Money Going to Washington

Walter E. Williams / Townhall Columnist

According to a New York Post article (May 22, 2016), in just two years, Hillary Clinton -- former first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state -- collected over $21 million in speaking fees. These fees were paid by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investments, UBS, Bank of America and several hedge fund companies.

In 2015, lobbyists spent $3.22 billion lobbying Congress. In 2013 and 2014, just 10 chemical companies and allied organizations spent more than $154 million lobbying the federal government. The Center for Responsive Politics in 2013 reported that The Dow Chemical Co. "posted record lobbying expenditures" in 2012, "spending nearly $12 million," and was "on pace to eclipse" that amount.

Fourteen labor unions were among the top 25 political campaign contributors between 1989 and 2014.

Many Americans lament the fact that so much money goes to Washington. Let's ask ourselves why corporations, labor unions and other groups spend billions upon billions of dollars on political campaigns, pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a speech and wine and dine politicians and their staffs. Do you think that these are just civic-minded Americans who want to encourage elected officials to live up to their oath of office to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution? Do you think that people who spend billions of dollars on politicians just love participating in the political process? If you believe that either one of those notions applies, you're probably a candidate for a straitjacket and padded cell.

Censorship Is More Dangerous Than Hate Speech

Susan Stamper Brown / Townhall Columnist

Someone needs to tell Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, YouTube and the European Union that the only way to stop a bad guy's speech is to counter it with a good guy's speech, not censor it.

 

Recently, the internet giants took on the role of internet speech police when they agreed to monitor and combat so-called "hate speech" for the EU. No word on how they define hate speech.

I suspect the whole EU hate speech argument is less about preventing terrorist attacks, as they propose, and more about culling criticism of their immigration and refugee policies.

 

Oh, the hypocrisy of those who brag about their "open-mindedness" in one breath and cry about censorship in the next. The only acceptable speech is that which is pleasing to their ears or palatable to their particular ideology, while supporting the prosecution of people for their personal opinions or religious beliefs, especially if those opinions and beliefs do not fall in line with theirs.

 

It sure sounds an awful lot like totalitarianism to me.

Video: Robert Spencer on Hannity on the Orlando jihad massacre
By Robert Spencer / Jihad Watch

 

Last night I appeared on Fox News’ Sean Hannity Show discussing the Orlando jihad massacre and the politically correct willful ignorance that led to it happening.

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Russian Spies Hacked Democratic Computer Network: WashPost

By Newsmax Wires 

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Russian government hackers penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee and gained access to the entire database of opposition research on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

"The intruders so thoroughly compromised the DNC's system they also were able to read all email and chat traffic," the paper said, citing committee officials and security experts.

Those officials also said some of the hackers had access to the DNC's network for about a year.

Shawn Henry, president and chief security officer of CrowdStrike Services and former FBI agent, told MSNBC his team was able to identify and track the hackers to the Russian government.

"We know with certainty, my time in the bureau and now at CrowdStrike, that foreign intelligence services are constantly interested in political processes. They're interested in strategies. They're interested in foreign policy, etcetera," Henry told MSNBC. "And the DNC and other NGOs that have been targeted over the years by this very, very sophisticated group with a high degree of capability and some very, very sophisticated technology."

Obama: Orlando Killer Inspired by ‘Propaganda and Perversions of Islam’ on Internet

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs

Perversions of Islam? In what way? Muhammad said to put gays to death. How did Omar Mateen not obey Muhammad?

“Obama: Orlando Killer Inspired by ‘Propaganda and Perversions of Islam’ on Internet,” by Bridget Johnson, PJ Media, June 13, 2016:

WASHINGTON — President Obama said after a meeting in the Oval Office on the Orlando terrorist attack today that access to “very powerful weapons very quickly” is “a problem regardless of their motivations.”…

 Obama added that “at this stage, we see no clear evidence that he was directed externally” by ISIS leaders and “there’s no direct evidence that he was part of a larger plot.”

“As far as we can tell right...

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