HOUSTON, Texas – A grieving Texas father told Breitbart Texas, “my son is dead because the concept of borders is dead.” Spencer Golvach was senselessly murdered by an illegal alien who had been deported a number of times after being convicted of committing crimes, including as law enforcement officers now tell us, crimes of violence. Golvach was shot in the head on January 31st while sitting in his car waiting for a stoplight to change. Golvach’s father said he wants the “boomerang” of deportation and illegal reentry into the country to be stopped.

Victor Manuel Reyes was a violent man who on the night of Golvach’s execution, went on a killing spree through the streets in Harris County. He killed two men, including 28-year-old Juan Garcia. Then he shot at another couple before he was shot to death by a Harris County deputy.

Mr. Golvach recounted the tragic events of his son’s death. “My son, Spencer, pulled up to a stoplight … A Victor Manuel Reyes, an illegal alien, pulls up next to him, pulls his gun out, rolled his window down and blew my son’s brains out.”

Golvach said he “understands that not all of those who enter here illegally are bad, but the current system does not allow us to check. This leaves Americans vulnerable, as we see with my son.”

The grief-stricken father told Breitbart Texas “this has to do with foreign intruders into our country. We are not … filtering out …we simply do not know who is coming in.” Mr. Golvach distinguished the criminal illegal alien from migrant workers. He said there needs to be laws that deter illegal aliens from reentering who have been deported after criminal convictions.

In his exclusive video interview with Breitbart Texas, Golvach’s question to politicians who talk tough about illegal immigration is -“what filter do we have, what mechanism can we have to filter out the good from the bad, and how does that work with this ‘do drop-in, come one, come all, it does not matter who you are,’ border policy that we have?”

Roger's remarks were later challenged by Alex Stamos, Yahoo's chief information security officer, during a question-and-answer session.

"So it sounds like you agree with Director Comey that we should be building defects into the encryption in our products so that the US government can decrypt…" Stamos began. (These remarks were verified by a transcript provided by the Web site Just Security.)

"That would be your characterization," Rogers said, interrupting him.

"No, I think... all of the best public cryptographers in the world would agree that you can’t really build backdoors in crypto," Stamos replied. "That it’s like drilling a hole in the windshield."

"I’ve got a lot of world-class cryptographers at the National Security Agency," Rogers said.

"I’ve talked to some of those folks and some of them agree too, but…" Stamos said.

"Oh, we agree that we don’t accept each others’ premise," Rogers replied, interrupting again, as laughter erupted across the audience.

A little bit later in the exchange, Stamos tried to bring up a different point.

"If we’re going to build defects/backdoors or golden master keys for the U.S. government, do you believe we should do so — we have about 1.3 billion users around the world — should we do for the Chinese government, the Russian government, the Saudi Arabian government, the Israeli government, the French government?" Stamos asked.

"So, I’m not gonna… I mean, the way you framed the question isn’t designed to elicit a response," Rogers replied.

"Well, do you believe we should build backdoors for other countries?" Stamos asked again.

"My position is — hey look, I think that we’re lying that this isn’t technically feasible. Now, it needs to be done within a framework. I’m the first to acknowledge that. You don’t want the FBI and you don’t want the NSA unilaterally deciding, so, what are we going to access and what are we not going to access? That shouldn’t be for us. I just believe that this is achievable. We’ll have to work our way through it. And I’m the first to acknowledge there are international implications. I think we can work our way through this," Rogers answered.

"So you do believe then, that we should build those for other countries if they pass laws?" Stamos asked a third time.

"I think we can work our way through this," Rogers replied.

"I’m sure the Chinese and Russians are going to have the same opinion," Stamos said.

"I said I think we can work through this," Rogers said

United States President Barack Obama as promised has vetoed a bill from Congress that for now will halt construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Defying the wishes of the Republican-led House and Senate, the president on Tuesday rejected the years-in-the-making would-be legislation that sought to pave the way for a 1,179-mile pipeline to carry crude tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Congress authorized the bill more than a week ago, and in recent days it was handed off to the White House.

