Live Streaming Planned Parenthood's Taxpayer Funding Testimony

UPDATE 12:30 PM:  The committee is in recess for 5 minutes and will return at 12:35 PM.
UPDATE 1:35 PM:  The committee is in recess and will reconvene no later than 2:30 PM according to Chairman Chaffetz.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT HERE'S REP. JORDAN'S OPENING STATEMENT:

From Each According to His Ability & Frankly, Y'all Aren't Trying Hard Enough!

Flowing Curves Of Beauty

Marrying a divorced man is ecologically responsible. In a world where there are more women than men, it pays to recycle. 

Your Dazzling Moment Of Zen

Carolina Panthers Vs New Orleans Saints

Thirteen months ago the Saints traveled to Bank of America Stadium to butt heads with the Carolina Panthers.  They handily defeated the Panthers 28-10 to end a 7-game losing streak.  A month later the Panthers, seeking to snap their 6-game losing streak, visited the Superdome.  The Saints dug a hole for themselves and wound up losing 41-10.

Saints fans will remember the melee in the first quarter of that game that was sparked by QB Cam Newton making an ass of himself with that damned “Superman” celebration I detest.

Saints QB Drew Brees has a shoulder injury.  If he doesn’t respond to treatment he will sit out today's game and Luke McCown, the guy who pitifully muses in a Verizon commercial, “I wonder why they save those back-ups and not just put them in the regular rotation.  I bet if they just had the chance some of those back-ups would really shine,.” will be under center.  It will be McCown’s first NFL start since 2011.

The Panthers are 2-0 and the Saints are 0-2.  While the absence of Brees could give the Cats a distinct advantage, if Newton plays like he’s the only player on the field, the Saints could force him to rethink his wonder jock mentality.  The Saints’ defense could punish Newton and stretch their winning record at BOA Stadium to 5-4.

The game will be carried on FOX and kickoff begins at 1:00 PM.

GO PANTHERS!

Alabama Crimson Tide Vs ULM Warhawks

Today my beloved Crimson Tide plays at home against the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe.  The game airs on the SEC Network at 4:00 PM ET.

After last week’s demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels I, your humble Bama fan, note that the Tide took a precipitous plunge in the AP Top 25 Poll from No. 2 to No. 12, some nasty rumors about Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin were swirling this week (turns out it was an Internet hoax) and backup kicker Gunnar Raborn was suspended indefinitely after his arrest on Thursday for driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

I don’t want to be a “gloomy Gus”, but I hope these incidents are not portends if a dying Alabama dynasty.  There are far too many in college football who would love nothing better.

I was certain last week that Ole Miss would not win back-to-back victories against Bama.  Brother was I wrong.  This week ULM is undoubtedly looking to do the same thing.  Back in 2007, the Warhawks were at Bryant-Denny Stadium and won the game the Tide had squandered 21-14.

QB Jake Coker is going to be under center today and if he continues to look down his receivers, ULM’s defense is going to smother any chance at catching the ball.  I hope Kiffin stops thinking with his little head and starts thinking with his big head and works on Coker’s passing skills, otherwise the stories about Alabama’s dynasty dying will not be exaggerated.

The Warhawks are going into Bryant-Denny Stadium looking to pull off an upset. 

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

And because no football post would be complete with pom-poms, check out this week’s pretty young thing.

Free Radicals

“Family Jewels” Become A “Bone” Of Contention

Few will disagree that GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina emerged the clear victor in last week’s CNN debate.

No matter which candidate you may be supporting, you must admit that Fiorina’s performance was refreshing—refreshing from the standpoint that Trump, who had insulted her looks and backtracked, insisting he was merely commenting on her “persona” was left with egg on his face.  He had no comeback.  A body blow was struck; a body blow which no other candidate has been able to muster this entire election cycle.

"You know, it's interesting to me. Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."

