Former CBS News president Richard Salant (1961 - 64 and 1966 - 79) explained the major media's role: "Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have." ...and to this very day most Americans haven't noticed they're being brained washed! ~ N. Hooben
The Obama administration released a warning Monday telling the nation’s landlords that it may be discriminatory for them to refuse to rent to those with criminal records. The Fair Housing Act doesn’t include criminals as a protected class, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says refusing to rent based on a criminal record is a form of racial discrimination, due to racial imbalances in the U.S. justice system. “The Fair Housing Act prohibits both intentional housing discrimination and housing practices that have an unjustified discriminatory effect because of race, national origin, or other protected characteristics,” say HUD’s newly-released guidelines. “Because of widespread racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system, criminal history-based restrictions on access to housing are likely disproportionately to burden African-Americans and Hispanics. While the Act does not prohibit housing providers from appropriately considering criminal history information when making housing decisions, arbitrary and overbroad criminal history-related bans are likely to lack a legally sufficient justification.”
About 25 percent of Americans have some kind of criminal record, which can range from felony convictions to arrests that never led to charges. As HUD correctly notes, criminal history is not equally distributed across racial groups. For instance, while blacks are about 12 percent of the U.S. population, they are about 36 percent of the prison population. Hispanics are also overrepresented behind bars, though to a much smaller degree.
“The fact that you were arrested shouldn’t keep you from getting a job and it shouldn’t keep you from renting a home,” HUD Secretary Julian Castro said Monday at an annual meeting of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “When someone has been convicted of a crime and has paid their debt to society, then they ought to have an effective second chance at life. The ability to find housing is an indispensable second change in life.”
HUD says that landlords may be allowed to bar those with criminal records from living in a facility, but they will have to prove that such a policy is necessary for protecting the safety of other tenants, and designed to avoid illegal discrimination. The new guidance recommends that landlords consider factors such as the severity of the criminal history and how long ago it occurred.
Landlords who violate the Fair Housing Act can be hit with civil fines amounting to thousands or millions of dollars, depending on the severity and the duration of the alleged violation.
The new guideline includes one major exception that will benefit landlords: It is never illegal, HUD says, for landlords to block renting to those convicted of manufacturing or distributing illegal drugs.
The new guidance isn’t the first move by the Obama administration to break down perceived racial barriers in the housing market. HUD launched an effort in 2015 to encourage cities to use Section 8 and other levels to create racially-integrated neighborhoods. The effort came in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that policies which result in unintentional housing discrimination may be targeted in lawsuits.
Source: Politichicks Women, The Second Amendment, and Why I Choose to Conceal Carry By Marci Wexler Summers
Recently I’ve taken up running. Not just running once in a while, but running five times each week
and registering for any 5k, 10k or half marathon that is within an hour of my house. I’ve also run a full marathon and am crazy enough to be training for another one! Along with the race registrations, shoes, and active wear that come with this “free” sport, I’ve also started following several running groups on Facebook. I enjoy the camaraderie of fellow runners and the useful tips and suggestions that are posted on a daily basis. As I’ve joined the running community, I’ve realized that runners are some of the most supportive and encouraging people on the planet.
Several months ago I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and saw a thread on one of my running pages. One of the members of the group posed a question about what holster was best for running with a concealed firearm. I immediately clicked on the thread and began reading the responses, because it just so happened that I was in the market for a comfortable, safe, and convenient way to conceal my handgun while running.
I was shocked by the responses that I read from the usually caring and encouraging group of people. “Why do you feel the need to run with a gun?” one member asked. Another snidely wrote, “What are you going to do? Shoot the neighbor dog that chases you?” I couldn’t believe the negative comments that were being posted about this woman’s very sensible question. As runners, we always hate hearing the story on the news about the woman running by herself on a trail who was attacked, raped, or murdered. We think a lot about safety while we run: wear bright, reflective clothing, don’t run at night, have a running buddy, carry pepper spray, etc., but the minute a woman decides she wants to run with a weapon, specifically a handgun, we’ve somehow taken self-defense too far.
