US axes $500m scheme to train Syrian rebels, says NYT

Think about it.

You're going to spend half a billion dollars to train 5 guys... $100 million per  Syrian rebel?!?

You would have thought once they hit $250,000 someone would have said, Hey wait a minute this ain't working. 

But no... they didn't slam the brakes on until they hit a half billion! We all know damn well it didn't cost anywhere near that amount. 

So what happened to the money? 

Training the "coordinated" Iraqi's: 

Video 164

And I imagine the Syrians were a carbon copy.

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The US has axed its $500m  program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State in another move highlighting western failures as Russia seizes the initiative by launching direct military intervention in support of Bashar al-Assad.

Pentagon officials were expected to officially announce the end of the program on Friday as the US defence secretary, Ashton Carter, left London after meetings with his British counterpart, Michael Fallon, about the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, the New York Times reported.

The program was the most visible element of US backing for Syrian opposition groups but it has already suffered embarrassing setbacks. Last month, it became apparent that it had trained only four or five fighters inside Syria and that others had surrendered to rival groups and handed over the their weapons when they crossed the border from Turkey. 

US axes $500m scheme to train Syrian rebels, says NYT

And then there's this...

On a tip from Ed Kilbane

Sometimes I feel like I'm watching General Hospital.

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McCarthy accused of affair with House member after withdrawing bid for speaker

WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy abruptly withdrew his promising bid to become speaker Thursday as the married congressman was accused of having an affair with another married House member in an anonymous posting on Wikipedia.

Minutes before Republicans were to cast votes to make him speaker-elect, McCarthy stood and told his colleagues that a fresh face was needed to unite the party.

“And I’m not that person,” McCarthy said, according to one person in the room.

Members sat in surprise. At least one female House member started crying, said Rep. Peter King (R-LI).

“This was the shock of shocks,” King told The Post.

On Thursday, the Wikipedia entries for both McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has two children, and Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), who has a son, were changed to allege the two were having an affair. They were later taken down.

The Internet address from which the changes were made originated from the Department of Homeland Security in Springfield, Va., according to the Washington Free Beacon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_McCarthy_(California_politician)&diff=684773635&oldid=684771944

McCarthy with his wife, Judy, on Thursday.

The changes linked to an article posted on the news website GotNews alleging the two have had a long-running affair. The site reported that outgoing Speaker John Boehner had told McCarthy months ago to end the fling.

McCarthy and Ellmers both denied the affair. Homeland Security said it was investigating the posts.

Specialized DHS Functions…

Let’s take a look at some of the specializations in homeland security. Workers in this area deal with the following areas:

• Immigration and Border Security

• Cybersecurity

• Counterterrorism

• Disaster Response and Recovery

• Posting shit on Wikipedia (but only if it involves a Republican)

“DHS has immediately launched an investigation into this serious matter,” spokeswoman Marsha Catron told The Post. “If it is discovered that a DHS employee, using government property, is responsible for these alleged actions, immediate and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”

“Immediate and appropriate disciplinary action” means time for a vacation.  The end result… it’s just two low level rouge employees at DHS. Oh, and look for Jeh Johnson to announce his agency just experienced a sudden hard drive crash!

There are so many scandals in this administration pretty soon we're going to run out of people in Congress to conduct investigations.

McCarthy will stay on as No. 2 in the House. Boehner will also remain until a successor is chosen.

Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) had sent a letter Tuesday asking that any leadership candidate withdraw from the election “if there are any misdeeds he has committed since joining Congress that will embarrass himself.”

Flanked by his wife and colleagues Thursday, McCarthy batted away a question on whether the letter influenced his decision.

“No,” McCarthy said, shaking his head. “No. No. C’mon.”

He would have won the majority of his Republican colleagues’ votes, but he expressed doubt about whether he could get to the 218 needed to win the majority.

He had lost the support of the tea party-affiliated House Freedom Caucus, and its conservative members backed another candidate.

“If we are going to unite and be strong, we need a new face to help do that. So nothing more than that. I feel good about the decision. I feel great to have my family here, my colleagues,” McCarthy said.

And then there's this...

This would be like getting Urban Meyer

Next man up? House GOP pushes reluctant Ryan to seek speaker's chair

Can Paul Ryan be convinced to run for House speaker?

Since House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., shocked his congressional colleagues early Thursday by withdrawing his name from consideration to replace John Boehner, R-Ohio, as Speaker of the House, Republicans have launched a relentless press aimed at convincing House Ways and Means Committee chair Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to put himself forward for the job.

Fox News has learned that Boehner himself is imploring Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate on the 2012 Republican presidential ticket, to put himself forward for the top job in the House, largely because Ryan is one of the few unifying figures in the House Republican Conference.

"It could be a couple of days, but there is a full-court press. Ryan's the consensus candidate", a senior Capitol Hill source told Fox News. 

The list of endorsements for Ryan also includes McCarthy, who told the Wall Street Journal, "I think he could unite everybody." Hours earlier, Ryan had expressed his support for McCarthy, calling him "the best person to lead the House."

Other Republicans who have pushed Ryan to run include Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the chair of the select committee on Benghazi, who described Ryan to The Wall Street Journal as "uniquely gifted to lead." Another source told Fox that Romney himself was expected to call Ryan to ask him to run.