"The president does intend to veto this pace of legislation, and we intend to do it without drama or fanfare or delay,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said at a scheduled media briefing early Tuesday afternoon in Washington, DC. Later in the day it was confirmed that the president had, in fact, vetoed the bill.

Ahead of the president’s expected decision, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—top-ranking Republicans representing Ohio and Kentucky, respectively—published an op-ed condemning Obama’s intentions.

"The allure of appeasing environmental extremists may be too powerful for the president to ignore. But the president is sadly mistaken if he thinks vetoing this bill will end this fight," they wrote. "Far from it. We are just getting started."

While perfect enforcement of law sounds great, it is true that governments typically do not reform themselves. It requires activism and organizing to preserve our rights, according to NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Discussing a book he read recently called “Data and Goliath,” by Bruceedward snowden Schneier, Snowden explained that while completely eradicating crime is a compelling goal, it may not be the best path to pursue.

Snowden explained in a recent discussion on Reddit:

“When we look back on history, the progress of Western civilization and human rights is actually founded on the violation of law. America was of course born out of a violent revolution that was an outrageous treason against the crown and established order of the day. History shows that the righting of historical wrongs is often born from acts of unrepentant criminality. Slavery. The protection of persecuted Jews.

“But even on less extremist topics, we can find similar examples. How about the prohibition of alcohol? Gay marriage? Marijuana?

“Where would we be today if the government, enjoying powers of perfect surveillance and enforcement, had—entirely within the law—rounded up, imprisoned, and shamed all of these lawbreakers?

“Ultimately, if people lose their willingness to recognize that there are times in our history when legality becomes distinct from morality, we aren’t just ceding control of our rights to government, but our agency in determining their futures.”
Snowden proceeds to depict governments today as power hungry machines eager to ignore their citizens’ problems and instead control their citizens’ behavior. To combat this, Snowden recommends using science as a tool to remove any interference in our elected leaders enforcement our rights and liberties.

The standard liberal narrative about how uncaring, racist and evil conservatives are usually begins with the welfare queen.

That would be the supposedly apocryphal tale of a Cadillac-driving women on welfare who was fraudulently collecting multiple government benefits. It was said to be the ultimate dog whistle.

Never mind that the story turned out to be substantially true, though some liberals had a hard time coming to terms with it. (Consider this NPR headline about “the truth behind the lies.”)

One liberal who understood why this story resonated with the American people more than hand-wringing about dog whistles: Bill Clinton. That’s why he campaigned on “ending welfare as we know it” by making it “a second chance, not a way of life.”
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That’s why the latest example of the Clintons’ extensive corporate ties, The Wall Street Journal’s report on the family foundation pocketing money from big companies that did business with Hillary Clinton’s State Department, is such a bombshell.

Sixty companies that lobbied the State Department between 2009 and 2013, while Hillary was secretary of state, donated more than $26 million to the Clinton Foundation over that time period. At least 44 of the 60 participated in $3.2 billion worth of philanthropy projects by the Clinton Global Initiative, while at least 15 were part of Clinton-created public-private partnerships.

It’s not clear that any of this was illegal and it’s possible that some of this supported worthwhile projects. But it illustrates the nexus between crony capitalism and modern American liberalism as we know it.

This isn’t something unique to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Under Barack Obama, government-run health care has become a boon to big health insurers and pharmaceutical companies, who are rallying to save Obamacare from the Supreme Court.

Rubio tried to con the Tea Party.

Casino magnate and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, one of the GOP’s most forceful advocates for a hawkish foreign policy, is willing to fund an effort to stop Rand Paul from securing the party’s presidential nomination, should the libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator’s campaign pick up steam.

