Rand Paul’s NSA Filibuster Vow Complicates Senate’s Memorial Day Getaway

The Senate is supposed to be finishing up a six-week work period, but would lawmakers really leave for the Memorial Day recess without resolving the debate over National Security Agency surveillance?

For Sen. Rand Paul the answer is “yes,” because a lack of affirmative legislative action by the Senate by June 1 would mean the expiration of the authorities under Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

“We could do something extraordinary,” the Kentucky Republican said Thursday. In the event of an outright lapse in the authorization, Paul said, “I see no reason why we couldn’t use the Constitution for awhile.”

Paul, whose filibuster of CIA Director John O. Brennan’s nomination over drone policy elevated his profile nationally, plans to do it again.

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McConnell, who has favored a full extension of the program until near the end of the next presidential administration, floated a two-month stopgap late Thursday, but Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., tweeted shortly thereafter, “Two months is two months too long.”

The White House also upped the pressure, with spokesman Eric Schultz telling reporters Friday the Senate should not go home without clearing the House bill.

If senators fail to pass the House bill, “they will be weakening our nation’s security and stand in the way of reforms … that would enhance the American people’s trust and confidence in the agencies tasked with protecting them.”

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http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/rand-pauls-nsa-filibuster-vow-complicates-senates-memorial-day-getaway/?dcz=

Rand Paul Appears on NBC's Meet the Press- May 17, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwAeFAFYxTE
The education subject is so important to winning.
When students hear the message of being able to attend an online college level class, with a Harvard or MIT instructor that is dirt cheap compared to what they would pay if they where in that professors class room, they will vote for him just for the opportunity and the savings. This is a very powerful way to attract not only youth, but stay at home parents, specifically women who want to finish their degrees. This needs to be pushed, because it is the youth, female and minority vote that will win Rand the election.

We'll how long they last but this extremely small amount of land available doesn't seem promising at all. Any structure that is put up will likely be smack dab bordering on the boundaries. There's likely room enough for half a dozen people to pitch tents and that's about it.

Good grief, if things stay this lifeless then this thread will go days w/ just pages of chartbuddy posting unmoving price charts. However, something should be happening tomorrow at least. I'd imagine this Swedish thing is popping up for a reason and perhaps there's demand waiting with baited breath.

Wonderful, this is exciting and is well worth the wait on this. Good things coming.

You Can Become A Delegate like me

Each state has its own rules for national convention delegate selection. States may and often do change their state laws and party rules between national conventions.
 
Under their national rules and U. S. Supreme Court decisions, state Democratic parties may adopt rules for national convention delegate selection which are inconsistent with state laws. The national Rules of the Republican Party now also provide that state Republican Party rules for national delegate selection prevail over state law on this subject.
 
Most delegates are elected in states with primaries, but primary and convention rules vary greatly from state to state. Learning your state's applicable laws and party rules is a key, first step toward becoming a delegate.
 
If your state is one of the many which have no presidential primary, you may have to mount a major operation to attract people to a caucus or win support from local delegates to a district or state convention. If you already know how to draw a crowd, work a convention, use parliamentary procedure, form alliances, and count votes, you have a head start on the road to the Big Convention.
 
If your state elects delegates in a presidential primary, your problems will be somewhat different. A primary can involve precinct organization, TV, radio, and press advertising, a great deal of money and many, many more people than a convention. But, while it helps to be an expert at convention politics and primary election politics, your personal reputation and your candidate preference are likely to prove much more important.
 
Some states have "winner take all" presidential primaries. Other states use proportional representation. Under this system, presidential candidates who get a majority of the primary votes get to select only a majority of the state's delegates, and candidates who received a sizable minority of the primary votes get to pick some delegates from the state.

- See more at: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/Writings/?ID=12&Cat=campaigns#sthash.C3MekRtM.dpuf

Taking the stage 10 minutes after Paul, Lindsey Graham went out of his way to defend Bush, blaming the unraveling of stability in Iraq on President Barack Obama, not George W. Bush.