Ryan has consistently passed on running for high-profile Congressional positions before, including for the Senate and in other slots in the House Republican leadership. His reluctance dates back to 2008 when an attempt was made to draft him to run against Boehner after the GOP lost control of the House. There were also efforts to bring him into the leadership fold after then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary last year.

Ryan himself repeatedly denied early Thursday afternoon that he would be a candidate to succeed Boehner, who has said he would remain in his job until a new speaker was installed. The election to choose Boehner's replacement had been set for October 29, but its date is now uncertain. It's unclear whether more candidates will enter the race or whether the field will stand as is, with Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., vying for the job.

Thursday night, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., told Fox News he was putting himself out as a speaker candidate but "I'd like to tell my wife first."

Ryan's denials were amplified by his spokesman, Brendan Buck, who at one point tweeted Thursday, "Geez folks, nothing has changed," an apparent reference to rumors that his boss had decided to run after all.

However, a source familiar with Ryan’s thinking believes the 45-year-old will eventually step into the fold. The source says the pressure will be “unrelenting because there is no viable alternative.” The source also noted that Ryan would have no excuse not to run for Speaker “because he can move his family to DC.” Ryan and his wife, Janna, have three children.

Late Thursday, Ryan refused to flatly rule out a bid for the Speaker's chair, telling reporters as he left the Capitol, "

"You guys are asking all these interesting questions," Ryan said, "but I don't have any interesting answers right now. "

"I think our conference will come together and unify," he added. "We'll find a way to do it."

Fox News' Bret Baier, Chad Pergram, Mike Emanuel, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

This would be like getting Urban Meyer

And some say God doesn't answer your prayers

BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy Drops Out of Speaker Race

We are quickly learning details that have emerged out of Washington that favorite Kevin McCarthy has informed his Republican colleagues that he is dropping out of the election for Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In the hallway outside of the voting room, CNN’s Dana Bash caught a quick interview with New York Representative Peter King, who said, “People were absolutely stunned” at McCarthy’s revelation. Bash’s initial report from moments ago is here:

After John Boehner announced that he would be stepping down from the role, McCarthy was the heavy favorite to replace him. However, McCarthy has made headlines in regards to several gaffs.

If this was prelude to his leadership skills as Speaker...

Video 163

Imagine what could have happened afterwards!

Upstart challenger Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz is another candidate in the running, as is Florida Rep. Daniel Webster, though both men were seen as long-shots compared to McCarthy. Chaffetz recently argued that McCarthy shouldn’t get an “automatic promotion” to the position of Speaker.

Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp told Bash that McCarthy said to his Republican constituents “I am not the one”; Virginia Rep. David Brat said of the situation, “It was a shock to everybody in the room”. Brat attempted to draw the conversation onto policy before Bash brought it back to the issue of the vacated Speaker position.

CNN’s Bash noted that McCarthy reportedly was afraid his candidacy might further divide the Republicans in what has surely been a contentious lead-up to today’s election. The vote is currently being delayed with no announcement regarding its rescheduling. 

And some say God doesn't answer your prayers

This is how they think

Clinton unveils plan for tighter gun control including executive action, expanded background checks

Hillary Clinton pushes new gun control measures

Check out the highlighted paragraph below. To put it in context we have all heard stories where some wacko has deliberately driven their car into a crowd of people with the intent to kill. So if he or she were driving, say a Ford Focus, the victims families could take legal action against Ford in a lawsuit?

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Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Monday proposed tighter gun-control measures, including expanded background checks, and suggested that if elected she would use executive powers to achieve her goals.

“I want to push hard to get more sensible restraints,” Clinton said on NBC’s “Today” show. “I want to work with Congress, but I will look at ways as president.”

She called for expanded background checks for firearms sales online and at gun shows. Clinton also called for closing loopholes in federal laws that allow for gun-sale transactions to be completed if the buyer’s background check is not finished within three days.

(Which wouldn't have done not nothing in the Oregon case)

Clinton will unveil more details about her plans Monday during a campaign swing through New Hampshire.

Her campaign says her proposals also include a repeal of legislation shielding gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers from most liability suits, even in the case of mass shootings like the one that killed nine students and teachers at an Oregon community college on Thursday.

The fatal shootings have sparked renewed interest in Washington, the 2016 presidential campaign trails and elsewhere across the country about curbing gun violence.

Clinton’s proposals also mark an attempt to make up ground among the liberal wing of the Democratic Party against her closest rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. While Sanders has wooed the Democratic base with his liberal positions on issues like income inequality and college debt, he's struggled to defend a more mixed record on gun legislation -- a reflection, he says, of his rural, gun-friendly home-state.

Sanders backed all the Democratic gun bills brought up in Congress after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. But in 1993, he voted against the landmark Brady handgun bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period for gun purchasers, and he backed the 2005 legislation granting legal immunity to many in the gun industry.

Sanders now says he supports banning assault weapons and closing the so-called "gun show loophole" that exempts private, unlicensed gun sales from background checks.

“I’m going to try in every way,” Clinton said Monday. “I am going to get those guns out of people’s hands.”

Clinton last week also used the recent campus shootings to slam Republican lawmakers, whom she says "refuse to do anything" about mass shootings.

"We need to make every politician who sides with [the NRA] to look in the eyes of parents whose kids have been murdered," Clinton said. "The GOP counts on a dedicated group that scares politicians and says 'We will vote against you' ... So we will take them on. We took them on in the '90s; we're gonna take them on again."

This is how they think