Showing posts with label border. Show all posts
Showing posts with label border. Show all posts

Thursday, September 4, 2014

OUR PRESIDENT SAYS "AMERICA IS THE SAFEST IT"S BEEN IN 30 YEARS"

After many hours of waiting and hoping the message on the video was not true, the White House confirmed last night that a second American journalist has been beheaded by Isis. His name is Stephen Sotloff, and President Obama, speaking from Estonia, called him a “devoted, courageous journalist.”9/11


WORLDWIDE NEWS FROM RAY


A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries


News written and delivered by Ray Mossholder


Audio/Video technology by Georgia Mossholder


Wednesday September 3, 2014


Hello America. Hello world.


From the headquarters of reachmorenow.com in Fort Worth, Texas, this is Ray Mossholder and this is the news.



So much is happening at reachmorenow.com that you will be experiencing with me in the next few weeks that my time is greatly divided between the news and my work with Larry Jack and Georgia to get things ready for you.


I have compiled so much news in the past three days that I can only give you only part of it today or otherwise it would be much too long. But you’ll miss nothing of importance in this and coming newscasts.


After many hours of waiting and hoping the message on the video was not true, the White House confirmed last night that a second American journalist has been beheaded by Isis. His name is Stephen Sotloff, and President Obama, speaking from Estonia, called him a “devoted, courageous journalist.”



The insanity of what continues to occur in the demonic growth of a conscienceless and barbaric plague called Isis – who are in both Iraq and Syria because they’ve broken through Syria’s border and massacred everyone on their way, must be stopped. Meanwhile, they say they will soon lop off another head unless America leaves Iraq with its military.


America is 8 days away from the anniversary of 9/11. We know that and the radical Muslims know that. News has just been released that last month Islamist militants took control of almost a dozen commercial jetliners in Libya and the fear is strong that the terrorists may plan to use them for a far greater 9/11 this year.



I am reminded tonight of the words of George Orwell, the author of 1984, when he wrote “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes an act of rebellion.”


You can rest easy America at the soothing words of our president, that is if you don’t look now. Oh well, maybe you’d better look:


Isis and Al Qaeda are at our Mexican border today and threatening to destroy a major city;


Prime Minister David Cameron of England has raised his nations danger alert to the highest level possible because of threats from Isis.



And President Barack Obama has declared the United States is “at its safest level in three decades.” Be careful golfers. Maybe playing golf numbs the brain!



The truth is America is the least safe it’s been this very minute since the Second World War.



David Cameron’s message to England as he warned his people of imminent attack, can be seen and heard on reachmorenow.com


House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said last week that the very ability of Isis to magnetically draw fighters to join them, fighters who have lived in America, Canada and Europe “is as dangerous a threat matrix as I have ever seen in my ten years on this committee. We need to address it.”



Canada reports there are at least 500 citizens from their country who have now joined the Isis terrorists. Rogers said, “They are just a car ride away from driving across that border and doing something to the United States.”


It’s true that Mike Rogers is a Republican, but this situation goes far beyond your party affiliation or whether you would click the “Like” button or not for President Obama. This has to do with your life, your children’s lives, your grandchildren’s lives, your friends both far and near, your church, and America itself.



Judicial Watch, an organization dedicated to telling the truth about corruption, or information of major importance that is not being covered by the mainstream media, is warning of an imminent attack that is coming at our US/Mexican border. They have released this following statement:


“Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican city of Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle-born improvised devices. High–level federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources have confirmed to Judicial Watch that they have sent out a warning bulletin alerting them of an imminent terrorist attack about to occur on our border. Agents across a number of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense agencies have all been placed on high alert and instructed to aggressively work all possible leads and sources concerning the imminent terrorist threat.”



Juarez, Mexico, is famously a crime–infested narcotics hotbed situated across from El Paso, Texas. Violent crimes are so rampant in Juarez that the United States State Department has issued a number of travel warnings for anyone planning to go there. The last one was issued just a few days ago.



It is less likely that terrorists would come across into America from the Rio Grande border because Texas Governor Rick Perry has stationed National Guard troops there.