The revelation comes in a New York Times analysis of the GOP’s internal divisions over foreign policy heading into next year’s campaign. The rise of the Islamic State militant group has reinvigorated interventionists like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), both of whom would make national security and global affairs central themes of their presidential campaigns, should they run. Meanwhile, Paul is coming under withering intra-party criticism due to his general reluctance to support military force and his backing for the Obama administration’s positions on the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the diplomatic rapprochement with Cuba.

“The guy who’s now got the biggest challenge because of this is Rand Paul,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, told the Times, speaking of the GOP’s increased attention to foreign policy. “The Rand Paul worldview, which I suspect will change, is just incompatible with reality.”

While it remains to be seen how Paul’s all-but-certain campaign will perform, Adelson is telling associates that he’ll bankroll an effort to thwart the senator should he come within reach of securing the party’s nod, the paper reports.

Though Adelson has yet to back a 2016 candidate, GOP hopefuls are vying assiduously to secure his support in next year’s contest. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, and John Kasich have all made sojourns to Las Vegas to curry favor with Adelson, who contributed $150 million to Republican candidates and outside groups during the 2012 campaign. Adelson backed Gingrich in that year’s GOP primaries, pouring $15 million into his campaign. While Gingrich lost the nomination to Mitt Romney, Adelson’s contributions kept Gingrich’s campaign afloat far longer than it would otherwise have remained above water.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's push for a Republican presidential caucus in Kentucky, lending heavy weight Tuesday to a proposal that had raised concerns among some members of the state GOP's executive committee.

Paul's push for a caucus in early 2016 would allow him to run for two offices in the same year despite a Kentucky law that prohibits a candidate from appearing on the same ballot twice.

The idea was initially met with "respectful skepticism" from McConnell, but after the two men met Monday to discuss the matter, McConnell decided to throw his support behind the idea. In doing so, McConnell joined a host of other big-name Kentucky Republicans backing the plan, including U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie and Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who is running for governor.

Sherri was a little girl, born with big brown eyes and bouncing curls. She was the forth child born to her parents, but was the first girl. She was born into a seemingly normal family, with two parents and three older brothers. More often, this girl grows up into a lovely young woman, prepared to carve her place in the world. However Sherri's story was different.

Sherri became blind at a young age and her father did not want a daughter, especially not a disabled one. Her family had no money, and her brothers were never around. Her mother's mind seemed to live in a very dark and distant place, and she offered little guidance.

Her father cared more about whiskey and drugs than he did about his family, so too often, little Sherri was on her own.

She would try to search for her parents, someone to feed her and care for her -- but even when she did find them, her father would most often snatch her up and throw her in a closet so that she would stay out of his way. She spent the majority of the first six years of her young life in that closet. Maybe, in some ways, it was a blessing that she was blind during these times. The darkness of the small closet might not have been quite as scary.

When Sherri was seven, her father found another use for her. It was the most awful and vile thing that a father could do to his little girl. He repeatedly abused and raped her, over and over, year after year, until she was 11 years old, at which time, she became pregnant. It turned out to be a minor problem for her dad, which he took care of with his large leather boot firmly on her back, kicking her flat on her face at the bottom of the stairs, and ending the pregnancy.

During this time, Sherri's father would also beat her mother daily. Even though her mother wasn't there for her, Sherri loved her, and wanted to protect her. After all, it is all she'd ever known.

The abuse continued and her dad often ran out of money to supplement his habits.

That is when he discovered another use for his blind, teenage daughter.

He began selling her to different men for the night. They would pay him in cash or drugs. It didn't matter to him. He would send man after man into her room each night. Then, when he was done using her, he would throw her back in the closet, which locked from the outside.

This closet became Sherri's sanctuary. She knew that if she was in there, then she was going to be left alone -- at least for a little while.