The gun controversy is a hot topic right now in our country. With mass shootings occurring more frequently and murder rates rising as gun laws are becoming stricter, it is a subject that can’t be ignored any longer…especially for women.
So here are the reasons why I Conceal Carry:
1. I don’t like depending on other people for my safety.
Actually, I don’t like depending on other people for much of anything. My parents instilled a sense of independence in my sisters and me from a very early age. I distinctly remember my mom sitting me down and talking with me about a career path. She explained to me the difference between a career and a hobby and she guided me to pursue a lucrative career in college instead of taking classes that would be more of a hobby for me. When I started becoming interested in boys and wanting a boyfriend, my parents told me to be secure and happy with myself before I expected to find security and happiness in a relationship. I think many parents, conservatives and liberals alike, want to instill in their children a sense of independence and self-reliance. There’s nothing noble about being dependent on other people, whether it’s financially, emotionally or otherwise. When it comes to my own personal safety, I want to know that I can independently protect myself. I can’t rely on the government, other people, or even my husband, to protect me in a dangerous situation I may encounter.
2. I want to protect YOU.
I remember how excited I felt when my permit to carry a firearm arrived in the mail (about 3 months after I took the two day class and applied online…thank you Illinois for having some of the strictest gun laws in the country). I immediately loaded my handgun, put it in its holster, and stuck it in a safe pocket of my purse. I remember feeling invincible and capable to protect myself in any situation. The strangest thing happened, though, when I walked into a fast food restaurant for the first time with my handgun in my purse. I immediately began looking around at all of the other customers and the teenage cashiers behind the counters and thinking, “I’m now responsible for all of these peoples’ safety too.” I imagined how I would protect, not only myself, but everyone else in that restaurant if a mass shooting took place. Whether you agree with people being able to conceal carry or not, I’m pretty sure you’d be thankful that the bad guys weren’t the only people with guns in a situation like that.
3. It is my constitutional right to bear arms.
I try to respect the rights of everyone I encounter on a daily basis. Although I may not agree with your opinions or lifestyle, I respect your right to exercise your freedom. That is what makes American the greatest country in the world! As an American citizen, I still have the right to bear arms and to protect myself and my family. There are many politicians, our president included, who would like to take away the right for me to legally carry a firearm in my purse. As I said earlier, in the state of Illinois, exercising that right is more and more difficult and many people don’t even bother with it because of the many hoops that you have to jump through (hats off to Chicago for ruining it for the rest of the state). I was shocked when I took the mandatory training and field test for my concealed carry permit and I was the ONLY female in the entire class! Women, you have a right to bear arms too! Of course it’s a hassle and it takes time and a little money, but don’t you want to protect yourself and your family? It isn’t your husband’s job or the government’s job…it is up to you to bear arms and fight for and protect those closest to you.
Anti-gun liberals may disagree with me and our government may fight to take away this right, but as long as I am able I will continue to carry a firearm with me in my car or in my purse, and yes, even while running.
About the Author
Marci Wexler Summers works as a full time speech-language pathologist at a skilled nursing facility that serves the needs of elderly patients. Throughout her daily conversations with residents she hears talk of "the good old days" and senses the alarm with which older people of previous generations speak of current events. She has recently taken an interest in politics, current events, and how government decisions seem to be infiltrating every aspect of the American citizen's life. Although she is not formally educated in journalism or politics, she is an avid reader and follower of current events and enjoys discussing and researching topics related to the upcoming election, the nation's growing terrorism threat, and how the government is changing American lives. She lives in central Illinois but was born in Pennsylvania. She attended Bob Jones University where she obtained her bachelor of science degree in Communication Disorders and she went on to receive her master's degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Marci is an avid runner and when she isn't busy working or writing, she enjoys being outside with her husband and training for her next marathon.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – which ironically was founded to end poverty and racial injustice in housing – proposed a law last month that would make living in a recreational vehicle – and potentially a tiny home – illegal.
You can help prevent this proposal from becoming law by sending comments to regulations.gov by April 11!!
