Friday, March 29, 2013

N. Korea says at war with South - Yahoo! News Maktoob

N. Korea says at war with South

By AFP | AFP – 46 minutes ago

North Korea announced Saturday that it had entered a "state of war" with South Korea and would deal with every inter-Korean issue accordingly.

"As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol," the North said in a joint statement attributed to all government bodies and institutions.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Indoctrination and Data Mining in Common Core: Here’s Why America’s Schools May Be in More Trouble Than You Think | Video | TheBlaze.com

Indoctrination and Data Mining in Common Core: Here’s Why America’s Schools May Be in More Trouble Than You Think | Video | TheBlaze.com

Full story and video at the above link.

Indoctrination and Data Mining in Common Core: Here’s Why America’s Schools May Be in More Trouble Than You Think

Mar. 27, 2013 9:30pm Tiffany Gabbay

TheBlaze has been at the forefront in uncovering the disturbing details of the nationalized curriculum standard known as Common Core. One of the most troubling aspects of this federal program is that government bureaucrats are currently mining sensitive and highly personal information on children through Common Core’s tracking system.

The data will then reportedly be sold by the government to outside sources for profit.

To discuss Common Core’s practice of data mining, Glenn Beck hosted an array of guests on TheBlaze TV Wednesday, including documentarian Andrew Marcus, columnist Kyle Olson; Kris Nielsen, author of “Children of the Core”; Jane Robbins of the American Principles Project; and lawmakers T.W. Shannon, Michael Caldwell and Clarence Mingo III.

Watch part of the segment via TheBlaze TV below:(visit the link above)

According to the conservative think tank American Principles Project, Common Core’s technological project is “merely one part of a much broader plan by the federal government to track individuals from birth through their participation in the workforce.” As columnist and author Michelle Malkin has pointed out, the 2009 stimulus package included a “State Fiscal Stabilization Fund” to provide states incentives to construct “longitudinal data systems (LDS) to collect data on public-school students.”

In other words, an aggregation system to mind personal data on children including information about their health, family income, religious affiliation and homework.

Even more off-putting is the revelation that a 44-page Department of Eduction Report released in February indicates that the Common Core data-mining system could one day implement monitoring techniques like “Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging” (scanning one’s brain function), as well as “using cameras to judge facial expressions, an electronic seat that judges [a child's] posture, a pressure-sensitive computer mouse and a biometric wrap on kids’ wrists.”

“This is like some really spooky, sci-fi, Gattaca kind of thing,” Beck said.

Through the stimulus bill, Americans’ privacy has been increasingly compromised. Now, permission that once had to be granted by parents to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to release students’ data has changed with a January 2012 regulation mandating that all information collected by schools since 2009 can be shared among federal agencies without consent.

In the following clip, Beck lays out a new theory on how business and government are colluding to accomplish mutual collective goals in a system very similar to state capitalism. He also theorizes how GE may be involved with Common Core.

Aside from President Obama, whose administration has been a steady supporter of Common Core standards, other leaders and advocates of the system include Bob Corcoran of General Electric (which donated over $33 million to Common Core in 2012), Bill and Melinda Gates, as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

How can you fight back against the data mining happening within Common Core and CSCOPE? Beck and his panel of experts explain:

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sacrifices (what a guy does for a date at BYU)

Published on Mar 23, 2013

Ryan is determined to get home to go on a date with Heather but must first overcome many obstacles. Meanwhile, Heather has her own plans.

(Ryan is a BYU student, the comment from Heather at the end for non LDS faith, a Mission is teaching others about Jesus Christ for a few years thus No dating...during that time.)

(1) Re: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that agencies preparation for war against citizens of the United States of Americ

Dear friends, the following is a copy of my correspondence with Senator Cornyn concerning the arming of the DHS for war against the citizens of our nation. You are each encouraged to copy and properly amend this letter to send to your own senators and members of the U.S. House. Further, I am somewhat overwhelmed at the response to my posts leading up to this letter on this issue. At this point almost 3,000 of you have shared my original post, I have 994 new friends requests, 61 messages, and 70 new comments to process. Please be patient with me and pray that this window of communication remains open to all of us as we respond to this threat against our Constitution and our people. I am awed by you, by your positive response, and your wonderful support. We each have a role to play in standing against this present tyranny. Part of that proper response is sending them a letter like this from YOU, and following it up to make sure it remains a "hot button" issue that must be resolved. God bless you as you honor your oaths and your obligations as citizens of this free nation. May we once again know honorable leadership and peace at home. With all sincerity and respect--Resolved, Captain Terry M. Hestilow, United States Army, Retired.