Wednesday night’s The Kelly File featured National Review senior editor Rich Lowry in a discussion of Fiorina’s business career and the disaster many claim it was.  Kelly asked if it was sexist to make that claim.  Lowry responded, “No, no one disputes that. Trump obviously attacks everyone but she’s [Fiorina] become a much bigger target, and I think part of what’s going on here is that last debate. Let’s be honest. Carly cut his balls off with the precision of a surgeon.” 

He continued, “He knows he insulted and bullied his way to the top of the polls. No one was able to best him ever, except for this tough lady on that stage. And it must kill him. He must be simmering about it to this night.”

Shortly thereafter, a Twitter flamewar between Trump and Lowry turned into a comedic lampooning with The Donald demanding the government get involved.

.@realDonaldTrump a deal for you, Donald: if you apologize to Carly for your boorish insult, I might stop noting how she cut your b**** off

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) September 24, 2015

If Trump wants the FCC to fine Lowry for offending him, would a President Trump become all stompy feet and browbeat the FCC into pulling the plug on Comedy Central for airing an episode of South Park depicting him being raped and murdered? 

The Ice Cube In Heels Got Hot Under The Collar

The Ice Cube In Heels and The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer loathe each other.  Some examples of their abhorrence for each other are cited in former senior advisor David Axelrod’s book "Believer: My Forty Years in Politics," 

In a new tell-all book, “Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary”, one passage tells of ol’ Granny’s outrage over damaging leaks by Obama aides that led to investigations of her use of a private email server as secretary of state. So she went right to the top to settle the matter.

Clinton requested a meeting with the president, against the advice of hubby Billy Jeff, believing “she was being persecuted for minor, meaningless violations,” Klein writes.

Clinton initially took a friendly approach during the meeting and Obama reacted as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.  “He was almost being deliberately dense,” a Clinton source said. “It really angered her.”

“What I want for you to do is call off your fucking dogs, Barack!” Clinton allegedly said.

The president was so stunned by Clinton’s disrespectful demands; he needed a moment to compose himself.  “There is nothing I can do for you one way or another. Things have been set in motion, and I can’t and won’t interfere. Your problems are, frankly, of your own making. If you had been honest…”

While the Clinton camp is dismissing Klein’s book as “bullshit”, the exposé he submits sounds totes legit.

The Most Interesting Liar in the World -Outsider

The Greatest Catcher Of All Time: “The Eternal Yankee” Yogi Berra Has Died

I grew up in a time when there existed real heroes in the world—people you could earnestly look up to—who were an inspiration.

The world has lost such a hero today.  News broke early this morning that baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra passed away at the age of 90.  I am deeply saddened.  I loved Yogi.  Hell, everybody loved Yogi.

As a young girl, Saturday afternoons were spent with my dad watching baseball legends like Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Phil Rizzutto and Whitey Ford.  Those games were called by LA Dodgers HOFer Pee Wee Reese and St. Louis Browns’ HOFer Dizzy Dean.

No. 8 was behind the plate in the 1956 World Series as Yankee pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game.  Berra leaped into Larsen’s arms after the final pitch—the moment was captured on film for all time.

Berra was behind the plate when the umpire called Jackie Robinson safe when he tried to steal home in the 1955 World Series.  Yogi knew he was out and gave the ump an earful.

The 2015 regular season for baseball is drawing to a sad close with Yogi’s passing.  No.8 is joining “The Boys of Summer” in heaven. Rest in peace Yogi.  You were the greatest.

Yogi’s wife Carmen once asked him, “Yogi, you are from St. Louis.  We live and New Jersey and you play ball in New York.  If you go before I do, where would you like me to have you buried?”  Yogi answered, “Surprise me.”

A comprehensive obituary for Yogi can be found at The New York Times.

Donald Trump: “I'd Enjoy Meeting With Putin”

Donald Trump believes having a relationship with others is an important aspect of deal-making.