Judicial Watch continued “Intelligence officers have picked up radio talk and chatter indicating that the terrorist groups are going to carry out an attack on the border. ‘It’s coming very soon,’ according to a high level source who clearly identified the groups as “Isis and Al Qaeda.”


An attack is so imminent that the commanding general at Fort Bliss, the U.S. Army post in El Paso, has been briefed and is readying his troops”, another source confirms.



This disturbing inside intelligence comes on the heels of news reports that the United States intelligence has picked up increased chatter among Islamist terror networks approaching the thirteenth anniversary of 9/11. While these terrorists reportedly are planning their attack just outside the United States, President Obama admitted until today that “we don’t have a strategy yet” to combat Isis.


“I don’t want to put the cart before the horse,” the commander-in-chief said this past Friday during a White House briefing. “I think what I’ve seen in some of the news suggests that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we currently are.”



Princeton University Professor Robert George warns that Isis is focused on committing “mass slaughter in the United States.” Professor George said “Isis has every intention of getting there, and these are people who achieve what they set out to achieve. Unless somebody stops them, they make good their threats. Our well-being, our security, our place in the world are vitally threatened by Isis. They will stop at nothing.…in order to destroy anyone standing in their way so that they can establish the caliphate.”



Princeton University Professor Robert George


Professor George further said, “We’re going to have to fight them eventually. Now do you want to do it now in Iraq and Syria, or do you want to wait until they’re carrying out activity within the United States? If they obtain biological or chemical weapons, they will use them. There’s no question. There’s nothing stopping them from using those weapons.”


Last week, Mike Morrell, former director of the CIA and current CBS news national security analyst, warned that Isis could show up in the United States to conduct small-scale attacks.



Mike Morrell, former director of the CIA and


current CBS news national security analyst


Speaking on CBS This Morning Morrell said, “if an Isis member shows up at a mall in the United States tomorrow with an AK-47 and kills a number of people, I would not be surprised.” Morrell warned “Over the long–term this group could present a 9/11–style threat. It took Al Qaeda two and a half years to plan 9/11. It would not surprise me to know that Isis may be thinking about going in that kind of direction.”



I’ve mentioned Prime Minister David Cameron of England. If you check his statements that he made even a year ago, he sounds like a totally different man. I don’t know he sounded like California Governor Jerry Brown, welcoming Muslims in New England as if they were gold.



October 28, 2013


Friday he told England that he proposes sweeping legislation to combat the “scourge of extremism,” and again warned of the rapid rise of Isis. He promised “in the end we will defeat this extremism.”


In order to win this fight, Cameron has introduced legislation to seize passports at the border. He said England would be working hard to keep out foreign fighters who return from the Middle East and are a threat to the nation. He said, “Passports are not an automatic right.” He then pointed out that 700 have left France to join Isis, and 400 have done the same thing from Germany.



David Cameron also said England would be tightening its air security by demanding that airlines submit a passenger list of all passengers aboard before they would be allowed to land. He will also be forbidding British nationals to return to Britain.


So were our president’s words that we are at the safest point in thirty years, true? I leave it to you to decide.


Perhaps to make America feel even better, The FBI has not included Isis on its list of potential terror threats in the United States. In fact, it lists Isis as a “medium terror risk.” This, in spite of the fact that Isis has now been clearly linked with the Boston Marathon bombing and several other terror attempts, and Isis and Al Qaeda are at our door. Is the prophecy of Reverend Jeremiah Wright coming true? Are these American’s chickens that are coming home to roost?



Reverend Jeremiah Wright


Some of the names of the most dangerous terror groups working in America right now are completely unknown by the vast majority of American citizens. Two of those organizations are Chechen Americans Tamerlan and


D-HOCKHAR (Dzhokhar) TSARNAFE (Tsarnaev). These two groups actually staged the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon.


In spite of these things, all FBI training manuals have been purged of any danger at all from radical Islamism. Would someone please be kind enough to explain why the FBI has done this?


Maybe I could get the answer from the University of Florida. That university is opening a center for global Islamic studies. They have brought together a complete staff from religion, science, history, anthropology, languages, literatures and cultures. The center will open September 18 and 19 with the conference called “Global Islam and the Quest For Public Space.”


