Several former advisers to President Barack Obama have rejected the likely terms of a nuclear deal with Iran, adding their names to an open letter that declares: “The agreement will not prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapons capability”.  (link)

In the face of these increasingly loud voices, and in an effort to quickly close a deal, President Obama has given up the demand of nuclear inspections for military facilities as part of the agreement with Iran.   Now the State Dept. wants to stop the unfavorable reports ASAP….

VIENNA—Officials with the Department of State threatened to call security Monday on a Washington Free Beacon reporter who was attempting to report on a briefing held by senior Obama administration figures in Vienna on the eve of an expected nuclear agreement with Iran.

Two State Department officials booted the Free Beacon from a room where Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, was talking to reporters, despite the Free Beacon’s being credentialed by the Austrian government for the ongoing Iranian nuclear talks.

Western observers present in Vienna for the talks linked the State Department’s behavior to jitters over media coverage revealing a still growing list of concessions being made to Iran by the Obama administration. (more…)

The reoccurring problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people’s money !!

I’m not quite sure what the exact percentage is currently, but it was previously estimated more than 50% of all Puerto Ricans receive federal government subsidy (welfare) benefits of some form.  It is an unsustainable socio-economic system based on massive federal expenditures to subsidize their residents. 

Puerto Rico now saying “repayment is impossible”.  Here come the cries for bailouts from the Democrats.

(Via New York Times) Puerto Rico’s governor, saying he needs to pull the island out of a “death spiral,” has concluded that the commonwealth cannot pay its roughly $72 billion in debts, an admission that will probably have wide-reaching financial repercussions.

The governor, Alejandro García Padilla, and senior members of his staff said in an interview last week that they would probably seek significant concessions from as many as all of the island’s creditors, which could include deferring some debt payments for as long as five years or extending the timetable for repayment.

“The debt is not payable,” Mr. García Padilla said. “There is no other option. I would love to have an easier option. This is not politics, this is math.” (more…)

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices ruled that the EPA should have taken into account the financial costs to utility companies, states and affected citizens before deciding whether to set limits for the toxic air pollutants it regulated in 2011.  SCOTUS forcing the EPA to consider the wholesale costs to the people benefiting from the power generation.

This case arises from the EPA’s efforts to regulate pollution – and in particular mercury – from power plants. The question before the Court was whether, when determining whether to regulate the emissions from power plants, the EPA should take into account the cost to the plants of complying.

States and industry groups had argued that the EPA must do so, while the EPA argued that it does not have to consider costs until later in the process, when it issues specific pollution standards. Today the Court agreed with the states and industry groups, holding that the EPA’s refusal to consider costs when deciding whether to regulate was unreasonable.

The opinion remands the case to the D.C. Circuit for further proceedings. But from the opinion (embedded below) it seems likely that the agency will have to scrap their plans, try again and finding some mechanism to consider costs, before it can act on this issue.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

For some apparent reason the statements by the local Rowlett authority continue to appear fraught with contradictions as they clamor for the ‘Safari Principle’ rule book..   

TEXAS – The teen involved in an assault last week in Rowlett is now in custody.

Police identified the girl on Friday and by Sunday night were able to get her into custody with the cooperation of her and her family.

She was immediately processed into the Dallas County Henry Wade Juvenile Detention Center in Dallas on charges of injury to a child and assault. It is up to a judge on whether she will remain in custody. Her name will not be released because she is 13.

Rowlett Police issued an arrest warrant for suspect over the weekend following the video going viral. The controversial video shot last week shows a 3-year-old child was caught in the attack and could have been seriously injured. (more…)

The gay rights advocates have rallied coast to coast in celebratory parades and marches delighted with the Supreme Court decision granting gay marriage constitutional protections.  Unfortunately, the general disposition of many advocates has surfaced with vulgarity, crass public display, and vitriolic hatred toward religion.

Father Morris, a frequent guest on media punditry shows, was spit upon in New York:

Pastor Joel Osteen in Texas was heckled throughout his Sunday sermon: (more…)

A powder which acts like body paint, popular amid rave concert promoters, was sprayed on the confined crowd in Tiawan.  The powder is flammable in high concentrations.  The stage lights were hot and ignited powder.   The result is essentially like blasting a flamethrower onto the audience.

Fortunately the paint powder is highly soluble, hence the desired audience effect of sweat colorizing the crowd; water immediately removes the flammability – but these people were covered in the powder when it ignited.  The immediate audience was engulfed in an inferno.

Tough video to watch:

Print story Here.

(more…)

” CBS – Escaped convict David Sweat has been taken into custody by law enforcement officers, sources have confirmed to CBS News.

Sweat escaped with now-deceased convicted murderer Richard Matt on June 6 ” (link)

Early reports are that Sweat was spotted North of Malone NY, and just south of the Canadian border.  He has been shot and captured by law enforcement.  His injuries are described as “life threatening”.

Details sketchy (more…)

Unfortunately because former Pentagon lawyer Jeh Johnson is now head of the DHS, and specifically because Secretary Jeh Johnson is in that position as a result of his use of a career IOU for keeping his mouth shut in May 2011, and with full acceptance that Jeh Johnson is a political operative of the highest order, we are faced with the following consideration filter:

Is there really a heightened or anticipatory threat, or is Secretary Johnson merely trying to cover his ass in the event that something actually happens – so he can look back and say “we gave warnings”.

You decide.

(Via USA Today) Federal authorities have warned local law enforcement officials across the country about a heightened concern involving possible terror attacks targeting the July 4th holiday, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

While there was no specific or credible threat of attack, the official said the intelligence bulletin prepared by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI alerted local colleagues to the ongoing threats posed by the Islamic State and other homegrown extremists. The official was not authorized to comment publicly. (more…)