The Honorable Senator John Cornyn, State of Texas
United States Senate
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Re: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that agencies preparation for war against citizens of the United States of America.

Dear Senator Cornyn,

It is with gravest concern that I write to you today concerning the recent appropriation of weapons by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that can only be understood as a bold threat of war by that agency, and the Obama administration, against the citizens of the United States of America. To date, DHS has been unwilling to provide to you, the elected representatives of the People, justification for recent purchases of almost 3,000 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) armored personnel carriers, 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition (with associated weapons), and other weapons systems, when, in fact, the DHS has no war mission or war making authority within the limits of the United States of America.

Significant is the fact that at the same time the Obama administration is arming his DHS for war within the limits of the United States against the People of the United States in accordance with his 2008 campaign speech claiming,

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve gotta (sic) have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded [as the United States military]”--Candidate Barack Obama, 2008.

the Obama administration is deliberately defunding, overextending, and hollowing the Department of Defense; the only legitimate agency of the U.S. government with a war mission.

This act of the Obama administration stands as a glaring threat of war against our nation’s citizens! This act of the Obama administration can only be understood as a tyrannical threat against the Constitution of the United States of America! If left unresolved, the peace loving citizens who have sworn to defend the United States Constitution “against all enemies, both foreign and domestic” are left no option except to prepare to defend themselves, and the U.S. Constitution, against this Administration’s “coup” against the People and the foundations of liberty fought for and defended for the past 238 years. We have no choice if we honor our oaths.

The only proper response to this threat against the American people is for the representatives of the People, the members of the U.S. House and Senate, to demand in clear terms that the Administration cannot ignore, that the Department of Homeland Security immediately surrender their newly appropriated weapons of war to the Department of Defense (DoD). Further, since the DHS has assumed a position in the Administration to enforce the tyrannical acts of this president against the People of the United States against the limits of the United States Constitution, it remains for the United States Congress to exercise its limiting power in the balancing of powers established by our founding fathers, to disestablish and dissolve the DHS as soon as possible. One needs only to look to the rise of Adolf Hitler, and his associated DHS organizations, the SA and the SS, of 1932-1934, to see the outcome of allowing an agency of government this kind of control over the free citizens of a nation. The people of Germany could not have imagined, until it was too late, the danger of allowing a tyrant this kind of power. We must not be so naïve as to think it will not happen to us as well if we remain passive toward this power grab by the Marxist Obama administration!

Finally, for more than two centuries the nation has lived in peace at home because of the protections of our legitimate military and the many appropriate state and federal law enforcement agencies, supported by Constitutional courts. We stand today at a cross-road. Will we allow this present Administration to overthrow our United States Constitution and its legal processes to amend injustices, or, will we honor our obligations to defend the Constitution against a “domestic” enemy? Our Constitution lays out the proper methods of resolving our differences; and it does not include its overthrow by a rogue agency of a Marxist leadership at home. You, sir, are our constitutionally elected agent to defend our Constitution at home. We are counting upon you. We remain aware, however, of this present threat and will not expose ourselves as an easy prey to the authors of the destruction of our nation.

I know that this letter demands much of you. We elected you because we, the citizens of the State of Texas, believe that you are up to the task at hand and will, against all threats, honor your oath and office. We are also writing to your fellow members of the House and Senate to stand in integrity with the Constitution and against this present threat by the Obama administration and his DHS.

We refuse to surrender our Constitution or our nation!