And if you think David Cameron has had a change of heart, listen to the same man who said America is safer today than any time within the past thirty years. Speaking from Estonia and joining Baltic state leaders on their way to a NATO conference in Wales, President Obama sounded like an entirely different man.



Speaking internationally Obama said, “Whatever these murderers think they’ve achieved by murdering innocent Americans…they have failed. We will not be intimidated. Their horrific acts only unite us as a country to take the fight against these terrorists. And those who make the mistake of harming Americans will learn that we will not forget, and that our reach is long and justice will be served.”


A pacifistic president is usually far stronger in their rhetoric than in their actions. Any intelligent American will now be asking, “Does our President really mean America will be going after Isis with full strength to rid them from this world after all he said last week? Or, is it just another red line in the sand for Isis as it was with Syria with no carry-through?” We should find out in the next few days.


On the sixth and seventh of this month – Saturday and Sunday – President Obama will be meeting with David Cameron and 26 other NATO leaders to undoubtedly discuss what to do about Isis, Al Qaeda, and the rest of the terrorists worldwide. They will say a lot about Vladimir Putin at this meeting too. The decisions they make in those two days may shape the future of this whole world.


Meanwhile , what’s wrong with this picture? … The United States Department Of Homeland Security is about to allow hundreds, perhaps thousands of illegal immigrants to return to the United States and that may be just the beginning. The Los Angeles Times says this plan that is about to be put into action is because of a lawsuit waged on behalf of illegal immigrants by the ACLU. The Times says that an “unknown fraction” of the two hundred and fifty thousand previously deported illegal immigrants will actually be encouraged to return to Americai.


The ones being invited back at this moment have this limitation: They must be “longtime California residents with relatives who are United States citizens and… young migrants whose parents brought them into America illegally, and who deported themselves.”


Border Agents will now be required to inform illegal immigrants of their right to fight deportation in the United States Court system (something that would require a great deal of time and taxpayer money.) Border Agents must also “provide them with access to an informational hotline and a list of free legal providers.”



Oh, and there’s more – American taxpayers will pay for ads online, for ads in magazines and newspapers, billboards, and on radio stations in Southern California and Mexico. Working with the Mexico National Football Team, America’s taxpayers will be placing billboards “in high population Mexican cities like Tijuana, Tecate, and Mexicali, as well as observable places near the border. Plus, we will be paying for one minute ads on major Southern California Spanish speaking radio stations.


… In this new America, it’s time, my friend, to learn Spanish!


And, of course, we can bring all the illegal immigrants back, apologize, and give them all the benefits, but we can’t bring one Marine hero, Andrew Tahmooressi, home from a Tijuana prison cell because he missed his turnoff. Does that make sense to you?



Russian Premier Vladimir Putin is asking President Petro Poroshenko to engage in talks on “statehood in southeastern Ukraine.” Shortly thereafter Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, clarified that Putin was not envisioning sovereignty for the two separatist Eastern regions that now call themselves “New Russia.”



Then a few hours later land-based rebel forces attacked a Ukrainian boat. No further details were given, but Ukraine’s major concern is that the rebels are attempting to capture a key land bridge that links Russia with Crimea.


Kiev has agreed to release all ten Russian paratroopers who were taken prisoner in Ukrainian territory last week. Each of the paratroopers were subjected to videotape interrogations which Ukraine posted online to prove Russia’s invasion of Eastern Ukraine. In return for the ten Russian paratroopers, Russia released 63 Ukrainian soldiers.


The Ukrainian government, NATO and Western officials say that thousands of Russian troops backed by tanks and artillery are now inside Ukraine. Vladimir Putin continues to deny this. He says the reason he is being so severely lied about is because NATO is trying to prove that it is still vital and that their power is desperately needed in a world that can’t afford to have NATO done away with.



The Syrian war has now flooded into Israel’s Golan Heights. That’s where the Al Qaeda–linked Nusra Front captured 45 United Nations peacekeepers from Fiji last week in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The Nusra Front has issued three demands for the release of the Fijian peacekeepers.



Brigadier General Mosese Tikoitoga has demanded that his name be removed from the United Nations terrorist list; that the United Nations provide humanitarian aid to parts of Damascus; and wants compensation for three of its fighters who were killed in a shootout with the United Nations officers.


