President Obama is bored…

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — It’s perhaps appropriate that President Barack Obama is vacationing this weekend in California, where the state flag features a roaming grizzly.

The restless president, who has compared himself to a caged animal on recent wanderings by declaring the “bear is loose,” took a long Father’s Day weekend away with his wife and older daughter.  The visit to the desert resort area of Palm Springs is one of the ways Obama has been trying to escape during his sixth year cloistered in the White House.

“I think frankly we’ve all been through a cold and bitter winter and the bear has cabin fever,” said Obama friend and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. “His cabin is a little bit bigger and harder to escape than most.” (more…)

Interesting to see a liberally leaning outlet allow this op-ed… 

(New York Observer) As Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski has written, prosecutorial misconduct has become “an epidemic.” And evidence has come to light that our president, the nation’s chief law enforcement official, seeks his counsel from the worst.

If ever a picture was worth a thousand words, it is a recently released White House photo of President Obama and his muses—if one only knew the truth behind those muses whispering in the President’s ear as they strategized in the aftermath of the Benghazi tragedy.

To understand the (politely-put) “lack of transparency” from the White House, the enormous politicization of the Department of Justice, the release of Taliban leaders from Guantanamo, refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations, the IRS’s harassment of political opponents, and the cover-up of Benghazi, read on.

President Obama’s right-hand woman Kathryn Ruemmler, conveniently seated to his right, was his longest serving White House Counsel and remains one of his closest and most trusted advisors. (more…)

Y’all already know the topic of this captured moment.  However, in case anyone needs a reminder (more…)

That headline might sound ridiculous, but at the core of this story – that’s what’s going on.  And before you dismiss it, it’s far more common than you would think…

Happy Fathers Day from the New Jersey Politburo:

BACKSTORY – A 13-year-old New Jersey middleschooler was twirling a pencil in class.  Another student said he made it look like a gun and reported it to the teacher.

The teacher over-reacted, the school’s initial response compounded the stupidity.

Dad went public.

The community and media ridiculed the school heavily.  The School District Superintendent had no choice but to side with Dad – the entire incident was insufferably silly.

Embarrassed, and feeling pressure from both district administration and the media as well as the broader public, the school backed down, way down, even sending Dad an apology.

However, either for spite -or because they are constitutionally stupid- I’d guess the former, the administration of the school filed an “incident report” with Child Protection and Permanency, a division within the New Jersey CFS (Child Family Services).

That kicked 13-year-old junior and Dad into the New Jersey CFS system.

Dad was now demanded by the state to send junior to a psychologist for an evaluation.  That’s when things went downhill….. quickly. (more…)

(Via Sharyl Attkisson)  The news came late in the day on Friday the 13th.

According to the House Ways and Means Committee, the IRS reports having “lost” former IRS manager Lois Lerner’s emails to and from other IRS employees sent between January of 2009 and April of 2011 due to a ‘computer crash.’

In light of the disclosure, these are some of the logical requests that should be made of the IRS:

• Please provide a timeline of the crash and documentation covering when it was first discovered and by whom; when, how and by whom it was learned that materials were lost; the official documentation reporting the crash and federal data loss; documentation reflecting all attempts to recover the materials; and the remediation records documenting the fix. This material should include the names of all officials and technicians involved, as well as all internal communications about the matter.
• Please provide all documents and emails that refer to the crash from the time that it happened through the IRS’ disclosure to Congress Friday that it had occurred.
• Please provide the documents that show the computer crash and lost data were appropriately reported to the required entities including any contractor servicing the IRS. If the incident was not reported, please explain why.
• Please provide a list summarizing what other data was irretrievably lost in the computer crash. If the loss involved any personal data, was the loss disclosed to those impacted? If not, why?

(more…)

Funny, well sort of, “it takes a Bush to protect vital U.S. interests” ie. American Citizens…. (the headlines write themselves) ….

WASHINGTON DC […] Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush to move from the North Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf, which CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported Friday was expected to happen. The Bush is carrying fighter jets that could easily get to Iraq.

“The order will provide the commander in chief additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq,” Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement Saturday.

A guided-missile cruiser, the USS Philippine Sea, and a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Truxtun, would accompany the carrier, Kirby said.  [*NOTE* The ships carry Tomahawk missiles… /SD]  The ships were expected to arrive in the Gulf later Saturday.

Fighters from the al Qaeda splinter group, drawing support from former Saddam Hussein-era figures and other disaffected Sunnis, have made dramatic gains in the Sunni heartland north of Baghdad after overrunning Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday. Soldiers and policemen have melted away in the face of the lightning advance, and thousands have fled to the self-ruled Kurdish region in northern Iraq. (more…)

HatTip MoonBattery who adds:

Unfortunately, we live in a generation dominated by Ms. Stuart Parramores. That’s why what’s left of our culture is turning to tasteless lukewarm mush.

Via AlterNet:  Last Friday evening, I was shopping for food at the packed Trader Joe’s on Sixth Avenue in New York. I like shopping there. The prices are pretty good, the employees friendly, the store inviting.

As I was standing in line, I heard the jaunty marimba of the Rolling Stones’ 1966 smash hit, “Under My Thumb.” We’ve all heard the song 1,000 times — it’s a very catchy tune, from a talented, superstar band. But it also features lyrics that are not exactly friendly toward women. As I listened, I thought about how the song plays in the wake of Elliot Rodger’s killing spree, fueled, as the killer explained in a lengthy manifesto, by his rage against women and desire to control them.

We’ve been wringing our hands, asking how young men can become so hostile and eager to dominate to women. Well, isn’t it because our culture feeds them the message at every turn, even in the most mundane settings? What does it mean that degradation of half the population is considered appropriate background noise to everyday life? […]

(more…)

This is getting interesting – Jason Chaffetz responds to IRS claim of “lost emails” with prior congressional testimony specifically about that issue:

FRIDAY FEDERAL NEWS DUMP –  Well, they didn’t lose all of them, just the important ones – you know, the early emails between Lerner and various Democrats in office requesting her to take action and the construction of a plan of action – just those.

(Via Washington Times) The IRS has told Congress that it has lost some of former employee Lois G. Lerner’s emails, including some covering communications with Democrats in Congress and with other parts of the government, the House’s top tax-law writer said Friday.

Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he was stunned that it took more than a year into the investigation for the IRS to inform Congress that it didn’t have those emails.

The agency blamed a computer crash for the mishap. (more…)

It’s always the “also attending’s” that tell the story:

Click to SuperSize  😉

President Barack Obama convenes an Oval Office meeting with his national security team to discuss the situation in Iraq, June 13, 2014.

Seated with the President from left: Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Robert Cardillo, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration; Vice President Joe Biden; National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice, and Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns.

Also attending the meeting were Chief of Staff Denis McDonough; Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Tony Blinken, Deputy National Security Advisor; and Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

(more…)

Funny how Bergdahl leaves Landstuhl Medical Center 24 hours after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel went bonzo when he was questioned about it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has now left Germany on board a U.S. military aircraft and will arrive at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning.

Bergdahl, who has been recovering in Germany after five years as a Taliban captive, is returning to the United States, but he will not receive the promotion that would have been automatic had he still been held prisoner.

A U.S. official said Bergdahl would go directly to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, arriving Friday.  (read more)

#Bergdahl Presser scheduled today for 4pm Eastern at Brooke Army Medical Center. #FNPolitics

— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) June 13, 2014