Robert Laurie

Immigration bill requires 3 forged passports before it’s a crime

UPDATE: So, I did some further digging on this issue. Apparently the new law does not alter 18 USC § 1543, which makes a single forged passport a crime. Thus, the alterations to 1541 are designed to specifically address the amounts of forgery being perpetrated. 1543 carries a penalty of fines and/or 10 years in jail for first offenders whose bogus passports are not used in crimes involving drugs or terrorism. That remains in effect and the alterations to 1541 do not supersede it.

McCain: Immigration bill will create ‘most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall’

John McCain was at it again this morning, during an appearance on CNN. He was there to promote the "Gang of Eight" immigration Specifically, he was touting the Bob Corker/John Hoeven Amendment, which adherents believe will strengthen our Southern border.

76% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, have little or no savings

The economy's fine. Don't worry about it. Everything's humming along smoothly. Never mind that nearly 10 million people have left the workforce since Obama took office. Ignore the fact that our "new normal" unemployment rate hovers around 8%. The Democrats are in charge, and they care.

Chuck Schumer salivates over ‘civil rights’ uprisings should immigration fail

This weekend, Chuck Schumer made the Sunday show / news network rounds in an effort to promote the "gang of Eight" immigration package. During his stop on CNN's "State of the Union," he argued that if the Republicans manage to defeat the bill, the GOP will be faced with a massive outpouring of anger. He was practically giddy.

Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz leading the fight against U.S. involvement in Syria

We've spent a fair amount of time discussing the possibility of U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war. It's simply a disaster waiting to happen. Whether we decide to send guns, money, or actual troops, it doesn't really matter. We have no true ally in the fight, it's none of our business, and the insanity of arming rebels who are backed, and often controlled, by Al Qaeda should be self-evident.

Huge turnout for yesterday’s ‘Audit the IRS’ rally in DC

The Tea Party is dead. Its membership is dwindling, its influence is on the wane, and it's rapidly descending into irrelevance. That's the message from the left-wing talking heads, who are desperate to stick a fork in the Conservative movement.

Obama should be tried for war crimes ....says terrorist Bill Ayers?

Obama's out to rid the world of terrorists, one drone strike at a time. He's particularly worried about those inside the United States. In fact, he's so bent on ending their threats that his administration is listening to our phone calls, intercepting our emails, and desperately trying to protect us from reporters who investigate the Benghazi scandal.

14-year-old wears NRA t-shirt to school, winds up facing a year in jail

If you live in scenic Logan County West Virginia, you should know that your out-of-control police and judges are willing to arrest and prosecute 14-year-olds if they're wearing the wrong t-shirt. That's the lesson being learned by middle-schooler Jared Marcum, who was suspended, and subsequently arrested, after refusing to remove the NRA t-shirt he wore to class.

Lindsey Graham’s big week: Loves NSA spying, not sure the 1st Amendment applies to you.

OK, South Carolina, gather 'round and let's have a chat. You guys have got to do something about your Lindsey Graham problem. I know... You meant well. You saw that "R" after his name and figured, "what could go wrong?" So, you voted for him in 2002 and again in 2008.

Supremes make a terrible decision: A DNA swab is nothing like fingerprinting

This morning, Dan wrote a piece in support of the Supreme Court's decision ruling the warrantless collection of DNA is no different from collecting fingerprints. Dan prefaced the article with the suggestion that Libertarian-leaners like myself would probably disagree with his assessment. He's right. I think the Supreme Court's decision is atrocious.

Susan Rice is Obama’s new National Security Advisor. No surprise there….

Today, Barack Obama selected Susan Rice, the U.N. Ambassador who tried desperately to sell the Obama administration's initial lie about Benghazi, to be his new National Security Advisor. She replaces the retiring Tom Donilon, who, judging by the state of our international affairs, has done a bang-up job.

Senator Ted Cruz leading the fight to abolish the IRS

Last week, I wrote a piece suggesting that Barack Obama isn't really the problem. Sure, he's a terrible President and, yes, it would be nice to see him leave office at the earliest possible moment, but the issue we face is bigger than any one man. Once Barack Obama is gone, there are thousands of other power-mad statists who are simply salivating over the chance to take his place.

Former IRS head visited Obama White House a staggering 157 times

Even though we know at least two Senators pushed the IRS to target the left's political enemies, and despite the fact that White House council knew about it weeks - maybe months - before it appeared in the papers, the official line is that Obama learned of the IRS scandal only when it appeared in the media. He's a busy guy and, since the agents involved were just "low-level rogues," it was impossible for the President to hear about the targeted auditing of Tea Party groups.

Forbes: In California, Obamacare raises individual insurance rates 64-146%

Last week, the left was ecstatic. The People's Republic of California announced that not only was Obamacare going to be great, it was going to be even greater than they expected. Everything, they claimed, was going to be cheaper than projected. Residents were going to save so much on their insurance that the over-taxed economy would be booming in no time.

McCain spokesman: McCain didn’t pose with Syrian rebel kidnappers…unless he did

A couple of days ago, you may have read this piece about John McCain's secret trip to spend Memorial Day with Syrian Rebels. While there, he smiled, said cheese, and laughed while Syrian shutterbugs snapped PR photos. Everyone seemed to be having a nice time. After all, McCain just loves to be adored by the press - regardless of which country he's in.

Associated Press bravely reports: ‘Like your health care policy? You may be losing it’

Frankly, I don't know what to say. I am shocked. Shocked, I say, to read what the journalistic brain trust at the Associated Press has uncovered. According to their "Big Story" article today, Obamacare is not going to have the desired effect upon your current healthcare policy. I know it's hard to believe but, if they're correct, Obama might have been wrong when he promised that "if you like your plan, you can keep it."

NBC reports on IRS scandal - ‘the decisions were made in Washington’

This morning, NBC News ran a lengthy piece on the IRS scandal as part of its "Open Channel" blog. Most of the article was a rundown of information we've already seen on a thousand conservative websites - which we can assume means it was all completely new to anyone who gets their news from NBC.

Dick Durbin not sure the 1st Amendment applies to bloggers, ‘new media,’ etc…

Last week, I was discussing the Media Shield Law with some friends. I argued that the provision would be used to silence new media. Sure it would protect the old news outlets like NBC, ABC, and the AP, but Congress despises the new world of bloggers and social media. They've been unable to control it, haven't figured out how to silence it, and have proven completely incapable of using it themselves.

The GOP is missing the boat on the IRS scandal

As the Obama's myriad scandals continue to expand in both severity and number, the Nixon comparison has taken root. We have an embattled White House, enemies lists, a crippled, directionless administration, and a President who seems incapable of repairing the damage done to his already weakened credibility. Unfortunately, that's where the comparison ends. Obama doesn't have Nixon's sense of dignity - so he won't resign - and he isn't faced with any legitimate threat of impeachment.

Watch as Al Franken and Chuck Schumer flee from IRS scandal questions….

Here's a great new video from Jason Mattera, in which he tries to ask Chuck Schumer and Al Franken about their role in the IRS's anti-Tea Party policies. Both men sent letters to the Internal Revenue Service demanding investigations into "political groups masquerading as social welfare groups."