Professional United Nations negotiators have been sent to Syria and have described the talks between them and the military leaders as “moving up a notch.”


Meanwhile, Isis is solidly involved in the Syrian war where more than 190,000 have been killed.


Foreign journalists were given the rare privilege in North Korea to have five whole minutes of access to three Americans being held there. The men are missionary Kenneth Bae, Jeffrey Fowle, and Matthew Miller. Bae is serving a 15 year prison sentence for leaving his Bible and his North Korean hotel room.



Missionary Kenneth Bae


Jeffrey Fowle is from Miamisburg, Ohio. The 53-year-old is convicted but not yet sentenced for leaving his Bible in a nightclub in the northern port city of Chongjin after witnessing for Christ there. Having a Bible in North Korea and witnessing are considered “hostile acts.”



Jeffrey Fowle and family


Matthew Miller’s actions when he arrived in North Korea were bizarre. He tore up his passport and pleaded to become a citizen of North Korea. Officials said no and had him arrested. He has yet it has not been sentenced either.



Left to right: Andrew Miller, Jeffrey Fowle, Kenneth Bae


46-year-old Kenneth Bae’s family is extremely worried for him. He has been in prison since 2012 and is very ill. Earlier this year he was moved to a hospital after losing 15 pounds doing hard labor at a labor camp. But he was moved back to the labor camp this past month. Bae is suffering from diabetes, an enlarged heart, liver problems and severe back pain.



Kenneth Bae


Washington’s travel advisory for North Korea warns that in the past 18 months, “North Korea has detained several


U.S. citizens who are in that country on organized tours.” Nevertheless, there are several Americans each year who think they need to tour North Korea.


The United States has repeatedly offered to send an envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek a pardon for Bae and the others, but has never received a reply. Meanwhile Korean officials have told this missionary that America doesn’t care that he is in prison there.


Still another American has contracted the deadly Ebola virus and he is a doctor who heard of the virus bringing home Dr. Kent Brantly and health aid Nancy Writebol from Liberia to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Rick Sacra felt impressed by the Lord that he was to go to library at and take their place. He went to serve with the same organization – Serving in Mission – but now has the Ebola virus himself.


Sacra is 51, is married, and is from Holden, Massachusetts. He was not doing what Brantly and Writebol were doing with Ebola patients. Instead he was busy delivering babies at a General Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia. He was taking every precaution against Ebola. It is not understood how Sacra contracted the disease. An investigation has begun.


Perhaps the biggest tragedy of all is that unlike the two who came to Atlanta, Sacra will not be receiving ZMAPP, the drug credited, along with the Lord, for healing both Brantly and Writebol. The drug at this minute does not exist. Scientists in several companies are working to make new doses of ZMAPP available, but it may take as long as six months to have it ready.


The Ebola virus continues to rage unchecked in West Africa with almost 1500 victims who have died from it. This time prayer without the drug should be sufficient. Pray for Dr. Rick Sacra.



Things are relatively quiet in Ferguson, Missouri, but fears are that the town will erupt in violence far more fierce than it ever has if Police Officer Darren Wilson is not found guilty of murder. Many residents of Ferguson are saying however the verdict comes out, they deeply hope that the evidence is overwhelming to confirm it.


The jury at the trial of Officer Wilson is made up of two black women and one black man, six white men and three white women. The attorney representing Michael Brown’s parents says he is pleased with the jury selection as long as the prosecutor presents all of the evidence and holds nothing back. At this point it isn’t clear whether the officer will actually be charged. Freeing Officer Wilson, in itself, could bring back the riots.


While the trial continues, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has announced they will do their own investigation, a much broader one, that will investigate the Ferguson Police Department over the last several years.



Meanwhile both the local and federal investigations are ongoing. Attorney General Eric Holder will make the final call in the federal investigation. Many officials are urging both investigations to be concluded at the very same time. However, the possibility that that will happen is extremely slim.


President Obama gave a Labor Day speech to Union members in Wisconsin Saturday. He sounded like the union organizer used to be. Here was the main part of his speech:


“If I was looking for a good job that lets me build some security for my family, I’d join the union. If I was busting my butt in the service industry and wanted an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, I’d join a union. If I were a firefighter or a police officer risking my life and helping to keep my community safe, and wanting to make sure I came home safely to my family, I’d join a union.”



