Greg welcomes guests Sherrod Small and R.A. the Rugged Man.
Soros-Funded Study Ranks Soros Last in Transparency
Liberal billionaire George Soros' foundation is among the most opaque think tanks in the country, according to a study funded by that foundation.
The study, by a group called Transparify, ranked 35 U.S. think tanks based on the amount of financial information that they make publicly available.
Soros' Open Society Foundations rank dead last, earning zero stars out of a possible five. That designation is reserved for groups that dislose "no relevant or up-to-date information" on their finances.
The study notes that Transparify "is funded by the Think Tank Fund of the Open Society Foundations (OSF). As OSF is listed by the ranking used for selection, our raters applied rating criteria as they did with all other institutions."
"The OSF website highlights George Soros as their founder, but does not specify the funding source on its expenditure page," the study noted. "OSF emphasized to us that they do not consider themselves to be a think tank and that they are funded exclusively by George Soros."
The Center for American Progress, a Soros-funded think tank that frequently bemoans secretive political spending, also fared poorly, earning one out of five stars.
In contrast, the Heritage Foundation, commonly considered the flagship conservative think tank in Washington, earned four stars, putting it in the "broadly transparent" category.
EWTN News Nightly's Brian Patrick discusses the day's news. Dr. Alveda King talks about the Priests for Life case against the HHS mandate. News Nightly's Wyatt Spencer gives an update on the latest developments in the Benghazi investigation. Alan Ronkin of the American Jewish Committee discusses American Jewish Heritage month. Jason Calvi reports on a Cardinal speaking out against LCWR. Also, News Nightly previews the NFL draft.
Jim and Greg like the Senate election results in North Carolina, gag over Obama's latest climate-change rhetoric, and discuss the (hopefully) brief re-emergence of Monica Lewinsky.
Dems' Meddling Falls Flat in North Carolina GOP Primary
Despite Kay Hagan's cynical efforts to interfere in their primary with a dishonest ad campaign, North Carolina Republicans nominated the candidate of whom Team Hagan is evidently most afraid. Tarheel State House Speaker Thom Tillis needed to clear the 40 percent threshold in he crowded GOP primary in order to negate a run-off -- which would have been a costly proposition, in terms of dollars and time. He did so, with percentage points to spare. If he hadn't, Tillis and his closest rival would have locked horns for two more months, depleting the party's resources, and firing salvos at one another.
The embattled incumbent, meanwhile, could've kept her powder dry while hunkering down for the general's delayed start. Instead, the race to November is on. Hagan -- who provided the 60th and deciding vote for Obamacare in the US Senate -- has been literally running away from questions about the law, while trying to convince voters that Tillis is a hypocrite on the issue. Primary voters weren't fooled. Though Tillis rejects the "establishment" label by pointing to his strong conservative voting record, he was the undoubtedly the party's top choice.
Also read:
Stop Whining About The Monica Lewinsky Story
Obama's Climate Gambit Insults Your Intelligence
EWTN News Nightly's Brian Patrick discusses today's news. In tonight's program, he speaks with Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, about the Church's actions against sex abuse. And Father Carter Griffin, of Saint John Paul II Seminary, discusses what action is being taken within the seminaries. Sir Gilbert Levine, "The Pope's Maestro", joins the broadcast to discuss his experience with Saint Pope John Paul II. It's also the first day of primary elections, News Nightly is joined by The Brookings Institution's Elaine Kamarck for analysis. And Jason Calvi covers Washington, D.C.'s Blue Mass.
Jim and Greg like that the Supreme Court validated prayer before public meetings, groan as the Obama administration trots out its latest agenda to combat "climate disruption," and have fun with Obama's stated goal of a "year of action."
Obama biographer: "The world seems to disappoint him"
Via the Weekly Standard, a classic summation of foreign policy Hopenchange-style, right up there with "leading from behind." This attitude, that Obama is perpetually the only adult in the room of whatever room he's in, has been part of his presidential DNA since the day he was sworn in. Remember this line from his first inaugural?
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.
The adults were in charge now. That's been his approach to the GOP ever since, his speeches adorned with endless straw men and false choices designed to portray his critics - including his critics on the left, occasionally - as pie-eyed ideologues forever trying to drag him from the responsible, adult path. It's annoying, but you can chalk that up to partisan politics if you like. What's harder to explain is O taking the "adult in the room" attitude with other heads of state. Sometimes it's an undertone, like when he and Kerry whine that Russia's aggression towards Ukraine isn't the way nations behave in the 21st century. The international order is more adult now, the argument implies; first-world countries settle their problems with "dialogue," not with bombs and guns. Sometimes, though, it's a bit more than an undertone...