Resolved,

Captain Terry M. Hestilow
United States Army, Retired
Fort Worth, Texas
March 23, 2013

Monday, March 18, 2013

Iron County, Utah Tells Feds: Don’t Try to Enforce Gun Laws Here – Tenth Amendment Center Blog

Iron County, Utah Tells Feds: Don’t Try to Enforce Gun Laws Here

Posted by TAC Daily Updates

Iron County, Utah – Last week in Southwest Utah, the Iron County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in passing an Iron County 2^nd Amendment Protection Resolution. This is the second Resolution passed in the county, the first being the Cedar City 2^nd Amendment Resolution passed by the City Council.
In that resolution, passed by Cedar City on February 13^th, 2013, the Chief of Police is directed to support the resolution if the federal government attempts to enforce federal gun laws.
The county Resolution makes it clear that the county does not recognize any federal acts, laws, orders, rules, executive orders, or regulations that violate the 2^nd Amendment of the US Constitution:

“NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Governing Board of Iron County, Utah the Iron County Board of Commissioners declares that any federal act, law, order, executive order, rule, or regulation regarding firearms that is a violation and infringement of the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, passed by the Congress, and/or signed by the President, violating the true meaning and intent of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as given by the Founders and Ratifiers of the Constitution, is invalid in Iron County, shall not be recognized by Iron County, is specifically rejected by Iron County, and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in Iron County.”

The county resolution goes further:

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it shall be the duty of the Sheriff of Iron County to take all measures as may be necessary to prevent the enforcement of any federal acts, laws, orders, rules, or regulations in violation of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”

In talking with Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower, he said, “I will not allow anyone to come into this county and violate the Constitutions of the United States or Utah. If I have to stand in the street and stop that from happening I would do it.” He further said, “I have refused to sign any agreements or contracts with Homeland Security or any other federal department and no one can come in and preempt the local control of our law enforcement. I will never give my command and control of the sheriff’s office to an outside agency. The US Constitution will not be violated on my watch.”
The effect of the county government and the largest city in the county both taking a stand on protecting the 2^nd Amendment represents a solid foundation in supporting the gun rights of the citizens in the county. This provides a unified front should there be any challenge to those rights.
If the Utah state government eventually passes a law with similar provisions to the Iron County provisions, then a solid unified citizenry is what the people in Washington D.C. will see on the issue of federal gun control. They will think twice about trying to take away our guns or to abridge our 2^nd Amendment rights.
The actions in Iron County show what can be done at the local level to stand up for your inalienable and God given rights. Now is the time for each person in each city and county across the nation to show the power of the people by enacting resolutions. It is an easy process. Anyone can introduce a resolution to your city council and country board. Get people to the meetings to support a resolution. If enough people speak up and declare the intent of the citizens of the community, the elected officials will usually listen.
This is only the beginning. There are still many issues that need addressing and many resolutions that need passing. After the resolutions come laws. There is a lot of work to do after sitting on our rears for all these years. If we value our country like we say we do then get up and call or talk to your neighbor, family member, workmate and then call your city council person, your county commissioner/county supervisor, state representative/state senator and get them working on passing the resolutions, ordinances, and laws. If I did it, you can too; anyone can do it! It’s easy!
Point of Contact:
Sylvan Malis
s.malis@usatrac.com
PO Box 3322
Cedar City, UT 84721
435-572-4779

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Kansas House Passes Gun Control Nullification

March 15, 2013 by Breaking News Leave a Comment

On Thursday, March 14, the Kansas House of Representatives approved House Bill 2199, the Second Amendment Protection Act, which would nullify any new federal restrictions — passed either by Congress, presidential executive order, agency order, rule, or regulation — on firearms, magazines, and ammunition.

The bill originally passed Wednesday, March 13, by a voice vote, but the actual official recorded vote was not taken until Thursday, when it passed 94-29.
On Tuesday, during a debate over the bill on the floor, one representative who was against the bill stated that Kansas should not “punish” federal agents ordered to enforce federal gun controls in the state of Kansas. “The citizens of Kansas belong to the United States,” said the speaker.
State Representative Brett Hildabrand (R-17) took to the podium and replied:
The citizens of Kansas do not belong to the United States. The United States belongs to the citizens of Kansas! We cannot allow the response, “I was following orders” to be an excuse for violating our Constitutional rights. How many atrocities have been committed in history by people simply following orders?
For the first time in three years, members broke chamber rules and erupted into applause, according to Hildabrand’s Facebook page.
Read More at The New American . By Christian Gomez.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Stewart to President Obama: ‘Forgo a Taxpayer Funded Vacation to Resume White House Tours’ | Congressman Chris Stewart

Stewart to President Obama: ‘Forgo a Taxpayer Funded Vacation to Resume White House Tours’

