Release...

Washington, Feb 24 -

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement in response to the thwarted terror plot in Texas. Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a 20-year-old citizen of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. on a student visa, is charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and is alleged to have listed the home of former President George W. Bush as a possible target.

Chairman Smith: “The terror plot in Texas underscores that the lax enforcement of our immigration laws is a gaping hole in our security system. According to the affidavit, Aldawsari has been planning to commit a terror attack against the U.S. for years. That is precisely why he applied for a student visa, in order to gain entry to the U.S. and carry out his plot.

“We shouldn’t be surprised that terrorists continue to enter the U.S. on visas when our immigration laws are so loosely enforced. The 9-11 hijackers entered the U.S. after obtaining visas. And the Christmas Day bomber was able to board a plane en route to Detroit because he too had a visa.

“History is only repeating itself because we are letting it. We must do more to screen visa applicants to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S. in the first place.

“According to the affidavit, Aldawsari wrote in his journal that to avoid detection, he would need multiple drivers’ licenses and a forged U.S. birth certificate. The 9-11 hijackers fraudulently obtained more than 30 drivers’ licenses and identification documents. These allowed them to ultimately board commercial planes on September 11. That’s why Congress passed the REAL ID Act, which established national guidelines for the issuance identification documents to prevent terrorists from obtaining drivers’ licenses. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration continues to delay the full implementation of this law.

“In addition to stronger enforcement of immigration laws, we need the PATRIOT Act to prevent attacks from both terrorist organizations and rogue terrorists acting alone. Provisions of the PATRIOT Act are scheduled to expire in May. We cannot afford to leave our intelligence community without the resources they need to keep Americans safe.

“This was a victory for our law enforcement community, but a failure of our immigration system. We have not learned the lessons of 9-11. Until we crack down on our immigration laws that allow terrorists to enter the U.S., history will continue to repeat itself.”

“I have found these meetings to be constructive, forthright exchanges on the key issues facing our state and nation. Obviously there are some matters on which we’ve agreed, and others where we have differences. Ultimately, the input of my constituents has always been invaluable to me in doing my job as Senator.”-- Sen. Snowe on RLC mtg.

From Eric Dondero:

It is not known if the Senator arranged for the meeting or local libertarian Republicans. But the Lewiston Sun is reporting that Maine's longtime Senior Senator Olympia Snowe held a private meeting with representatives of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

From the Lewiston Sun-Journal, "Snowe meets with Republican Liberty Caucus to defend record," Feb. 25:

The Maine chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus on Sunday posted on its blog the details of a recent meeting with U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

The post says the meeting took place on “neutral ground,” at a hotel conference room in Augusta — a description that underscores the tension between Snowe, considered a moderate, and the right wing of the GOP.

The RLC is a national organization. It’s considered a libertarian group that is connected to the tea party. According to the post by Ken Lindell, chairman of Maine RLC, also invited were representatives from other conservative organizations including tea party activists, constitutional conservatives, libertarians and devotees of the John Birch Society, as well as representatives from the Maine Legislature and the Republican State Committee. The common thread, Lindell said, was that "all the participants represented factions of the Republican Party that were either critical of Senator Snowe’s moderate track record, and in some cases outright hostile to the senator."

The Maine chapter of the RLC last spring backed Gov. Paul LePage in the GOP primary.

The Senator is longtime friends with Governor LePage (who grew up in Lewiston), and also with Lewiston libertarian Republican activist and former legislator Stravos Mendros.

Ironically, Andrew Ian Dodge, Tea Party activist, an RLC member, and friend of this website, is the only declared candidate against her for the GOP nomination.

Editor - Photos of Gov. LePage and Stravos when he was much younger and dashing.

Tours the District looking for GOP support

From the Norwich Bulletin
"Libertarian candidate begins cross-endorsement tour tonight - Plainfield resident 'open' to Republican nomination," Feb. 25:

Montville, Conn. — Libertarian Dan Reale, the only declared candidate for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District, will begin his “cross-endorsement” speaking tour today at 7 p.m. before the Montville Republican Town Committee.