One day, while Sherri was in her closet, she was feeling around through the clothes on the floor, looking for a place to lay her head. Instead, she found a guitar. She had never held or played a guitar, but she discovered that she loved the pretty sound it made when she thumbed her fingers across the strings. The strings would vibrate, and she would listen to the sweet, soothing sound. For the next several years, this sound blocked out all of the other noises. Sounds that used to frighten her were now replaced by the soothing sounds of the guitar.

Sherri did go to school when she could. She loved school, because it meant that she was not at home. She learned everything she could. She worked on her studies as much as possible -- and despite everything, she became valedictorian of her class, and received a full scholarship to college.

The blind little girl with the bouncing curls was now off on her own, finally escaping the dark hell that was all too familiar to her.

At least, this should have been her escape. But every weekend, her father would threaten to beat, rape, and even kill her mother if Sherri did not come home. So, feeling that it was her duty, Sherri would go home and face the abuse that she had suffered all her life, not realizing that she finally did have a choice.

One Sunday, one of Sherri's friends from school invited her to church. Sherri enjoyed church, and she made friends quickly there. One night, after the service, a couple of the women leaders asked Sherri about the visible scars and sores on her body. Sherri confided in them out of desperation, sharing her darkest secrets for the first time.

That same night, the women came to her dorm, gathered all of her stuff, and took her to a safe place -- the first safe place she had ever been -- a 50-acre farm in my home state of Kentucky.

This story is almost too horrible to be true, but it is. I can tell you this, because I recently sat across from Sherri while she shared her story.

FORT MYERS, Fla.- A possible candidate for President is making bold moves. Senator Rand Paul, R-KY, wants to win over conservative voters in Southwest Florida, despite its consideration by many to be home turf to former Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio.

Senator Paul finds himself in an interesting position balancing his loyalty to Libertarian-leaning Republicans and attracting traditional conservatives.

While speaking with Republicans in Naples Saturday, Paul touted himself as a “different kind of Republican.”

“I think it’s important that we are boldly for what we are for. I think we need somebody who actually believes as Reagan did in peace through strength, but someone who also believes that the federal government needs to be smaller,” said Paul.

...
Kurt Wallace: On January 28th, you introduced legislation EPIC the End Pensions in Congress Act. Tell us the scope of this particular legislation.

Rep DeSantis: Well, members of Congress, they get a 401K and a defined benefit pension and that is so outdated and it basically is an incentive for Congress people to be here for a career and I think that the American taxpayer should not have to support that.

So, what the bill does is it short circuits the congressional pension system. And, what we did is we knew that some of the long standing members were not like that so we did provide a provision for people that have vested their benefit that they can opt back in to it.

But, the bill itself will simply terminate the pension program and then anyone who is five years or less in service will never be eligible for a pension. And, I think that you can’t ask taxpayers to support pensions for elected officials when they’re not in a situation to get pensions in the private sector.

Overwhelmingly, in the private sector now you have 401Ks and the defined benefit pension plan is really a relic from the bi-gone era. So, the governing class should not be treated better than the taxpayers who are funding the operations in government.

Kurt Wallace: Let’s talk about the culture in D.C. with your fellow congressman and congresswomen. You, Congressman DeSantis, declined your pension when taking office. Why is that?

Rep DeSantis: Because I wanted the voters to know that I wanted to do something and not just be somebody. And, I do believe that service in elected office – the founding fathers, they considered it a sacrifice. And, there are benefits to it because you get to effect the public business.

But, its supposed to be a sacrifice and I think that modern Washington have lost sight of that. People have cushy existences up here and a lot of people when they’re done with the congress they can go on and make all kinds of money leveraging their experience to do that.

I looked at that and said “Look, I don’t need the pension, I’m not in it for a pension”. I want people to know that yes I want to try to change the system but I’m willing to lead by example on that. So, I think that a lot of voters appreciate that because you’re showing them that it’s not just a bunch of rhetoric but you actually believe what you’re saying.

Kurt Wallace: What about your fellow constituents up there, your fellow congressmen, your peers?

