Doing the Barry two step

Remember when Barry said, "Marriage is between a man and a woman?"

Later he said "he evolved".

Looks like Hillary evolved too. 

Not anymore. 

An excerpt from her new campaign ad.

Video 111

Doing the Barry two step

Aaron Hernandez sentenced to life without the possibility of parole

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Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has been found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Hernandez, 25, was charged with killing Odin Lloyd, 27, on June 17, 2013. Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, was found shot to death in an abandoned industrial yard.

In addition to the murder charge, Hernandez was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. As the verdict was read against him this morning, Hernandez sat down. His mother, Terri Hernandez, and fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, burst into tears after the football player was found guilty. Jenkins had testified, with immunity, for the prosecution.

Lloyd’s mother, seated among relatives, also sobbed in the courtroom.

After the sentencing hearing, state Assistant District Attorney William McCauley told reporters the verdict was "a relief."

"It was quite a relief," McCauley, the lead prosecutor, said. "We’re the front person and we have so many people counting on us to bring about a successful result."

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said Hernandez's position as a professional football player affected the attention given to the trial, but insisted he received a fair one.

"In the end, he was a man who committed a serious murder and was convicted of that with a jury of his peers," Quinn told reporters.

During sentencing hearing, Lloyd's mother and sister were among the relatives who spoke before the judge.

"Odin was the first best gift I ever received,” Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, told the court. “I thank God every second and every day of my son's life that I spent with him.”

Ward also said she forgave those responsible for her son's death.

"I forgive the hands of the people that had a hand in my son's murder, either before or after," she said.

Lloyd's sister Olivia Thibou said the time after her brother's death feels "like a bad dream."

"These last couple of years have been the hardest time of our lives," Thibou told the court." At the age of 25, I was asked to write my brother’s eulogy. That's the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life."

Because of the first-degree murder conviction, Hernandez was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jurors decided on the guilty verdict after they deliberated for nearly 36 hours.

Prosecutors had alleged that Hernandez and two other men picked up Lloyd from his house and brought him to the industrial park near the Patriots' Gillette Stadium, about a mile from Hernandez's home.

Hernandez had pleaded not guilty.

Jurors heard testimony from 135 witnesses during the nine week trial, including Patriots' owner Robert Kraft. At the time of the murder, Hernandez had a $40 million contract with the New England Patriots.

Hernandez was recently indicted for the 2012 drive-by shooting deaths of two men outside a Boston nightclub. He has pleaded not guilty.

Aaron Hernandez sentenced to life without the possibility of parole

Obama Bows to Compromise on Iran Bill as Tide Turns in Senate

Barry... “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch”

This is so like him. Kick the can down the road...let the next president worry about it. It's not about "his watch". It's about Iran NEVER getting a nuclear weapon!!! 

 I think these actions taken by Iran contributed to passing this legislation and the reason Congress had to act!

1. During these negotiations you wouldn't think anyone (except in this administration) would believe things are going well... particularly while Iran is chanting "Death to America" during the proceedings!

2. During these negotiations Iran conducted military exercises blowing up a fabricated American aircraft carrier.

3.  During these negotiations a high ranking Iranian general proclaimed, "Israel's destruction is non-negotiable".

4.  During these negotiations Russia is reviving a deal to send  S-300 surface-to-air missiles, an advanced air-defense system to Iran.

When you look at the entirety of the situation does Iran appear to be a country  interested in peace? 

Only if you're a fool. 

When it comes to Iran... Barry and Jimmy are two peas in a pod.

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President Barack Obama agreed to accept compromise Iran legislation that he didn’t want after it became clear that Democratic lawmakers would join with Republicans in demanding a say on the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.

Faced with the growing threat of Congress passing by a broad margin a bill that would weaken him for the remainder of his presidency and potentially derail negotiations with Iran, the administration signaled Obama would relent and sign modified legislation giving lawmakers a chance to review an agreement with Iran before deciding whether to lift sanctions.

Both sides claimed a measure of victory.

“My sense is they know that this thing has run away.”

Senator Bob Corker

Obama’s chief spokesman, Josh Earnest, said lawmakers removed the most objectionable parts of the original legislation from Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, which the White House threatened to veto.

Corker labeled that as White House spin. The core of the legislation -- Congress’s authority to vote on sanctions -- remains in place and has broad bipartisan support, he said.

“My sense is they know that this thing has run away,” Corker said. Up until the end, he said, administration officials were lobbying against any measure requiring Obama to submit a deal to congressional approval.