The meeting will take place Thursday in Room 102 of Town Hall. Reale announced earlier this week he wants to speak to local Republican town committees interested in limited government and cross-endorsing him and other Libertarians. Reale, who is also chairman of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut, issued a press release on Tuesday titled “I’m Open to the Republican Nomination.”

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Swing States moving solidly anti-Obama

by Bryan K. Donnelly

The Zogby International poll conducted on the 17th has GREAT NEWS for real Americans!

From Zogby:

If President Obama runs his re-election campaign on the issues he discussed in his State of the Union Address, the outcome is not likely to be good for Democrats.

My newsletter, The O'Leary Report, in cooperation with ATI-News, recently commissioned a poll of 10,000 likely voters with Zogby International to determine what voters in each of three categories of states think on a wide range of issues.

For polling purposes, we divided all 10,000 voters into three camps: 1) Red states that did not vote for Obama in 2008 and are unlikely to do so in 2012; 2) Blue states that did not vote for McCain in 2008 and are unlikely to vote GOP in 2012; and 3) Battleground "Green" states that could go either way in 2012. The following 12Green states all saw significant changes brought about by statewide and congressional GOP victories and GOP wins in state legislatures as a result of the 2010 midterm elections: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI.

Absolue Stunner! Blue States want someone other than Obama

Continuing:

Voters in Blue states would prefer someone new over President Obama by a slim 3-point margin (48% to 45%). The President should easily be able to make-up this ground once his campaign gets into full swing.

In Red states, however, voters would prefer someone new by a sizeable 22-point margin (58% to 36%), a sizeable margin that the President is unlikely to overcome. In Green states, voters want someone new in the White House by a 13-point margin (54% to 41%), showing that Obama's quest for the critical middle-ground will be a severe uphill climb.

So, not only do majorities in most “battleground” states like my own Florida heavily disagree with Obama’s socialist policies, they’re likely to vote against HIM and his Democrat-socialist brethren in next year’s election. We are most likely to see a GOP White House, Senate, and House AND an end to Obamacare. Hurrah!

And three cheers for WI courageous governor Scott Walker! The same scene is about to be played out in FL, MI, OH, MO, TN, KY, PA and many other states. The libertarian/conservative tsunami is just beginning.

Editor's note - Bryan is a regular reader of LR, a member of the RLC, and a diehard pro-Israel/pro-defense libertarian. He is also a constituent of Cong. Allen West, and was an active volunteer in his campaign.

Combat Troops to be pulled off Front Lines for Training

From Eric Dondero:

And so it begins...

Opponents of the Obama administration policy allowing Gays to openly serve in the Military, opposed the idea not out of any dislike of homosexuals, but rather out of fear of rampant political correctness, and turning the Big Bad-ass fighting Men of the United States Military into "sensitive" foot soldiers for liberal special interest causes.

And now this. From the Washington Times, "Combat troops to get gay sensitivity training - New policy OK’d for battlefield" Feb. 25:

American combat troops will get sensitivity training directly on the battlefield about the military’s new policy on gays instead of waiting until they return to home base in the United States, the senior enlisted man in Afghanistan said Thursday.

The Pentagon is launching an extensive force-wide program to ease the process of integrating open homosexuals into the ranks, including into close-knit fighting units.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, the top enlisted man in Afghanistan where 100,000 U.S. troops are deployed, said that the sessions on respecting gays’ rights will go right down to the forward operating bases, where troops fight Taliban militants.

One strong advocate for Gays in the Military, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill in Afghanistan, said any soldier or Marine who does not agree with the training, or conform to military discipline on the matter will be immediately kicked out of the service.

Reminder - the individual who currently serves in the office of Commander in Chief, photo above, is not a Veteran, and never served in the United States Military.