Mar 13, 2013

Press Release

Contact: Allison.Barker@mail.house.gov
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) introduced The White House Tour Resolution, asking President Obama to refrain from taking more vacations at the taxpayers’ expense until he reopens the White House for tours.
The Secret Service has estimated that it costs approximately $3.7 million annually to keep the White House open for tours, while each Hawaiian vacation taken by President Obama and his family costs approximately $4 million.
“Our request is simple. The President is asking the people to sacrifice, but never himself,” Stewart said. “We don’t have a problem with him taking vacations, but it seems petty to close the White House to tours, when forgoing one or two out-of-town vacations would easily pay for the cost of keeping it open. It’s unfortunate that instead of choosing to eliminate wasteful or duplicative government spending as a result of the President’s sequester, he has chosen to close the White House to the public. The President is again showing his dedication to politics and not to pursuing sound public policy.”
An article published in the Hawaii Reporter, in November 2012, breaks down the estimated costs of the President’s vacations, including the use of Air force One, which costs approximately $180,000 an hour to operate.
On the White House website, Michelle Obama is quoted as saying the White House is, “the ‘People’s House’… a place where everyone should feel welcome.” She said that her and the President made it “their mission to open up the house to as many people as [they] can”.
“Just as Mrs. Obama stated, the White House should be open to the public. It should be a place where everyone feels welcome.” Stewart said. “Through this resolution, I am urging the President to forego a few taxpayer funded vacations, and reopen the White House to the public.”
The full text of The White House Tour Resolution is below, and the PDF version can be found here.

The White House Tour Resolution
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should refrain from any further taxpayer- funded vacations until the White House can be re-opened for public tours.
Whereas the Obama Administration announced on Tuesday March 5, 2013 that it would cancel all White House tours due to sequestration;
Whereas the annual cost to the Secret Service of maintaining the White House open for public tours is approximately $3.7 million;
Whereas the President has taken four trips to Hawaii in the past four years, at an estimated cost to the taxpayers of $4 million each, as well as numerous other vacations at enormous taxpayer expense;
Whereas the President has plans for additional vacations in the coming months;
Whereas the President has the complete discretion to transfer funds in such a way as to keep the White House open for tours;
Whereas, Congress—under similar budgetary pressures—has maintained the Capitol open for public tours.
Resolved, that the President should refrain from any further vacations at the taxpayers’ expense until such sums have been saved that the people’s White House can be re-opened for public tours.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Idaho House Approves 2nd Amendment Preservation Act, 55-13

Posted by TAC Daily Updates

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BOISE (March 11, 2013) – In Idaho today, the State House of Representatives voted to nullify federal gun laws, rule, regulations and orders on semiautomatic firearms, or any firearm magazine, plus any federal registration on all firearms, magazines, or other firearm accessories.
House Bill 219 (HB0219), introduced by 22 sponsors, takes the extremely important step in a full prohibition on all state and local enforcement of federal gun laws, rules, regulations or orders on firearms, accessories and ammunition owned or manufactured in the states. It reads, in part:

Any official, agent or employee of the state of Idaho or a political subdivision thereof who knowingly and willfully enforces or orders an official, agent or employee of the state of Idaho or a political subdivision of the state to en- force any order, law, rule or regulation of the United States government as provided in subsection (2) of this section upon a personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition that is owned or manufactured commercially or privately in Idaho shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not to exceed one (1) year, or shall be subject to both such fine and imprisonment.

The Idaho House passed the bill by a vote of 55-13 (see how reps voted here)