Rep DeSantis: I’ve had some colleagues like Thomas Massie from Kentucky, who also declined his pension and is on this bill with me the EPIC Act. And, what we’re trying to do now is we’re researching some Democrats, to see Democrats who’ve been critical, if we can find some.

And, I think that would good if they’ve been critical of their pension system to have some bipartisan support on this. And, I think the goal would be to get a lot of the younger generation in terms of service on the bill. And, I think it would create a favorable contrast.

We have a lot of the old in both parties not wanting to do this. But then we can show that we have some numbers here. And, then the question is how do you force the issue? And it maybe something that you’d have to offer as an amendment to a bill, that’s related. Because it will be hard to get the leadership to want to bring this up.

But I think the more people that get involved in it and the more constituents that talk to their representatives about it, the better chance we to at least get a hearing and a vote on it.

Kurt Wallace: Let’s talk about numbers, what does a congressman pension look like today?

Rep DeSantis: It depends on how much you serve. It suffices to say that a lot of people who retire after having been here a long time they are getting a six figure pension. That’s just something that is really hard to justify from a taxpayers point of view.

Of course, if you don’t serve as long you may not be getting as much of that. But, don’t forget these guys also get define contribution plan, a 401K. I don’t have any problem with there being 401Ks available for people. But I just don’t that you should have something better than a 401K if the private economy is not really producing that.

So, all told you’re looking at some of these folks are having a pretty good cushion after they get out of here and I think that contributes to the careerism that you see in congress because you can serve here for 35 years an you know that you’re really going to have a cushy landing.

If you take the pension out of the situation, yeah you still have a 401K which is probably pretty good for a lot of people. But you’re probably going to have to work when you get out of here. And, I think that’s healthy because I want people to have to live under the laws that they pass. If you end up in congress and then you’re never in the real world again I think you really lose connection with how what you’re doing up here can negatively effect people in the private sector.

Kurt Wallace: Congressman DeSantis a lot of people believe that someone can go up to Washington DC and be a junior or a sophomore or a freshman congressman and they go in with very little money and they come out very wealthy.

There’s frustration about that, this feeling of elitism in Washington DC. Is there any study that you’ve done or seen on how much money could be saved by EPIC based on past history?

Rep DeSantis: So, there are two issues there. One on the accumulation of wealth – that is really problematic apart from the pension issue we have people like Harry Reid who have only been on government salaries their whole life pretty much and yet somehow they’re striking these multimillion dollar land deals and really gaining a lot of profits on this stuff.

And, I think those are examples of people who have a whole lot of political heft being put in a position where they;re able to enrich themselves with some of these sweetheart deals. And, that’s unfortunate – I think the way you’ve got to do that is deal with that in terms of the electoral process in voting out people who do that.

And, of course if they’re violating laws they should be prosecuted. In terms of the pension and what it will save? You’re talking about millions of dollars. There’s no illusion that this is not going to extinguish our national debt. There’s just not enough members of congress for this to be something that is that significant.

But, I think it is significant because I think that you will end up seeing better government. I think it serves as kind of a weakened version of term limits. Because I think that there will be less incentive to stay here forever. I think it will foster some new blood and maybe get some fresh ideas. It does save the government money, the taxpayer money. But, I think more than that is the cultural change that I think this could help foster.
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2014 saw 176 ‘body cavity concealment events’

The federal government is looking for doctors to help monitor suspected smugglers’ bowel movements at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, in a solicitation that sounds like it could be something out of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” program.

In reality it’s all a very sanitary process and even includes a special high-tech toilet to recover the drugs or other contraband from the other waste passing from the suspected smuggler’s system.

But the details, described in a new solicitation for doctors to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection, underscore the efforts smugglers will go to in trying to get their goods into the country, and the lengths the government will go to try to flush them out.

Doctors must be available round-the-clock in case CBP officers suspect they have a “swallower,” which is what internal drug smugglers are known as. The doctors are charged with X-raying or otherwise examining suspects’ body cavities, and if drugs are found, the work order says “the detainee may be held for a monitored bowel movement (MBM) to wait the passage of the contraband material.”