The president said that he is going to press Congress hard for a raise in the minimum wage just like he courted Michelle – never taking no for an answer. He warned that if Republicans gain control of Congress after November’s election, it will hurt the chances for such a raise. “But I will do with them what I did with Michelle – wear them down until they fully agree with me.”


Republican Texan Senator Ted Cruz was one of the keynote speakers at a Texas–Americans Prosperity Summit over this past weekend. So were Rick Perry and Rand Paul.



Cruz bashed Obama. He said “In the year 2017, a Republican president is going to repeal every word of Obamacare.” And about Isis, Cruz said “Isis says they want to go backward and reject everything modern. Well, I think we should help them; we ought a bomb them back to the Stone Age.”



Texas Governor Rick Perry said “The good news is there are exactly 128 days left until the next Congress convenes with a Republican house and a Republican Senate.



Rand Paul sued President Obama last week for violating the Constitution, and he said Benghazi and so many other fiascoes should short circuit any possible chance for Hillary Clinton to be elected president.


If you are one who regularly watches ABC’s World News, you know that Diane Sawyer is gone and a brand-new anchor has taken her place – 40-year-old David Muir.



Diane Sawyer and David Muir


Muir isn’t a new face on World News. He has filled in for Diane Sawyer often. He has worked for ABC since 2003 and done many specials beginning that very year with Hurricane Katrina.


As Muir begins, NBC’s Brian Williams will be missing from his anchor role for a few weeks while he has his knee operated on that was injured and has been painful ever since he was playing in a high school football game. Williams has had three earlier surgeries on that knee, but it had weekend give him the kind of pain that wouldn’t let him sleep at night. At that point, he knew he had to have a fourth surgery.



Television ratings are watched closely by companies and businesses who want their products to be seen for the millions of dollars each of them regularly pay for advertising. When it comes to news channels, Fox News is the number one channel watched more than network news or other cable news channels. CNN is a distant second. And MSNBC is hardly watched at all. NBC news is the least watched of the network newscasts.


All of that brings us to the following story:




THOUGHT FOR THE DAY


****************************


The only party that is accomplishing anything these days is the birthday party.


****************************


Please feel free to leave a comment in the comment box at the end of this newscast.


If you liked this report click the “LIKE” button.


If you want to be notified when the next newscast is published click the “SUBSCRIBE” button on the video.


So until the next newscast this is Ray Mossholder, praying for you my friend. Have a miraculous day!



OUR PRESIDENT SAYS "AMERICA IS THE SAFEST IT"S BEEN IN 30 YEARS"

A Harley Biker is riding by the zoo in Washington, DC when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion’s cage.  Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the collar of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to devour her under the eyes of her screaming parents.


The biker jumps off his Harley, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch.


Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the biker brings the girl to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.  A reporter has watched the whole event.


The reporter addressing the Harley rider says, ‘Sir, this was the most gallant and bravest thing I’ve seen a man do in my whole life.’


The Harley rider replies, ‘Why, it was nothing, really.  The lion was behind bars.  I just saw this little kid in danger, and acted as I felt right.’


The reporter says, ‘Well, I’ll make sure this won’t go unnoticed.  I’m a journalist, you know, and tomorrow’s paper will have this story on the front page.  So, what do you do for a living, and what political affiliation do you have?’


The biker replies “I’m a U.S. Marine, and a Republican”.


The journalist leaves.


The following morning the biker buys the paper to see if it indeed brings news of his actions, and reads, on the front page:


U.S. MARINE ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT AND STEALS HIS LUNCH


……  and THAT pretty much sums up the media’s approach to the news these days.


Sunday, August 31, 2014

PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND DAVID CAMERON WARNS ISIS IS READY

The contrast between the Prime Minister of England and the President of the United States is stark. David Cameron is preparing his country for an imminent attack from Isis. While President Obama says America is safer now than at any other time in three decades.  Isis is at the Juarez/US border along with Al Qaeda,with full plans to invade . Listen to David Cameron and decide which leader is doing the wiser thing. – Ray


 



PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND DAVID CAMERON WARNS ISIS IS READY

Saturday, July 26, 2014

THE BILL KEITH REPORT AND COMMENTARY July 25, 2014

The Bill Keith Report


News And Commentary


June 6, 2014


Greetings to our readers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 59 foreign countries.