During last Wednesday's CNN GOP debate at the Reagan Presidential Library, the billionaire presidential hopeful said again that he thought he could get along with other global power players.

"I would talk to [Putin], I would get along with him," he said on the debate stage. "I believe—and I may be wrong, in which case I'd probably have to take a different path—but I would get along with a lot of the world leaders that this country is not getting along with."

According to a published report from CBS News, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend the United Nations’ 70th General Assembly in New York City next Sunday.  Michael Cohen, The Trump Organization’s Vice President, hinted “there’s a better than likely chance Trump may meet with Putin when he comes here for the United Nations,”

“People have been talking,” Trump told NBC.  “I heard that he wanted to meet with me and certainly I am open to it.  I would love to do that if he wants to do that.”  If it was arranged, Trump said he’d “enjoy doing it.”

That brought to mind the creatively genius Photoshop™ by bkeyser, the USMC veteran, who submitted the image that went viral of The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer on horseback with Putin.

Hey Democrats, Your Party Is Ready To Cut Up Your Hot Dogs For You

The editorial page of the venerated New Hampshire Union Leader proclaimed it’s all over but the shouting.

Noting that Democratic voters should feel used, the editorialist explained that the DNC has strictly limited the number of officially sanctioned primary debates to six and written the participation rules so tightly as to all but guarantee there will be no alternatives such as the Leader’s Voters First Forum for GOP presidential candidates this past summer.

When DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke at the state Democratic Convention in Manchester on Saturday, she was heckled so loudly her speech was drowned out. The hecklers shouted her down with demands of more debates. Their anger and frustration are understandable.

The Democratic primary voters are being muffled—on purpose—by a party elite that is hell-bent on ensuring there is no disruption to Hillary Clinton’s path to the nomination.

From the debate schedule to the early endorsements from figures such as US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Gov. Maggie Hassan, the fix is in for Clinton.  [Emphasis mine]  Democratic voters might ask themselves why the establishment feels the need to go to such lengths to protect its candidate from the voters’ judgment.

Even the hacks on MSNBC’s Morning Joe noticed Face the Nation anchor John Dickerson’s interview with The Ice Cube In Heels was scripted and controlled by her campaign claiming Dickerson was not allowed to ask follow-up questions about her burgeoning email scandal.

Joe Scarborough said, “…if there were no preconditions to the Clinton interview, the question then becomes how he could have failed to ask so many obvious follow-up questions. It's not clear which reality is more damning.' 

Colonel of Truth

Cartoon Truth-Skewers Of The Day

Presented without comment.

Walker Sees No Path To Nomination

The New York Times published a report at 4:05 PM today stating that GOP presidential hopeful Scott Walker would announce later this evening from Madison, WI that he is dropping out of the race.

Walker concluded, according to three Republicans familiar with his decision, that he no longer saw a path to the Republican nomination.  “He’s made a decision not to limp into Iowa.”

It's real - @FoxNews confirms @ScottWalker to drop out. Writing was on the wall

— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) September 21, 2015

Trump has now knocked out the 2 most successful conservative governors out of the GOP race. Somehow that's an indictment of beltway RINOs.

— jon gabriel (@exjon) September 21, 2015

Are the people who tried to recall Walker thrilled, or upset that this is the guy they couldn't take down?

— Rachel Weiner (@rachelweinerwp) September 21, 2015

Flowing Curves Of Beauty

Men would like monogamy better if it sounded less like monotony. 

Things Have Gotten Out Of Hand

My day got off to a good start yesterday.  In the South the holy day is Saturday because of college football.  I was pumped when LSU trounced Auburn and the Dawgs of Georgia mauled the Gamecocks.  (Take that Steve Spurrier!)  I quickly became #SadAlabamaFan when the Ole Miss Rebels caused tears in Tuscaloosa and the Tide tumbled.

I have been nursing my bruised ego in the aftermath of their ignominious thrashing.

