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World
& National
A rare peek into a Justice Department leak probe
When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of
classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more
than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of
receiving the secret material.
They used security badge access records to track the reporter’s comings
and goings from the State Department, according to a newly obtained
court affidavit. They traced the timing of his calls with a State
Department security adviser suspected of sharing the classified report.
They obtained a search warrant for the reporter’s personal e-mails.
Justice Department obtained records of Fox News journalist
The Justice
Department obtained a portfolio of information about a Fox News
correspondent's conversations and visits as part of an investigation
into a possible leak, The Washington Post reported Monday -- in the
latest example of the government seizing records of journalists.
The information
follows the charge that the department secretly obtained two months of
phone records from Associated Press journalists as part of a separate
leak probe.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/20/justice-department-obtained-records-fox-news-journalist/#ixzz2TqttBksA
Labor union chief calls immigration bill dangerous
The Senate’s immigration bill will raise national security risks and the
Obama administration will do little more than “rubber-stamp” illegal
immigrants into the program, endangering Americans, says the labor union
representing the 12,000 employees who will have to approve the
applications.
Kenneth Palinkas, president of the American Federation of Government
Employees Council 119, which represents officers and staff at U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, will deliver a damning critique of
the Senate bill Monday, according to a copy of his statement obtained
by The Washington Times.
White House aide: 'Nothing that suggests IRS did anything wrong?'
A besieged White House dug in its heels Sunday and defended figures at
the center of the unfolding Internal Revenue Service scandal while
reiterating that President Obama knew nothing of the misdeeds inside the
agency.
White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, appearing on four Sunday
morning political talk shows, offered strong support for Sarah Hall
Ingram, who led the agency’s tax-exempt division as it admittedly
targeted conservative groups. She recently was promoted to chief of the
health care reform office, tasked with implementing “Obamacare.”
IRS official: "Everything comes from the top"
A story in the Washington Post yesterday about the Internal Revenue
Service’s Cincinnati office, which does most of the agency’s nonprofit
auditing, clearly contradicted earlier reports that the agency’s
targeting of Tea Party groups was the result of rogue agents.
The Post story anonymously quoted a staffer in Cincinnati as saying they only operate on directives from headquarters.
“We’re not political,’’ said one determinations staffer in khakis as
he left work late Tuesday afternoon. “We people on the local level are
doing what we are supposed to do. . . . That’s why there are so many
people here who are flustered. Everything comes from the top. We don’t
have any authority to make those decisions without someone signing off
on them. There has to be a directive.”
White House defends indefensible IRS, McConnel asserts 'culture of intimidation'
President Barack Obama's team emerged on Sunday to defend his handling
of revelations that the IRS had targeted conservative groups for
scrutiny, as senior Republicans conceded they lacked evidence — so far —
that the president directed the abuses.
White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer says that although actions that need to
be taken on the IRS scandal plaguing the Obama administration, the wave
of recent controversies won't adversely affect the Obama
administration.
Lois Lerner fibs BIGtime
In the days since the Internal Revenue Service first disclosed that it
had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, new
information has emerged from both the Treasury Inspector General’s
report and congressional testimony Friday that calls into question key
statements made by Lois G. Lerner, the IRS’s director of the exempt
organizations division.
The clumsy way the IRS disclosed the issue as well as Lerner’s press
briefing by phone were seen at the time as a public relations disaster.
But even so, it is worth reviewing three key statements made by Lerner
and comparing them to the facts that have since emerged.
Obama gets personal about race and manhood at Morehouse College speech
President Obama on Sunday summoned the graduates of historically black
Morehouse College to “transform the way we think about manhood,” urging
the young men to avoid the temptation to make excuses and to take
responsibility for their families and their communities.
Delivering a commencement address at the all-male private liberal arts
college in Atlanta, Obama spoke in deeply personal terms about the
“special obligation” he feels as a black man to help those left behind.
“There but for the grace of God, I might be in their shoes,” Obama said.
“I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not
have been able to support a family — and that motivates me.”
North Korea fires sixed missile in three days
North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Monday, making
six launches in three days, and it condemned South Korea for
criticizing what it said were its legitimate military drills.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said North Korea had fired one missile on
Monday morning and a second one in the afternoon. Both were fired into
the sea off North Korea's east coast, a ministry official said.
The launches come hard on the heels of more than two months of threats
from North Korea that it would wage a nuclear war against South Korea
and the United States if it were attacked.
Iran dispatches warship to shadow Gulf exercises
The frigate Jamaran cruised to within a mile of the western vessels,
placing her "almost on top of" the fleet conducting exercises to secure
shipping, naval sources said.
Commanders stressed they did not view the frigate as a threat and said
day to day relations with the Iranian navy were cordial, but its
presence underlined the sensitivity of the exercise in one of the
world's most strategically important waterways.
