television?

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/whoopi-goldberg-anti-christian-bigot/#QLHPzzf1B7627G7R.99

Is It Time For Fire And Brimstone?

'COMFORTABLE' CHRISTIANITY OVER, CONFERENCE TOLD

Fights over marriage, Islam, more, looming large

Published: 15 hours ago

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2012/07/jackmino_avatar.jpg

 JACK MINOR 

The days of Christianity where it doesn’t make waves, doesn’t cause controversy, doesn’t draw opposition, and isn’t a target are finished, attendees at the Future Conference at Skyline Church in La Mesa, California, were told this week.

“The days of comfortable Christianity are over,” Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage warned.

The theme of the conference was “What you thought was coming is here now,” and confronted head on several hot button topics that WND has reported on, including the possible legalization of same-sex “marriage” and Muslim immigrants coming to America.

The meeting consisted of a lineup of speakers including Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Star Parker; Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford; Tony Perkins; Frank Gaffney Jr., former assistant secretary of defense for International Security Policy; Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel; Ted Baehr, editor of Movieguide; and many others.

In a matter of days, the Supreme Court will be issuing a controversial ruling on whether to overturn millennia of human history and declare homosexual “marriage” to be a right. Tensions are running high on both sides as many expect the court to side with the radical homosexual agenda, thus forcing Christians to choose whether to hold to biblical morality and engage in civil disobedience or face the possibility of losing their tax-exempt status and right to disagree with the “gay” agenda.

There’s a whole library of documentation about the persecution of Christians in the WND Superstore, from “How to Prepare for Hard Times and Persecution” to “Persecuted: The Global Assault On Christians.”

WND has complied the “Big List” of situations where Americans already have been fined, punished and persecuted by the government over their adherence to the biblical idea of marriage being between one man and one woman.

“Brown said while the issue is serious, it is important to keep things in perspective.

“The court may decide to redefine marriage. If they do, what happens in the U.S. will have a profound effect globally. If they do, the fight is not over. We’ll be in the same situation as the pro-life movement was after Roe v. Wade.

“No court can change the fundamental reality of father and mother; the court’s not going to change that, but they will put the lie into the law,” he said.

He asked, if the issue of same-sex marriage is simply over love and equality, why is there such an effort to punish and marginalize those who stand for traditional marriage?

“It was the idea of Christianity that helped bring the idea of equality to the pagan world. But even they understood that marriage was between a man and a woman; what they didn’t understand was the bold proclamation of Christianity of the essential equality of all human beings before God. Unfortunately, the movement to redefine marriage has taken that idea and removed it from truth and justice.”

Brown related how the U.S. government already is pushing the issue globally with such fervor that it is refusing humanitarian aid for countries that fail to adopt the homosexual agenda.

“Our own government is going to Africa and other countries and saying, ‘Unless you accept this new definition of marriage and human sexuality, we aren’t going to help you anymore.’ Don’t tell me there is no harm by redefining marriage,” he said.

Brown said he talked to a Nigerian bishop who said this is a matter of life and death because they rely on the West for clean water.

“People die if we are not able to provide clean water to them, and we are actually being told to abandon our faith or lose our help.”

The left has attempted to silence Christians by moving moral issues into the political realm and then claim that holding to biblical values violates “separation of church and state,” despite those words never appearing in the Constitution. Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said that not only are the critics wrong, but the Constitution actually guarantees the rights of Christians to bring their values into public office.

“Article 6 of the Constitution says there is no religious test for any office of the United States. Any person that serves in the United States can have any faith or have no faith. So certainly people of faith shouldn’t be precluded by our government nor by our own faith tradition.”

He also challenged ministers and preachers, saying they have a special obligation to engage and educate their people on political issues from a biblical viewpoint.

“It’s important for pastors and leaders to engage on these issues because people in the pews and in our churches want to talk about things from a biblical worldview. They want to know the context, what does the scripture say about this,” he said.

“They can’t know until someone gets the chance to walk through some of that. You’re the expert on these things. You’re the one who studies scripture all the time. You’re the one who’s extremely aware of what’s happening in culture and also the truth of scripture.

“Don’t just preach from the newspaper, but do give a biblical context to what’s happening in culture so that people will know how to talk to their co-workers and neighbors when these events come up.”

Another issue of concern to Christians is the rise of radical Islam. WND has reported on attempts by the Obama administration to resettle thousands of Syrian Muslims with possible terrorist connections to cities all across America.

Pastor Bob Roberts of Northwood church in Keller, Texas, explained that the ultimate solution to stopping Muslims from wanting to kill Christians is to present them with the gospel and convert them to Christianity.

“Yes, Muslims do dangerous things, but is that any different than what happened in the early church? The Roman government pushed against it and persecuted it. In 700 A.D., as Islam began to emerge and spread around the world, there were many Christians who were persecuted and martyred.”

When it comes to the threat from ISIS, Roberts said, “It’s nothing new.”

He then said Christians need to be willing to reach out and befriend Muslims to evangelize them. Roberts, who appeared on video from Pakistan, said he practices what he preaches and has been able to enlist imams in his cause.

“In America, we’re nervous about Muslims moving in, but I’m excited about it because I get to tell more people about Jesus. If those people follow Jesus, they’re going to be more effective about sharing the good news of Jesus to others.”

He was invited by some of the local imams in Afghanistan to come and help them teach in the local schools. At first, he didn’t want to do it, reasoning their religion was the antithesis to Christianity, but then he made the imams a proposal.

“What if you read the New Testament and we’ll read the Quran and 25 percent of the students get to be girls? If I were to get churches in America and young pastors who were willing to help build a relationship with you and your young imams, would you do that? And they said, ‘Yes, we would.’ As a result of this, it opened up a door, and it is amazing what has happened.

“The early church did not grow through marketing. It came from people of other religions. They left their religion not because they were dissatisfied but because Christianity was better than anything they ever heard.”

Those attempting to silence Christians frequently try to claim that they are judgmental while overlooking their own sin; however, this topic was dealt with as well.

Bishop Joe Materra, national convener of the United States Coalition of Apostolic Leaders, laid the blame for many of society’s ills squarely at the feet of Christians for their lack of commitment.

“We have not fully forsaken the God of our fathers, but neither have we fully embraced Him. We have a form of godliness but have denied the power,” Materra said. “That’s why we have people that are preaching part of the gospel but are accommodating in sexual ethics. You have many evangelicals and pastors who have adopted more of the teaching of Plato and Aristotle as the rule of law then the biblical law of God.”

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/comfortable-christianity-over-conference-told/#J30aZKDmKl932LJt.99