About damn time. The Senate confirms U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
We can finally have a replacement. Eric Holder will finally retire. Holder was a scourge of the Republicans and his departure will not be missed among them.
Republicans now will have a new scourge. The first Black woman to be appointed the U.S. Attorney General is confirmed finally after 5 months of waiting. With partisan trickery, Mitch The Majority Turtle (R-KY) finally got the ball rolling on this.
Over 166 days. A damn shame.
But in the minds of Republicans, it's payback.
Then majority leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) pushed the nuclear option. It ended the filibuster rule when it came to nominees who were stalled by senators who refused to vote on confirmation.
He tried to do a gesture of goodwill by allowing the new Congress to take up the Lynch vote. He made a grave mistake.
What will the Majority Leader stall next?
The Turtle vowed to get back at the president and Reid by stalling legislation and nominees. He knows that in the few years left of President Barack Obama's term, more controversial bills, a federal judge appointment or Supreme Court justice could become an issue. He'll run the clock out at his own peril.
Lynch was a relatively safe choice. But to the racist right, she's a radical Black racist.
Lynch was confirmed by the Senate by a 56-43 vote, making her the first African-American woman to serve in this position.
Despite the partisan bitching from the agitators, Lynch did sail through the needed votes.
Nine Republicans and the Turtle finally got Lynch confirmed.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Now who's up for reelection are Ayotte, Kirk, Johnson and Portman. They are going to be top priority for the Democrats. The Democrats have a chance in Illinois and Wisconsin. But the other two are going to be pretty damn difficult.
The whining began when Lynch agreed with the president over his executive order. The executive order was to grant illegal immigrants living in the country for five years to get a reprieve.
Those three nitwits (aka The Stallmigos) along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) voted against Lynch.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) either voted against or didn't show up for the vote. Worthless politicos.
Can't wait to see what happens if one of these nitwits become president. The Democrats are going to make them suffer.
Adam Gadahn was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan. His death marks a blow to al Qaeda. The American born extremist was an unlikely target. But in the quest to capture him, the U.S. admits two civilians died in this.
The news is that American born al Qaeda terrorists were killed in a CIA-drone strike in Pakistan. In the causalities, comes an American and Italian humanitarian workers.
President Barack Obama announced the capture of American led al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn and Ahmed Farouq were killed in separate drone strikes. But that drone strike led to the deaths of innocent civilians.
The president acknowledged failure on his part and he wants to get to the bottom of the reckless call.
Ahmed Farouq was killed in drone strkie.
A great day in the fight against extremism but unfortunately a debate into targeted killings, Americans being targeted in the fight against terrorism and habeas corpus.
The White House said that Warren Weinstein, an American held by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian held since 2012, were killed in a January operation in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The operation targeted an al Qaeda-associated compound and there was no reason to believe either hostage was present, the White House said.
The White House said Farouq and Gadhan were not specifically targeted in the operations, nor did the U.S. have information indicating their presence at the sites.
President Barack Obama was to appear in the White House briefing room at mid morning to make a statement on the incidents.
The White House said Obama takes "full responsibility for these operations and believes it is important to provide the American people with as much information as possible about our counterterrorism operations, particularly when they take the lives of fellow citizens. "
The White House said that while it believes the operations were lawful, the U.S. is conducting an independent review to understand what happened.
The White House released a statement Thursday morning:
It is with tremendous sorrow that we recently concluded that a U.S. Government counterterrorism operation in January killed two innocent hostages held by al-Qa’ida. Our hearts go out to the families of Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American held by al-Qa’ida since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national who had been an al-Qa’ida hostage since 2012. Analysis of all available information has led the Intelligence Community to judge with high confidence that the operation accidentally killed both hostages. The operation targeted an al-Qa’ida-associated compound, where we had no reason to believe either hostage was present, located in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy.
Obama noted he had spoken with both Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the wife of Weinstein about the deaths.
The CIA and President Barack Obama confirms that two Western hostages were killed in their pursuit of Adam Gadahn.
"As a husband and as a father, I cannot begin to imagine the anguish that the Weinstein and Lo Porto families are feeling today," Obama said.
"I know there's nothing I can ever say or do to ease their heartache," he added.
Two other Americans who were working with al Qaeda were also recently killed in the same region, according to the White House. Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al Qaeda leader, was killed in the same operation that took the lives of Weinstein and Lo Porto, while American Adam Gadahn, a member of al Qaeda, was killed in a separate operation in January. The White House said the two were not specifically targeted and counterterrorism officials "did not have information indicating their presence at the sites of these operations."
The Wall Street Journal reports this is the first known instance in which the U.S. has accidentally killed hostages in a drone strike.
"No words can fully express our regret over this terrible tragedy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Obama defended U.S. counterterrorism operations in his remarks Thursday, saying the strikes occurred after "hundreds of hours of surveillance" had been conducted. He noted "it is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally, and in our fight against terrorists specifically, mistakes...can occur."
President Barack Obama is not happy about today's news that an al Qaeda operative was put down at the cost of two innocent lives.