Just when I thought I could no longer derive any meaning from life the Panthers beat the Houston Texans and Proof’s beloved Niners ate dirt in their humiliating loss to the Steelers.

I went out for a while and when I came back I found things had gotten out of hand.  I found my little furkid, Sophie, had invited Bully inside to watch some YouTube™ videos of last year’s NFC Championship Game in which the Seattle Seahawks defeated my beloved Green Bay Packers.

I didn’t mind that so much but when I discovered she had also let Nibbler J. Puffcheeks join them in the TV room to swill beer I got upset. 

You try to raise your pets the right way.  Sometimes they go a little astray.  You see, ‘ol Puffcheeks was arrested on a B&E last November by the Curmudgeon PD.  That character is bad business.

I took a broom to the fuzzy-tailed bastard and sent Sophie to her doggie bed without supper.

I’m letting Bully stay to watch tonight’s game against Seattle because he’s already donning his Packers jersey and cheesehead hat.  Hopefully, my boys can rock Lambeau Field and dish out some sweet revenge.

GO PACKERS!

Your Dazzling Moment Of Zen

Payback Time: Alabama Vs Ole Miss

Revenge is in the air tonight as No. 15 Ole Miss rolls into Bear Country.  No. 2 Alabama will take on the Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium at 9:15 PM.  The game will air on ESPN.

The Rebels came away with a 23-17 victory last year at home against a stunned Tide and the jubilant fans rushed onto the field of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium tearing down the goalposts and parading the pieces around The Grove and The Square in Oxford.

Ole Miss has never beaten Alabama in back-to-back seasons.  The only time Ole Miss beat Alabama at home was waaaaaaay back in 1988.  Wins over Alabama are far and few between.  One fan mused, “Our hearts are broken year after year.”

That shocking defeat caused jaws to flap endlessly amongst sports writers and pundits who questioned whether Alabama could win the SEC Championship.  They did recover.  After all the bowl games and playoffs had been played, the Tide wound up with two losses and the rest of the SEC teams had at least three.

The Crimson Tide’s defense is about to be tested in ways it hasn't been since the Sugar Bowl, and it’s offense won't need any extra motivation to play an Ole Miss team that beat them a year ago.

Last week the Rebels’ defensive back, Tee Shepard, was ejected for targeting against Fresno State and the SEC Office imposed a half-game suspension today.

The Crimson Tide had the most efficient run defense in the country last year and returned five starters in their front seven. In games against Wisconsin and Middle Tennessee State, Bama allowed opposing running backs a scant 91 yards in 38 carries.

Ole Miss beat Bama with a so-so run game last year, but trust me, that ain’t something you want to try twice.

Bama wins by a touchdown.

ROLL TIDE!

And because no football post would be complete without pom-poms, please enjoy this photo of some Bama beauties.Get

 one

The Great* and Powerful Oz

 *Great? Just ask him!

A Lunatic In The Audience?

ROCHESTER, NH—At a Trump town hall meeting, an audience member expressed anti-Muslim sentiments and the real estate mogul laughed it off asking, “We need this question?  This first one?”

He told the audience he preferred to make opening remarks and open the event to their toughest questions. “Make them vicious, violent, terrible questions,” Trump said. 

After the event, reporters asked Trump why he didn't challenge the questioner's assertions. Trump did not answer, but his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski told CNN that the candidate did not hear the question. "All he heard was a question about training camps, which he said we have to look into," Lewandowski said. "The media want to make this an issue about Obama, but it's about him waging a war on Christianity."

He also fielded a question from a conspiracy theorist who told him that there is a “new holocaust” in New Hampshire and that people are being loaded into boxcars and beheaded by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

“I just wanted you to know that,” the woman said.

Trump moved on without addressing the woman’s claim.

Seems they might be out of tinfoil in the Granite State.  That’s what the intellectually incurious might think.

