Upstate Republican Assemblyman, Steve McLaughlin, has announced that he is considering a run against Governor Cuomo in 2014. McLaughlin has been perhaps the most vocal critic of the governor, a staunch supporter of the constitutional right to bear arms, and has spearheaded efforts to, as he says, “drain the swamp” in New York, fighting to weed out corruption in Albany politics.
Via Fred Dicker:
An AGGRESSIVE upstate lawmaker who backs gun rights and Texas-style low taxes and calls Gov. Cuomo a “bully” has emerged as a likely — some say certain — Republican candidate against Cuomo next year, The Post has learned.
Rensselaer County Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, 49, a former commercial pilot who in February compared Cuomo to Hitler over the way the governor rammed through the anti-gun SAFE Act, has privately told legislative colleagues he’s planning to run.
McLaughlin, who works part-time as a salesman for a solar-energy firm, was introduced last week at an anti-SAFE Act rally in Albany “as the next governor of the state of New York.” State GOP Chairman Ed Cox recently described him to an associate as being on his “short list” of gubernatorial candidates.
“I am considering running for governor,” McLaughlin told The Post.
“It took 12 years for people to get sick of Mario Cuomo, but upstate and, I think, on Long Island, people are already sick of Andrew Cuomo.”
McLaughlin added that the disdain for Cuomo is bipartisan, stating that Assembly Democrats have even told him “he’s a pain in the ass and is always trying to follow a path of dictating and bullying people”.
And that is why Dicker used the word ‘aggressive’ in all CAPs.
While being an aggressive supporter of conservative ideals, McLaughlin should not be confused with Cuomo’s last conservative opponent, Carl Paladino. There is a distinct difference in styles, and a distinct difference between being aggressive and being over the top.
While McLaughlin would be a big underdog in a matchup with Cuomo (the governor already has $22 million in his war chest), the current political climate may give the challenger an opening.
There is strong upstate distrust for Cuomo after his embarrassing unconstitutional gun grab via the SAFE Act, and with politicians being arrested for corruption on a seemingly weekly basis, the governor’s approval rating has been in a consistent downward trend recently.
A new poll released today shows his approval, while still in relatively good shape, has hit a personal low at 58%. It should be noted that the polls sample was skewed 47% Democrat, 23% Republican.
Will McLaughlin simply be a Republican sacrificial lamb, or does he have a real shot at unseating Governor Cuomo?
Only time will tell…
Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat Congressman from New York, has claimed that in a closed-door meeting with the NSA, he learned that analysts could listen to specific phone calls and retrieve the contents of said call based solely on an analysts decision.
Warrantless wiretaps. Remember that phrase during the Bush years, liberals?
Via CNET (h/t Weasel Zippers):
The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding that.”
If the NSA wants “to listen to the phone,” an analyst’s decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. “I was rather startled,” said Nadler, an attorney and congressman who serves on the House Judiciary committee.
Not only does this disclosure shed more light on how the NSA’s formidable eavesdropping apparatus works domestically, it also suggests the Justice Department has secretly interpreted federal surveillance law to permit thousands of low-ranking analysts to eavesdrop on phone calls.
Because the same legal standards that apply to phone calls also apply to e-mail messages, text messages, and instant messages, Nadler’s disclosure indicates the NSA analysts could also access the contents of Internet communications without going before a court and seeking approval.
Of course, Democrats have made it clear that all of this is okay … as long as it’s Obama infringing on our freedoms, what could possibly go wrong?
The President, whether his last name is Bush or Obama, is slowly becoming that one girlfriend we’ve all had that you just can’t get rid of. If he’s not stalking you through NSA surveillance programs or harassing you through the IRS, he’s now sending you text messages in the middle of the night … and you can’t do anything to block him.
Via Engadget (h/t Gateway Pundit):
AT&T has begun rolling out Wireless Emergency Alerts updates for iPhone 4S and 5, so you won’t be the last folks to know if the entire northern hemisphere is about to be covered in ice à la Day After Tomorrow.
You’ll receive a notification from the carrier when your update is ready, but only if you’re using iOS 6.1 or higher.
Once installed, AMBER and Emergency alerts are automatically sent to your phone unless you switch them off via Settings. However, should you be tired of Obama, just know that there’s no way to switch off Presidential alerts.
Presidential alerts as defined by AT&T are simply “alerts issued by the President”. And it is that vague description that makes one wonder exactly what they’ll be receiving. Messages to sign up for food stamps? A simple “Hope and Change” text? Or just a friendly reminder that he’s still watching you?
As with the other big brother programs, this is not a new concept and was begun during the Bush presidency. The use of Presidential alerts began with the Warning, Alert and Response Network Act, passed in Congress in 2006.
Don’t be bitter with Apple, though. This is simply a software update for the iPhones in particular, and is pretty much SOP for any WEA-enabled mobile devices.
Whose buck? Our buck…
Via the Washington Times:
The White House Friday defended the first family’s upcoming weeklong trip to Africa, which could cost taxpayers up to $100 million, as “great bang for our buck.”
“There will be a great bang for our buck for being in Africa because when you travel to regions like Africa that don’t get a lot of presidential attention, you tend to have very longstanding and long-running impact from the visit,” said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to President Obama.
The Obamas’ trip, at a time of “sequestration” budget cuts, will take them to Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa from June 26 to July 3. Citing a confidential planning document, the Washington Post reported that the trip will cost between $60 million to $100 million.
The Obama’s actually canceled the safari leg of the trip because of the cost. Reportedly, snipers would be needed “to neutralize cheetahs, lions and other animals if they became a threat”. Who knows how many millions more that would have required.
The trip will involve 445 Secret Service agents and military cargo planes that will airlift 56 vehicles including 14 limousines, ambulances equipped for chemical and biological attacks and radio-jamming trucks to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
But remember as the President has lectured before, everybody has to have some skin in the game. Everybody must sacrifice. Everyone must do their part.
So much stupid, it hurts.
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush argued at a conference earlier this week that America needs immigration reform, which includes paths to amnesty for illegals already in the U.S., because “immigrants are more fertile”, have more stable family lives, and work harder than native-born Americans.
Via the Washington Post (h/t Weasel Zippers):
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) argued Wednesday that the United States should pass immigration reform because the U.S. economy needs the labor of young immigrants, and immigrants are “more fertile.”
“Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans,” Bush said at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to the Majority conference. “Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity.”
Bush said immigrants are an advantage that the United States has over China, Europe and Japan, which don’t have the same immigrant tradition and are struggling to find young laborers.
“If we don’t do it, we will be in decline, because the productivity of this country is dependent upon young people that are equipped to be able to work hard,” Bush said.
Recap:
Americans have inferior business minds and entrepreneurial spirit than their immigrant counterparts.
Americans are not as fertile.
Americans do not love families as much.
American families are less intact.
Americans do not work as hard, and are older generally than immigrants.
Only Jeb could pack so much stupid into such a small space.
Again, secure the borders first. Enforce existing immigration laws … for once. Then consider reforming immigration.
If you can’t enforce a law to begin with, no amount of reform is going to change that.
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