“During the MBM, the detainee will remain in the medical facility under the care and monitoring of the contractor,” CBP said.

Airport Medical Offices at JFK currently holds the contract, which was last renewed in 2009. The company ignored phone and web messages seeking comment. The Department of Homeland Security officer in charge of the contract didn’t respond to a request for more details, but CBP in a statement said the medical program is a key law enforcement tool that maintains “the highest levels of integrity, dignity and respect” for all involved.

GENEVA (AP) — Edging toward a historic compromise, the U.S. and Iran reported progress Monday on a deal that would clamp down on Tehran's nuclear activities for at least 10 years but then slowly ease restrictions on programs that could be used to make atomic arms.

Officials said there were still obstacles to overcome before a March 31 deadline, and any deal will face harsh opposition in both countries. It also would be sure to further strain already-tense U.S. relations with Israel, whose leaders oppose any agreement that doesn't end Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to strongly criticize the deal in an address before Congress next week.

Still, a comprehensive pact could ease 35 years of U.S-Iranian enmity — and seems within reach for the first time in more than a decade of negotiations.

"We made progress," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said as he bade farewell to members of the American delegation at the table with Iran. More discussions between Iran and the six nations engaging it were set for next Monday, a senior U.S. official said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the sides found "a better understanding" at the negotiating table.

Western officials familiar with the talks cited movement but also described the discussions as a moving target, meaning changes in any one area would have repercussions for other parts of the negotiation.

The core idea would be to reward Iran for good behavior over the last years of any agreement, gradually lifting constraints on its uranium enrichment and slowly easing economic sanctions.

Economic desolation has consumed New York’s Southern Tier region, which traces the New York-Pennsylvania border, and some locals are blaming the New York state government for their woes. According to WBNG-TV, the Upstate New York Towns Association, which represents the interests of towns in the area, is researching whether it would be possible or prudent for fifteen towns located in the counties of Broome, Sullivan, Delaware, and Tioga to secede from New York and join Pennsylvania. The Upstate New York Towns Association has declined to name which towns have expressed interest in secession.

A statement released by the organization read, “On December 17, 2014, when it was announced that high volume hydraulic fracturing would be banned in New York State and there would be no casino license in the ‘true’ Southern Tier, a supervisor, whose town is a member of the Association, told a reporter from the Wall Street Journal that we should all secede… That supervisor discussed the idea of seceding to Pennsylvania with the Association. The Association began comparing taxes in New York with taxes in Pennsylvania and comparing the cost of doing business in New York with the cost of doing business in Pennsylvania. The Association also is studying whether or not decisions made in Albany are disproportionately benefiting Downstate.”

Phyllis Schlafly has long argued that the American conservative movement’s purpose is to influence, not echo, the Republican Party.

And still going strong at age 90, Mrs. Schlafly wants to influence the GOP anew by warning against letting the party’s “kingmakers” — the Wall Street elite and political consultant class — turn the 2016 presidential nomination contest into a coronation of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Mincing no words, Mrs. Schlafly makes her case in a 2015 update to her landmark book from a half-century ago titled “A Choice Not an Echo,” which, in 1964, became the motto of Barry Goldwater’s grass-roots movement.

In her update, Mrs. Schlafly — founder of the Eagle Forum — argues that her party too often picks losers as candidates because of a stranglehold by the political consultant-big business-Wall Street crowd, which she argues makes a bundle from championing moderates over conservatives.

She warns that may be happening again in 2016 in the persona of Jeb Bush.

She notes “closed-door events have been held for Republican megadonors to select who will get the big money that went last time to Mitt Romney” and that the mainstream media already are cheering on Mr. Bush.