While recreational vehicles are currently exempt from housing regulations, the proposed change would allow them to keep their exempt status only so long as no one is “living” in them.
HUD complains in a summary of its proposed rule that some RVs “are being produced with patio roofs, screened in porches, and other extensions that exceed the 400 square-foot maximum” and “are being marketed as suitable for year-round living.”
The rule would re-define exempt recreational vehicles as a “factory-build vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy” and requires RV manufacturers to “prominently display” that definition in the kitchen of all RVs for sale.
The regulation also defines “recreational vehicle” as a “self-propelled” unit, apparently excluding tiny homes on wheels from the RV exemption.
Eric Muss-Barnes, a concerned citizen, made the following video explaining the proposed law:
“There are nearly 9 million RV owners in America,” Muss-Barnes says. “A significant portion of those are retired couples who’ve purchased land in an RV park, where they live full time. The law could potentially turn hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens into outlaws.”
You can help prevent this proposal from becoming law by sending comments to regulations.gov by April 11!!
So far, the federal agency has received almost 500 comments from outraged citizens, many of them saying they’d be homeless if not for their RV:
“Please do not pass this. You will make homelessness worse, and criminalize many of us ex-middle class just trying to stay safe. Please.” ~ Anonymous
“I live in RV full time and have for a number of years. I am now 55 years of age and am a recent widower. The job that I work does not really pay enough for me to find and live in a more permanent structure. As I will be retiring soon I am sure that I will not be able to afford to move out of my RV.” ~ Jeff Stanford
“Why does it matter where I live as long as I have a roof over my head? The government needs to recognize that some of us are lucky to have a tiny house or an RV to live in.” ~ Bunnie Craddock
“For the love of God! Stop Criminalizing the pursuit of Life Liberty and Happiness!!!!” ~ Steven Armstrong
This man served his country in the military, now he is being threatened by local officials just because he is living off-the-grid.
Posted by Preppers for Survival on Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Sally Miller looked on in amusement as the man who would become the 42nd President of the United States slipped into her own frilly black nightgown.
The former Miss Arkansas has never forgotten how her younger lover proceeded to dance around the bedroom, serenading her with his saxophone and reducing her to a fit of giggles.
This playful scene was typical of the laughter-filled nights that ex-beauty queen Miller enjoyed with Bill Clinton during their 1983 affair, she tells Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview.
The married Governor of Arkansas would frequently adopt the role of entertainer-in-chief to impress his glamorous older woman, a one-time Miss America finalist.
But while his attempts at lovemaking were largely forgettable, Clinton would rarely disappoint when it came to divulging intimate and potentially damaging secrets about his wife Hillary.
More than two decades on, Miller, a former singer and radio host known as Sally Perdue, is preparing to dish more secrets of their pillow talk in a tell-all memoir.
SCROLL DOWN TO HEAR SALLY MILLER
Sally Miller tells Daily Mail Online she met Clinton at parties and political functions in 1974 when she was a senate aide at the Arkansas State Capitol and he was preparing for his run for the House of Representatives. But their affair began when he was Governor of Arkansas
Miller was divorced from her first husband but still known at the time as Sally Perdue. She says she was drawn to Clinton's energy, his sense of humor and his 'intensity.' The then-Governor would arrive at her back door for their trysts
The book promises to recall a series of unguarded conversations in which she claims Bill revealed his wife's preference for female lovers.
As far-fetched as her accusations may appear, she remains convinced that Hillary Clinton is behind a plot to silence her ahead of the November election.
But it will also lay bare what Miller, describes as a decades-long Democrat campaign to discredit and harass her that began when she first revealed the affair in 1992, a campaign she claims has now reached such perverse depths that she actually fears for her life.
The twice-divorced 77-year-old took to social media in recent weeks to post an extraordinary warning that if she dies by 'suicide' no-one should believe it.
When Daily Mail Online visited Miller at her Arkansas home she insisted she had been stalked, spied upon and plagued by anonymous phone calls since word of her memoir leaked out.