Muslims of America operates 22 “villages” around the United States with a 70-acre compound called Islamberg as its main headquarters in New York.  MOA also operates an enclave identified as Mahmoudberg in Texas and Baladullah near Badger, CA.  Its members are devoted followers of Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani the Islamist whom Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was on his way to interview when he was abducted in 2002 and eventually beheaded by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The FBI documents obtained by Clarion Project clearly identify MOA as a terrorist organization. The Department of Homeland Security privately agreed in 2005, listing Jamaat ul-Fuqra (and specifically MOA) as a possible sponsor of a terrorist attack on the U.S.

So why is MOA/JUF allowed to operate in the country?

The answer is that the State Department has not designated MOA/Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The group is thus permitted to organize in the U.S. until that happens. Yet, the State Department has also recognized the group’s terroristic agenda.

In 1998, the State Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorism report described Jamaat ul-Fuqra as an “Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam through violence.” It said that Fuqra members engaged in assassinations and bombings in the U.S. in the 1980s and still live in “isolated rural compounds” in the country.

A State Department spokesperson was asked in January 2002 about why MOA stopped appearing in the Department’s annual terrorism reports. The answer was as follows:

“Jamaat ul-Fuqra has never been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It was included in several recent annual terrorism reports under ‘other terrorist groups,’ i.e., groups that had carried out acts of terrorism but that were not formally designated by the Secretary of State. However, because of the group's inactivity during 2000, it was not included in the most recent terrorism report covering that calendar year.”

It has not appeared since. Yet, here we have FBI documents from as late as 2007 discussing the terrorist threat posed by MOA.

It’s long past due that the State Department be forced to address this obvious threat. The State Department must designate Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a Foreign Terrorist Organization before it’s too late.

FBI Documents:

·         2007 FBI record 

·         MOA presence in Texas

·         MOA presence not limited to the Mahmoudberg commune

·         FBI document shows that the extremist group has been in Texas since the 1980s

·         FBI document mentions that about seven MOA members purchased property in area

·         Two FBI documents from 1992 mention that MOA members in the state were using false aliases, social security numbers and birth certificates.

·         FBI documents obtained by Clarion Project clearly identify MOA as a terrorist organization. 

Carly Rose To The Occasion Lapping The Field

A scrapper with true grit, Carly Fiorina took the stage at the Reagan Presidential Library for the second GOP debate and drew her sword.  Brit Hume and a whole host of male pundits criticized Fiorina’s failure to smile noting that she came across as too aggressive and lacking humor.

Geez boys.  I find nothing humorous about mutilating babies to harvest their organs, the national debt, the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, Putin’s incursions into Syria, the growing Islamic Caliphate, drug addiction and the culture of corruption in politics.  How about coming to terms with the fact that she had to show her toughness on stage?

On six morning talk shows today Fiorina said, “This is going to be a fight.  If you can’t fight on a debate stage, you can’t stand up and fight for the American people.”  She went on to say, “It’s only a woman whose appearance would be talked about when running for president—never a man.”  She added, “The point is, women are half this nation.  Women are half the potential of this nation.  Still somehow we spend a lot of time talking about women’s appearance instead of their qualifications.” [Damn right.]

John Podhoretz praised her performance noting, “At almost any moment that she managed to seize time to speak—and she was compelled by the structure of the debate to interrupt repeatedly to get that time—she knocked it out of the park.”

One über-liberal pundit wrote, "If you right wingers get your act together and nominate Carly, you win."

Byron York, writing for The Washington Examiner felt Carly had four “big moments” in the debate.

The first came when Fiorina turned a meandering conversation about Vladimir Putin into a crisp recitation of what a new commander in chief should do about Russian aggression:

"What I would do, immediately, is begin rebuilding the Sixth Fleet, I would begin rebuilding the missile defense program in Poland, I would conduct regular, aggressive military exercises in the Baltic States. I'd probably send a few thousand more troops into Germany. Vladimir Putin would get the message. By the way, the reason it is so critically important that every one of us know General Soleimani's name is because Russia is in Syria right now, because the head of the Quds force traveled to Russia and talked Vladimir Putin into aligning themselves with Iran and Syria to prop up Bashar al-Assad."