If you believe the information in this edition of The Report is worthwhile, please pass it on to your friends and contact your congressional representatives about the issues.


Hooray for Governor Rick Perry


     Finally, someone in public office has the courage to stand up and say, “Enough is enough.”


     Governor Perry will send 1,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico to stop the tens of thousands of illegals — including thousands of children — coming into this land as well as immigrant gang members.


     The Governor says he’s been trying to get President Obama to do something about the border for several years yet nothing has been done.


     Contrariwise, the President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continue to say the “border is secure.”


     Governor Perry appeared on the Sean Hannity television program and made a startling statement — illegals coming into Texas have committed 3,000 rapes and 8,000 murders in the past five years.


     He says the “details of the criminal activity” are so catastrophic that “we can’t wait on Washington.”


     Comment: Former Border Patrol Chief Ronald Coburn says one in five of all illegals coming into this land have violent criminal records These are not illegals with parking tickets or shoplifting. These people are rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and gang members.


     Yet, what do we hear from the President? He won’t even go to the border to see the catastrophe. Rather, he just wants to grant amnesty to all of them regardless of the consequences.


     There is a better solution — deport all the illegals who do not have valid work permits. Then make sure employers provide health insurance for the workers so they won’t bankrupt our healthcare system.


A Footnote


     The Obama administration announced on Thursday that they are considering sending planes to Honduras to pick up more children and bring them to America so they won’t have to walk hundreds of miles to our southern border.


     Although details are sketchy at this time, it is believed once the children are in the U.S., the President would grant them amnesty.


     There is no information on how much it will cost, what will become of the children once they arrive here, what welfare benefits they will receive, where they will be educated (since they do not speak English) and how many hundreds or thousands will be considered in the amnesty program. Neither are we told if the President plans to bring children from other countries. Story is unfolding.


Who’s in Charge in Washington?


     Has anyone seen the President lately? He’s been AWOL for some time. He’s been crisscrossing the country three days a week giving fundraising speeches for Senate democrats up for reelection.


     Americans are falling from the skies over the Ukraine as President Putin of Russia and his thugs are shooting down airplanes (23 American citizens died in the recent  plane crash); swarms of illegals are crossing the border into the U.S, as the border is not now, nor has it ever been, secure; Hamas has fired more than 2,000 rockets into Israel (more than likely funded by the $3.6 billion our government gave the Palestinian National Authority of which Hamas is now affiliated); and Russia is on the verge of an all-out attack on the Ukraine.


     So what does the President do? He refuses to go to the border to see the devastation first hand, plays golf when he’s in Washington, drinks beer and plays pool in Colorado and eats hamburgers in Delaware.


     He soon will begin a 15-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.


     To make matters worse, Congress just adjourned for a five-week vacation.


     So who’s in charge? I don’t know. The President is AWOL and Congress just went home.


     We need a major house cleaning in Washington.


EBT/Food Stamp Cards and a Culture of Corruption


     WE THE PEOPLE spend $80 billion each year on EBT (the cards replaced food stamps) cards that allegedly allows the poor to purchase food.


     However, as in so many other areas, there is little accountability on the part of the card users. Although the cards are to purchase food only, the users have violated the USDA guidelines in creative ways. They have used the cards in tobacco shops, liquor stores, casinos, strip clubs, race tracks, tattoo parlors and even at Disney World resorts.


     This week we learned that the people of Colorado are using the cards to purchase marijuana, just weeks after voters approved sales in the state. According to National Review, beneficiaries of the EBT cards have used the cards 259 times to purchase pot.


     So what’s the problem? Little oversight and typical lack of government accountability.


     But most of it is the government’s fault. They fail to deal with the pathologies of human nature and allow the card holders to use them as they will. They take few precautions to make sure the taxpayers’ funds are not wasted or misused.


     For instance, I found the following information from the USDA that administers the program. They extend a hearty welcome to the EBT card users and give them detailed information on how to use the cards to purchase food. That’s okay.


     But they also give them detailed information on how to use the card to get cash back at supermarkets or cash from ATM machines.