'She doesn't care what I say about Bill, that's old news,' Miller told Daily Mail Online. 'But I think she wonders what Bill told me. I think she wonders how much I know about her that came from Bill.
'With the election coming up she can't afford any sort of loose end. She's the closest thing you can imagine to Al Capone. I don't think she is going to rest until she puts me to rest.'
And what of those accusations so insulting or damaging that a potential Presidential candidate would unleash her operatives to intimidate or even bump off an elderly lady?
'Hillary is a lesbian,' Miller claims, reigniting a lingering but unsubstantiated rumor that has dogged the former First Lady for years.
With a string of achievements including the Miss Arkansas 1958 title, a 1970 jazz album entitled I've Gotta Be Me, and a career in TV, radio and PR, Miller particularly objects to being portrayed as a 'bimbo'
Miller, left, being crowned Miss Pine Bluff in 1958. When Daily Mail Online visited Miller at her Arkansas home she insisted she had been stalked, spied upon and plagued by anonymous phone calls since word of her memoir leaked out
Hillary Clinton is behind a plot to silence Miller ahead of the November election, the ex Miss Arkansas claims. 'Let's just get down to the facts,' says Miller. 'Firstly, Bill didn't mind telling me that Hillary doesn't like sex'
'Let's just get down to the facts,' she adds. 'Firstly, Bill didn't mind telling me that Hillary doesn't like sex.
'I take him at his word and he told me she liked females more than men. She was the child of a more progressive community. She was exposed to all the liberals, she was a flower child.
'Hillary does drugs too, that's the only time that she would entertain the idea - again, this is what Bill told me.
'While we were intimately involved he would say things like "gosh you need to come over and teach Hillary a few things".
'He said she probably wouldn't take to that idea much.
'I wasn't a spy, I wasn't looking for things I could remember 20 years later.'
Miller remains fit and active, although her fear of the 'Clinton machine' weighs heavily.
The mother-of-two sleeps with a loaded semi-automatic within arm's reach and rarely leaves home without her four-year-old Australian Shepherd, Cubby Bear.
Miller, a former singer and radio host known as Sally Perdue, is preparing to dish the secrets of their pillow talk in a tell-all memoir.
It was a very different scenario in August 1983, when a 44-year-old Miller left her back door ajar so her seven-years' younger paramour Bill could be chauffeured to the rear of the property before slipping inside unnoticed.
The pair had met a decade earlier at parties and political functions when Miller was a senate aide at the Arkansas State Capitol and Clinton was preparing for his unsuccessful 1974 run for the House of Representatives.
So when she needed help getting a vintage steam train project off the ground, she sought out her former friend, by now in his second stint as Governor.
'I left my number with his secretary,' recalled Miller. 'He was playing golf but within three hours he'd called me.
'He said "I'm going to be leaving here in a little while, why don't I just drop by and let's see each other for old times' sake."
'We decided because of the positioning of the condo it might be better if he didn't come by the front door, there are some prominent people that live across by me.
Former Miss Arkansas, Sally Miller, in 1958, in one of her earliest modeling photos
'He never drove himself, it was a state trooper or someone on his staff. He parked in the park behind my house. I had a gate on the patio but he just had to lift the latch.
'The first night I just played the piano while he sang. He's not noted as someone who has a trained voice but we laughed, it was just kind of fun.
'Finally he said ''we didn't talk about what I came to talk about, so we're going to have to do this again sometime''. I had all my notes and pictures, all my ideas, all he had to do was call his parks and tourism gal and get her on this.
Bill is not the most handsome man. But he makes you feel like you have an incredible body and on top of all that you're beautiful. There are not many men that can make a woman feel that way.
'But we dragged it out for about three months. And yes, we did go upstairs where the bedrooms were.'
Miller, who was divorced from her first husband but still known at the time as Sally Perdue, says she was drawn to Clinton's energy, his sense of humor and his 'intensity'.
Their clandestine meetings typically included Bill goofing around and playing his sax while Miller, a trained singer and musician, accompanied him on her piano.