Deal Brokers

The compromise, approved 19-0 Tuesday afternoon by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was brokered by Corker, the panel’s chairman, and Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, its top Democrat.

Cardin, who replaced Menendez as the ranking Democrat on the committee following the New Jersey senator’s indictment earlier this month on corruption charges, acted as an intermediary with the administration during negotiations with Corker.

He spoke to Obama, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Secretary of State John Kerry multiple times over the past 10 days, according to a Senate aide, who asked for anonymity to discuss the private talks.

Corker came to Cardin’s office Monday afternoon to nail down the final details, the aide said.

The compromise legislation would cut from 60 days to as few as 30 days the time Congress has to review a final deal with Iran. It removed language requiring that Iran renounce ties to terror groups before any sanctions are lifted, which Earnest called “unrealistic.”

Iran Sanctions

A vote to allow or forbid the lifting of economic sanctions previously imposed on Iran by Congress would come after lawmakers review the agreement.

The president still could veto any legislation that would scuttle the Iran negotiations.

“Despite the things about it that we don’t like, enough substantial changes have been made that the president would be willing to sign it because it would reflect the kind of compromise” that he’d accept, Earnest said.

One of the key developments that forced Obama’s hand was the decision by Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat, to sign on to Corker’s original legislation.

Schumer, in line to succeed Nevada’s Harry Reid as the chamber’s Democratic leader, served as a clear warning sign to the administration that skepticism about the Iran deal among Obama’s fellow Democrats meant Obama couldn’t count on any veto being sustained.

The White House congressional liaison staff calculated that the Corker-Cardin compromise could survive a presidential veto, according to an administration official.

Cardin’s Rise

The elevation of Cardin as ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee opened the door to a compromise being hammered out.

While Menendez has had a sometimes tense relationship with the White House, Cardin was willing to push for an accord that would protect Obama’s interests as well as maintain Congress’ ability to weigh in, said another Senate aide with knowledge of the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the process.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said a decisive vote for the legislation in the Senate likely would translate into strong support in the House.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel advocacy group that has opposed the nuclear deal with Iran, applauded the Foreign Relations Committee vote.

“Congress should review any agreement to ensure it meets U.S. objectives and object if it fails to do so,” a statement from the group said.

Impact on Talks

National Iranian American Council Policy Director Jamal Abdi said in a statement that the compromise “does not change the fundamental problems with this bill. It still threatens to derail the talks and kill a deal, and we remain opposed to it.”

Abdi said that while he is hopeful that Obama’s acceptance means the administration has a plan to make sure it won’t derail talks, its passage “will make already difficult negotiations with Iran even more difficult.”

One U.S. official involved in the talks with Iran and with Congress said the legislation poses two potential complications in the negotiations with Iran and five other world powers.

The first, said the official, who requested anonymity to describe internal policy discussions, is the prospect that the Iranians might use it to argue that the U.S. is setting new terms and then try to delay the talks beyond their June 30 deadline, demand new concessions, or seek to separate the U.S. from its negotiating partners.

Review Time

According to an aide to Corker, the legislation says that if the deal is submitted after July 9, the period for Congress to review it increases to 82 days. Until then, Obama would not be able to waive any congressional sanctions on Iran.

A second concern, the official said, is that some lawmakers might try to use the legislation to undermine any final agreement with Iran, such as by rejecting Obama’s certification that Iran is complying.

Ilan Goldenberg, a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security in Washington, said that while the Iranians will raise concerns about the legislation and use it for leverage, they are unlikely to try to renegotiate terms they already have agreed to.

“The Obama administration would never have agreed to something that would endanger what is a central and historic foreign-policy legacy issue for the president,” said Goldenberg, a former staff member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee and State Department official.

The compromise shows “there are people in Congress that don’t want the responsibility for tanking this agreement at such an early stage,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to both Democratic and Republican administrations.

“Nobody right now wants responsibility for fighting with the president or creating obstacles that would have a chilling impact on testing the possibility that at the end of the day this is a better deal than the one that they want,” said Miller, vice president at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. “They want to wait to see exactly what this deal ultimately involves because right now you have a fact sheet and a couple of joint statements.”

Obama Bows to Compromise on Iran Bill as Tide Turns in Senate

Hillary... what were you thinking?

Hillary... what were you thinking?