Graham, who has made a habit of trolling the Kentucky senator, also mocked Paul’s focus on civil liberties, picking up on his statement that the federal government should still “call a lawyer” to get a warrant before arresting terrorists instead of illegally spying.

“I’m not going to call a judge,” said Graham. “I’m going to call a drone and kill you.”

More...http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/at-iowa-dinner-rand-paul-hits-jeb-bush-on-iraq-as-lindsey-graham-returns-the-favor-118024.html

Rand Paul rips Jeb, Hillary over foreign policy

Fairfield, Ia. – Rand Paul sought to shape the foreign policy debate among 2016 contenders on Saturday, criticizing fellow White House hopefuls Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton for their views on the Middle East.

The Republican senator also railed on a Patriot Act that allows the government to collect Americans' phone data, vowing to fight against its renewal in Congress in coming days.

The speech came after a week of questions around Bush's views on the Iraq War and ahead of a week of debate on the Patriot Act in Washington.

"We had a question this week that was asked to a certain candidate who used to be the governor of Florida who's running in the Republican primary," Paul said, referring to Bush and his appearance Monday on Fox News. "And the question was: Knowing what you know now do you think it was a good idea to topple Hussein, to begin the war in Iraq?

"He fumbled around, and I think he had four or five different questions on four or five different days. But one of his responses was a very defensive response: 'Well, that's hypothetical. What would that have to do with this election?' I think the question has everything to do with this election."

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More...http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/05/16/rand-paul-rips-jeb-hillary-foreign-policy/27448265/

I don't support QE at all but like in any economy, it's money printing fantasies that shore up the dwindling monetary base. In the near term, it helps out the downtrodden but in the mid to long term, it devastates this class w/ an FU at the end.

Nice to see you step foot in here once in a while and interesting post as well. Two and a half weeks before the doom in Greece but hopefully the have tools to oust themselves outside of the XBT provider that is opening this next week. Could get rowdy at a certain point.

I welcome bears but not an incest conceived troll that is not living in this world. These newb counts are full of delusional crap from the inbred and it appears the slave trade these days pays most for freaks.

That gif just reminds me/makes me think of the interesting Christian sects that get all wild w/ their services but really doesn't set well w/ me. I surely don't like seeing kids swaying under something they have no idea of. ew

It'll happen sooner than that, something big is gonna happen w/i a few years max. This bear market is wearing thin and there's too many interested parties w/ money looking from the outside in. The value of the US dollar isn't going to remain this strong on into the future.

Yeah, this is totally the work of one lambscrotch, just w/o the weird and deranged pedo references and such.

Pretty sure that Scandinavia is an hour ahead of this forum so 5 hrs ahead of US est, circa 4am monday. Things may get interesting in advance if this thing is really worth its salt.

I prefer...

I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Does Jeb Bush even really want to be US president?

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This brings us to Jeb Bush, heir to the Bush political dynasty. In an interview that aired on Monday, Fox News host Megyn Kelly asked the former Florida governor if – knowing what we know now – he would have approved the Iraq invasion.

Over the course of the past week Mr Bush has taken five attempts (one of which included the words, “I don’t know” and “mistakes were made”) to finally arrive, on Thursday, at what hopes to be his final answer: “I would not have gone into Iraq.”

So why did Jeb hem and haw so much over a question that couldn’t have surprised him?
The Bushes are famous for family loyalty, and one can understand how fraternal fidelity might make it difficult for him to rebuke his brother’s legacy.

Another hypothesis is that he’s simply stubborn – that he wanted to do things his way and is above pandering for votes. Support for the Iraq war has become deeply unpopular, even among the American Right, but Mr Bush’s initial response was “I would have [invaded], and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody,”.
This explanation makes sense when you consider his backing for policy positions which are controversial on the right, such as Common Core educational standards and immigration reform. And it comports with comments he made last year, when he said a candidate should be willing to “lose the primary [election] to win the general election without violating your principles.”