After Obama gave his remarks, Weinstein's wife released a statement on behalf of the family condemning the "cowardly actions of those who took Warren captive" and expressing disappointment in the U.S. government.
“I want to thank Congressman John Delaney, Senator Barbara Mikulski, and Senator Ben Cardin – as well as specific officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation – for their relentless efforts to free my husband.” Elaine Weinstein said. “Unfortunately, the assistance we received from other elements of the U.S. Government was inconsistent and disappointing over the course of three and a half years. We hope that my husband’s death and the others who have faced similar tragedies in recent months will finally prompt the U.S. Government to take its responsibilities seriously and establish a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families.”
We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto.
We don't advocate extremism. But to get an understanding of Gadahn, watch him explain his mission to fight against the United States. He demands that Muslims take arms and fight. Even in his death, he spoke of more strategic attacks.
Adam Yahiye Gadahn (Arabic: آدم يحيى غدن, Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan; September 1, 1978 – January 2015) was an American senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Islamist group al-Qaeda. Since 2004, he had appeared in a number of videos produced by al-Qaeda as "Azzam the American."
Gadahn, who converted to Islam in 1995 at a California mosque, was described as "homegrown," meaning that he had converted to an ideology so firmly that he was willing to harm his country of origin.
American intelligence officials allege that he inspired the 2007 Osama bin Laden video.
In 2004, he was added to the FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list. On October 11, 2006 he was removed from that list, and placed on the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Rewards for Justice Program list of wanted criminals.On the same day, Gadahn was indicted based on the testimony of the FBI case agent E. J. Hilbert II, in the Southern Division of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by a federal grand jury for the capital crime of treason for aiding an enemy of the United States, i.e., al-Qaeda.
Perennial loser Carly Fiorina is going to put on the makeup and jump into the already crowded clown car. The former CEO of Hewitt-Packard will formally announce her bid for the nomination in May.
Now with that said, let's get a bit of information on her. First things first, she is the only woman to declare her intention to winning the red nose.
She will be facing not only three unaccomplished lawmakers, but a field of formers, a handful of nobodies, a bunch of perennial losers and of course the pinata Hillary Clinton.
Fiornia (born Cara Carleton Sneed; September 6, 1954) is an American former business executive and was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from California in 2010. Fiorina served as chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005 after being an executive at AT&T and its equipment and technology spinoff, Lucent.
Fiorina was considered one of the most powerful women in business during her tenure at Lucent and Hewlett-Packard. While she was chief executive at HP, the company weathered the collapse of the dot-com bubble, although the stock lost half of its value throughout her tenure.
In 2002, the company completed a contentious merger with rival computer company Compaq, which made HP the world's largest personal computer manufacturer.
In 2005, Fiorina was forced to resign as chief executive officer and chair of HP following "differences [with the board of directors] about how to execute HP's strategy."
Fiorina served as an adviser to Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. She was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from California in 2010, losing to incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer.
I want you to know that I own a HP computer and it's always overheating. I need a cooling pad or Carly to come over an explain to me why these laptops are always cooking heat?
Nontheless, when Carly jumps into the clown car in early May, will you vote for her?
A southeastern Missouri town becomes national news after a majority of the city quits after they elected a Black woman as their mayor.
Out you go. About 80% of the city of Parma, Missouri's police force quit. They claim it's not the new mayor but it's their safety.
Tyrus Byrd, a former city clerk, was officially sworn in as mayor on Tuesday after beating incumbent Randall Ramsey. Ramsey had served as mayor of Parma for 37 years under two terms.
They claim their resignation comes in regards to "safety" and not the fact of race.
The city manager, the attorney, water sanitation operator joined the cops in submitting their resignation.
The racial makeup of the city was 67.46% White, 29.45% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.56% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.81% of the population.
According to the city mayor Tyrus Byrd, she is moving forward. After the cameras stop rolling, I bet you that she's probably pissed that this event happened.
The mayor is a Black woman.
Some say they're not worried about their safety and it wasn't necessary to have that many on staff for a city the size of Parma.
Some say they're relieved about the situation and that Parma doesn't have that many problems in town to require so many officers.
“I think it was pretty dirty the way they all quit without giving her a chance, but I don't think they hurt the town with quitting because who needs six police for 740 people?” said Martha Miller of Parma.
Tyrus Byrd got handed a controversy on her first day.
As for why the police and two city employees resigned, Mayor Tyrus Byrd is still trying to figure that out.
The resignation letter could not be found, according to Mayor Byrd.
"They say we have six cops on the payroll. How can we have six cops and we go days without cops patrolling and we have these recent break-ins?” asked one Parma resident.
"We needed somebody young and energetic to help our town and that is what we need,” said one Parma resident.
She said she is receiving outside help from other communities and folks are reaching out to help their town rebound.
Some residents agree the city needs it.
"Just ready to get the town back to the way it was, back to the flow of business,” said another Parma resident.
The mayor said her experience as city clerk years ago will help.
As for when the vacant positions will be filled, it's unclear at this time.
