Controversial Clinton pal Sidney Blumenthal is no longer on the Clinton Foundation payroll, but it is still unclear when he left and under what circumstances.
A spokesperson for the foundation told theWashington Free Beacon that Blumenthal ”hasn’t worked here in a while,” but did not confirm when he left or why. Blumenthal did not respond to request for comment.
Three of five members of the Frederick County Ethics Commission resigned today.
Gwen Romack, the commission chairwoman, along with members Carl Benna and C. Steven Snow, sent a letter to County Executive Jan Gardner Monday stating that “the emotional, purposefully-misleading and politicized reaction” to the commission’s last opinion was a driving factor in their decision to resign.
A formal letter to the United States Department of Agriculture reports that scientists are being harassed and their research on bee-killing pesticides is being censored or suppressed by the Monsanto-infiltrated agency (the USDA). Surprised, anyone?
At least we are organizing formally against a scourge that has been painfully obvious for years now. A broad coalition of farmers, environmentalists, fisheries and food-safety organizations (over 25 citizens’ groups) urged an investigation into the USDA’s support of the chemical industry over the American public in a May 5 letter sent to Phyllis K. Fong, USDA Inspector General.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has such poor management over its airport security equipment that the agency does not know if its screening machines are working, according to an audit by the Office of Inspector General.
American lives may be at risk due to ineffective maintenance of its equipment, which has cost taxpayers $1.2 billion.
“The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is not properly managing the maintenance of its airport screening equipment,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general auditsaid. “Specifically, TSA has not issued adequate policies and procedures to airports for carrying out equipment maintenance-related responsibilities. Because TSA does not adequately oversee equipment maintenance, it cannot be assured that routine preventive maintenance is performed or that equipment is repaired and ready for operational use.”
Last week, a federal appeals court ruled that Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act does not authorize the NSA’s telephone metadata surveillance program. Since Edward Snowdendisclosed it in June 2013, the program has been so controversial that its fate has taken on historic significance. The decision inAmerican Civil Liberties Union v. Clapper arrived as Congress must decide whether to reform the program, continue it by re-authorizing Section 215, or let Section 215 expire on its June 1 sunset date. The judgment provided the program’s defenders and critics with ammunition in this debate. Moreover, the court, through its decision, seems to be sending the political branches explicit constitutional messages about what should happen next.
Shootings and homicides have surged in Baltimore since the April 27 burial of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died from injuries suffered in the back of a police van. Officers blame the surge on criminals who are emboldened by the hesitancy police are feeling about doing their jobs.
“In 29 years, I’ve gone through some bad times, but I’ve never seen it this bad,” Lt. Kenneth Butler told the Baltimore Sun. “Policing, as we once knew it, has changed.”
A parolee admitted in court Wednesday that he helped steal assault-style rifles and other firearms from a store during what investigators say was his plot to sell them to protesters in Ferguson, Missouri.
Dakota Moss, 19, of Centralia, Illinois, pleaded guilty in East St. Louis to stealing firearms from a federal licensee, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by violence, carrying a firearm during a violent crime, possession of stolen firearms and being a felon with a firearm, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. He faces up to two decades in prison.
The New York Post reports that Charity Navigator, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities,” has added the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation to its “watch list” of problematic nonprofits.
This decision wasn’t made because of the Clinton Foundation’s remarkably lucrative sideline as a uranium superstore for Russian strongmen, but because its finances are opaque and dishonest, and because such a tiny amount of the money it rakes in actually goes to charitable endeavors. “The Clinton family’s mega-charity took in more than $140 million in grants and pledges in 2013 but spent just $9 million on direct aid,” notes the New York Post. “The group spent the bulk of its windfall on administration, travel, and salaries and bonuses, with the fattest payouts going to family friends.”
Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” “Clinton Cash,” Peter Schweizer argued “the smoking gun is in the pattern of behavior”regarding the Clintons getting donations to their foundation and former President Bill Clinton’s significant increase in speaking fees from foreign donors, which coincided with donors getting “favorable decisions” from the State Department.
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – U.S. airport workers will be subject to extra security screening under new rules prompted by the arrest of a baggage handler in Atlanta on gun smuggling charges, federal authorities said Monday.
Airport and airline employees will now have to be screened before flying by the Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. They also face increased random screening throughout the workday.
Fingerprint-based criminal history checks will be required every two years for airport employees allowed in specially designated security areas until TSA establishes a system for real time criminal history checks, Johnson said in a statement.