NONCOMPLIANCE
As big as it is, the federal government cannot be everywhere at once enforcing its so-called “laws” and regulations; it must rely on submission, compliance or “bribery” in the form of federal grants to accomplish its goals. Without local and state government co-operation, the feds are stymied and thwarted in many, if not most, of its efforts.
The federal government most certainly needs compliance, if not outright assistance, from the states when it does its dirty deeds. Information-sharing, logistics assistance, access to infrastructure, help from sheriffs blocking roads, and the like. They can rarely pull things off without help from state and local officials.
Just ask the DEA when they come to California. They’re never able to pull off a raid of a marijuana dispensary without the help of the local sheriff or police departments. Or, look at the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare. Without states shouldering the burden of operating and funding insurance exchanges, the entire act could collapse.
The fact is this: Without state compliance and assistance, many unconstitutional federal acts are little more than a house of cards. Refusing compliance on a state or local level is a big deal – and it sets the stage for others to do the same.
MOVING THE BAR
Beyond the effectiveness of such efforts, Tenth Amendment Center national communications director Mike Maharrey points out that over time, things have been moving forward – step by step – on a positive path around the country:
“When HB219 becomes law in Idaho, the feds are going to have an extremely difficult time trying to enforce the gun control measures this bill covers. Likely, they’ll move their resources over to more cooperative states, until there’s so many who refuse to comply that they simply have to back off.”
HB219 now moves on to the State Senate, where it will be considered for concurrence.
ACTION ITEMS for Idaho
1. Contact your State Senator. Make sure they know you want them to vote YES on HB219. If the federal government is going to try even more attacks on the 2nd amendment, Idaho will not have ANY part of it. And, by doing so, Idaho will help play an important part in the demise of such unconstitutional plans.
contact information here:
http://legislature.idaho.gov/who’smylegislator.htm

2. Encourage your local community to take action as well. Present the 2nd Amendment Preservation Act to your city county, your town council, or your county commissioners. Various local governments around the country are already passing similar resolutions and ordinances. Local legislative action present a great way to strengthen a statewide campaign against violations of the 2nd Amendment
Model legislation here:
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2ndamendmentpreservation
LEGISLATION and TRACKING
If you would like to see model legislation to introduce in your state or local community to nullify federal firearm laws, please see The Tenth Amendment Center’s Model Legislation: The 2nd Amendment Preservation Act.
Track the status of 2nd Amendment preservation legislation in states around the country HERE.

If you enjoyed this post:
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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Senator Rand Paul Senate Filibuster 12+ hrs, Listen to much of it. Great and Educational.

‘Your Right To Trial By Jury Is Precious’: Sen. Rand Paul Stages Nearly 13 Hour Old-School Filibuster Over Drone Strikes | Video | TheBlaze.com

‘Your Right To Trial By Jury Is Precious’: Sen. Rand Paul Stages Nearly 13 Hour Old-School Filibuster Over Drone Strikes

Mar. 6, 2013 12:56pm Becket Adams

Scroll down for updates to this story.

–

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12 to 3 on Tuesday to confirm John Brennan as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

However, Brennan may have at least one more hurdle to clear before final confirmation, namely, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has vowed to block his nomination until the White House provides more information on its secretive drone program.

The Kentucky senator doesn’t have the 41 votes necessary to prevent a cloture vote, which would block Brennan’s confirmation, so he’s doing the only thing he can do: He’s stalling all senate business with an honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned filibuster.

“I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan’s nomination for the CIA,” Sen. Paul at approximately 11:45 a.m ET on Wednesday.

“I will speak until I can no longer speak, I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our constitution is important, that your right to trial by jury is precious, that no American should be killed on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court,” he added.

And it looks like he’s in it for the long haul.

“They say Lewis Carroll is fiction. Alice never fell down a rabbit hole and the White Queen’s caustic judgments are not really a threat to your security or has America the Beautiful become Alice’s Wonderland?” he asked.

He continued, reading aloud from Carroll’s book:

“No, no,” said the queen. “Sentence first; Verdict afterwards.”
“Stuff and nonsense,” Alice said widely — loudly. “The idea of having the sentence first?”
“Hold your tongue,” said the queen, turning purple.
“I won’t,” said Alice.
“Release the drones,” said the queen, as she shouted at the top of her voice.

At a later point in his speech, Sen. Paul made his intentions crystal clear: “All I’m asking of the president is that he says in public that he’s not in favor of summarily executing people.”

How long do you suppose the Kentucky senator will hold out? According to senate rules, aides are allowed to bring him food and notes. So at least he has got that.

UPDATE: The senator posed an interesting question regarding U.S. civilians the fed’s definition of “enemy combatants.”

“Nobody will ever forget Jane Fonda swivelling around in North Vietnamese armored guns and it was despicable,” he said. “That’s one thing if you want to try her for treason, but are you going to just drop a drone, a hellfire missile on Jane Fonda?”

Courtesy the Washington Examiner:

UPDATE II: So far Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have all stepped up to give Sen. Paul a hand. Careful to not yield the floor, the Kentucky senator has engaged each one in lengthy discussions regarding civil liberties, the U.S. Constitution, and the government’s definition of an “enemy combatant.”