More...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/republicans/11610505/Does-Jeb-Bush-even-really-want-to-be-US-president.html

GOP lawmakers flabbergasted by Bush stumbles on Iraq

Jeb Bush stumbled over questions about the Iraq War this week, unnerving some congressional Republicans who wonder if he has what it takes to win the White House.

Steadfast allies to the former Florida governor say Bush is just a bit rusty and insist the gaffes won’t be debilitating ahead of his expected campaign for the 2016 GOP nomination.

But others on Capitol Hill were scratching their heads as Bush struggled during four consecutive news cycles to articulate his position on the unpopular war that defined the presidency of his older brother, George W. Bush.
“[I’m] flabbergasted at the degree of back and forth that’s ensued this week on the Middle East answer, correction, non-answer, correction, etc.,” said one GOP lawmaker from a early primary state who has yet to endorse anyone in the race.

“When your brother’s been president and authorized the use of force and your father was president and authorized the use of force,” the lawmaker added, “that’s a zone of certainty” that question will be asked.

A handful of GOP senators huddling on Capitol Hill were “incredulous” Bush wasn’t better prepared on the Iraq issue, joking about how many press aides he needed to answer such a basic question, according to an account in The New York Times.

And House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who hasn’t endorsed anyone but has spoken favorably of another presidential hopeful, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), suggested that Bush’s evolving answers on Iraq raised questions about his foreign-policy chops.

“Foreign policy is pretty important … Anybody who is running for president better darn well understand foreign policy. It’s not something you can be taught once you get on the job,” Chaffetz told The Hill in an interview. “It’s the big leagues and they’re playing hard ball. [Bush] has to explain it himself and if he has to re-explain it as he’s doing now, so be it.

More...http://thehill.com/homenews/house/242256-gop-lawmakers-flabbergasted-by-bush-stumbles-on-iraq

BALTIMORE PROSECUTORS IN FREDDIE GRAY CASE SEEK GAG ORDER

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore prosecutors are seeking a gag order as they pursue a criminal case against six city officers in the case of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man who died a week after suffering a spinal injury while in police custody.

A court document that references the gag order, obtained by The Associated Press, is dated Wednesday. Assistant State's Attorney Antonio Gioia wrote that the gag order motion was mailed to defense attorneys.

Rochelle Ritchie, a spokeswoman for State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, confirmed Friday the office is seeking a gag order. She declined to provide further details.

A gag order typically prevents attorneys and witnesses from publicly commenting on or releasing information about a particular case.

Mosby announced the charges, which range from second-degree misdemeanor assault to "depraved-heart" murder, in a lengthy news conference one day after receiving an investigative report from police. The May 1 announcement came after more than a week of protests that on two occasions gave way to rioting, prompting Democratic Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to implement a curfew and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to declare a state of emergency for the city.

More...http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BALTIMORE_POLICE_DEATH_MOTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-16-01-05-09

BEIRUT (AP) -- In a rare ground attack deep into Syria, U.S. Army commandos killed a man described as the Islamic State's head of oil operations, captured his wife and rescued a woman whom American officials said was enslaved.

A team of Delta Force commandos slipped across the border from Iraq under cover of darkness Saturday aboard Black Hawk helicopters and V-22 Osprey aircraft, according to a U.S. defense official knowledgeable about details of the raid. The official was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Americans intended to capture a militant identified by U.S. officials as Abu Sayyaf. When they arrived at his location, a multi-story building, they met stiff resistance, the U.S. official said, and a firefight ensued, resulting in bullet-hole damage to the U.S. aircraft.

Abu Sayyaf was killed, along with an estimated dozen IS fighters, U.S. officials said. No American was killed or wounded.

Before the sun had risen, the commandos flew back to Iraq where Abu Sayyaf's wife, Umm Sayyaf, was being questioned in U.S. custody, officials said. The goal was to gain intelligence about IS operations and any information about hostages, including American citizens, who were held by the group, according to Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the U.S. National Security Council.

More...http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-16-08-39-42