As evidence, she cites a New York Times article about how “Jeb Bush is so smart, so intellectual and so well-read. We were told that he is a ‘top-drawer intellect’ and a voracious reader who maintains 25 books on his Kindle — books such as George Gilder’s ‘Knowledge and Power.’”

Mrs. Schlafly urges grass-roots conservatives to rise up and resist a coronation of Mr. Bush.

...
But as he attempted that balance, Bush's forceful outlook aligned him closely with his brother at the same time the likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate has surrounded himself with architects of his brother's policies, including former deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

The address sidestepped the deeply unpopular Iraq war begun by the second Bush president. Yet during a question-and-answer period the former Florida governor conceded "there were mistakes in Iraq, for sure," citing bad intelligence about weapons of mass destruction and insufficient security after the fall of Saddam Hussein. He quickly credited his brother for the troop surge, deeming it a "heroic act of courage."

"Weakness invites war," Bush said before a crowd of nearly 900 at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "Strength encourages peace."

Though Obama has angered his liberal base with drone strikes and other uses of force, Republicans cast him as too cautious and not strong enough with Iran and Russia, and in other hot spots. Bush on Wednesday stepped firmly into that camp....
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NAPLES, Florida — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tells Breitbart News that Senate Democrats need to drop their filibuster of the House-passed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill if they want to show Americans they can move beyond partisanship.

“The disappointing thing about the Democrats is they don’t seem to be able to get beyond partisanship to actually address important issues so I think there’s an important constitutional issue here between the separation of powers,” Paul said in an exclusive interview while on a trip. “It would be nice, I think, if some of the Democrats stood up and said ‘you know what? We need to reassert Congress’ authority even though this is a Democrat president. I will vote for congressional power here as opposed to presidential power.’ But not many of them will do it. In fact, right now none of them will.”

Democrats are currently blockading the DHS funding bill under orders from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid because the bill blocks funding for President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty orders. Some Republican establishment figures say that Congress should water down the bill and remove restrictions on executive amnesty, but Paul said the recent court order from federal judge Andrew S. Hanen that put a hold on Obama’s amnesty means Congress should stay strong and block all of Obama’s executive amnesty.

“It should give Congress even more backbone to stand up and oppose this because the courts have now said it’s illegal and they’re stopping it,” Paul told Breitbart News of the court order.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will speak at the popular South by Southwest music festival next month.Texas Tribune editor-in-chief Evan Smith will interview Paul about “how technology has transformed politics, campaigning, governing, and citizen engagement,” according to the SXSW website.

In addition to the five-day music and film festival, SXSW features panels of presenters that have turned it into a central meeting place for technology enthusiasts.

Paul is gearing up to run for president. His appearance at SXSW is further evidence that young voters and an aggressive digital strategy will be primary touchstones for a White House bid if he runs.

WASHINGTON — Last month, Rand Paul greeted a crowd of like-minded supporters: gun-rights enthusiasts with a libertarian bent in New Hampshire, the state where the Republican senator seems most likely to chase presidential primary votes.

Event organizers wouldn't let press into the event, devoted to guns, but reporters were able to see Paul greeting supporters in a black letterman-style jacket bearing the letters "NAGR."

The acronym stands for National Association for Gun Rights — an alternative group to the behemoth National Rifle Association, the group that NAGR says just isn't committed enough to the Second Amendment.

Paul routinely signs his name to their mailers. He's helped fundraise for the group on conference calls. But NAGR is just one of the wide network of libertarian activist groups that Paul remains aligned with, even as he prepares for a presidential bid this year.

The informal network of groups — NAGR, the Campaign for Liberty, the National Pro-life Alliance, and the National League of Taxpayers — are something of a holdover from Paul's more libertarian purist father. The groups operate independently from one another and from Paul, but their connections to the family run deep. Their activists provided a foundation of operative support for Ron Paul's presidential campaigns. But they didn't stop when the elder Paul retired: The groups fundraise aggressively and many have used Rand Paul's name to solicit donations and raise their profile.