     The GOVERNMENT shows them exactly how to do it!


     Hence, the fraudulent purchases.


     Comment: When President John F. Kennedy initiated the national food stamp program it was for a worthy purpose — to feed hungry people. But, like most programs, they become large, expensive, uncontrollable and filled with fraud and waste.


     Today we have $80 billion a year floating around and no one knows for sure just how much of it is spent on food.


Arizona Governor Brewer vs. Phoenix Suns Owner


      Last week Robert Sarver the owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team hammered Governor Brewer and the state’s immigration law that would require identification.


     The feisty Governor issued the following statement in response to Sarver’s criticism:


     “What if the owners of the Suns discovered that hordes of people were sneaking into games without paying? What if they had a good idea who the gate-crashers are but the ushers and security personnel were not allowed to ask these folks to produce their ticket stubs, thus non-paying attendees couldn’t be ejected. Furthermore, what if the Sun’s ownership was expected to provide those who sneaked in with complimentary eats and drink? And what if, on those days when a gate-crasher became ill or injured, the Suns had to provide free medical care and shelter?” ~Governor Jan Brewer.


     Comment: It’s strange that Attorney General Eric Holder files suit against any state — including Arizona — that requires all voters to present identification. Holder says it discriminates against minorities.


     But on a personal note, I have to show my ID when I renew my driver’s license; open a bank account; apply for a passport and a visa; when I use my credit cards at department stores; and others.


Working the Welfare System


     Remember back in 2012 when Governor Mitt Romney said that far too many people have become dependent on government land by learning how to work the system.


     The owner of a Ford dealership learned firsthand what Romney was talking about. He said a lady came into his showroom and said she wanted to lease a brand new Focus. As he looked at her credit app, he noticed she was on social security disability.


     “You don’t look like you’re disabled and unable to work,” he commented.


     “Well, I’m really not. I could work if I wanted to, but I make more now than I did when I was working and got hurt…” 


     She then explained that the government sends her $1,500 a month for her disability and she gets $700 a month on an EBT card (food stamps), and $800 a month for rent.


     “Oh yeah, and 250 minutes free on my phone.”


     She told him that when she was working she was taking home $330 a week and that she’s much better off receiving disability and welfare checks.


     Comment: Think about it — why should she go back to work? When you multiply her income by millions of others, you begin to see the scope of the problem we face in this land.


Military Can Only Find a Few Good Men


     More than two-thirds of America’s young people would fail to qualify for military service, the Wall Street Journal reports, because of physical, behavioral or educational shortcomings.


     According to the newspaper, this poses serious “challenges to building the next generation of soldiers even as the U. S. draws down troops from conflict zones.”


     “The military deems many youngsters ineligible due to obesity, lack of a high-school diploma, felony convictions and prescription-drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,” the Journal reported. “But others are now also running afoul of standards for appearance amid the growing popularity of large scale tattoos” and other appearance problems.


Keystone Pipeline, Canadian Oil and China


     The Canadian government has approved a major new pipeline to the Pacific Coast that would allow the country’s oil to be shipped to China and other Asian countries, the Associated Press reports.


     According to AP, the approval was expected since Prime Minister Stephen Harper has favored the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline after the U. S. delayed a decision on building the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U. S. Gulf Coast.


     The Northern Gateway pipeline will transport 525,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil sands to the Pacific to giant oil tankers from oil-hungry China and other Asian countries, the news service said.


     Comment: It’s a shame that the President continues to pander to the powerful environmental lobby in Washington. He has held up the pipeline for years and apparently has no plans to approve its construction.


     Comment: There are always consequences for our actions. Keystone would provide 40,000 jobs immediately and greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But politics and agendas trump common sense and the will of the majority of the people.


The VA Mess and the Future of ACA Healthcare


     Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson believes the Veterans Administration scandal gives us a picture of what nationalized healthcare will be like when handled by the Washington bureaucracy.


     “I think what’s happening with the veterans…shows us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the healthcare provider,” Dr. Carson said.


     He added, “And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world are you going to do it with the entire population? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.”


     Dr.  Carson, 62, an African American, retired last summer as chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.



THE BILL KEITH REPORT AND COMMENTARY July 25, 2014