He would sometimes unwind by smoking a marijuana cigarette. Miller claims that she saw Clinton produce a pouch of white powder on several occasions and snort lines off her coffee table.
'I don't do drugs and I don't smoke. But if you come into my house and say "gosh I've had a bad day" I wouldn't know how to stop you,' said Miller.
'Bill is not the most handsome man. But he makes you feel like your breasts are the right size, your legs are the perfect length, you have an incredible body and on top of all that you're beautiful. There are not many men that can make a woman feel that way.
'Do I make it a point to have affairs with married men, no. But most everyone in Arkansas assumed that their marriage was a business arrangement.
'Bill never sounded like he was in love or locked into a loyal arrangement.'
Sally Miller, center, with her daughters Rosemond, left, and Myra, right
A letter from then Governor Bill Clinton dated June 28, 1984. Their affair would remain a secret for nearly a decade until she went public on the Sally Jesse Raphael show in July 1992, a day after Clinton had been formally named by the Democratic Party as its Presidential candidate.
But while the future president was a born entertainer and charismatic companion, the sex itself failed to inspire.
'It wasn't that memorable. It was no big deal - think about that,' chuckled Miller. 'That's probably why he didn't have any confidence as a lover.
'He reminded me of a what a little boy would say to his momma. 'Is it OK if I put my hand there? Can I touch you here?' I've always preferred younger men but I've never had one who asked permission.'
She claims the affair ended abruptly in late 1983 when Miller revealed her intention to stand for mayor of her hometown, Pine Bluffs, as a Republican.
It would remain a secret for nearly a decade until she went public on the Sally Jesse Raphael show in July 1992, a day after Clinton had been formally named by the Democratic Party as its Presidential candidate.
Miller insists her name had already been leaked to the newspapers and news channels who hounded her day and night for the story.
But her decision backfired when she was faced with a hostile New York audience packed with Democrat supporters and a largely skeptical media.
Clinton would face similar accusations from a series of women throughout his campaign and ensuing Presidency in what was coined the 'eruption of bimbos'.
Sally Miller's license plate she had on her car after winning the 1958 Miss Arkansas pageant
But at the time of her disastrous TV appearance, Miller's story was either ignored or dismissed as smears by the mainstream US media.
Worse still, it prompted what she describes as an extraordinary Democrat vendetta that has seen her threatened, fired from jobs and followed - quite literally - to the other end of the world.
It began In August 1992, she claims, with a sinister invitation from Clinton operative who offered Miller a lucrative federal job if she promised to be a 'good little girl' – an offer she declined.
'They said 'if you don't take the job, we know where you go running and we'll break your pretty little legs,'' Miller claims. 'They said life isn't going to be fun anymore - and they meant it.'
Miller later found the back window of her jeep shot out from the inside with a handful of shot gun cartridges left strewn across the back seat.
When she reported it to the FBI she says she was nearly knocked down outside their office by a car with no plates.
Miller claims she was also contacted out of the blue and pestered for dates by a string of young married suitors, including a doctor and a handsome lawyer called 'Eric'.
'Eric was a plant from the Democrats in Arkansas,' Miller claims. 'He admitted it. I think they wanted me to be caught in another liaison and so they could say she's a scarlet woman.'
In 1994 she attempted to leave the controversy behind by accepting a radio job broadcasting for the blind in China, a country she loved and where she enjoyed an elevated profile having become the first woman to run the entire length of the Great Wall four years earlier
'Bill is not the most handsome man. But he makes you feel like your breasts are the right size, your legs are the perfect length, you have an incredible body and on top of all that you're beautiful. There are not many men that can make a woman feel that way,' Miller tells Daily Mail Online
Her career suffered too, she alleges. She says the Democrats made a mysterious $1 million donation to her alma mater, Lindenwood College, Missourii. She was later fired from their admissions department.
In 1994 she attempted to leave the controversy behind by accepting a radio job broadcasting for the blind in China, a country she loved and where she enjoyed an elevated profile having become the first woman to run the entire length of the Great Wall four years earlier.