Some could have gaps in medical coverage under new law
When the national healthcare law takes full effect next year, millions
of Americans risk disrupted health coverage because of common life
events: getting married or divorced, having children or taking on a
second job.
As their family incomes change, so too will their eligibility for public
insurance programs. And if nothing is done, policymakers warn, many
low-income patients will lose access to their doctors and medications
during this massive game of health coverage pingpong.
North Korean pirates seize Chinese hostages, demand a ransom
The Chinese embassy in North Korea is "working on" securing the release
of the crew of a Chinese fishing boat held by unidentified armed North
Koreans, who are reportedly seeking a ransom.
The Associated Press reports that, according to the ship owner Yu
Xuejun, the Liaoning-based boat was seized on May 5 by kidnappers
demanding 600,000 yuan ($100,000) ransom for the 16 crew members' safe
return.
Supreme Court to hear prayer case
The Supreme Court will revisit the issue of church-state separation and
decide whether a town council can begin its monthly meetings with a
prayer from a Christian pastor.
Thirty years ago, the court upheld a state legislature’s practice of
beginning its session with a non-denominational prayer. The justices
said that “to invoke Divine guidance on a public body entrusted with
making laws” did not violate the 1st Amendment’s prohibition on an
“establishment of religion.”
Big Government Loses Control
Tea party and other groups use social media to spread the news about IRS abuse world-wide.
What to make of the political scandals that are dominating the headlines
and forcing the Obama administration into Nixonian damage control?
Technology is finally doing to big government what it has done to big
business, big media and other institutions that once could operate with
nearly full control over information. The government is losing the
ability to manipulate information to avoid accountability.
Consider how the news broke that the Internal Revenue Service has been
targeting conservative groups. The admission by IRS official Lois Lerner
came in response to a question from the audience at a low-profile
meeting of the tax section of the American Bar Association. For a week,
perplexed reporters quoted her supporters saying she was apolitical and
must not have meant to make news this way.
The Good News About Race and Voting
Election polling data show that few Americans of any race report any problems casting a ballot.
In the next several weeks the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the
constitutionality of the requirement that several states, mostly in the
South, get "pre-clearance" from the Justice Department before they make
any changes to their election laws. The requirement was part of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was an emergency measure to outlaw the
profound racial discrimination that was disenfranchising
African-Americans.
The justices won't necessarily find a rationale for their decision based
on current election polling data. Nevertheless, the experience of
voters in recent elections will no doubt be illuminating to the
justices, and to all Americans who are concerned with voting rights.
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- Medal of
Honor
- The
Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an
enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the
Armed Services of the United States.
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GeneTrerally presented to its recipient by the President of the
United States of America in the name of Congress.
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- The
first award of the Medal of Honor was made March 25, 1863 to Private
JACOB PARROTT.
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The last award of the Medal of Honor was made September 15, 2011
to Sergeant DAKOTA MEYER.
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- Since
then there have been:
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• 3458 recipients of the Medal of Honor.
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• Today there are 85 Living Recipients of the
Medal of Honor.
CAPTAIN HUMBERT R ('Rocky'). VERSACE
UNITED STATES ARMY
for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Captain Humbert R. Versace distinguished himself by extraordinary
heroism during the period of 29 October 1963 to 26 September 1965,
while serving as S-2 Advisor, Military Assistance Advisory Group,
Detachment 52, Ca Mau, Republic of Vietnam. While accompanying a
Civilian Irregular Defense Group patrol engaged in combat operations in
Thoi Binh District, An Xuyen Province, Captain Versace and the patrol
came under sudden and intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms
fire from elements of a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle
raged, Captain Versace, although severely wounded in the knee and back
by hostile fire, fought valiantly and continued to engage enemy
targets. Weakened by his wounds and fatigued by the fierce firefight,
Captain Versace stubbornly resisted capture by the over-powering Viet
Cong force with the last full measure of his strength and ammunition.
Taken prisoner by the Viet Cong, he exemplified the tenets of the Code
of Conduct from the time he entered into Prisoner of War status.
Captain Versace assumed command of his fellow American soldiers,
scorned the enemy's exhaustive interrogation and indoctrination
efforts, and made three unsuccessful attempts to escape, despite his
weakened condition which was brought about by his wounds and the
extreme privation and hardships he was forced to endure. During his
captivity, Captain Versace was segregated in an isolated prisoner of
war cage, manacled in irons for prolonged periods of time, and placed
on extremely reduced ration. The enemy was unable to break his
indomitable will, his faith in God, and his trust in the United States
of America. Captain Versace, an American fighting man who epitomized
the principles of his country and the Code of Conduct, was executed by
the Viet Cong on 26 September 1965. Captain Versace's gallant actions
in close contact with an enemy force and unyielding courage and bravery
while a prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of the military
service and reflect the utmost credit upon himself and the United
States Army.
