Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tntpal who wrote (996971)	1/27/2017 1:55:57 PM
From: FJB	2 Recommendations Recommended By Mick Mørmøny tntpal Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571643

Flashback: Dem mayors didn't protest Obama's attack on 'sanctuary cities' By PAUL BEDARD ( @SECRETSBEDARD) • 1/26/17 6:37 PM washingtonexaminer.com Democratic mayors and local officials assailing President Trump's threat to cut off funding so-called "sanctuary cities" were silent when former President Obama did the same thing less than a year ago. In July, Obama's Justice Department, pushed by House Republicans, notified sanctuaries that they would lose some federal funding if they continued to block federal immigration authorities from seizing illegals jailed for crimes. At the time, Texas Rep. John Culberson, who had pushed Justice to act, told Secrets: "Today, the DOJ notified local and state law enforcement agencies across America that they will no longer be eligible for federal law enforcement grants unless they certify under oath that their local or state laws do not interfere 'in any way' with requests for immigration information from federal authorities." In a decision leading to the final action, a top Justice official told Culberson in February that the action was coming. In a letter, Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik said the department will require over 300 sanctuary cities cities, including Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco, to abide by immigration laws or see their federal funds cut. If they are found to be in violation of federal laws, as in protecting illegal immigrants, Justice will move in with civil or criminal charges. In his letter Culberson, Kadzik said that he will advise communities that receive federal money that they are "required to assure and certify that they are in compliance with all applicable federal laws, and will continue to be required to do so." But either cities didn't believe it or knew the administration wouldn't follow through, no major protests hit the White House. In fact, near the end of his administration, big city Democratic mayors feeling Obama was on their side begged for new protections for illegals. Mayor Bill de Blasio and 30 other city and county leaders asked Obama to extend executive protections for illegals. Now he and several other Democratic mayors are threatening to sue Trump who has made a similar threat to cut funding to the cities that block the federal authorities. Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com

To: tntpal who wrote (996971)	1/27/2017 2:23:53 PM
From: FJB	2 Recommendations Recommended By Mick Mørmøny tntpal Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571643

REPORT: Hard for Trump to Surpass Obama's Record of Chilling Press Freedom... Many in the mainstream media are reacting with righteous indignation over comments from a senior Trump adviser suggesting the administration views the traditional media as an opponent. But if we're to take these apostles of press freedom seriously, they should first explain why the Trump Administration is worse than the Obama Administration. After all, the Obama Administration literally tried imprisoning an uncooperative journalist, monitored journalists' every digital move, and "hammered" at least one challenging reporter with IRS audits. Let's rewind the tape. The Obama Administration began with lofty promises of being "the most transparent administration in history." Instead it ended up setting a record, by the Associated Press's count, for denying the most Freedom of Information Act requests. As the administration's popularity began tumbling early into its first year, the Obama White House declared war on Fox News. The White director of communications, Anita Dunn, warned they would henceforth treat Fox News " like an opponent," insisting, "we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave." The Obama administration made good on that threat. Soon thereafter, the administration sought to deny Fox News' participation in executive branch news-making events -- which only failed after other networks admirably refused to participate if Fox News were excluded. As you'll see in the montage above, President Obama blamed Fox News and talk radio for virtually every problem his administration encountered, warning in his waning days that these "domestic propagandists" were far more damaging to America than any interference from hostile powers like Russia. When Fox News's State Department correspondent, James Rosen, reported accurate information about North Korea leaked by a member of the Obama State Department, Eric Holder ordered his movements to be tracked, his phone records seized, and went " judge shopping" until he found one willing to grant such a warrant without telling Rosen himself. Holder even told Google to not notify Rosen that the government was monitoring his email. "To treat a reporter as a criminal for doing his job — seeking out information the government doesn’t want made public — deprives Americans of the First Amendment freedom on which all other constitutional rights are based," the Washington Post wrote at the time. And it wasn't just Fox News. The New York Times's James Risen was targeted for almost the entirety of Obama's two terms. His crime? Reporting accurate information the Obama Administration didn't want reported. "Along the way, we found out that the government had spied on virtually every aspect of James Risen’s digital life from phone calls, to emails, to credit card statements, bank records and more," the Freedom of the Press Foundation reported. After the Supreme Court rejected Risen's appeal of an earlier order mandating he testify about the source of information he reported, Risen faced jail time. After an outcry, Holder finally backed down. The Associated Press experienced similar surveillance. For two months, the Department of Justice tracked 20 AP reporters' calls, ostensibly over their reporting into a Libyan terrorist's failed plot. Why was reporting on a failed plot so threatening? The AP said it was because the administration wanted to announce the news itself. Obama himself was notorious for granting interviews with journalists whom he knew would treat him gently -- =Barack%20Obama&persons[]=Steve%20Kroft&searchview=compact&searchperpage=30&order=date]like Steve Kroft. When Obama accidentally exposed himself to a mildly challenging interview with a local reporter in Saint Louis, that reporter was later " hammered" with IRS audits. With the Obama Administration, the message to the media was always clear: Report negatively about us, and we'll use the powers at our disposal to make you suffer consequences. If those journalists currently complaining about the Trump Administration found no such fault with the Obama Administration, perhaps it's because they were all too willing to toe the line.