And it looks like Paul is just getting warmed up.

UPDATE III: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has just stepped stepped in to discuss “Congressional oversight of executive branch & rules for targeted killings.”

“Every American deserves to know when the government thinks it has the right to kill them” Sen. Wyden said, sharing Sen. Paul’s concerns over the government’s widespread use of drone strikes.

This should be interesting.

UPDATE IV: Here’s a collection of some of Sen. Paul’s most notable quotes (you can see more at his Facebook page):

“Are we so frightened that we’re going to give up on our Bill of Rights? Are we going to round up people who have a different color skin because they might have a cousin in Lebanon?”
“Are you in favor of martial law by the President? I don’t think many Americans would be.”
“No President has the right to say that he is judge, jury, and executioner.”
“I will not sit quietly and let the president shred the Constitution.”

And, yes, as of about 3:45 p.m. ET, Sen. Paul has officially crossed the four-hour mark.

UPDATE V: And now Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has joined Sen. Paul in his filibuster efforts.

UPDATE VI: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) has now joined in the discussion.

UPDATE VII: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has just taken to the floor to invoke cloture — and Sen. Paul rejects his proposal.

It looks like we may be in for a long evening, folks. The Kentucky senator — with the aid of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — is moving forward with the filibuster.

LATEST UPDATES: Yes, we are now in the twelfth hour of Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster.

And although he looks tired, the Kentucky senator is still going, thanks in part to contributions from Republican senators Ted Cruz (Texas), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Pat Toomey (Pa.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Sen. Dean Heller (Nev.), John Barasso (Wy.), John Thune (S.D), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), and Mike Lee (Utah).

Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) also pitched in earlier this afternoon.

Meanwhile, over on the other side of town, these GOP senators were absent this evening — and have yet to pitch in — because they were dining with President Barack Obama:

Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
John Hoeven (R-N.D.)
John McCain (R-Ariz.)
Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
Mike Johanns (Neb.)
Lindsey Graham (S.C.)
Richard Burr (N.C.)
Dan Coats (Ind.)

Republican senators Pat Toomey (Pa.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), and Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) also dined with the president. However, unlike the names mentioned in the above, they’ve participated the filibuster.

As of this writing, Republican Congressmen Louie Gohmert (Texas), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Bill Huizenga (Mich.), Michael C. Burgess (Texas), Keith Rothfus (Pa.), & Jim Bridenstine (Okla.) have arrived in the senate chamber as a show of support for the Kentucky senator.

Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) took to the floor to question Sen. Paul. He asked whether former President George W. Bush had the authority during 9/11 to shoot down hijacked planes. Sen. Paul responded by saying that a military response to an actual attack on U.S. soil is different from what he has been talking about for 12 hours.

Sen. Durbin later asked whether Osama bin Laden was enough of an “imminent threat” for Seal Team Six to summarily execute. Sen. Paul responded with, “Touche.” However, the Kentucky senator should’ve probably just noted that bin Laden was neither a U.S. citizen nor was he on U.S. soil.

Also, via Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.), here’s the resolution Sen. Durbin rejected in the Senate:

Sen. Rand Paul Stalling Brennan Nomination the Old Fashioned Way

Twitter

And in case you were wondering, Sen. Ted Cruz never gave a “maiden speech,” according to BuzzFeed’s John Stanton. So, yes, Wednesday was the Texas senator’s first time speaking on the senate floor — and it was to back Sen. Rand Paul.

FINAL UPDATE: Sen. Rand Paul yields the floor, bringing his 12 hours and 52 minute filibuster to a close.

“I would go for another 12 hours to try and break Stromm Thurman’s record,” the senator said, “but I’ve discovered that there are some limits to filibustering and I’m going to have to take care of one of those in a few minutes.”

At approximately 12:41 a.m. ET, the senate adjourns.

Final Thought: Sen. Paul just told reporters that he “did not show up today planning to filibuster.” He was under the impression that the vote would be later.

However, once he discovered that Wednesday was the day to stage a filibuster, he went for it. This means that pretty much everything you just saw was unscripted. He was neither properly rested, fed, or prepped. Heck, he wasn’t even wearing “comfy shoes.”

That was all Sen. Paul.

Warning's for America's Future!

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Friday, March 29, 2013