"We could rebuild the Sixth Fleet. I will. We haven't. We could rebuild the missile defense program. We haven't. I will. We could also, to Senator Rubio's point, give the Egyptians what they've asked for, which is intelligence. We could give the Jordanians what they've asked for, bombs and materiel. We have not supplied it. I will. We could arm the Kurds. They've been asking us for three years. All of this is within our control."

Fiorina had packed more policy prescriptions into one brief statement—all while throwing in a dig at Donald Trump with the reference to knowing "General Soleimani's name"—than any other candidate onstage could muster.

Any other campaign might have dispatched spinners to celebrate the moment. But Fiorina was just getting started. Next came an epic and out-of-the-blue connection of two of the issues about which there is a lot of agreement among Republicans—Iran's nuclear ambitions and the scandal over Planned Parenthood's sale of body parts. How to put those two together?

"I would like to link these two issues. One has something to do with the defense of the security of this nation. The other has something to do with the defense of the character of this nation. You have not heard a plan about Iran from any politician up here, here is my plan. On day one in the Oval Office, I will make two phone calls, the first to my good friend to Bibi Netanyahu to reassure him we will stand with the state of Israel."

"The second, to the supreme leader, to tell him that unless and until he opens every military and every nuclear facility to real anytime, anywhere inspections by our people, not his, we, the United States of America, will make it as difficult as possible and move money around the global financial system."

"We can do that; we don't need anyone's cooperation to do it. And every ally and every adversary we have in this world will know that the United States in America is back in the leadership business, which is how we must stand with our allies."

"As regards Planned Parenthood, anyone who has watched this videotape, I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes. Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, it's heart beating, it's legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain. This is about the character of our nation, and if we will not stand up in and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us."

The power of Fiorina's presentation simply knocked out a lot of viewers. Conservative writer Mollie Hemingway, who has been pressing the media to pay more attention to the Planned Parenthood videos, was left nearly speechless, tweeting "THANK YOU CARLY. THANK YOU CARLY. THANK YOU CARLY." 

But Fiorina's most intense big moment was still to come—and it was by far the briefest. Everyone knew that Donald Trump's insults about Fiorina's looks—the "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?" quote from Trump in a recent Rolling Stone article—would come up in the debate. It did, when moderator Jake Tapper read it to Fiorina and noted Trump's explanation that he was not talking about Fiorina's actual face but rather her "persona."

"Please feel free to respond what you think about his persona," Tapper said to Fiorina. Referring to an earlier spat between Trump and Jeb Bush over a Bush statement about women's health, Fiorina answered:

"You know, it's interesting to me. Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."

Fiorina's answer took just a few seconds, but it knocked Trump flat—something that has not happened in any debate, or any other campaign event, so far. Trump, who has made it a habit not to apologize for attacks and to double down when challenged, surrendered completely. But he managed to do it in a way that did him no good at all. "I think she's got a beautiful face," Trump said, "and I think she's a beautiful woman." Did anyone believe that? And wasn't he still saying her appearance is an issue?

Finally, Fiorina lapped the field when Tapper asked the candidates to suggest a woman to put on the $10 bill. Most of the men onstage were unprepared for the question.  When the question came to the only woman on the stage, Fiorina rejected its premise.

Four big moments in one debate. No other candidate had that. 

Carly Fiorina Rips Planned Parenthood

Carly Fiorina Slams Hillary Clinton

Trump On Carly Fiorina

Carly Fiorina Gets Personal Discussing Drugs

According to Fiorina’s 2015 memoir, her stepdaughter, Lori, died in 2009 after struggling with alcohol, prescription pills and bulimia. She was just 35.