The reincarnation of Che

Handshake sets stage for meeting between Obama, Castro

(POTUS demonstrates his familiar habit...The Barry Curtsy)

April 10, 2015: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro shake hands as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (R) looks on, before the inauguration of the VII Summit of the Americas in Panama (Reuters)


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From the rooftops in Havana the cry Che, Che, Che, resonated throughout the city.

Using his power of  Executive Order Barry granted them amnesty before declaring Cuba the "58th" state.

Sadly, the festivities were cut short. Barry had a previous invitation in Qatar for a dinner party held in his honor by the Taliban 5. Bowe was expected to attend but said he will be busy meeting with his interior designer to discuss his new digs at Leavenworth. 

Meanwhile...back in Washington reporters pressed Bob Menendez for a comment on normalizing relations with Cuba.

He pled the 5th.

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With a cordial evening handshake, President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved Friday toward a historic meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas.

The meeting between the U.S. and Cuba Saturday with the leadership of the Western Hemisphere gathered around them could signal substantial progress. Both sides are still working through issues that would lead to the opening of embassies in Washington and Havana, the first state of a new diplomatic relationship.

The first clues of an improved relationship between Obama and Castro came Friday evening as they both arrived at a Panama City convention center for the summit’s opening ceremonies. A reporter for a Venezuelan TV network posted video online showing the two greeting each other comfortably with multiple handshakes and extended small talk, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez looked on.

A White House official said the interaction was informal and there was not a substantive conversation between the two leaders. Both men are expected to speak further Saturday – the first extended conversation between leaders of the U.S. and Cuba in more than 50 years.

Obama, speaking to a meeting of civil society groups, cast the move to end hostile relations as a triumph for the Cuban people.

"As the United States begins a new chapter in our relationship with Cuba, we hope it will create an environment that improves the lives of the Cuban people," he told the gathering, which included Cuban dissidents. "Not because it is imposed by us, the United States, but through the talent and ingenuity and aspirations, and the conversations among Cubans from all walks of life so they can decide what the best course is for their prosperity."

The White House was coy over the status of the State Department's recommendation to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror. Removal is a top issue with Castro because it would not only eliminate Cuba's status as a pariah, but also ease Cuba's ability to conduct simple financial transactions.

There is still is speculation that an announcement over the terror list could come soon.

The U.S.-Cuban outreach entered a new, accelerated stage in recent days, with Obama speaking with Castro by phone Wednesday and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holding a lengthy meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez late Thursday.

The Cuban foreign ministry issued a brief account of the Kerry-Rodriguez meeting, saying they met for nearly three hours in a "respectful and constructive atmosphere."

It was the highest-level, face-to-face contact between officials from the two countries since the Dec. 17 announcement that Washington and Havana would move to restore diplomatic relations that were severed in 1961.

Even as Washington talked up the historic shift toward Cuba, leftist leaders in Latin America took shots at the U.S. in solidarity with Venezuela.

Barely off the plane, President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela laid a wreath at a monument to victims of the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. To shouts of "Maduro, stick it to the Yankee," he vowed to personally ask Obama to apologize to Panama and compensate victims of what he called a "massacre" that left more than 500 people dead during the invasion.

"Never again a U.S. invasion in Latin America," Maduro said.

President Evo Morales of Bolivia said he backs Maduro's drive to end U.S. intervention in the region.

The flurry of diplomacy around the summit was recognition of the historic nature of the new relationship intended to end five decades of American presidents either isolating or working to overthrow Fidel Castro's government. Officials hoped to make the most of the exchange between the two men.

Obama still plans to meet with 15 Latin American activists, including two Cubans who have challenged the Cuban government. The White House identified the Cubans as Laritza Diversent, a human rights lawyer and independent journalist, and Manuel Cuesta Morua, a leader of a centrist opposition group. A large contingent of pro-Castro Cubans who were supposed to participate in a larger civil society forum left shortly before Obama spoke to protest the inclusion of Cuban dissidents.

Removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terror would be a major milestone and likely generate controversy in the U.S., given the political repercussions of any Cuba opening. The sensitivities over Cuba are especially acute in Florida, a key presidential battleground, and they are likely to ignite vigorous debate among the presidential candidates.

Congress would have 45 days from the day Obama removes Cuba from the list to issue a resolution of disapproval, but the margin of passage would have to be veto-proof.

Rep. Jeff Duncan, the chairman of a House panel on the Western Hemisphere, criticized taking Cuba off the list. And Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is among Republicans considering a presidential bid, decried the expected Obama-Castro meeting and called the Cuban leader an "entrenched dictator."

The reincarnation of Che