Also read:
SCOTUS Decision Upholding Prayer Likely to Have Broad Impact
Freedom For Religion, Not From It
Greg welcomes guests Bryan Bishop and Gavin McInnes.
Pew: Millions Changed Race in Census, Spike in 'American Indians'
More than 10 million Americans changed their race on their census forms since 2000, and more people identified themselves as "American Indian" than can be accounted for by birth or immigration, according to a new Pew Research Center report.
The report, presented at the Population Association of America meeting last week, found that of the 168 million forms from the 2010 Census analyzed by university and government population scientists, more than 10 million selected different race or Hispanic-origin designations than they had in the 2000 Census survey.
Hispanics, Americans of mixed race, American Indians, and Pacific Islanders were among those most likely to check different boxes from one census to the next. A separate paper at the conference reported a "remarkable turnover" among those describing themselves as American Indian, with increases since 1960 that have been higher than can be accounted for by births or immigration.
The report said researchers did not make any definitive conclusions about the reasons why people may change their racial status. One explanation could be that the census asks separate questions about race and ethnicity that could be confusing, while some people change their category after they find out they had an ancestor of a different race.
But the report also said the changes could be due to the benefits associated with being identified with some groups, "such as priority in college admissions."
Also read: Fauxcahontas' latest lame excuse
Tonight, EWTN's Jason Calvi reports from the Supreme Court about a landmark decision on prayers in public meetings. Wyatt Spencer reports on the latest developments regarding Boko Haram's Islamist terrorism in Nigeria, and Dr. Amy Pate from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism joins Brian Patrick to discuss the situation. The Catholic Association's Maureen Ferguson provides analysis of the U.N.'s ongoing attacks on the Vatican, including disgraceful claims that "pro-life" equals "pro-torture." And News Nightly's Alan Holdren reports the latest news from Rome.
Jim and Greg like a new Pew Poll that shows Dems in big trouble come November, rip David Plouffe for suggesting a radical GOP minority is pushing the Benghazi scandal, and sound off on Obama and the White House Correspondents Dinner.
This Town Author: Tea Party Movement 'Has Truth on Their Side' Against D.C. Permanent Political Class
New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich may have realized after writing This Town that if you make 90% of the Washington, D.C.-No Labels-St. Albans permanent political class uncomfortable, then 90% of America will probably appreciate you.
Appearing on Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot channel 125 with Breitbart News Executive Chairman and host Stephen K. Bannon, Leibovich excoriated the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which is the symbol of the cozy interconnectedness between government officials and politicians and the press that are supposed to afflict them (the comfortable) and comfort the afflicted.
He said the event that in recent years has been emblematic of a "Boomtown" that has gone wild and become completely out of touch with the rest of the country has "jumped the shark years ago" and was "ridiculous." Leibovich said he wrote the book because it was a "good time to deconstruct what has happened to Washington" and conceded, without pretense, that he was still an insider attached to a major news organization before emphasizing how the political class and the press that cover them have become so "comfortable" and "clubby."
Also read:
Networks Give 15 Times More Coverage to Correspondents' Dinner Than Benghazi
Analysis: That 2014 Pew Poll is Even Worse Than it Looks for Democrats
United States Fueling Instability in Syria
A growing number of Syrian Christian leaders are traveling to the United States to plead with lawmakers to stop sending arms to the rebels. The most recent visitor is the Patriarch of the Church of Antioch, His Beatitude Gregorios III, who is based in Damascus.
For the first three years of the civil war, Syria's Christian leaders have not been frequent visitors to the U.S., in part fearing reprisals when they return to Syria, but also because they have been reluctant to engage in what they see as political issues. But with the civil war now in its fourth year, they are taking a more public stance. Visiting Washington, D.C., in January of this year to speak about the war, Bishop Armash Nalbandian, primate of the Armenian Church of Damascus, said that after he witnessed the bombing of the St. John of Damascus School, which killed nine children, he did not care anymore about his own safety. He said he will now do and say anything to help end the war.
But speaking out against the war puts church leaders in a difficult position. They want to protect their congregations and their nation, but they then face accusations of supporting the Assad regime. His Beatitude Gregorios said, "Everybody asks me, 'Are you for or against the regime?' I tell them, I am not for or against the regime; I am not for or against the opposition. I am for stability." The complaint that many in Syria now have is that while Assad is far from an ideal ruler, they fear more what would follow in the wake of his downfall. The Patriarch continued, "All the churches in the Middle East are saying the same thing: 'We want stability, but Europe and the United States are ignoring us.'"
Also read: Obama's Move to Arm Al Qaeda in Syria
Congressional candidate Theo Milonopoulos, California 33rd District, talks with Michelle Fields about his candidacy and what he would like to accomplish if elected to the United States Congress.