But her new life went awry, she says, when the Clintons arrived in Beijing for a 1998 state visit and her hotel room was mysteriously raided by Chinese soldiers and what she says were American agents, apparently looking for drugs and weapons.
Kathleen Willey, a former White House volunteer who says Bill Clinton groped her in an Oval Office hallway in 1993 when she came to him seeking a paid job, says she has agreed to become a paid national spokeswoman for an anti-Clinton group being created by operative Roger Stone
Paula Jones, the former state employee whose allegations of sexual harassment dogged President Bill Clinton throughout his administration, was photographed appearing at a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in Little Rock.
Linda Tripp, Monica Lewinsky's confidante and who worked as a White House staffer says that Hillary Clinton not only knew about her husband's exploits, 'She made it her personal mission to disseminate information and destroy the women with whom he dallied.'
Juanita Broaddrick, who claims that she was raped by Bill Clinton in an Arkansas hotel 38 years ago, says that she was cornered by Hillary as she was helping at a Clinton fundraiser and was given a thinly-veiled warning to keep her mouth shut. Maria Crider, who worked on Bill Clinton's first political campaign, said power-hungry Hillary torpedoed the torrid affair that threatened to destroy her master plan to become president with anonymous phone calls, fears of stalking and veiled threats.
'They told the manager I was a drug dealer who had fled the United States to avoid prosecution,' she claims. 'It was a warning that they could find me anywhere, anyplace, anytime.'
Like much of Miller's dark account, there is nothing to substantiate this episode other than the trove of old documents, letters and journals she promises to include in her memoir, 'The Beauty Queen: Let No Deed Go Unpublished'.
And yet her story brings to mind the accounts of other alleged Clinton accusers, such as Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers, who say they were harassed by Democrat aides and maligned as sluts to cover the philandering President's tracks.
Maria Crider, who had an affair with Clinton when she worked on his first political campaign, said Hillary destroyed the relationship - even though she was not yet married to Bill - with anonymous phone calls and veiled threats.
With a string of achievements including the Miss Arkansas 1958 title, a 1970 jazz album entitled I've Gotta Be Me, and a career in TV, radio and PR, Miller particularly objects to being portrayed as a 'bimbo'.
She points the finger of blame squarely at Hillary and her powerful spin machine.
'Nothing happened in the Democratic Party when they were trying to get Bill into the White House that Hillary didn't approve,' Miller said. 'She was the motivator, his bodyguard, and she continued to target me after the election.
'There is a vengeful, spiteful ugliness that some women have for other women. And there is a certain type of women who just has it in her genes to be nasty.
'Hillary is just one of those women. And she's championing women's causes? She will be the ruination of America if she becomes President.'
In the three or four months since news of her memoir leaked on Facebook Miller says the long-standing vendettas has reignited.
She decided to post details on social media because she feels she's safer battling the Clintons out in the open where her ultimately death would provoke too much scrutiny.
'I'm sure I have Facebook friends that are spies and I'm sure the word got out to Hillary,' she said. 'I began to get unknown calls on my cell phone - three or four a week - but now it's almost every day.
'It's the same pattern they used in 1992, '93 and '94. I've watched cars following me down to the park. They are typically trucks or SUVs - all the windows are completely black.
'I pulled up beside one of them and walked over but he pulled away as soon as I got up close.
'I've been getting calls from 911 saying "Ms Miller we understand that there's an emergency and you're about to commit suicide". They always say it was a family member or a close friend but they can't give you the name.'
Miller has yet to find a publisher for her memoir – again, she suspects Democrat meddling -- but she insists she will self-publish if need be.
But does she really suspect the woman many believe will be the next President of the United States, a former Secretary of State lauded globally as a female role model, would resort to foul play to stop that happening?
''I think the Clintons are capable of anything. Do I live in fear, no - because I'm armed too, I'm prepared. You have to be when you think perhaps your life is being threatened.'
Former Miss Arkansas, Sally Miller, second from left, with friends in Beijing, China in 1994.
